Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A method of managing network entry and handover in a land-to-sea wireless network, the method comprising:
computing, by a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), a downlink Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) metric associated with each of a plurality of antenna arrays of the CPE for each of a plurality of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) frequencies, based on a plurality of Time Division Duplex (TDD) messages collected for the plurality of BTS frequencies;
computing, by the CPE, a downlink Aggregated Weighted SNR (AWSNR) metric for each of the plurality of BTS frequencies across each of the plurality of antenna arrays based on downlink SNR metrics associated with the plurality of antenna arrays;
storing, by the CPE, the downlink AWSNR metric computed for each of the plurality of BTS frequencies across each of the plurality of antenna arrays in a plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers, wherein each of the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers is indexed by an associated BTS frequency and an associated antenna array;
assigning ranks, by the CPE, to at least one downlink AWSNR buffer from the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers based on associated downlink AWSNR metrics;
establishing, by the CPE, a pseudo-connection with a target BTS associated with a highest ranked downlink AWSNR buffer; and
evaluating, by the CPE, the pseudo-connection with the target BTS for one of a network entry and a handover, based on at least one of uplink AWSNR metrics associated with the target BTS or Module and Coding Scheme (MCS) metrics associated with the CPE and the target BTS.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising collecting, by the plurality of antenna arrays, the plurality of TDD messages for the plurality of BTS frequencies by scanning each of the plurality of BTS frequencies.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing a plurality of configuration parameters in at least one of the CPE and at least one of the plurality of BTSs.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranking comprises computing a confidence score for each of the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein for the network entry of the CPE, assigning the ranks comprises:
assigning a highest rank to a downlink AWSNR buffer with the strongest AWSNR metric exceeding a configured confidence score threshold;
ignoring each downlink AWSNR buffer being indexed with a BTS frequency associated with the downlink AWSNR buffer assigned a rank; and
repeating the above steps for each of the remaining plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein for the handover of the CPE, assigning the ranks comprises:
assigning a highest rank to a downlink AWSNR buffer with the strongest AWSNR metric exceeding a configured confidence score threshold;
ignoring each downlink AWSNR buffer being indexed with a BTS frequency associated with the downlink AWSNR buffer assigned a rank;
repeating the above steps for each of the remaining plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers; and
selecting at least one downlink AWSNR buffer from the ranked downlink AWSNR buffers based on comparison of associated downlink AWSNR metrics with a downlink AWSNR metrics associated with a serving downlink AWSNR buffer and a handover hysteresis threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising computing, by the CPE, a distance between the CPE and each BTS associated with each of the plurality of BTS frequencies.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
selecting a BTS associated with one of the plurality of BTS frequencies as the target BTS for the network entry, based on comparison of a downlink throughput predicted for the CPE with a threshold downlink throughput; and
selecting a BTS associated with one of the plurality of BTS frequencies as the target BTS for the handover, based on comparison of the downlink throughput predicted for the CPE with the threshold downlink throughput and a throughput handover hysteresis threshold.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising qualifying, by the CPE, at least one downlink AWSNR buffer for a pseudo-connection to an associated target BTS, wherein the highest ranked downlink AWSNR buffer is selected from amongst downlink AWSNR buffers qualified for pseudo-connections.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein qualifying the at least one downlink AWSNR buffer for the pseudo-connection comprises comparing the downlink AWSNR metrics of each of the at least one downlink AWSNR buffer with an AWSNR threshold and a confidence percentage.

11. A Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) for managing network entry and handover in a land-to-sea wireless network, the CPE comprising:
a plurality of antenna arrays;
a processor coupled to the plurality of antenna arrays; and
a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and the plurality of antenna arrays, wherein the memory stores instructions, which on execution cause the processor to:
compute a downlink Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) metric associated with each of the plurality of antenna arrays of the CPE for each of a plurality of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) frequencies, based on a plurality of Time Division Duplex (TDD) messages collected for the plurality of BTS frequencies;
compute a downlink Aggregated Weighted SNR (AWSNR) metric for each of the plurality of BTS frequencies across each of the plurality of antenna arrays based on downlink SNR metrics associated with the plurality of antenna arrays;
store the downlink AWSNR metric computed for each of the plurality of BTS frequencies across each of the plurality of antenna arrays in a plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers, wherein each of the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers is indexed by an associated BTS frequency and an associated antenna array;
assign ranks to at least one downlink AWSNR buffer from the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers based on associated downlink AWSNR metrics;
establish a pseudo-connection with a target BTS associated with a highest ranked downlink AWSNR buffer; and
evaluate the pseudo-connection with the target BTS for one of a network entry and a handover, based on at least one of uplink AWSNR metrics associated with the target BTS or Module and Coding Scheme (MCS) metrics associated with the CPE and the target BTS.

12. The CPE of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the processor to collect, via the plurality of antenna arrays, the plurality of TDD messages for the plurality of BTS frequencies by scanning each of the plurality of BTS frequencies.

13. The CPE of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the processor to store a plurality of configuration parameters in at least one of the CPE and at least one of the plurality of BTSs.

14. The CPE of claim 11, wherein the ranking comprises computing a confidence score for each of the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers.

15. The CPE of claim 14, wherein for the network entry of the CPE, to assign the ranks, the processor instructions further cause the processor to:
assign a highest rank to a downlink AWSNR buffer with the strongest AWSNR metric exceeding a configured confidence score threshold;
ignore each downlink AWSNR buffer being indexed with a BTS frequency associated with the downlink AWSNR buffer assigned a rank; and
repeat the above steps for each of the remaining plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers.

16. The CPE of claim 14, wherein for the handover of the CPE, to assign the ranks, the processor instructions further cause the processor to:
assign a highest rank to a downlink AWSNR buffer with the strongest AWSNR metric exceeding a configured confidence score threshold;
ignore each downlink AWSNR buffer being indexed with a BTS frequency associated with the downlink AWSNR buffer assigned a rank ;
repeat the above steps for each of the remaining plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers; and
select at least one downlink AWSNR buffer from ranked downlink AWSNR buffer based on comparison of associated downlink AWSNR metrics with a downlink AWSNR metrics associated with a serving downlink AWSNR buffer and a handover hysteresis threshold.

17. The CPE of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the processor to compute a distance between the CPE and each BTS associated with each of the plurality of BTS frequencies.

18. The CPE of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the processor to:
select a BTS associated with one of the plurality of BTS frequencies as the target BTS for the network entry, based on comparison of a downlink throughput predicted for the CPE with a threshold downlink throughput; and
select a BTS associated with one of the plurality of BTS frequencies as the target BTS for the handover, based on comparison of the downlink throughput predicted for the CPE with the threshold downlink throughput and a throughput handover hysteresis threshold.

19. The CPE of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the processor to qualify at least one downlink AWSNR buffer for a pseudo-connection to an associated target BTS, wherein the highest ranked downlink AWSNR buffer is selected from amongst downlink AWSNR buffers qualified for pseudo-connections.

20. The CPE of claim 19, wherein to qualify the at least one downlink AWSNR buffer for the pseudo-connection, the processor instructions further cause the processor to compare the downlink AWSNR metrics of each of the at least one downlink AWSNR buffer with an AWSNR threshold and a confidence percentage.

21. A system for managing network entry and handover in a land-to-sea wireless network, the system comprising:
a plurality of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs);
a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) configured to communicate with at least one of the plurality of BTSs, wherein the CPE is further configured to:
compute a downlink Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) metric associated with each of the plurality of antenna arrays of the CPE for each of a plurality of BTS frequencies associated with the plurality of BTSs, based on a plurality of Time Division Duplex (TDD) messages collected for the plurality of BTS frequencies;
compute a downlink Aggregated Weighted SNR (AWSNR) metric for each of the plurality of BTS frequencies across each of the plurality of antenna arrays based on downlink SNR metrics associated with the plurality of antenna arrays;
store the downlink AWSNR metric computed for each of the plurality of BTS frequencies across each of the plurality of antenna arrays in a plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers, wherein each of the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers is indexed by an associated BTS frequency and an associated antenna array;
assign ranks to at least one downlink AWSNR buffer from the plurality of downlink AWSNR buffers based on associated downlink AWSNR metrics;
establish a pseudo-connection with a target BTS associated with a highest ranked downlink AWSNR buffer; and
evaluate the pseudo-connection with the target BTS for one of a network entry and a handover, based on at least one of uplink AWSNR metrics associated with the target BTS or Module and Coding Scheme (MCS) metrics associated with the CPE and the target BTS.

Dated this 21st day of March, 2018

Swetha SN
Of K&S Partners
Agent for the Applicant
IN/PA-2123
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates generally to land-to-sea wireless networks and more particularly to method, system, and device for managing network entry and Base Transceiver Station (BTS) handover in the land-to-sea wireless networks.