Claims:WE CLAIM
1. A method of neighbor relation management in a wireless broadband network, the method comprising:
dynamically selecting, by a Serving Base Station (SBS), a set of signal measurement reports from a plurality of signal measurement reports received within a predefined time interval based on at least one of: a location of origin of each of the plurality of signal measurement reports, and variation of signal quality of each of the plurality of signal measurement reports with respect to an average signal quality associated with the plurality of signal measurement reports;
sampling, by the SBS, signal level values of a plurality of configured Neighboring Base Stations (NBSs) and at least one new NBS, from the set of signal measurement reports, for a predefined sampling time period, wherein the signal level values of the at least one new NBS are greater than a predefined threshold for the predefined sampling time period, and wherein the set of signal measurement reports comprises signal measurement reports corresponding to the plurality of configured NBSs and the at least one new NBS; and
computing, by the SBS, a retention factor for each of the plurality of configured NBSs and each of the at least one new NBS, in response to sampling the signal level values.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically selecting comprises:
determining a sample set of signal measurement reports from the plurality of signal measurement reports, within the predefined time interval based on the average of signal quality associated with the plurality of signal measurement reports, wherein the plurality of signal measurement reports are received from a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) associated with the SBS; and
comparing each of the plurality of signal measurement reports with the sample set of signal measurement reports based on associated location of origin and variation of signal quality from an average signal quality associated with the sample set to select the set of signal measurement reports.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing a signal level time gradient for each of the plurality of configured NBSs and each of the at least one new NBS using a regression technique, wherein a signal level time gradient for a NBS is computed based on a signal level value associated with the NBS and a time period for measuring the signal level value.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising ranking NBSs within a Neighboring Relation Table (NRT) of the SBS based on retention factors computed for the NBSs, wherein a NBS having the highest retention factor in the NRT is assigned the highest rank and a NBS having the lowest retention factor in the NRT is assigned the lowest rank.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining a relative rank for at least one NBS not already present in the NRT, based on the ranking of the NBSs present in the NRT, wherein at least one of the plurality of configured NBSs and the at least one new NBS comprise the at least one NBS.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising temporarily updating the NRT by adding the at least one NBS to the NRT based on an associated signal level time gradient being greater than a gradient threshold.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising removing at least one low ranked NBS from the NRT in response to the updating, based on the ranking of the NBSs and a relative rank determined for each of the at least one NBS, when the total number of NBSs in the temporarily updated NRT is greater than a threshold number of BSs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing handover of at least one UE to at least one NBS selected from one of the plurality of configured NBSs or the at least one new NBS, based on an associated retention factor.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising reconfiguring the predefined time interval, based on handover performance associated with handover of the at least one UE.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the retention factor for each of the plurality of configured NBSs and each of the at least one new NBS is computed based on at least an associated signal level time gradient, inactivity time, traffic load, interference level, and handover failure rate.

11. A Serving Base Station (SBS) for neighbor relation management in a wireless broadband network, the SBS comprising:
a processor; and
a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores processor instructions, which, on execution, causes the processor to:
dynamically select a set of signal measurement reports from a plurality of signal measurement reports received within a predefined time interval based on at least one of: a location of origin of each of the plurality of signal measurement reports, and variation of signal quality of each of the plurality of signal measurement reports with respect to an average signal quality associated with the plurality of signal measurement reports;
sample signal level values of a plurality of configured Neighboring Base Stations (NBSs) and at least one new NBS, from the set of signal measurement reports, for a predefined sampling time period, wherein the signal level values of the at least one new NBS are greater than a predefined threshold for the predefined sampling time period, and wherein the set of signal measurement reports comprises signal measurement reports corresponding to the plurality of configured NBSs and the at least one new NBS; and
compute a retention factor for each of the plurality of configured NBSs and each of the at least one new NBS, in response to sampling the signal level values.

12. The SBS of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to compute a signal level time gradient for each of the plurality of configured NBSs and each of the at least one new NBS using a regression technique, wherein a signal level time gradient for a NBS is computed based on a signal level value associated with the NBS and a time period for measuring the signal level value.

13. The SBS of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to rank NBSs within a Neighboring Relation Table (NRT) of the SBS based on retention factors computed for the NBSs, wherein a NBS having the highest retention factor in the NRT is assigned the highest rank and a NBS having the lowest retention factor in the NRT is assigned the lowest rank.

14. The SBS of claim 13, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to determine a relative rank for at least one NBS not already present in the NRT, based on the ranking of the NBSs present in the NRT, wherein at least one of the plurality of configured NBSs and the at least one new NBS comprise the at least one NBS.

15. The SBS of claim 14, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to temporarily update the NRT by adding the at least one NBS to the NRT based on an associated signal level time gradient being greater than a gradient threshold.

16. The SBS of claim 15, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to remove at least one low ranked NBS from the NRT in response to the updating, based on the ranking of the NBSs and a relative rank determined for each of the at least one NBS, when the total number of NBSs in the temporarily updated NRT is greater than a threshold number of BSs.

17. The SBS of claim 11, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to perform handover of at least one UE to at least one NBS selected from one of the plurality of configured NBSs or the at least one new NBS, based on an associated retention factor.

18. The SBS of claim 17, wherein the processor instructions further cause the at least one processor to reconfigure the predefined time interval, based on handover performance associated with handover of the at least one UE.

19. The SBS of claim 11, wherein the retention factor for each of the plurality of configured NBSs and each of the at least one new NBS is computed based on at least an associated signal level time gradient, inactivity time, traffic load, interference level, and handover failure rate.

Dated this 8th day of February 2017

R Ramya Rao
Of K&S Partners
Agent for the Applicant , Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates generally to wireless broadband networks, and more particularly to methods and systems for neighbor relation management in wireless broadband networks.