Patent ID: 8125919

Claim:
In a wireless communication system in which a radio access network (RAN) serves a plurality of wireless communication devices (WCDs), wherein each WCD has a plurality of assigned air interface traffic channels on which the WCD communicates with the RAN, wherein each air interface traffic channel defines a channel signal quality, wherein the signal quality is an E c /I o value, and wherein each air interface traffic channel consumes network resources, a method of selectively releasing network resources, the method comprising: for each WCD, determining at least a delta between (i) the signal quality of one of the WCD's assigned air interface traffic channels and (ii) aggregate signal quality of the WCD's assigned air interface traffic channels; selecting one or more of the WCDs based on the determined deltas of the WCDs; for each selected WCD, selecting at least one, but less than all, of the WCD's assigned air interface traffic channels to release; and for each selected WCD, releasing each selected air interface traffic channel, thereby making network resources associated with the released air interface traffic channel available for other use.