US20150038143A1

US20150038143A1 - Optimizing handover or cell reselection based on historical data

Info

Publication number: US20150038143A1
Application number: US14/335,377
Authority: US
Inventors: II Thomas Kilpatrick; Olufunmilola Awoniyi-Oteri; Roy Franklin Quick, Jr.; Amir Sarajedini
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2013-07-31
Filing date: 2014-07-18
Publication date: 2015-02-05
Also published as: US20150038140A1; WO2015017165A1; US9763252B2; WO2015017162A1; US9485771B2; US20150038180A1; EP3028510A1; CN105432118B; WO2015017159A3; WO2015017161A1; CN105432118A; CN105474714A; EP3028503A1; WO2015017163A1; EP3028503B1; US20150038156A1; US20150036598A1; WO2015017159A2

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices are described for optimizing handover or cell reselection of a mobile device based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device. The mobile device may autonomously determine when a resource for the mobile device may be released based on the historical information. The mobile device may transmit a message to a serving cell indicating when the resource may be released and perform a handover or cell reselection procedure of the mobile device to the target cell. The serving cell may release the resource based on the indication received in the message.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/860,789, filed Jul. 31, 2013, entitled “PREDICTIVE MOBILITY IN CELLULAR NETWORKS,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present description relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to optimizing handover or cell reselection based on historical data. Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, space and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple mobile devices. Base stations may communicate with mobile devices on downstream and upstream links. Each base station has a coverage range, which may be referred to as the coverage area of the cell. When a mobile device connected to a base station of a first cell moves out of the coverage area of the first cell, the mobile device typically begins a handover process to identify a handover target candidate and begin handover procedures to hand the mobile device over to the target. During a conventional handover procedure, the resources of the base station of the first cell are retained (i.e., the connection between the mobile device and the base station remain active) until the mobile device is connected and synchronized to the target cell. Once the mobile device is connected to the target cell, messages are exchanged between the mobile device, the old serving base station, the new serving base station, and other network entities to authorize the old serving base station to release the resources reserved for the mobile device.
Moreover, the conventional handover procedure may involve exchanging numerous parameters associated with connecting to the target base station. The parameters are exchanged in one or more messages between the mobile device, the current serving base station, and the target base station. These exchanges utilize over-the-air resources for these components as well as result in an increased computational load at each device.

SUMMARY

The described features generally relate to one or more improved systems, methods, and/or apparatuses for optimizing a handover procedure for a mobile device based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device and, based on the historical information, determining when to release the resources of a serving cell. Generally, the mobile device may analyze its historical information to determine when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during the handover procedure. Once the mobile device determines when the resource can be released, the mobile device may communicate a message to the serving cell indicative of when the resource can be released by the serving cell, e.g., the mobile device may transmit a measurement report including an information field indicating when the serving cell can release the resource. The mobile device may then perform the handover procedure to a target cell. Accordingly, the serving cell may release the resource for the mobile device according to the transmitted message from the mobile device. For example, the serving cell may release the resource early (e.g., without waiting for instructions from a network entity) or late (e.g., following a predetermined time period after the mobile device synchronizes with the target cell) dependent upon whether the historical information indicates that the mobile device has performed a reliable or an unreliable handover to the target cell in the past, respectively.
The described features may also optimize a handover procedure by reducing the signaling exchanged during the handover process based on the historical information. For example, in long term evolution (LTE) when a handover command is sent in a radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration message, various information associated with the target base station may be omitted based on the historical information. Instead, the mobile device may derive the omitted information based on the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device. In further aspects, certain messages associated with the handover process may be omitted completely based on the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device. Accordingly, the mobile device may perform a “blind handover” to the target cell when the historical information indicates that the target cell is a suitable candidate. The blind handover may permit the mobile device to perform the handover procedure, without receiving a handover command from the serving cell, based on the historical information.
In a first illustrative set of examples, a method for managing wireless communications is provided. The method may include: determining, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device; transmitting a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and performing the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.
In some aspects, the message may signal an early release of the resource based on the historical information. The early release of the resource may include releasing the resource before the serving cell receives an end marker message from a network entity. The message may signal a late release of the resource based on the historical information. The late release of the resource may include releasing the resource a predetermined time period after the mobile device has performed a synchronization with the target cell.
In some aspects, the message may be a measurement report message. The method may include modifying an exchange of radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration messages based on the historical information. Modifying the exchange of RRC connection reconfiguration messages may include receiving an abbreviated RRC connection reconfiguration message in connection with the handover. The handover may be performed without receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message from the serving cell. The method may include sending a measurement report message that may include a timer value associated with the handover procedure.
In some aspects, the method may also include: sending a measurement report message indicating that, based on the historical information, the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover; starting, by the mobile device, a timer associated with the blind handover; and performing the blind handover from the serving cell to the target cell following an expiration of the timer.
In some aspects, the historical information may include information indicative of a sequence of historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device. The sequence of historical events may include one or more of: a channel environment event, a user event, a location event, or a time event. The sequence of historical events may include at least two previous instances of a same historical event within a predetermined time period.
In a second illustrative set of examples, an apparatus for managing wireless communications is provided. The apparatus may include: a processor; and memory in electronic communication with the processor, the memory embodying instructions. The instructions may be executable by the processor to: determine, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device; transmit a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and perform the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.
In some aspects, the message may signal an early release of the resource based on the historical information. The early release of the resource may include releasing the resource before the serving cell receives an end marker message from a network entity. The message may signal a late release of the resource based on the historical information. The late release of the resource comprises releasing the resource a predetermined time period after the mobile device has performed a synchronization with the target cell. The message may be a measurement report message.
In some aspects, the instructions are further executable by the processor to modify an exchange of radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration messages based on the historical information. The instructions to modify the exchange of RRC connection reconfiguration messages further include instructions executable by the processor to receive an abbreviated RRC connection reconfiguration message in connection with the handover. The apparatus may include instructions executable by the processor to perform the handover without receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message from the serving cell.
In some aspects, the apparatus may include instructions executable by the processor to: send a measurement report message indicating that, based on the historical information, the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover; start, by the mobile device, a timer associated with the blind handover; and perform the blind handover from the serving cell to the target cell following an expiration of the timer.
In some aspects, the historical information may include information indicative of a sequence of historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device. The sequence of historical events may include one or more of: a channel environment event, a user event, a location event, or a time event. The sequence of historical events may include at least two previous instances of a same historical event within a predetermined time period.
In a third illustrative set of examples, an apparatus for managing wireless communications is provided. The apparatus may include: means for determining, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device; means for transmitting a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and means for performing the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell. The message may signal an early release of the resource based on the historical information.
In a fourth illustrative set of examples, a computer program product for managing wireless communications is provided. The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to: determine, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device; transmit a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and perform the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.
Further scope of the applicability of the described methods and apparatuses will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims, and drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the description will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an example of device mobility in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of another example of device mobility in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 4 shows a diagram of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 5 shows a diagram of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 6 shows a diagram of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect so the principles described herein;

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of one example of a mobile device, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of one example of a base station, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of one example of a mobile, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of one example of a base station, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart diagram of a method for managing wireless communications, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart diagram of a method for managing wireless communications, according to one aspect of the principles described herein;

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart diagram of a method for managing wireless communications, according to one aspect of the principles described herein; and

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart diagram of a method for managing wireless communications, according to one aspect of the principles described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods, systems, and devices are provided that may be used to improve network and/or mobile device performance based on learning and predicting the behavior of a mobile device (e.g., mobile phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) user. For a mobile device user, for example, using predictive behavior based on historical information may involve a mobile device determining when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell. The resource may be released early or late depending on whether the historical information indicates a target cell is a reliable candidate for handover. The mobile device may transmit a message to its serving cell indicating when the resource can be released. The mobile device may perform a handover or cell reselection procedure with the target cell. The resource for the mobile device may be released early or late depending upon the historical information. The mobile device may also reduce the contents of messages exchanged during the handover procedure or, in some cases, eliminate certain messages completely. For example, the mobile device may eliminate handover related messages and perform a blind handover to a target cell based on the historical information.
The serving cell may receive the message from the mobile device to determine when to release the resources for the mobile device. In one example, the message from the mobile device may indicate that the resource can be released early because the mobile device has previously handed over to the target base station, and without complications. The serving cell may, alone or in coordination with other entities, release the resources assigned to the mobile device early, e.g., without waiting on a release command from a network controller. In a complementary fashion, if the message indicates that the resource is to be released late, e.g., because the mobile device has previously experienced difficulties during the early stages of a handover to the target cell, the serving cell may, alone or in coordination with network control entities, retain resources assigned to the mobile device for a longer period of time to allow the mobile device to move closer to the target cell. Examples of resources that may be released by the serving cell may include, but are not limited to, a time frequency resource, a grant of uplink resources used for uplink communications, radio bearer establishment and control resources, and the like.
Thus, the following description provides examples, and is not limiting of the scope, applicability, or configuration set forth in the claims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to certain examples may be combined in other examples.
Techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communications systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases 0 and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (EUTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other systems and radio technologies. The description below, however, describes an LTE system for purposes of example, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below, although the techniques are applicable beyond LTE applications.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a wireless communications system 100, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 includes base stations (or cells) 105, mobile devices 115, and a core network 130. The base stations 105 may communicate with the mobile devices 115 under the control of a base station controller (not shown), which may be part of the core network 130 or the base stations 105 in various examples. Base stations 105 may communicate control information and/or user data with the core network 130 through backhaul links 132. In certain examples, the base stations 105 may communicate, either directly or indirectly, with each other over backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless communication links. The wireless communications system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. For example, each communication link 125 may be a multi-carrier signal modulated according to the various radio technologies described above. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, data, etc.
The base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with the mobile devices 115 via one or more base station antennas. Each of the base stations 105 sites may provide communication coverage for a respective coverage area 110. In some examples, base stations 105 may be referred to as base transceiver stations, radio base stations, access points, radio transceivers, basic service sets (BSSs), extended service sets (ESSs), NodeBs, eNodeBs, Home NodeBs, Home eNodeBs, or some other suitable terminology. The coverage area 110 for a base station may be divided into sectors making up only a portion of the coverage area (not shown). The wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 of different types (e.g., macro, micro, and/or pico base stations). There may be overlapping coverage areas for different technologies.
In certain examples, the wireless communications system 100 is an LTE/LTE-A network communication system. In LTE/LTE-A network communication systems, the term evolved Node B (eNodeB) may be generally used to describe the base stations 105. The wireless communications system 100 may be a Heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of eNodeBs provide coverage for various geographical regions. For example, each eNodeB may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large coverage area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by mobile devices 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider. A pico cell generally covers a relatively smaller coverage area (e.g., buildings) and may allow unrestricted access by mobile devices 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell generally covers a relatively small coverage area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restricted access by mobile devices 115 having an association with the femto cell (e.g., mobile devices 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), mobile devices 115 for users in the home, and the like). In such examples, a base station 105 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNodeB, a base station 105 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico eNodeB, and a base station 105 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto eNodeB or a home eNodeB. A base station 105 may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.
The core network 130 may communicate with the base stations 105 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1 interface, etc.). The base stations 105 may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2 interface, etc.) and/or via backhaul links 132 (e.g., through core network 130). The wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.
The mobile devices 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system 100, and each mobile device 115 may be stationary or mobile. A mobile device 115 may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a user equipment (UE), mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. A mobile device 115 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, or the like.
The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communications system 100 may include uplink (UL) transmissions from a mobile device 115 to a base station 105, and/or downlink (DL) transmissions, from a base station 105 to a mobile device 115. The downlink transmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while the uplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions.
Mobile device 115 users typically have predictable behavior, often doing the same things or going to the same places at about the same time each day. One example is the travel pattern and schedule of a mobile device 115 user going to and from work. The user may typically leave home at a certain time, travel certain roads to get to work, stay at work until it is time to go back home using the same roads as before, and then repeat more or less the same routine the next day. Because the movements of mobile device 115 user in such a scenario can be foreseeable, it may be possible to predict with a high degree of confidence which cells are used by the mobile device 115 at particular times when going to work, when returning home at the end of the day, or even when taking a lunch break. This prediction may be based on previous measurements, cell reselections (e.g., when the mobile device 115 is in idle mode), and/or handovers, which were performed by the mobile device 115 during the user's commute. Moreover, the use of predictive behavior may also apply to other devices such as laptops, tablets, pads, machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, and the like.
Historical information defining predictable behavior may refer to data taken over a long enough time to show at least two instances of a repeated sequence of mobile device environmental events. As used in this context, an event refers to a detectable condition occurring at a mobile device, a base station, a network entity, or the like, which singularly or in combination with other events triggers an action. Example environmental events may include one or more radio frequency (RF) events, such as channel measurements of particular cells, connection to a specific wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, environmental events may include one or more user events. Examples of user events may include, but are not limited to, initiation or acceptance of calls, sending or receiving data, usage of a particular application, and the like. In still other examples, environmental events may include one or more location events. Example location events may include, but are not limited to arriving at a location, leaving a location, a speed of movement, an amount of time spent at a location, and the like. In additional or alternative examples, environmental events may include one or more time events. Examples of time events may include, but are not limited to, start or end of work hours, etc. Repeated sequences of environmental events may be taken as sequences with enough correlation and regularity to ensure the mobile device is following a similar path with the same use requirements. The sequences may not necessarily be identical, but may occur frequently enough and with sufficient similarity to provide confidence of the predictive mobility of the mobile device.
The ability to learn and predict the behavior of the mobile device 115 user may be used to determine when to release a resource for the mobile device 115 in connection with a handover or reselection. For example, if the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115 indicate that the mobile device 115 has previously handed over to a target base station (or cell) 105 along its travel path, and without complications, the mobile device 115 may send one or more messages to a serving base station (or cell) 105 indicating that the target base station 105 is a candidate for early resource release. The serving base station 105 may, alone or in coordination with other entities, release the resources assigned to the mobile device 115 early, e.g., prior to receiving a release command from a network controller.
In a complementary fashion, if the historical information indicates that the mobile device 115 has previously experienced difficulties during the early stages of a handover to a particular target base station 105 (e.g., as the mobile device 115 moves closer to the target base station 105), then the mobile device 115 may determine that the serving base station 105 is a candidate for a late release of resources during the handover process. Accordingly, the mobile device 115 may send one or more messages to the serving base station 105 advising the serving base station 105 that the mobile device 115 is a candidate for late resource release for this handover procedure. Similarly, the serving base 105 station may, alone or in coordination with network control entities, retain resources assigned to the mobile device 115 for a longer period of time to allow the mobile device 115 to move closer to the target base station 105. The mobile device 115 determining when to release the resources of the serving base station 105 may cause a reduction in overhead signaling requirements as well as conserving time frequency resources at the serving base station 105. In dense urban areas, for example, where large numbers of small cells and/or Wi-Fi hot spots are deployed, predicting the mobile device 115 mobility (e.g., pattern and schedule) may have an impact on the performance of both the network and the mobile device 115.
Another example of predictive behavior utilization may provide for the reduction of signaling messages exchanged between a mobile device and a base station during the handover process based on the historical information. For example, when a handover command is sent in a radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration message, various information associated with the target base station 105 may be omitted based on the historical information. Instead, the mobile device 115 may derive the omitted information based on the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115. For instance, the historical information may indicate that the mobile device 115 may handover to a particular target base station on certain days, at certain times, and for certain durations, and that target base station 105 system information parameters are known. In certain examples, the target base station 105 system information parameters may be stored as part of the historical information. Accordingly, the exchange of the known parameters may be omitted during the handover process.
Yet another example of predictive behavior utilization may provide for the omission of certain handover signaling messages exchanged between a mobile device and a base station based on historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115. For instance, the historical information may indicate that the mobile device 115 has a high probability of handover success to a particular target base station 105 under a given set of measurable conditions (e.g., at predetermined day, time, etc.). The mobile device 115 may send a measurement report to the source base station 105 (i.e., the current serving cell of the mobile device 115) indicating that the target base station 105 is, once again, a candidate for handover. The mobile device 105 may, based on the historical information, refrain from exchanging one or more messages that would ordinarily be transmitted as part of the handover process, e.g., a RRC connection reconfiguration message, RRC connection reconfiguration complete message, and the like. Instead, the serving base station 105, which may share or sync the historical information of the mobile device 115, may initiate the handover exchange and coordinate resources of the target base station 105 in preparation for the mobile device 115 to connect. The mobile device 115 may initiate a timer after the measurement report is sent and upon expiry of the timer, automatically connect to the target base station 105.
Generally, predictive mobility in wireless networks may be used to alleviate network signaling demands and/or to allocate networking resources more effectively.
FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a simplified example of device mobility in a wireless communications system 200, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. In the wireless communications system 200 of FIG. 2, a mobile device 115-a travels along a path 205 through the coverage areas 110-a, 110-b, 110-c, 110-d of a first base station 105-a, a second base station 105-b, a third base station 105-c, and a fourth base station 105-d, respectively. The mobile device 115-a may be an example of one or more of the mobile devices 115 of FIG. 1. Similarly, the base stations 105 of FIG. 2 may be examples of one or more of the base stations 105 of FIG. 1.
Each base station 105 may represent an actual or potential serving cell for the mobile device 115-a. In the present example, the mobile device 115-a may begin at position 1 with the first base station 105-a as the serving cell, then move through the coverage area 110-a of the first base station 105-a to position 2. At position 2, the mobile device 115-a may be located at the outer reaches of the coverage area 110-a of the first base station 105-a and enter an intersection of the coverage areas 110-a, 110-b, 110-c of the first, second, and third base stations 105-a, 105-b, 105-c. At position 2, the mobile device 115-a may report a signal strength measurement of the first base station 105-a, the current serving cell, to the first base station 105-a.
In conventional systems, if the mobile device 115-a is in a connected mode with the first base station 105-a, the signal strength measurement of the first base station 105-a may indicate that the mobile device 115-a is exiting the coverage area 110-a of the first base station 105-a and trigger preparations for a handover of the mobile device 115-a from the first base station 105-a to a new serving cell base station. Accordingly, the first base station 105-a may instruct the mobile device 115-a to measure the signal strengths of neighboring base stations to identify a handover candidate for the mobile device 115-a. The mobile device 115-a may identify the neighboring base stations 105-b, 105-c using a stored neighboring cell list (NCL) and/or by scanning for the neighboring base stations 105-b, 105-c. If the mobile device 115-a is in idle mode, the mobile device 115-a may measure neighboring cells to identify a reselection target based on a pre-defined threshold for the serving cell signal strength, as configured by the carrier.
The mobile device 115-a may transmit signal strength measurements to the serving base station 105-a, and the serving base station 105-a may select either the second base station 105-b or the third base station 105-c as the handover target base station for the mobile device 115-a based on the signal strength measurements. If the second base station 105-b is selected as the handover target, the mobile device 115-a might briefly handover to the second base station 105-b, and then perform an additional handover to the third base station 105-c as the mobile device 115-a moves out of the coverage area 110-b of the second base station 105-b. In certain examples, upon arriving at position 3, the mobile device 115-a may be handed over to the fourth base station 105-d (e.g., a femtocell or picocell) before returning to the third base station 105-c.
In such systems, it may be difficult for the current serving cell and the mobile device 115-a to determine the optimal time to perform a handover, and the most appropriate handover target. For example, at position 2, a more efficient transition may be for the mobile device 115-a to bypass the second base station 105-b and move directly from the first base station 105-a to the third base station 105-c. Similarly, when the mobile device 115-a is at position 3, the signal strength of the fourth base station 105-d may be stronger than that of the third base station 105-c for a short amount of time, but as the mobile device 115-a is moving along the path 205 (e.g., in a train or automobile), the mobile device 115-a may spend a small amount of time in the coverage area 110-d of the fourth base station 105-d, thereby triggering another handover in short order. In certain examples, the mobile device 115-a may exit the coverage area 110-d of the fourth base station 105-d before there is an opportunity to complete a handover to the next serving cell, which may result in a dropped call or interrupted data connectivity. Thus, it may be more efficient to refrain from handing the mobile device 115-a over to the fourth base station 105-d when it can be determined that the mobile device 115-a is traveling along the path 205.
The above described handover scenarios may provide an example of environmental events that may be recorded and tracked as historical information of mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-a. Over a period of time, the mobility pattern of the mobile device 115-a along the path 205 may be repeated a predetermined number of times to provide a high degree of confidence of which of the base stations 105 may be suitable candidates for early or late release of resources of the mobile device 115-a. The present description provides methods, systems, and devices that may be used to improve network and/or mobile device 115-a performance based on learning such example environmental events and predicting the behavior of the mobile device 115-a during handover or cell reselection. The use of predictive behavior may involve the mobile device 115-a determining when a resource can be released based on the historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-a. The historical information may indicate that a sequence of repeated historical events associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-a, in combination with the current state of the mobile device 115-a, is being repeated with a degree of confidence that suggests the candidate target base station 105 may be reliable handover base station and, therefore, the resources of the mobile device 115-a may be released early. The predicted behavior of the mobile device 115-a may be used to modify mobility parameters (e.g., the mobile device 115-a may autonomously or without direction from its serving base station and/or any other network entity determine when resources can be released and report same) to improve performance. The self-reported resource release information may then be used by the serving base station 105 to control when the resource for the mobile device 115-a may be released.
In the example of FIG. 2, for example, the mobile device 115-a may regularly travel along path 205 at regular intervals, times of day, and at consistent speeds. This behavior may be tracked and stored at the mobile device 115-a, a network server, and/or one or more of the base stations 105. Based on the historical information, the mobile device 115-a can determine when a resource for the mobile device 115-a can be released, e.g., can determine that a target base station 105 is a reliable handover candidate and the serving base station 105 resources can be released early in the handover procedure. The mobile device 115-a may transmit a message to the serving base station 105 indicating when the resource can be released and the serving base station 105 releases the resource according to the message. The mobile device 115-a may, additionally or alternatively determine to omit some or all of the messaging associated with the handover to the target base station 105 based on the historical information.
FIG. 3 show a diagram of an example of device mobility in a wireless communications system 300, according to aspects of the principles described herein. Specifically, FIG. 3 illustrates an illustrative path 205-a of a mobile device 115-b between a home location 305 and a work location 310. The path 205-a may traverse the coverage areas 110 of a number of large cells and small cells.
When behavioral information is not considered, the user may travel from the home location 305 to the work location 310 along the depicted path 205-a in a normal manner. For example, cells along the path 205-a may be assigned to paging groups based on known network management protocols and without consideration of the mobility state of the mobile device 115-b, e.g., without considering the repeated historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-b along the path 205-a and/or the home or work locations 305 and 310, respectively.
In one example of a repeated historical event, after the signal strength drops in cell 1, the mobile device 115-b may find cell 2 the strongest and the network may instruct the mobile device 115-b to hand-off to cell 2. The same process may take place with cells 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 until the user reaches the work location 310. Moreover, the mobile device 115-b may traverse clusters of femtocells or other small cells (e.g., cells 5, 6, and 10) having small cell radiuses along the path 205-a, which may result in various other handover events in which the mobile device 115-b is handed over to or from one or more cells. Each handover event may be an example of an environmental event for the mobile device 115-b that may repeated with sufficient regularity and consistency that the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-b may be predicted to within a high degree of confidence (e.g., >75%, >85%, >95%).
In addition to the handover events, the mobile device 115-b may record and store other environmental events, e.g., how long the mobile device 115-b remains at a given location, what time the mobile device arrives or departs from a location, etc. In conventional systems, the mobile device 115-b may perform a handover from a serving base station to a target base station based on the measurement reports along the path 205-a where the serving base station retains the resources assigned to the mobile device 115-b until after an end marker message exchange with a server gateway network entity. The end marker message exchange, however, is usually not completed until sometime after the mobile device 115-b has synchronized with the target base station. In the case where historical information indicates the target base station provides a reliable connection, resource retention may consume valuable time frequency resources of the serving base station. To overcome these inefficiencies, predictive behavior of the mobile device 115-b may be leveraged in a number of ways.
According to a first approach, a predictive algorithm application may reside on the mobile device 115-b. Mobile device profile information (i.e., based on collected historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device) may be stored by the mobile device 115-b for use by the predictive algorithm application. Over a certain learning period (e.g., twenty days), enough environmental event information (e.g., location, time, speed, cell measurements, etc.) may be collected by the mobile device 115-b to predict with a high degree of confidence where the mobile device 115-b will be on a certain day and time, which base station the mobile device 115-b may connect to, and the like. Alternatively, a network entity (e.g., measurement server) may collect and store the profile information of the mobile device 115-b, and the predictive algorithm application of the mobile device 115-b may communicate with the network entity to access the mobile device profile information.
The predictive algorithm application may identify with a high degree of confidence (e.g., >90%) that the mobile device 115-b is moving along a known path 205-a and that the next cell along the path 205-a to the work location 310 is cell 2. The predictive algorithm application may determine that the cell 2 has a history of reliable handover performance with the mobile device 115-b and, accordingly, is a candidate for early release of resources of the serving cell (e.g., cell 1). The mobile device 115-b may transmit a message (e.g., a measurement report message) to the serving cell having one or more information elements indicating that it can release the resources for the mobile devices 115-b early, for example, based on this historical information associated with handovers to cell 2. The mobile device 115-b may perform a handover to the target cell 2. At the serving cell, the resources assigned to the mobile device 115-b may be released based on the message freeing up resources available to other mobile devices.
As one example, the serving cell may release the resources prior to receiving an end marker message from a serving gateway. As can be appreciated, the message to the serving cell may have indicated that the resources for the mobile device 115-b may be retained longer than customary had the predictive algorithm determined that cell 2 has a history of difficult communications during the early stages of the handover procedure (e.g., as the mobile device 115-b enters the coverage area of cell 2). Accordingly, the serving cell may release the resources, for example, upon expiry of a predetermined time period after the mobile device 115-b has connected or synchronized with cell 2 (e.g., the resources may be retained after the serving gateway signals the service cell to release the resources in an end marker message). Retention of the resources may permit the mobile device 115-b to ensure reliable communications with the target cell 2 during the handover procedure.
In some aspects, the predictive algorithm application may identify certain handover parameters associated with the target cell based on the historical information. Accordingly, RRC connection reconfiguration messages may be modified based on the historical information. For instance, an abbreviated RRC connection reconfiguration message may be received in connection with the handover or cell reselection where the serving base station and/or a network entity has omitted certain parameters associated with the target cell. Alternatively, the mobile device 115-b may perform the handover or cell reselection procedure without receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message from the serving cell. As such, the handover or cell reselection procedure may be optimized based on the historical information.
In some aspects, the predictive algorithm may determine that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover, e.g., a candidate to handover to without exchanging typical handover messages. When blind handover is implemented, the mobile device 115-b may determine the parameters used for common resources (e.g., random access channel (RACH) parameters) and dedicated parameters (e.g., a connected state identity such as the cell radio temporary identifier (C-RNTI)) on the target cell. The common parameters and/or a portion of the dedicated parameters may be derived at the mobile device 115-b based on the historical information. In some aspects, the identity information (C-RNTI) may be derived based on the serving cell reserving a C-RNTI to be used with a target cell for the mobile device 115-b. In other aspects, the mobile device 115-b may include its temporary mobile subscriber identity/unique international mobile subscriber identity (TMSI/IMSI) in an initial measurement report message sent to the serving cell. The serving cell may communicate this information to the target cell so that in the absence of C-RNTI, the mobile device 115-b may connect to the target cell during a blind handover and have immediate access to the reserved dedicated resources that were negotiated between the serving and the target cells.
As such, the mobile device 115-b may send a measurement report message, for example, to the serving cell indicating that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover. From the mobile device 115-b perspective, the handover messaging may be complete at this point. The mobile device 115-b may start a timer associated with the handover and upon expiry of the timer perform the blind handover from the source cell to the target cell. The serving cell, target cell, network entities, and the like may, during the timer run period, perform necessary exchanges associated with the handover. The mobile device 115-b may automatically tune to and synchronize with the target cell utilizing the parameters identified from the historical information when the timer expires.
In the blind handover scenario, the measurement report message may also include the information indicating when the resources for the mobile device 115-b may be released by the serving cell. In some cases, the information identifying the target cell as a candidate for a blind handover may serve as the indication to the serving cell that the resources for the mobile device 115-b may be released early.
The serving cell may receive the message from the mobile device 115-b indicating when the resources for the mobile device 115-b may be released. A resource control module, for example, of the serving cell may control the resources assigned to the mobile device 115-b and release the resources according to the message received from the mobile device 115-b. In some examples, the serving cell may know, a priori, whether to release resources sooner or later during a handover process and, additionally, what information may be omitted during the message exchange associated with the handover process.
FIG. 4 shows a diagram of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system 400, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The wireless communications system 400 of the present example includes a mobile device 115-c, a first base station 105-e, and a second base station 105-f. In certain examples, the historical information of the mobile device may be stored entirely on the mobile device 115-c. The wireless communications system 400 may be an example of one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300 described above with respect to the previous figures. The mobile device 115-c may be an example of a mobile device 115 described above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-e and/or the second base station 105-f may be examples of the base stations 105 describe above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-e may be an example of a serving base station and the second base station 105-f may be an example of a target base station of the mobile device 115-c.
The mobile device 115-c may determine when a resource can be released at 405. Generally, the resource release may be determined autonomously and be based on historical information associated with a sequence of repeated historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-c. In one example, a predictive algorithm application may be executed by the mobile device 115-c to determine when the resource can be released. The predictive algorithm application of the mobile device 115-c may store and/or retrieve historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-c. As described above, the historical information may be entirely collected by, and stored on the mobile device 115-c. The resource may be released early or late, depending on the past performance of the second base station 105-f in communicating with the mobile device 115-c.
At block 410, the mobile device 115-c may transmit a message to the first base station 105-e indicating when the resource may be released. For instance, in the measurement reporting message, the mobile device 115-c may report that the signal strength of the target cell is passed a predefined threshold and, therefore, may be a candidate for handover. Additionally, the mobile device 115-c may communicate the resource release information in the measurement reporting message that includes one or more information elements indicative of when the resource may be released. The mobile device 115-c may transmit the message indicating when the resource may be released by the first base station 105-e without direction from, or control of the first base station 105-e. That is, the message may include timing information associated with when the resource may be released, e.g., a timer value which the first base station 105-e may use to start a timer. Upon expiry of the timer, the first base station 105-e may release the resource. At least at the time the mobile device 115-c transmits the message indicating when the resource may be released, the first base station 105-e might be considered the serving base station of the mobile device. At block 415, the mobile device 115-c may perform a handover procedure to the second base station 105-f. As discussed above, the first base station 105-e may be the serving base station for the mobile device 115-c (at least when the message is transmitted) and the second base station 105-f may be a target base station.
FIG. 5 shows a diagram 500 of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The diagram 500 of the present example includes a mobile device 115-d, a first base station 105-g, and a second base station 105-h. The diagram 500 may be an example of communications in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300 described above with respect to the previous figures. The mobile device 115-d may be an example of a mobile device 115 described above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-g and/or the second base station 105-h may be examples of the base stations 105 describe above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-g may be an example of a serving base station and the second base station 105-h may be an example of a target base station of the mobile device 115-d. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the mobile device 115-d may determine that the first base station 105-g may release a resource early.
The mobile device 115-d may determine when a resource can be released at 405-a. Generally, the resource release may be determined autonomously and be based on historical information associated with a sequence of repeated historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-d. In one example, a predictive algorithm application may be executed by the mobile device 115-d to determine when the resource can be released. The predictive algorithm application of the mobile device 115-d may store and/or retrieve historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-d. As described above, the historical information may be entirely collected by, and stored on the mobile device 115-d. In the example of FIG. 5, the mobile device 115-d may determine that the resource may be released early. For example, if the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-d indicate that the mobile device has previously handed over to the second base station 105-h, and without complications, the mobile device 115-d may determine that it is a candidate for early release. The first base station 105-g may, alone or in coordination with other entities, release the resources assigned to the mobile device 115-d early, e.g., without waiting on a release command from a network controller.
In some aspects, one example for early resource release may include sending the path switch request immediately after the RRC connection reconfiguration complete message is sent to the mobile device 115-d, but before the data transmission starts with the second base station 105-h. This would allow the resources to be released earlier and assigned to other mobile devices on the first base station 105-g. The historical information would be used to select which situation warrants this early release of resources. The conditions for triggering the early release of resources may be based on historical information such as strong reference signal received power/reference signal received quality (RSRP/RSRQ) values between the mobile device 115-d and target base station, history of successful handovers of the mobile device 115-d applications and requested quality of service (QoS). In some examples to determine candidate handover scenarios for early release of resources, the target base station or the serving base station may have and/or share the historical information. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 115-d may have the historical information and notify the serving base station that this handover is a candidate for early release of resources.
At block 410-a, the mobile device 115-d may transmit a message to the first base station 105-g indicating that the resource may be released early. The mobile device 115-d may communicate the resource release information in a measurement reporting message that include one or more information elements indicative of when the resource may be released. The mobile device 115-d may transmit the message indicating when the resource may be released by the first base station 105-g without direction from, or control of the first base station 105-g. At block 510, the first base station 105-g may release the resource. The resource may be an assignment of an uplink resource, for example, the first base station 105-g may release the resource prior to the first base station 105-g receiving an end marker message from a network entity. At block 515, the mobile device 115-d may perform a handover procedure to the second base station 105-h. As discussed above, the first base station 105-g may be the serving base station for the mobile device 115-d (at least when the message is transmitted) and the second base station 105-h may be a target base station.
FIG. 6 shows a diagram 600 of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The diagram 600 of the present example includes a mobile device 115-e, a first base station 105-i, and a second base station 105-j. The diagram 600 may be an example of communications in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300 described above with respect to the previous figures. The mobile device 115-e may be an example of a mobile device 115 described above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-i and/or the second base station 105-j may be examples of the base stations 105 describe above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-i may be an example of a serving base station and the second base station 105-j may be an example of a target base station of the mobile device 115-e. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the mobile device 115-e may determine that the first base station 105-i may release a resource late.
The mobile device 115-e may determine when a resource can be released at 405-b. Generally, the resource release may be determined autonomously by the mobile device 115-e and be based on historical information associated with a sequence of repeated historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-e. In one example, a predictive algorithm application may be executed by the mobile device 115-e to determine when the resource can be released. The predictive algorithm application of the mobile device 115-e may store and/or retrieve historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-e. As described above, the historical information may be entirely collected by, and stored on the mobile device 115-e. In the example of FIG. 6, the mobile device 115-e may determine that a late release of the resource may be appropriate for the current handover. For example, if the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-d indicate that the mobile device has previously handed over to the second base station 105-h, but with complications, the mobile device 115-e may determine that it is a candidate for late release. The first base station 105-i may, alone or in coordination with other entities, release the resources assigned to the mobile device 115-e late, e.g., after a period of time subsequent to the mobile device 115-e connecting to or synching with the second base station 105-j. In some examples, the mobile device 115-e and the first base station 105-I (and other network entities) may know, e.g., through message exchange(s) and/or a priori, the period of time to release the resources subsequent to the mobile device 115-e connecting to or synchronizing with the second base station 105-j.
In some aspects, one example for late resource release may include releasing the resource a predetermined time period after the mobile device 115-e has performed a synchronization with the second base station 105-h. This may retain resources assigned to the mobile device 115-e for a longer period of time to allow the mobile device 115-e to move closer to the second base station 105-j. The historical information would be used to select which situation warrants this late release of resources. The conditions for triggering the late release of resources may be based on historical information such as if the mobile device 115-e has a history of radio link failure on the second base station 105-j after old resources had been released. The first base station 105-I may hold on to resources for a longer period than is customary in convention handover procedures. In that case, the first base station 105-i may have knowledge of this historical information or a resource holding duration derived from historical information may be derived and transmitted from mobile device 115-e.
At block 605, the mobile device 115-e may transmit a message to the first base station 105-i indicating that the resource may be released late. The mobile device 115-e may communicate the resource release information in a measurement reporting message that include one or more information elements indicative of when the resource may be released. The mobile device 115-e may transmit the message indicating when the resource may be released by the first base station 105-i without direction from, or control of the first base station 105-i. At block 610, the mobile device 115-e may perform a handover procedure to the second base station 105-j. As discussed above, the first base station 105-i may be the serving base station for the mobile device 115-e (at least when the message is transmitted) and the second base station 105-j may be a target base station. At block 615, the first base station 105-i may release the resource. The resource may be an assignment of an uplink resource, for example, the first base station 105-i may release the resource a time period after the mobile device 115-e has successfully synchronized with the second base station 105-j, i.e., the first base station 105-i may retain the resource a period of time after receiving the end marker message from a network entity.
FIG. 7 shows a diagram 700 of an example of communications between devices in a wireless communications system, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The diagram 700 of the present example includes a mobile device 115-f, a first base station 105-k, and a second base station 105-l. The diagram 700 may be an example of communications in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300 described above with respect to the previous figures. The mobile device 115-f may be an example of a mobile device 115 described above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-k and/or the second base station 105-l may be examples of the base stations 105 describe above with respect to the previous figures. The first base station 105-k may be an example of a serving base station and the second base station 105-l may be an example of a target base station of the mobile device 115-f. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the mobile device 115-f may determine that the second base station 105-l is a candidate for a blind handover.
The mobile device 115-f may determine whether the second base station 105-l is a candidate for a blind handover at 705. Generally, the blind handover candidate may be determined autonomously by the mobile device 115-f and be based on historical information associated with a sequence of repeated historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-f. In one example, a predictive algorithm application may be executed by the mobile device 115-f to determine when the resource can be released. The predictive algorithm application of the mobile device 115-f may store and/or retrieve historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-f. As described above, the historical information may be entirely collected by, and stored on the mobile device 115-f. In the example of FIG. 7, the mobile device 115-f may determine that the second base station 105-l is a candidate for a blind handover. For example, the historical information may indicate that the mobile device 115-f is handed over to the second base station 105-l with success at a predetermined day, time, etc. For example, the mobile device 115-f may compare the historical information with one or more received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements to determine its location and identify the second base station 105-l as a handover candidate. At block 710, the mobile device 115-f may send a measurement report indicating that the second base station 105-l is, once again, a candidate for handover and, based on the historical information a candidate for a blind handover. The mobile device 115-f may, based on the historical information, omit a RRC connection reconfiguration complete message completely for the blind handover process. Instead, the first base station 105-k, which may share or sync the historical information of the mobile device 115-f, may initiate the handover exchange and coordinate resources of the second base station 105-l in preparation for the mobile device 115-f to connect. As can be seen, the first base station 105-k may omit sending the RRC connection reconfiguration message during the blind handover. At block 715, the mobile device 115-f may initiate a timer after the measurement report is sent and upon expiry of the timer, automatically connect to the second base station 105-l as the blind handover. In some aspects, the timer value may be configured to provide the first base station 105-k sufficient time to coordinate the allocation of appropriate resources for the mobile device 115-f with the second base station 105-l. In some examples, the mobile device 115-f may send information associated with the timer value to the first base station 105-k, e.g., in a measurement reporting message. Generally, the mobile device 115-f and the first base station 105-k may know and agree, either through message exchange(s) and/or a priori, the predetermined time period to wait before the mobile device 115-f attempts to the second base station 105-l.
At block 725, the first base station 105-k may release a resource for the mobile device 115-f. The resource may be an assignment of an uplink resource, for example, the first base station 105-k may release the resource based on the message indicating that the second base station 105-l is a candidate for a blind handover. For instance, the first base station 105-k may release the resource early.
FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of one example of a mobile device 115-g, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The mobile device 115-g may be an example of one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
The mobile device 115-g may include a processor 810, a memory 815, a historical information module 820, a resource release module 825, a user equipment (UE) handover module 830, and a transceiver 835. Each of these components may be in communication, directly or indirectly.
The processor 810 may be configured to execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 815 to implement one or more aspects of the historical information module 820, the resource release module 825, the UE handover module 830, and/or the transceiver 835. The processor 810 may also execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 815 to implement other applications 817.
The historical information module 820 may be configured to implement aspects of the functionality of one or more of the predictive algorithm applications described above with respect to the previous figures. In certain examples, the historical information module 820 may identify and store (e.g. in historical information 819 of memory 815) historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-g. The historical information may further be identified based on a current location or state of the mobile device 115-g in relation to the historical information 819.
In certain examples, a serving cell of the mobile device 115-g (e.g., a cell associated with one or more of the base stations 105 described in other figures) and/or other network entity may identify and store the historical information. In this case, the historical information module 820 may determine this information based on signaling from the serving cell and/or other network entity. The mobile device 115-g may communicate with the serving cell using the transceiver 835 to retrieve the historical information. In certain examples, the historical information module 820 may communicate with a server (e.g., over transceiver 835) to receive the historical information. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 115-g may collect and store the historical information 819 locally in the memory 815 of the mobile device 115-g, as shown in FIG. 8.
The historical information may include information about the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-g. The mobility patterns may include, for example, a route and a schedule of the mobile device 115-g between a first location and a second location. Additionally or alternatively, the mobility patterns may include a location and a period of time during which the mobile device 115-g remains at the location. Thus, in certain examples, the historical information may include a serving cell history of the mobile device 115-g over a predetermined period of time, as observed and stored by the server, the serving cell, and/or the mobile device 115-g. The mobile device 115-g may augment the historical information with global positioning system (GPS) data (e.g., when plugged into a power source) and/or the identity of the serving cell and/or target cell to determine its current location. In some cases, the historical information may defining predictable behavior may refer to data taken over a long enough time to show at least two instances of a repeated sequence of a mobile device environmental event. Example environmental events may include one or more radio frequency (RF) events, one or more user events, one or more location events, and/or one or more time events. Repeated sequences of environmental events may be taken as sequences with enough commonality and regularity to ensure the mobile device is following a similar path with the same use requirements. The sequences may not necessarily be identical, but may occur frequently enough and with sufficient similarity to provide confidence of the predictive mobility of the mobile device.
The resource release module 825 may be configured to determine when a resource for the mobile device 115-g may be released based on the historical information. For example, the resource release module 825 may compare the current status of the mobile device 115-g with previously recorded sequences of events to determine that the mobile device 115-g has previously handed over to the target cell, and without complications. Accordingly, the resource release module 825 may determine that this target cell is a candidate for early release or resources based on the past successful performance. In a complimentary fashion, the resource release module 825 may determine that the target cell is a candidate for late resource release if the historical information indicates troubled past performance, e.g., difficulties connecting to the target cell during the early stages of the handover as the mobile device 115-g approaches. The resource release module 825 may, in conjunction with the transceiver 835, transmit a signal to communicate the resource release determination to a serving base station, e.g., send one or more measurement reports indicating when the resource may be released.
The UE handover module 830 may be configured to monitor and/or control aspects of a handover procedure for the mobile device 115-g. For example, the UE handover module 830 may monitor channel measurements to determine when a handover may be necessary and, when appropriate, create a measurement report message indicating that the handover is imminent. Further, the UE handover module 830 may control or coordinate one or more messages exchanged during the handover or cell reselection procedure. The UE handover module 830 may, alone or in cooperation with the processor 810, the resource release module 825, and/or the transceiver 835, communicate the one or more messages exchanged during the handover or cell reselection procedure with a serving cell and/or a target cell.
In some examples, the UE handover module 830 may also be configured to reduce the messaging exchanged during the handover or cell reselection procedure. For example, when a handover command is sent in a RRC connection reconfiguration message, various information associated with the target cell may be omitted based on the historical information. The UE handover module 830 may be configured to derive the omitted information based on the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device. For instance, the historical information may indicate that the mobile device may handover to a particular target cell on certain days, at certain times, and for certain durations, and that target cell system information parameters are known. Accordingly, the exchange of the known parameters may be omitted by the UE handover module 830 during the handover process.
FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of one example of a base station 105-m, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The base station 105-m may be an example of one or more of the base stations 105 described above with reference to the previous figures. The base station 105-m may be associated with a serving cell of one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
The base station 105-m of FIG. 9 may include a processor 910, a memory 915, a cell handover module 920, a resource control module 925, a transceiver module 935, and a backhaul/core network interface 940. Each of these components may be in communication, directly or indirectly.
The processor 910 may be configured to execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 915 to implement one or more aspects of the cell handover module 920, the resource control module 925, the transceiver module 935, and/or the backhaul/core network interface 940. The processor 910 may also execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 915 to implement other applications 917.
The cell handover module 920 may be configured to control and/or coordinate aspects of a handover or cell reselection procedure for a mobile device, e.g., the mobile devices 115 discussed above with the previous figures. The cell handover module 920 may receive a message from the mobile device and determine, based on the message, that a handover of the mobile device to a target cell is imminent and when the release a resource for the mobile device. The message may indicate that the target cell is a candidate for an early release of resources or a late release of resources. The resource may be a time frequency resource assigned to the mobile device. The cell handover module 920 may communicate with the transceiver module 935, for example, to receive and/or transmit one or messages during the handover procedure.
The resource control module 925 may be configured to control when a resource for the mobile device is released. The resource control module 925 may communicate with the cell handover module 920 to determine when the resource may be released, e.g., based on the message received from the mobile device. In some cases, the resource may be released early (e.g., before the base station 105-m receives an end marker message from a network entity) or late (e.g., a predetermined time period after the mobile device has synchronized with the target cell). The resource may be an uplink grant of resources assigned to the mobile device for uplink communications.
FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of one example of a mobile device 115-h, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The mobile device 115-h may be an example of one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
The mobile device 115-h may include a processor 810-a, a memory 815-a, a historical information module 820-a, a resource release module 825-a, a user equipment (UE) handover module 830-a, a blind handover module 1005, and a transceiver 835-a. Each of these components may be in communication, directly or indirectly.
The processor 810-a may be configured to execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 815-a to implement one or more aspects of the historical information module 820-a, the resource release module 825-a, the UE handover module 830-a, the blind handover module 1005, and/or the transceiver 835-a. The processor 810-a may also execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 815-a to implement other applications 817-a.
The historical information module 820-a may be configured to implement aspects of the functionality of one or more of the predictive algorithm applications described above with respect to the previous figures. In certain examples, the historical information module 820-a may identify and store (e.g. in historical information 819-a of memory 815-a) historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-h. The historical information may further be identified based on a current location or state of the mobile device 115-h in relation to the historical information 819-a.
In certain examples, a serving cell of the mobile device 115-h (e.g., a cell associated with one or more of the base stations 105 described in other figures) and/or other network entity may identify and store the historical information. In this case, the historical information module 820-a may determine this information based on signaling from the serving cell and/or other network entity. The mobile device 115-h may communicate with the serving cell using the transceiver 835-a to retrieve the historical information. In certain examples, the historical information module 820-a may communicate with a server (e.g., over transceiver 835-a) to receive the historical information. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 115-h may collect and store the historical information 819-a locally in the memory 815-a of the mobile device 115-h, as shown in FIG. 10.
The historical information may include information about the mobility patterns of the mobile device 115-h. The mobility patterns may include, for example, a route and a schedule of the mobile device 115-h between a first location and a second location. Additionally or alternatively, the mobility patterns may include a location and a period of time during which the mobile device 115-h remains at the location. Thus, in certain examples, the historical information may include a serving cell history of the mobile device 115-h over a predetermined period of time, as observed and stored by the server, the serving cell, and/or the mobile device 115-h. In some cases, the historical information may defining predictable behavior may refer to data taken over a long enough time to show at least two instances of a repeated sequence of a mobile device environmental event. Example environmental events may include one or more radio frequency (RF) events, one or more user events, one or more location events, and/or one or more time events. Repeated sequences of environmental events may be taken as sequences with enough commonality and regularity to ensure the mobile device is following a similar path with the same use requirements. The sequences may not necessarily be identical, but may occur frequently enough and with sufficient similarity to provide confidence of the predictive mobility of the mobile device.
The resource release module 825-a may be configured to determine when a resource for the mobile device 115-h may be released based on the historical information. For example, the resource release module 825-a may compare the current status of the mobile device 115-h with previously recorded sequences of events to determine that the mobile device 115-h has previously handed over to the target cell, and without complications. Accordingly, the resource release module 825-a may determine that this target cell is a candidate for early release or resources based on the past successful performance. In a complimentary fashion, the resource release module 825-a may determine that the target cell is a candidate for late resource release if the historical information indicates troubled past performance, e.g., difficulties connecting to the target cell during the early stages of the handover as the mobile device 115-h approaches. In some cases, the resource release module 825-a may determine that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover procedure. The resource release module 825-a may, in conjunction with the transceiver 835, transmit a signal to communicate the resource release determination to a serving base station, e.g., send one or more measurement reports indicating when the resource may be released and/or that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover procedure.
The UE handover module 830-a may be configured to monitor and/or control aspects of a handover procedure for the mobile device 115-h. For example, the UE handover module 830-a may monitor channel measurements to determine when a handover may be necessary and, when appropriate, create a measurement report message indicating that the handover is imminent. Further, the UE handover module 830-a may control or coordinate one or more messages exchanged during the handover or cell reselection procedure. The UE handover module 830-a may, alone or in cooperation with the processor 810-a, the resource release module 825-a, and/or the transceiver 835-a, communicate the one or more messages exchanged during the handover or cell reselection procedure with a serving cell and/or a target cell.
In some examples, the UE handover module 830-a may also be configured to reduce the messaging exchanged during the handover or cell reselection procedure. For example, when a handover command is sent in a RRC connection reconfiguration message, various information associated with the target cell may be omitted based on the historical information. The UE handover module 830-a may be configured to derive the omitted information based on the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device. For instance, the historical information may indicate that the mobile device may handover to a particular target cell on certain days, at certain times, and for certain durations, and that target cell system information parameters are known. Accordingly, the exchange of the known parameters may be omitted by the UE handover module 830-a during the handover process.
In some examples, the blind handover module 1005 may be configured to control aspects of a blind handover or cell reselection procedure. For example, the blind handover module 1005 may communicate with the resource release module to determine when a blind handover may be supported, e.g., based on the historical information indicating that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover. The blind handover module 1005 may communicate with the transceiver 835-a to send a measurement report to the serving base station with one or more information elements indicating that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover. The blind handover module 1005 may then start a timer that is to run for a predetermined period. Generally, the serving cell, target cell, network entities, and the like know that, based on the message indicating a blind handover, they are to coordinate the handover to the target cell without further input or messaging from the mobile device 115-h. Accordingly, upon expiry of the timer, the mobile device 115-h may automatically tune to the target cell and begin communications.
FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of one example of a base station 105-n, according to one aspect of the principles described herein. The base station 105-n may be an example of one or more of the base stations 105 described above with reference to the previous figures. The base station 105-n may be associated with a serving cell of one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
The base station 105-n of FIG. 11 may include a processor 910-a, a memory 915-a, a cell handover module 920-a, a resource control module 925-a, a blind handover control module 1105, a transceiver module 935-a, and a backhaul/core network interface 940-a. Each of these components may be in communication, directly or indirectly.
The processor 910-a may be configured to execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 915-a to implement one or more aspects of the cell handover module 920-a, the resource control module 925-a, the blind handover control module 1105, the transceiver module 935-a, and/or the backhaul/core network interface 940-a. The processor 910-a may also execute computer-readable program code stored by the memory 915-a to implement other applications 917-a.
The cell handover module 920-a may be configured to control and/or coordinate aspects of a handover or cell reselection procedure for a mobile device, e.g., the mobile devices 115 discussed above with the previous figures. The cell handover module 920-a may receive a message from the mobile device and determine, based on the message, that a handover of the mobile device to a target cell is imminent and when the release a resource for the mobile device. The message may indicate that the target cell is a candidate for an early release of resources or a late release of resources. The resource may be a time frequency resource assigned to the mobile device. The cell handover module 920-a may communicate with the transceiver module 935-a, for example, to receive and/or transmit one or messages during the handover procedure.
The resource control module 925-a may be configured to control when a resource for the mobile device is released. The resource control module 925-a may communicate with the cell handover module 920-a to determine when the resource may be released, e.g., based on the message received from the mobile device. In some cases, the resource may be released early (e.g., before the base station 105-n receives an end marker message from a network entity) or late (e.g., a predetermined time period after the mobile device has synchronized with the target cell). The resource may be an uplink grant of resources assigned to the mobile device for uplink communications.
The blind handover control module 1105 may be configured to control and/or coordinate aspects of a blind handover of the mobile device. The blind handover control module 1105 may communicate with the cell handover module 920-a to determine that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover. Based on receiving the indication that a blind handover is occurring, the blind handover control module 1105 may communicate with the transceiver module 935-a and/or the backhaul/core network interface 940-a to initiate the handover exchange and coordinate resources of the target cell in preparation for the mobile device to connect. The mobile device may automatically connect to the target cell after a predetermined time.
FIG. 12 shows a flowchart diagram of a method 1200 for managing wireless communications, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12 illustrates a method 1200 of improving network and/or mobile device utilization and performance based on learning and predicting the behavior of a mobile device. The method 1200 may be implemented in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 described above with respect to the previous figures. In particular, the method 1200 may be performed by one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
At block 1205, a mobile device may autonomously determine when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device. The mobile device may determine that the target cell for the handover procedure may be a candidate for an early release or a late release of resources. At block 1210, the mobile device may transmit a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell. The message may be a measurement report message, for example. At block 1215, the mobile device may perform the handover of the mobile device to a target cell. The resource of the serving cell may be released during the handover procedure based on the transmitted message.
FIG. 13 shows a flowchart diagram of a method 1300 for managing wireless communications, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 13 illustrates a method 1300 of improving network and/or mobile device utilization and performance based on learning and predicting the behavior of a mobile device. The method 1300 may be implemented in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 described above with respect to the previous figures. In particular, the method 1300 may be performed by one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
At block 1305, a mobile device may autonomously determine when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device. The historical information may indicate that the target cell has a past performance of reliable or unreliable communications with the mobile device. At block 1310, the mobile device determines if the target cell is a candidate for an early release of resources. For example, the historical information associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device may indicate that the mobile device has previously handed over to the target base station, and without complications and, accordingly, the target cell is a candidate for an early release of resources. If the target cell is a candidate for early release, at block 1315 the mobile device may transmit a message to the serving cell indicating that the target cell is a candidate for early release of resources. For example, the message may indicate that the serving cell may release the resource prior to receiving an end marker message from a network entity during the handover procedure. The message may be a measurements report having one or more information elements conveying the indication.
If the target cell is not a candidate for early release, at block 1320 the mobile device determines if the target cell is a candidate for late release of resources. For example, if the historical information indicates that the mobile device has experienced difficulties during the early handover stages (e.g., as the mobile device moves closer to the target cell), then the mobile device may determine that the target cell is a candidate for a late release of resources during the handover process. If the target cell is a candidate for late release of resources, at block 1325 the mobile device transmits a message to the serving cell indicating that the target cell is a candidate for late release of resources. The message may be a measurement report message and include one or more information fields conveying the indication.
If the target cell is not a candidate for late resource release, at block 1330 the mobile device may transmit a message to the serving cell indicating that the target cell is a candidate for handover. That is, the message may not include an indication of when the resource may be released and, accordingly, the serving cell may release the resource in accordance with current handover procedures. At block 1335, the mobile device may perform a handover procedure to the target cell.
FIG. 14 shows a flowchart diagram of a method 1400 for managing wireless communications, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 14 illustrates a method 1400 of improving network and/or mobile device utilization and performance based on learning and predicting the behavior of a mobile device. The method 1400 may be implemented in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 described above with respect to the previous figures. In particular, the method 1400 may be performed by one or more of the mobile devices 115 described above with reference to the previous figures.
At block 1405, a mobile device may send a measurement report message indicating that, based on the historical information, the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover. In some examples, the mobile device may also include a timer value information in the measurement report message, as described above. At block 1410, the mobile device may start a timer associated with the blind handover and, at block 1415, perform the blind handover from the source cell to the target cell upon expiry of the timer. Accordingly, the mobile device may, based on the confidence level associated with the historical information, omit the typical messaging associated with the handover procedure and, instead, automatically tune to and synchronize with the target cell. The serving cell, target cell, network entity, etc., may schedule and coordinate resources on the target cell while the timer is running.
FIG. 15 shows a flowchart diagram of a method 1500 for managing wireless communications, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 15 illustrates a method 1500 of improving network and/or mobile device utilization and performance based on learning and predicting the behavior of a mobile device. The method 1500 may be implemented in one or more of the wireless communications systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 described above with respect to the previous figures. In particular, the method 1500 may be performed by one or more of the serving base stations 105 described above with reference to the previous figures.
At block 1505, a serving base station receives a message from a mobile device, the message indicating when a resource for the mobile device may be released during a handover procedure. The message may indicate when the resource may be released based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device. The message may indicate that the resource may be released early or late, depending upon the past communications performance of the target cell. At block 1510, the resource for the mobile device may be released based on the received message. For example, the message may indicate that the resource may be released early, i.e., before the serving cell received an end marker message from a network entity directing it to release the resource. In another example, the message may indicate that the resource may be released late, i.e., a predetermined time period after the mobile device has synchronized with the target cell.
In some aspects, the indication in the message may also convey that certain parameters associated with the target cell may be omitted from handover message exchanges. For instance, the indication may signal to the serving cell to omit certain parameters from a RRC connection reconfiguration message exchanged during the handover procedure. The indication in the message may also convey that the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover. For the blind handover, the serving cell may know that no further messages associated with the handover procedure are expected from the mobile device, e.g., the mobile device may perform the handover procedure without receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message from the serving cell. Accordingly, the serving cell may communicate with the target cell and/or network entities to implement the handover to the target cell and arrange resources for the mobile device on the target cell.
The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appended drawings describes exemplary examples and does not represent the only examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” used throughout this description means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.
Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).
Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-Ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.
The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Throughout this disclosure the term “example” or “exemplary” indicates an example or instance and does not imply or require any preference for the noted example. Thus, the disclosure is not to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for managing wireless communications, comprising:

determining, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device;

transmitting a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and

performing the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message signals an early release of the resource based on the historical information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the early release of the resource comprises releasing the resource before the serving cell receives an end marker message from a network entity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message signals a late release of the resource based on the historical information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the late release of the resource comprises releasing the resource a predetermined time period after the mobile device has performed a synchronization with the target cell.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises a measurement report message.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying an exchange of radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration messages based on the historical information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein modifying the exchange of RRC connection reconfiguration messages comprises:

receiving an abbreviated RRC connection reconfiguration message in connection with the handover.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

performing the handover without receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message from the serving cell.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

sending a measurement report message comprising a timer value associated with the handover procedure.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a measurement report message indicating that, based on the historical information, the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover;

starting, by the mobile device, a timer associated with the blind handover; and

performing the blind handover from the serving cell to the target cell following an expiration of the timer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the historical information comprises information indicative of a sequence of historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the sequence of historical events comprises one or more of: a channel environment event, a user event, a location event, or a time event.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the sequence of historical events comprises at least two previous instances of a same historical event within a predetermined time period.

15. An apparatus for managing wireless communications, comprising:

a processor; and

memory in electronic communication with the processor, the memory embodying instructions, the instructions being executable by the processor to:

determine, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device;

transmit a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and

perform the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the message signals an early release of the resource based on the historical information.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the early release of the resource comprises releasing the resource before the serving cell receives an end marker message from a network entity.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the message signals a late release of the resource based on the historical information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the late release of the resource comprises releasing the resource a predetermined time period after the mobile device has performed a synchronization with the target cell.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the message comprises a measurement report message.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:

modify an exchange of radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration messages based on the historical information.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions to modify the exchange of RRC connection reconfiguration messages further comprises instructions executable by the processor to:

receive an abbreviated RRC connection reconfiguration message in connection with the handover.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to:

perform the handover without receiving an RRC connection reconfiguration message from the serving cell.

24. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to:

send a measurement report message indicating that, based on the historical information, the target cell is a candidate for a blind handover;

start, by the mobile device, a timer associated with the blind handover; and

perform the blind handover from the serving cell to the target cell following an expiration of the timer.

25. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the historical information comprises information indicative of a sequence of historical events associated with the mobility patterns of the mobile device.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the sequence of historical events comprises one or more of: a channel environment event, a user event, a location event, or a time event.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the sequence of historical events comprises at least two previous instances of a same historical event within a predetermined time period.

28. An apparatus for managing wireless communications, comprising:

means for determining, by a mobile device, when a resource for the mobile device can be released by a serving cell during a handover or cell reselection procedure, wherein the determination is based on historical information associated with mobility patterns of the mobile device;

means for transmitting a message to the serving cell, the message indicating when the resource for the mobile device can be released by the serving cell; and

means for performing the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the message signals an early release of the resource based on the historical information.

30. A computer program product for managing wireless communications, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

perform the handover or cell reselection of the mobile device to a target cell.