US 12,445,891 B2
Methods, systems and baseband units for improved usage of shared fronthaul connections
Eduardo Lins De Medeiros, Bromma (SE); Andre Mendes Cavalcante, Indaiatuba SP (BR); and Igor Almeida, Indaiatuba SP (BR)
Assigned to Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Publ), Stockholm (SE)
Appl. No. 17/779,617
Filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Stockholm (SE)
PCT Filed Dec. 6, 2019, PCT No. PCT/SE2019/051239
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 25, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/112730, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 10, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0022964 A1, Jan. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. H04W 28/02 (2009.01); H04W 28/16 (2009.01)
CPC H04W 28/0231 (2013.01) [H04W 28/16 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method performed by a system related to a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of base station systems, each base station system comprising a baseband unit, BBU and a radio unit, RU interconnected via a fronthaul connection, the RUs being arranged to transmit wireless signals to, and receive from, wireless communication devices, the method comprising:
obtaining fronthaul capacity information on transmission capacity of a part of the fronthaul connection that is shared by a first base station system and a second base station system of the plurality of base station systems;
obtaining information on required capacity for at least one of transmission and reception of wireless signals by the RU of the first base station system and by the RU of the second base station system at least one of towards and from the wireless communication devices;
determining time unit transmission restrictions for the first base station system and for the second base station system based on the obtained fronthaul capacity information and on the obtained information on required capacity, which time unit transmission restrictions results in fronthaul usage below the transmission capacity of the part of the fronthaul connection, the determined time unit transmission restrictions comprising a first mask defining at which time units no data is to be sent between the BBU of the first base station system and its RU and a second mask defining at which time units no data is to be sent between the BBU of the second base station system and its RU, and the information sent to the BBU of the first base station system being the first mask and the information sent to the BBU of the second base station system being the second mask; and
sending information on the determined time unit transmission restrictions for the first base station system to the BBU of the first base station system and information on the determined time unit transmission restrictions for the second base station system to the BBU of the second base station system.