Patent ID: 8798545

Claim:
A method of operating a base station in a cellular network, the base station having a first coverage area, and being located in a second coverage area associated with a second base station, the method comprising: estimating a distribution of respective first path losses between the base station and points in the first coverage area; estimating in the base station a second path loss between said base station and a user equipment that is attached to the second base station by estimating a distribution of respective second path losses between said base station and one or more nearby user equipments that are attached to the second base station; and determining on the basis of said estimated first and second path losses whether the base station is causing interference with transmissions from the second base station by comparing a value of the first path loss corresponding to a first proportion of points in the first coverage area with a value of the second path loss corresponding to a second proportion of samples obtained from said nearby user equipments that are attached to the second base station.