Patent ID: 8717887

Claim:
A scrambling code planning device for allocating a plurality of primary scrambling codes to sites within a wireless communication network, the scrambling code planning device comprising: a processor; and a memory that stores processor-executable instructions therein where the processor interfaces with the memory and executes the processor-executable instructions to enable the following: forming a plurality of clusters, wherein each cluster comprises one or more of the sites of the wireless communications network, and wherein each cluster will not comprise more than a first predetermined number of sites; allocating one of a plurality of primary scrambling code sets to each of the formed clusters, wherein there are a predetermined number of primary scrambling code sets and each primary scrambling code set comprises a predetermined number of the primary scrambling codes; allocating to the one or more sites in each of the formed clusters, which have the same primary scrambling code set allocated thereto, the predetermined number of the primary scrambling codes associated with the same primary scrambling code set; wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable instructions in the memory to perform the second allocating operation by: identifying the formed clusters that have been allocated the same primary scrambling code set; and assigning the predetermined number of primary scrambling codes associated with the same primary scrambling code set to the sites in the identified formed clusters in a manner that maintains a maximum tier separation when reusing the same primary scrambling codes; wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable instructions in the memory to perform the assigning operation by: maintaining at least a predetermined number of tier separation when reusing the same primary scrambling codes in the identified formed clusters and if not possible then maintain a lower predetermined number of tier separation when reusing the same primary scrambling codes in the identified formed clusters and if this is not possible and a single tier separation is not possible without reusing the same primary scrambling codes in the identified formed clusters then the primary scrambling codes are shuffled between the identified formed clusters in an attempt to create at least one tier separation between successive co-primary scrambling codes allocations and if this is not possible then use the primary scrambling codes from a reserved primary scrambling code set.