Patent ID: 8805446

Claim:
A method for dynamically selecting a cell range of a base station connected to User Equipments (UEs) in a mobile network, each UE being at a distance from the base station and each connection between the base station and the UEs using a percentage of a maximum baseband capacity of the base station, wherein the base station is configured to operate using a normal operation mode in which the base station serves UEs within a non-extended cell range and an extended operation mode in which the base station serves UEs within an extended cell range which is greater than the non-extended cell range, the non-extended and extended cell ranges being dependent on a length of a window of time that the base station is configured to wait for Random Access Channel (RACH) messages from the UEs, the method comprising: (i) measuring the distances between each UE and the base station; (ii) determining a total percentage of the maximum baseband capacity of the base station used by the connections with the UEs; (iii) switching the base station operation mode from the normal operation mode to the extended operation mode when either or both of the following conditions is/are met: the distance between at least one of the UEs and the base station is greater than the non-extended cell range minus a predefined offset distance; and the total percentage of the maximum baseband capacity of the base station used by the connections with the UEs is less than a predefined threshold value plus a predefined hysteresis margin; and (iv) switching the base station operation mode from the extended operation mode to the normal operation mode only when both of the following conditions are met: all of the distances between each of the UEs and the base station are less than the non-extended cell range minus the predefined offset distance; and the total percentage of the maximum baseband capacity of the base station used by the connections with the UEs is greater than the predefined threshold value, such that the base station remains in the extended operation mode covering the extended cell range that is dependent on the length of the window of time that the base station is configured to wait for Random Access Channel (RACH) messages from the UEs, even when all of the UEs are located within the non-extended range, unless the total percentage of the maximum baseband capacity of the base station used by the connections with the UEs is greater than the predefined threshold value.