Efficient Protocol for EUTRA New Radio Dual Connectivity Handling based on Location

Abstract

5G cellular system (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) is being deployed around the world in a non-standalone (NSA) mode with 4G, also known as EUTRA-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode in which 4G and 5G work together. As most of 5G is getting deployed in higher frequency spectrums (especially 3.5GHz and mmWave), the coverage of a 5G cell will be lesser in comparison to a 4G Cell. So, to provide the same coverage as LTE, more NR cells need to be deployed, and this is a complex challenge that operators are facing globally. The coverage limitation will lead to unnecessary scanning of the 5G network, even where there is no coverage. The 5G radio frequencies scanning for the 5G network is a power-consuming procedure, and unnecessary scanning leads to power drainage. Hence optimizing power consumption is an open research problem area for connecting to the 5G network. To solve the above problem, to the best of our knowledge, this paper for the first time proposes a new protocol and call flow with the use of big data server as well as a clustering algorithm, where 5G cell coverage areas are determined for 5G thus reducing the redundant scanning of 5G frequencies. With the above proposed novel idea, the system can reduce power consumption by 38% than the conventional method.