1. Field
Example embodiments relate generally to small cells within macro cells and in particular to an apparatus and/or method for determining configuration parameters for the small cells.
2. Related Art
Heterogeneous wireless networks include macro base stations (BSs) and small (e.g. pico or femto) BSs. Macro BSs provide wireless coverage for user equipment (UEs) within macro cells which may cover large geographical areas, while small BSs may provide wireless coverage for UEs located in smaller geographical areas within the coverage are of a macro BS.
Small cells may affect the quality of service experienced by users of a heterogeneous wireless network by providing supplemental support for UEs within portions of the geographical area covered by both the macro cell and the small cell.
The 3GPP Release-10 standards have defined the parameters needed to configure LTE small cells. The small cell specific settings are statically configured and downloaded through the operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) node, and the macro enhanced node-B (eNB). These settings include the patterns for an almost blank subframe (ABS). The small cell may configure settings including a cell border window (CBW) and a bias value.