Patent ID: 8121604

Claim:
A method for operating a base station, the method comprising the acts of: determining, by a processor, an amount of traffic on an inner cell of the base station; determining, by the processor, an amount of traffic on an outer cell of the base station; determining, by the processor, that the amount of traffic on the inner or outer cell exceeds a predetermined threshold value; and adjusting traffic of the inner and outer cells using handoff to reduce the amount of traffic on the inner or outer cell below the predetermined threshold value, wherein the inner and outer cells use different frequencies, the inner cell includes a plurality of sectorized cells and the outer cell includes a plurality of sectorized cells, each sectorized cell of the inner cell includes an outer boundary defining an inner boundary of a corresponding sectorized cell of the outer cell, each sectorized cell of the inner cell and the corresponding sectorized cell of the outer cell includes side boundaries defined by a line originating at a base station located at a center of the inner and outer cells and terminating at an outer boundary of the corresponding sectorized cell of the outer cell, wherein each sector of the sectorized cells of the inner cell has an has an approximately pie slice shape and the traffic adjustment using handoff involves a handoff of a first mobile station between sectors of the inner cell, and a handoff of a second mobile station between the inner and outer cells wherein the inner and outer cells are part of a network in which a frequency reuse pattern for inner cells is different than a frequency reuse pattern for outer cells.