Testing Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) Proximity reporting function using only cellular network signals and with CSG fingerprint erasure option

摘要

In order to facilitate handover to CSGs on femto-cells without the need for measurement operations that use up bandwidth and battery life, user equipments (UE) keep a record of CSGs that they are allowed to access along with some location information in a CSG whitelist or fingerprint. When the UE again visits the femto-cell location it sends a proximity report to the network, possibly as a prelude to handover/reselection on to the femto-cell. 3GPP standards do not limit how the location information is determined, hence GPS, presence of WLAN signals or similar are allowable. This variety makes determining a standard test regime complex. The invention proposes that testing of proximity reporting should be based solely on cellular network (i.e. 3GPP) signals, in order to provide standard behaviour across all UEs. Other claims specify deleting CSG fingerprints, possibly in response to a command. The proximity test reporting may be initiated by a signal from the network, possibly by broadcasting a particular PLMN test identifier.