The latest contribution to dealing with the signalling storm came from NEC of Japan, which has developed a new technology that estimates the location of handsets when they are connected to the network, which can slash the amount of signal processing that is required for managing location information.
NEC explains that, when a mobile network sends a signal to a device, this is broadcast to all the base stations which are likely to be in range. This process, called paging, adds to the signal load by contacting irrelevant sites, such as those which the device has already left.
The company’s new technology reduces the number of base stations which the network needs to page by more accurately assessing where the handset is likely to be. It does this by estimating the mobility of a particular device, setting a broad management area for those which move at high speed, but a narrower area for those which move slowly. This reduces the number of signals that are sent to areas where the device is not located and reduces overall processing load.
Dynamically setting location areas can reduce the frequency with which location registration must be renewed by 50%, says NEC, and the amount of signal processing for paging by up to 75%. In turn, this can help cellcos to support a larger number of devices without additional management servers, reducing capex costs.
The technology is an R&D project at this stage, but NEC aims to commercialize the software in the near future. Although it is quitting the handset business, having failed to achieve significant share outside its home market, it continues to be an R&D powerhouse, and is likely to build up its licensing business in future, targeting its former handset rivals as well as enhancing its own infrastructure activities, based around backhaul and small cells.