Patent Description:
Known is a flight vehicle that includes an antenna and flies in a stratosphere, so as to provide a stratosphere platform (for example, see <CIT>). Further, <CIT> describes a wireless device and operating a wireless terminal connected to a serving network node associated to a serving cell of a radio access network, RAN, the method comprising: receiving system information from a neighbor cell of the serving cell, determining from the system information if the neighbor cell does or does not broadcast a global cell identifier, CGI, of the neighbor cell; and if the neighbor cell does not broadcast the CGI, transmitting a global cell identifier, CGI, report to the serving network node, wherein the CGI report includes an indication that the neighbor cell does not broadcast the CGI of the neighbor cell. Furthermore, a corresponding network node and a method performed in the network node are described.

The invention may also include a sub-combination of the features described above.

When the number of neighboring cells adjacent to a cell generated by a base station device is large, there is a possibility that a neighbor relation table (may be referred to as an NRT) used for handover (may be referred to as HO) is depleted. In particular, when the base station device is mounted on a high altitude platform station (HAPS) which covers a vast range with one cell, the possibility that the NRT is depleted is further increased. In addition, when the base station device provides services to a plurality of business operators, the possibility that the NRT is depleted is further increased. When the NRT is depleted, handover to a cell having no neighboring cell information may not be possible. A base station device <NUM> according to the present embodiment provides a mechanism for reducing the possibility of depletion of the NRT.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the present invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to claims. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the embodiment are essential to the solution of the invention.

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of a HAPS <NUM>. The HAPS <NUM> may be an example of a flight vehicle. The HAPS <NUM> may function as a stratosphere platform. For example, the HAPS <NUM> forms a feeder link <NUM> with a gateway <NUM> on the ground while flying in a stratosphere, and forms a cell <NUM> by irradiating the ground with a beam <NUM>.

The HAPS <NUM> includes a main body portion <NUM>, a wing portion <NUM>, and a solar cell panel <NUM>. The power generated by the solar cell panel <NUM> is accumulated in one or more batteries arranged in at least any one of the main body portion <NUM> or the wing portion <NUM>. The power accumulated in the battery is used by each configuration included in the HAPS <NUM>.

A flight control device <NUM> and a base station device <NUM> are arranged in the main body portion <NUM>. The flight control device <NUM> controls the flight of the HAPS <NUM>. The base station device <NUM> controls the communication of the HAPS <NUM>.

The flight control device <NUM> controls the flight of the HAPS <NUM>, for example, by controlling the rotation of a propeller, the angle of a flap or an elevator, or the like. The flight control device <NUM> may manage various sensors included in the HAPS <NUM>. Examples of the sensor include a positioning sensor such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a gyro sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The flight control device <NUM> may manage the position, attitude, moving direction, moving speed, and the like of the HAPS <NUM> according to the outputs of various sensors.

The base station device <NUM> may form the feeder link <NUM> with the gateway <NUM> by using a feeder link (FL) antenna. The base station device <NUM> may access a core network <NUM> via the gateway <NUM>.

The base station device <NUM> may form a cell <NUM> by irradiating the ground with the beam <NUM> by using a service link (SL) antenna. The cell <NUM> may be configured by one cell. In addition, the cell <NUM> may be a multi-cell. The base station device <NUM> may establish a service link with a user terminal (may be referred to as user equipment (UE)) <NUM> in the cell <NUM>.

The base station device <NUM> relays communication between the core network <NUM> and the user terminal <NUM>, for example, via the feeder link <NUM> and the service link. The base station device <NUM> may provide a wireless communication service to the user terminal <NUM> by relaying communication between the user terminal <NUM> and the core network <NUM>.

The HAPS <NUM> may hover in the sky above a target area to cover the target area on the ground by the cell <NUM>. For example, while the HAPS <NUM> flies in a circular orbit in the sky above the target area, the HAPS <NUM> maintains the feeder link <NUM> with the gateway <NUM> by adjusting a pointing direction of the FL antenna, and maintains covering the target area by the cell <NUM> by adjusting a pointing direction of the SL antenna.

The core network <NUM> may be managed by a communication operator. The core network <NUM> may be compliant with a long term evolution (LTE) communication scheme. That is, the core network <NUM> may be an evolved packet core (EPC). The core network <NUM> may be compliant with a 5th Generation (<NUM>) communication scheme. That is, the core network <NUM> may be a 5th generation core network (5GC). The core network <NUM> may be compliant with a 3rd generation (<NUM>) communication scheme, or be compliant with a communication scheme subsequent to a 6th generation (<NUM>) communication scheme.

For example, when the core network <NUM> is compliant with the LTE communication scheme, the core network <NUM> includes a home subscriber server (HSS), a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), and the like. The base station device <NUM> may function as an eNodeB (eNB).

For example, when the core network <NUM> is compliant with the <NUM> communication scheme, the core network <NUM> includes a unified data management (UDM), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), and the like. The base station device <NUM> may function as a gNodeB (gNB).

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of a communication environment of the HAPS <NUM>. The HAPS <NUM> can generate the cell <NUM> in an arbitrary area on the ground unless there is a special circumstance such as prohibition of generation of the cell <NUM>.

For example, when the HAPS <NUM> generates the cell <NUM> in an area where a ground base station <NUM> is not installed, it is possible to newly provide a wireless communication service in the area. For example, by generating the cell <NUM> at a position adjacent to the cell of the ground base station <NUM>, the HAPS <NUM> can expand an area in which a wireless communication service can be provided. For example, the HAPS <NUM> can complement the ground base station <NUM> by generating the cell <NUM> in an area including the ground base station <NUM>, and a wireless communication service can be provided while the HAPS <NUM> and the ground base station <NUM> complement each other.

When the HAPS <NUM> generates the cell <NUM> in an area including the ground base station <NUM> or at a position adjacent to the cell of the ground base station <NUM>, the cells of a large number of ground base stations <NUM> may be neighboring cells. The HAPS <NUM> can cover a large area having a diameter of, for example, <NUM>, and there is a possibility that the number of ground base stations <NUM> to be neighboring cells becomes considerably large.

The cell information of a neighboring cell is registered in the NRT. The cell information includes a physical cell identifier (may be referred to as a Physical Cell Id (PCI)). The cell information may include the base station identification information of the wireless base station which is generating a cell. The base station identification information may be an eNB ID in the case of the LTE communication scheme, or may be a gNB ID in the case of the <NUM> communication scheme. The cell information may include an IP address of a control plane (C-Plane). The cell information may include a mobile country code (MCC). The cell information may include a mobile network code (MNC). The cell information may include a cell global identifier. The cell global identifier is, for example, an E-UTRAN cell global identification (ECGI). The cell information may include a downlink frequency and an uplink frequency. The cell information may include a bandwidth. The cell information may include a tracking area code (TAC). In the NRT, there is a registration upper limit of neighboring cells such as <NUM> and <NUM> due to restrictions on hardware resources such as a memory and software, and there is a possibility of depletion when the number of neighboring cells is large.

The base station device <NUM> according to the present embodiment provides a service of HO not consuming the NRT when a specific condition is satisfied. With reference to <FIG>, a difference between the sequence of conventional HO and the sequence of HO by the base station device <NUM> will be described.

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of the sequence of the conventional HO using the NRT. Here, a state in which the wireless base station receives a measurement report (may be referred to as an MR) for HO from the user terminal <NUM> will be described as a start state.

In step (step may be referred to as S) <NUM>, the wireless base station checks the NRT and determines whether the cell information of an HO candidate wireless base station included in the measurement report exists in the NRT. When it is determined that the cell information does not exist, the process proceeds to S104, and when it is determined that the cell information exists, the process proceeds to S112.

In S104, the wireless base station executes the sequence of HO in a format (may be referred to as ReportCGI) in which the user terminal <NUM> is caused to measure neighboring cell information. The wireless base station may cause the user terminal <NUM> to measure the system information of a neighboring cell, and may receive, from the user terminal <NUM>, the cell global identifier included in the system information. The wireless base station may receive the cell information of the HO candidate wireless base station from the core network <NUM> by using the cell global identifier. The wireless base station may control the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the received cell information.

In S106, the wireless base station determines whether there is a vacancy in the NRT. When it is determined that there is no vacancy, the process proceeds to S108, and when it is determined that there is a vacancy, the process proceeds to S110.

In S108, the wireless base station discards the cell information received from the core network <NUM> in S104 without registering the cell information in the NRT. In S110, the wireless base station registers, in the NRT, the cell information received from the core network <NUM> in S104.

In S112, the wireless base station controls the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the cell information of the HO candidate wireless base station included in the NRT.

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of the sequence of the HO using ReportCGI. Here, a sequence of HO in the LTE communication scheme will be exemplified. A flow while the user terminal <NUM> is connected to a Serving eNB <NUM> and performs HO to a Target eNB <NUM> will be described. Note that in the case of the <NUM> communication scheme, a Serving gNB, a Target gNB, and an access and mobility management function (AMF) correspond to the Serving eNB <NUM>, the Target eNB <NUM>, and an MME <NUM>, respectively.

In S202, the user terminal <NUM> transmits an RRC connection request to the Serving eNB <NUM>. The Serving eNB <NUM> recognizes the terminal identification information of the user terminal <NUM>. Connection processing is performed between the user terminal <NUM> and the Serving eNB <NUM>.

In S204, the user terminal <NUM> transmits RRC Connection Complete to the Serving eNB <NUM>. The Serving eNB <NUM> recognizes a connection Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) of the user terminal <NUM>.

In S206, the Serving eNB <NUM> transmits RRC Connection Reconfiguration to the user terminal <NUM>. The RRC Connection Reconfiguration may include designation of an event of handover, a condition for transmitting the MR, and the like.

In S208, the user terminal <NUM> moves. Here, the description will be continued assuming that the condition for transmitting the MR is satisfied by the movement. The user terminal <NUM> measures an HO candidate frequency (E-UTRAN Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)).

In S210, the user terminal <NUM> transmits an MR to the Serving eNB <NUM>. The MR includes the PCI of an HO candidate and reception quality. The reception quality may include reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal received quality (RSRQ). The Serving eNB <NUM> acquires the PCI of the HO candidate.

In S212, the Serving eNB <NUM> checks the NRT. The Serving eNB <NUM> checks whether the PCI of the HO candidate cell acquired in S210 is included in the NRT. Here, a case where the PCI is not included will be described, but when the PCI is included, the Serving eNB <NUM> may control the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the cell information of the HO candidate cell included in the NRT.

In S214, the Serving eNB <NUM> transmits the ReportCGI instruction of the PCI reported in S210 to the user terminal <NUM>. In S216, the user terminal <NUM> performs measurement on SIB1 information according to the ReportCGI instruction received in S214. In this example, the user terminal <NUM> acquires the SIB1 information reported by the target eNB <NUM>.

In S218, the user terminal <NUM> transmits an MR to the Serving eNB <NUM>. The MR includes the ECGI included in the SIB1 information measured in S216.

In S220, the Serving eNB <NUM> transmits an HO necessary information acquisition request to the MME <NUM> by using the ECGI included in the MR received in S218. In S222, the MME <NUM> transmits cell information corresponding to the ECGI to the Serving eNB <NUM>.

In S224, the Serving eNB <NUM> transmits the terminal information of the user terminal <NUM> to the Target eNB <NUM>. In S226, the Serving eNB <NUM> transmits an HO instruction to the user terminal <NUM>. In S228, HO is realized between the user terminal <NUM> and the target eNB <NUM>.

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of a sequence of HO by the base station device <NUM>. Here, a difference from the sequence of the HO in <FIG> will be mainly described.

In the example illustrated in <FIG>, in response to reception of the MR for HO from the user terminal <NUM>, the base station device <NUM> selects the scheme of HO from a first scheme not using the NRT and a second scheme using the NRT. The base station device <NUM> determines, for example, whether the user terminal <NUM> is designated to a PLMN always using ReportCGI, selects the first scheme when designated, and selects the second scheme when not designated.

When the second scheme is selected, the process proceeds to S304, and when the first scheme is selected, the process proceeds to S316. S304 to S314 may be similar to S102 to S112.

In S316, the base station device <NUM> executes the HO sequence using ReportCGI. The base station device <NUM> may cause the user terminal <NUM> to measure the system information of a neighboring cell, and may receive, from the user terminal <NUM>, the cell global identifier included in the system information. The base station device <NUM> may receive the cell information of the HO candidate wireless base station from the core network <NUM> by using the cell global identifier. The base station device <NUM> may control the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the received cell information.

In S318, the base station device <NUM> discards the cell information without registering the cell information in the NRT. Then, the processing ends. As described above, according to the base station device <NUM> according to the present embodiment, for example, the HO using ReportCGI is always performed on the user terminal <NUM> of a specific carrier, so that the wireless base station of the specific carrier can be prevented from being registered as a neighboring cell, and the depletion of the NRT can be suppressed.

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of a functional configuration of the base station device <NUM>. The base station device <NUM> includes a storage unit <NUM>, a core communication unit <NUM>, a terminal communication unit <NUM>, a communication control unit <NUM>, and an NRT management unit <NUM>. Note that it is not essential that the base station device <NUM> is provided with all of these.

The storage unit <NUM> stores various types of information. The storage unit <NUM> stores the NRT.

The core communication unit <NUM> communicates with the core network <NUM>. The core communication unit <NUM> may establish the gateway <NUM> on the ground and the feeder link <NUM> by an FL antenna for communication with the gateway <NUM>. The core communication unit <NUM> may communicate with the core network <NUM> on the ground via the feeder link <NUM>.

The terminal communication unit <NUM> communicates with the user terminal <NUM>. The terminal communication unit <NUM> may form the cell <NUM> by irradiating the ground with the beam <NUM> by using the SL antenna. The terminal communication unit <NUM> may establish a service link with the user terminal <NUM> in the cell <NUM>.

The communication control unit <NUM> controls communication with the core network <NUM> and communication with the user terminal <NUM>. The communication control unit <NUM> establishes a wireless communication connection with the user terminal <NUM> and relays communication between the user terminal <NUM> and the core network <NUM>.

For example, the communication control unit <NUM> establishes a wireless communication connection with the user terminal <NUM> in response to reception of a connection request from the user terminal <NUM>. The communication control unit <NUM> may manage the connection state with the user terminal <NUM> by RRC. The communication control unit <NUM> acquires the terminal identification information and the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> that has established the wireless communication connection.

The communication control unit <NUM> transmits information regarding the HO to the user terminal <NUM>. The communication control unit <NUM> notifies the user terminal <NUM> of the designation of the handover event, the condition for transmitting the MR, and the like by RRC Connection Reconfiguration, for example. The communication control unit <NUM> acquires the PCI of the HO candidate by the MR received from the user terminal <NUM> by the terminal communication unit <NUM>.

The communication control unit <NUM> controls the HO of the user terminal <NUM>. The communication control unit <NUM> may include a scheme selection unit <NUM> and an HO control unit <NUM>.

When receiving the MR for HO from the user terminal <NUM>, the scheme selection unit <NUM> selects the scheme of the HO from the first scheme not using the NRT and the second scheme using the NRT. The first scheme may be a scheme of <NUM>% using ReportCGI and not performing registration in the NRT. The second scheme may be a scheme of basically executing the HO using the NRT and, when the PCI of the HO candidate is not registered in the NRT, performing registration in NRT by using ReportCGI.

The HO control unit <NUM> controls the HO of the user terminal <NUM>. When the first scheme is selected by the scheme selection unit <NUM>, the HO control unit <NUM> causes the user terminal <NUM> to measure the system information of the HO candidate cell and receives the cell global identifier included in the system information from the user terminal <NUM>. Next, the HO control unit <NUM> receives the cell information of the cell corresponding to the cell global identifier from the core network <NUM> by using the received cell global identifier. Then, the HO control unit <NUM> controls the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the received cell information. When the first scheme is selected by the scheme selection unit <NUM>, the HO control unit <NUM> discards the cell information received from the core network <NUM> without registering the cell information in the NRT.

When the second scheme is selected by the scheme selection unit <NUM>, the HO control unit <NUM> determines whether the PCI of the HO candidate cell is included in the NRT. When included, the HO control unit <NUM> controls the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the cell information corresponding to the PCI. When not included, the HO control unit <NUM> causes the user terminal <NUM> to measure the system information of the HO candidate cell, and receives the cell global identifier included in the system information from the user terminal <NUM>. Next, the HO control unit <NUM> receives the cell information of the HO candidate cell from the core network <NUM> by using the cell global identifier. Then, the HO control unit <NUM> controls the HO of the user terminal <NUM> by using the received cell information. The HO control unit <NUM> checks whether there is a vacancy in the NRT, and registers the cell information in the NRT when there is a vacancy. When there is no vacancy in the NRT, <NUM> discards the cell information.

For example, the scheme selection unit <NUM> selects the first scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is a pre-registered business operator, and selects the second scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is not a pre-registered business operator. The pre-registered business operator is registered as a business operator that performs HO <NUM>% using ReportCGI and does not register cell information in an NRT. The registration is performed, for example, by a service provider who provides a wireless communication service to the user terminal <NUM> by the base station device <NUM>. One business operator may be registered, or a plurality of business operators may be registered. For the registered business operator, since the NRT is not used, and the neighboring cell information is measured every time, there is a possibility that the quality of the HO is degraded due to the delay of the HO timing, but this can reduce a possibility that the NRT is depleted and contribute to improvement of the overall quality of service. Note that as compared with the business operator using the first scheme, for the business operator using the second scheme, there is a possibility that a high-quality HO can be provided by using the NRT, and thus, some kind of loyalty condition may be added.

For example, when the coverage target of the HAPS <NUM> is a so-called rural area where there are almost no wireless base stations on the ground, the communication control unit <NUM> may turn off a selection function performed by the scheme selection unit <NUM> and always execute the HO using the second scheme. As a result, in a situation where there is a low possibility that the NRT is depleted, it is possible to prevent the quality of HO from being degraded.

The scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the frequency of the HO candidate cell is a predetermined frequency and select the second scheme when the frequency of the HO candidate cell is not the predetermined frequency. The pre-registered frequency is registered as a frequency at which HO <NUM>% using ReportCGI is performed and cell information is not registered in an NRT. The registration is performed, for example, by a service provider who provides a wireless communication service to the user terminal <NUM> by the base station device <NUM>. One frequency may be registered, or a plurality of frequencies may be registered. For the cell of the registered frequency, since the NRT is not used, and the neighboring cell information is measured every time, there is a possibility that the quality of the HO is degraded due to the delay of the HO timing, but this can reduce a possibility that the NRT is depleted and contribute to improvement of the overall quality of service.

The scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is a pre-registered business operator and the frequency of the HO candidate cell is the predetermined frequency, and may select the second scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is not a pre-registered business operator and when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is a pre-registered business operator but the frequency of the HO candidate cell is not the predetermined frequency. As a result, a cell for which the first scheme is selected can be limited to a cell of a specific frequency of a specific business operator, and finer adjustment can be performed.

The scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the scheme of the HO from the first scheme and the second scheme according to the number of registrations of the NRT. For example, the scheme selection unit <NUM> selects the first scheme when the number of registrations of the NRT is larger than a predetermined first threshold, and selects the second scheme when the number of registrations is smaller than the first threshold. As a result, high-quality HO using the NRT is provided while the number of registrations of the NRT is small, and when the number of registrations of the NRT increases or approaches an upper limit, the depletion of the NRT can be prevented by stopping the registration in the NRT in advance.

The scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the number of registrations of the NRT is larger than the first threshold and the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is a pre-registered business operator, and may select the second scheme when the number of registrations is smaller than the first threshold and when the number of registrations is larger than the first threshold but the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is not a pre-registered business operator. As a result, high-quality HO using NRT is provided while the number of registrations of NRT is small, and when the number of registrations of NRT is increasing, the possibility of the depletion of the NRT can be reduced by not registering some business operators in the NRT.

In a case where the number of registrations of the NRT is larger than the first threshold and smaller than a second threshold larger than the first threshold, the scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is the pre-registered first business operator, and may select the second scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is not the first business operator. In addition, in a case where the number of registrations of the NRT is larger than the second threshold, the scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is either the first business operator or the second business operator and may select the second scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is neither the first business operator nor the second business operator. As a result, as the number of registrations of the NRT increases, the number of target business operators adopting the first scheme can be increased in stages, and the provision of high-quality HO and the prevention of NRT depletion can be realized in a well-balanced manner.

In a case where the number of registrations of the NRT is larger than the first threshold and smaller than the second threshold larger than the first threshold, the scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the frequency of the HO candidate cell is the predetermined frequency and may select the second scheme when the frequency of the HO candidate cell is not the predetermined frequency. In addition, in a case where the number of registrations of the NRT is larger than the second threshold, the scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the first scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is a pre-registered business operator, and may select the second scheme when the connected business operator of the user terminal <NUM> is not a pre-registered business operator. As a result, a control can be realized such that as the number of registrations of the NRT increases, the first scheme is first adopted for cells of some frequencies of a business operator and then the first scheme is adopted for all cells of the business operator, and the provision of high-quality HO and the prevention of NRT depletion can be realized in a well-balanced manner.

The NRT management unit <NUM> manages the NRT stored in the storage unit <NUM>. The NRT management unit <NUM> may execute an automatic neighbor relation (ANR) function. The NRT management unit <NUM> communicates with another wireless base station such as the ground base station <NUM> according to an X2 protocol to update the NRT when a neighbor relation changes or the cell information of a neighboring cell changes. The scheme selection unit <NUM> may select the scheme of the HO according to the number of registrations of the NRT changed by the execution of the ANR by the NRT management unit <NUM>.

In the above embodiment, a case where the base station device <NUM> is mounted on the HAPS <NUM> has been mainly described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The base station device <NUM> may be a wireless base station arranged on the ground. In this case, the core communication unit <NUM> may communicate with the core network <NUM> via a wired network on the ground. In addition, the terminal communication unit <NUM> may establish a wireless communication connection with the user terminal <NUM> in the cell <NUM> and communicate with the user terminal <NUM>.

<FIG> schematically illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a computer <NUM> that functions as the base station device <NUM>. Programs installed in the computer <NUM> can cause the computer <NUM> to function as one or more "units" of the device according to the present embodiment or can cause the computer <NUM> to execute operations associated with the devices according to the present embodiment or the one or more "units", and/or can cause the computer <NUM> to execute a process according to the present embodiment or steps of the process. Such a program may be executed by a CPU <NUM> to cause the computer <NUM> to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described in the specification.

The computer <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a CPU <NUM>, a RAM <NUM>, and a graphics controller <NUM>, which are connected to each other via a host controller <NUM>. In addition, the computer <NUM> includes input/output units such as a communication interface <NUM>, a storage device <NUM>, and a DVD driver and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller <NUM> through an input/output controller <NUM>. The storage device <NUM> may be a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive, and the like. The computer <NUM> also includes a ROM <NUM> and a legacy input/output unit such as a keyboard, which are connected to the input/output controller <NUM> via an input/output chip <NUM>.

The CPU <NUM> operates according to the programs stored in the ROM <NUM> and the RAM <NUM>, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller <NUM> obtains image data which is generated, by the CPU <NUM>, in a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM <NUM> or in itself so as to cause the image data to be displayed on a display device <NUM>.

The communication interface <NUM> communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The storage device <NUM> stores a program and data used by the CPU <NUM> in the computer <NUM>. The IC card drive reads the program and data from an IC card, and/or writes the program and data to the IC card.

The ROM <NUM> stores therein a boot program or the like executed by the computer <NUM> at the time of activation, and/or a program depending on the hardware of the computer <NUM>. The input/output chip <NUM> may also connect various input/output units via a USB port, a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port or the like to the input/output controller <NUM>.

A program is provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as the DVD-ROM or the IC card. The program is read from the computer-readable storage medium, installed into the storage device <NUM>, RAM <NUM>, or ROM <NUM>, which are also examples of a computer-readable storage medium, and executed by the CPU <NUM>. Information processing written in these programs is read by the computer <NUM>, and provides cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. A device or method may be constituted by realizing the operation or processing of information in accordance with the usage of the computer <NUM>.

For example, in a case where a communication is performed between the computer <NUM> and an external device, the CPU <NUM> may execute a communication program loaded in the RAM <NUM> and instruct the communication interface <NUM> to perform communication processing based on a process written in the communication program. The communication interface <NUM>, under control of the CPU <NUM>, reads transmission data stored on a transmission buffer region provided in a recording medium such as the RAM <NUM>, the storage device <NUM>, the DVD-ROM, or the IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to a network or writes reception data received from a network to a reception buffer region or the like provided on the recording medium.

In addition, the CPU <NUM> may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or a database to be read into the RAM <NUM>, the file or the database having been stored in an external recording medium such as the storage device <NUM>, the DVD drive (DVD-ROM), the IC card, etc., and perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM <NUM>. Then, the CPU <NUM> may write the processed data back in the external recording medium.

Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored in the recording medium to undergo information processing. The CPU <NUM> may execute, on the data read from the RAM <NUM>, various types of processing including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgement, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information retrieval/replacement, or the like described throughout the present disclosure and specified by instruction sequences of the programs, to write the results back to the RAM <NUM>. In addition, the CPU <NUM> may retrieve information in a file, a database, or the like in the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, are stored in the recording medium, the CPU <NUM> may search for an entry whose attribute value of the first attribute matches a designated condition, from among the plurality of entries, and read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, thereby obtaining the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute satisfying a predetermined condition.

The programs or software module described above may be stored on the computer <NUM> or in a computer-readable storage medium near the computer <NUM>. In addition, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as the computer-readable storage medium, thereby providing the program to the computer <NUM> via the network.

Blocks in flowcharts and block diagrams in the present embodiments may represent steps of processes in which operations are performed or "units" of devices responsible for performing operations. A specific step and "unit" may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry supplied along with a computer-readable instruction stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and/or a processor supplied along with the computer-readable instruction stored on the computer-readable storage medium. The dedicated circuit may include a digital and/or analog hardware circuit, or may include an integrated circuit (IC) and/or a discrete circuit. The programmable circuitry may include, for example, a reconfigurable hardware circuit including logical AND, logical OR, logical XOR, logical NAND, logical NOR, and other logical operations, and a flip-flop, a register, and a memory element, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and a programmable logic array (PLA).

The computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing an instruction performed by an appropriate device, so that the computer-readable storage medium having the instruction stored thereon constitutes a product including an instruction that may be performed in order to provide means for performing an operation specified by a flowchart or a block diagram. An example of the computer-readable storage medium may include an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, an electromagnetic storage medium, or a semiconductor storage medium. More specific examples of computer readable storage media may include a floppy disc (registered trademark), a diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a BLU-RAY (registered trademark) disc, a memory stick, an integrated circuit card, etc..

The computer-readable instruction may include an assembler instruction, an instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instruction, a machine instruction, a machine dependent instruction, a microcode, a firmware instruction, state-setting data, or either of source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk (registered trademark), JAVA (registered trademark), and C++, and a conventional procedural programming language such as a "C" programming language or a similar programming language.

The computer-readable instruction may be provided to a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or a processor or programmable circuitry of another programmable data processing device locally or via a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet or the like in order that the general purpose computer, the special purpose computer, or the processor or the programmable circuitry of the other programmable data processing device performs the computer-readable instruction to provide means for performing operations specified by the flowchart or the block diagram. Examples of the processor include a computer processor, a processing unit, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a controller, a microcontroller, and the like.

In the above embodiment, the HAPS <NUM> has been described as an example of a flight vehicle having an antenna for forming a wireless communication area by irradiating the ground with a beam and providing a wireless communication service to a user terminal in the wireless communication area, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Examples of the flight vehicle include an unmanned aerial vehicle such as a balloon, an airship, an airplane, and a drone capable of forming a wireless communication area.

While the present invention has been described with the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that various alterations and improvements can be added to the above-described embodiments. It is also apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Claim 1:
A base station device (<NUM>) adapted for determining whether a user terminal (<NUM>) (<NUM>) is designated to a PLMN always using ReportCGI,
the base station device (<NUM>) further comprising:
a storage unit (<NUM>) adapted to store a neighbor relation table;
a scheme selection unit (<NUM>) adapted to select a scheme of HO from a first scheme not using the neighbor relation table if the user terminal (<NUM>) is designated and a second scheme using the neighbor relation table when receiving a measurement report for HO from the user terminal (<NUM>) if the user terminal (<NUM>) is not designated; and
an HO control unit (<NUM>) adapted, when the first scheme is selected, to cause the user terminal (<NUM>) to measure system information of an HO candidate cell (<NUM>), to receive, from the user terminal (<NUM>), a cell global identifier included in the system information, to receive cell (<NUM>) information of the HO candidate cell (<NUM>) from a core network (<NUM>) by using the cell global identifier and to control HO of the user terminal (<NUM>) by using the received cell (<NUM>) information, and
when the second scheme is selected, to determine whether a physical cell (<NUM>) identifier of the HO candidate cell (<NUM>) is included in the neighbor relation table, when the physical cell (<NUM>) identifier is included, to control the HO of the user terminal (<NUM>) by using cell (<NUM>) information corresponding to the physical cell (<NUM>) identifier, and when the physical cell (<NUM>) identifier is not included, to cause the user terminal (<NUM>) to measure the system information of the HO candidate cell (<NUM>), to receive, from the user terminal (<NUM>), the cell global identifier included in the system information, to receive cell (<NUM>) information of the HO candidate cell (<NUM>) received from a core network (<NUM>) by using the cell global identifier, and to control the HO of the user terminal (<NUM>) by using the received cell (<NUM>) information of the HO candidate cell (<NUM>), and to register the received cell (<NUM>) information in the neighbor relation table.