Patent ID: 9220040
Filing Date: 2015-12-22
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of identifying a handover target femtocell base station from among multiple femtocell base stations, the method comprising: measuring a characteristic of the handover target femtocell base station to provide a first measured value of the characteristic; then identifying as handover candidate femtocell base stations a first set of femtocell base stations all having that first characteristic value; then changing the characteristic of selected femtocell base stations in the first set; then measuring the characteristic of the handover target femtocell base station to provide a further measured value of the characteristic; then identifying, as a reduced set of handover candidate femtocell base stations, each femtocell base station in the first set having the further measured value of the characteristic; then checking whether the number of femtocell base stations in the reduced set of handover candidate femtocell base stations is one, and upon determining that the number of femtocell base stations in the reduced set is greater than one, taking the reduced set as the first set in repeating the changing, measuring, identifying each femtocell base station and checking.