Patent ID: 9548850
Date: 2017-01-17
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: determining, by a network device, a capability of a user equipment to support carrier aggregation of a plurality of component carriers, wherein determining the capability comprises determining a maximum number of component carriers of the plurality of component carriers the user equipment can support in the carrier aggregation; based on the determined capability of the user equipment to support the carrier aggregation, determining, by the network device, loading of each component carrier of the plurality of component carriers, wherein determining the loading comprises determining a number of user equipment assigned to the each component carrier of the plurality of component carriers, and determining a loading limit for the each component carrier, wherein the loading limit is based on a maximum number of the user equipment that can be supported by the each component carrier of the plurality of component carriers; based on the determined loading and the determined loading limit, determining which one or more component carriers of the plurality of component carriers has a lowest loading; and assigning, by the network device, the user equipment to the one or more component carriers of the plurality of component carriers that has the lowest loading based on determining the capability, determining the loading, and determining the loading limit.