Method and apparatus for inter-frequency measurements in a communication network

摘要

In one aspect of the teachings herein, network-side and device-side methods and apparatus identify a subset of frequency layers on which a wireless device performs regular inter-frequency scanning. The subset is identified from among a set of frequency layers that are candidates for inter-frequency measurement by the device. In an example, the wireless device scans the set of frequency layers and the corresponding scan results are used to select the best frequency layers in the set. In turn, the wireless device performs regular inter-frequency measurements on the frequency layers in the selected subset. Scanning thus can be understood as a mechanism for intelligently selecting preferred ones among a number of frequency layers that are candidates for inter-frequency measurement by the device.