Patent ID: 8848560

Claim:
A method of operating an overlay access node in a wireless communication network including one or more underlay access nodes, the method comprising: receiving, by the overlay access node, an indication of at least one power measurement associated with one or more overlay access nodes and the underlay access nodes, wherein the overlay access node is configured to transmit data during one or more almost blank subframes (ABSs); selecting, by the overlay access node, at least one user equipment (UE) to communicate with the overlay access node during one or more ABSs, based at least partly on the indication, wherein the at least one UE is in communication with the overlay access node, but not with the underlay access nodes, during the one or more ABSs; determining, by the overlay access node, a first power level for communicating with the at least one UE during the one or more ABSs, wherein the first power level is lower than a second power level used during non-ABS subframes; and transmitting, by the overlay access node, the data to the at least one UE during the one or more ABSs.