Patent ID: 8649338

Claim:
A method of fractional frequency reuse in a communication network, said method comprising: dividing a frequency band into a plurality of sub-bands according to a Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) scheme to define a FFR allocation of said band for a plurality of base stations, each of said base stations associated with a respective region; at a first base station of said plurality of base stations, said first base station associated with a first region: establishing communication with a mobile terminal in said first region on one of said plurality of sub-bands according to said FFR allocation; at a second base station of said plurality of base stations, said second base station associated with a second region: transmitting on said one of said plurality of sub-bands according to said FFR allocation; receiving an indication of a coverage problem detected at said mobile terminal due to interference from said second base station on said one of said plurality of sub-bands, wherein said indication comprises a difference between the carrier to interference power ratios (CIR) of said first base station and of said second base station as detected by said mobile terminal; and in response to said receiving said indication, decreasing a transmit power level for said one of said plurality of sub-bands in said second region.