A Virtual Pre-Connection Scheme Enabling Fast Connection to Local Spot Cell in Private Cellular Network

In the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), super high frequency (SHF) bands such as 28 GHz will be used in many scenarios. In Japan, a local 5G working group has been established to apply advanced 5G technologies to private networks and is working to encourage local companies and municipalities to introduce new services for local needs. Meanwhile, the smaller size of the 28 GHz band cells creates the difficulties when establishing deployment areas for homogeneous networks. In general, heterogeneous network approach with the combination of macro-cell and micro-cell have been considered practical and applied by the giant telecommunication operators. However, private network operators have difficulty in deploying both micro- and macro-cells due to the cost issue. Without the assistance of macro-cells, local spot cells with a small service area may not be able to start services while high-speed mobile users are staying in the service area. In this paper, we propose a virtual pre-connection scheme allowing fast connection to local spot cells without the assistance of macro-cells. In addition, we confirm that the proposed scheme can reduce the cell search time required when entering a local spot cell from 100 seconds or more to less than 1 second, and can reduce the loss of connection opportunities to local spot cells for high-speed mobile users.