Patent ID: 9374748
Filing Date: 2016-06-21
CPC Classification: H04W

Claim Text:
1. A method of controlling interference in a heterogeneous network environment, the method comprising: receiving, by a small cell base station during a measurement period, cell range expansion (CRE) flag values from a plurality of terminals located in a coverage area of a macro cell base station, the CRE flag value for a terminal being set by the terminal based on a signal strength of the macro cell base station measured by the terminal, a signal strength of the small cell base station measured by the terminal, and data having a CRE value that is received by the terminal from the small cell base station generating counting data by respectively counting terminals located in a CRE area and terminals located in a coverage area of the small cell base station, based on the received CRE flag values; and transmitting the counting data to the macro cell base station, wherein the small cell base station receives a first CRE flag if the measured signal strength of the small cell base station is greater than the measured signal strength of the macro cell base station, and receives a second CRE flag if the measured signal strength of the small cell base station is equal to or less than the measured signal strength of the macro cell base station and if the measured signal strength of the small cell base station having the CRE value applied thereto is greater than the measured signal strength of the macro cell base station.