Apparatus and method for improving connectivity for items of user equipment in a wireless network
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a first antenna system to provide a first sector of a telecommunications network;
a second antenna system to provide a second sector of the telecommunications network;
a third antenna system to communicate with a base station of the telecommunications network to provide a first wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector;
a fourth antenna system to provide a wireless communication link to facilitate coupling of the apparatus into a mesh network of devices, the mesh network having at least one point of access into the telecommunications network such that the mesh network supports provision of at least one further wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; and
backhaul management circuitry operable, in at least one mode of operation, to control utilisation of the third antenna system and the fourth antenna system to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for at least items of user equipment connected to the apparatus via the first and second antenna systems,wherein the backhaul management circuitry comprises backhaul options analysis circuitry configured to perform a backhaul determination process to evaluate, for both said first wireless backhaul path and one or more routes through the mesh network to support said at least one further wireless backhaul path, at least one metric indicative of link quality,wherein the backhaul management circuitry is configured, when said at least one metric indicative of link quality satisfies at least one condition, to use a combination of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path to provide the backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network, andwherein the backhaul management circuitry further comprises traffic monitoring circuitry to (i) evaluate available capacity of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path and (ii) determine, based on said evaluation, whether to allow the apparatus to act as a routing node within the mesh network, when acting as the routing node the apparatus being arranged to control usage of at least one of the third antenna system and the fourth antenna system to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for items of user equipment connected to devices within the mesh network other than said apparatus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method are provided, the apparatus having a first antenna system providing a first sector of a telecommunications network, a second antenna system providing a second sector of the telecommunications network, a third antenna system for communicating with a base station of the telecommunications network to provide a first wireless backhaul path for the first and second sectors, and a fourth antenna system providing a wireless communication link to facilitate coupling of the apparatus into a mesh network of devices, the mesh network having at least one point of access into the telecommunications network, providing at least one further wireless backhaul path. Backhaul management circuitry is arranged, in at least one mode of operation, to control utilisation of the third and fourth antenna systems to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for items of user equipment connected to the apparatus via the first and second antenna systems.
22 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a first antenna system to provide a first sector of a telecommunications network; a second antenna system to provide a second sector of the telecommunications network; a third antenna system to communicate with a base station of the telecommunications network to provide a first wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; a fourth antenna system to provide a wireless communication link to facilitate coupling of the apparatus into a mesh network of devices, the mesh network having at least one point of access into the telecommunications network such that the mesh network supports provision of at least one further wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; and backhaul management circuitry operable, in at least one mode of operation, to control utilisation of the third antenna system and the fourth antenna system to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for at least items of user equipment connected to the apparatus via the first and second antenna systems, wherein the backhaul management circuitry comprises backhaul options analysis circuitry configured to perform a backhaul determination process to evaluate, for both said first wireless backhaul path and one or more routes through the mesh network to support said at least one further wireless backhaul path, at least one metric indicative of link quality, wherein the backhaul management circuitry is configured, when said at least one metric indicative of link quality satisfies at least one condition, to use a combination of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path to provide the backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network, and wherein the backhaul management circuitry further comprises traffic monitoring circuitry to (i) evaluate available capacity of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path and (ii) determine, based on said evaluation, whether to allow the apparatus to act as a routing node within the mesh network, when acting as the routing node the apparatus being arranged to control usage of at least one of the third antenna system and the fourth antenna system to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for items of user equipment connected to devices within the mesh network other than said apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of operating an apparatus having first, second, third and fourth antenna systems to provide network coverage in a telecommunications network, comprising:
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employing the first antenna system to provide a first sector of the telecommunications network; employing the second antenna system to provide a second sector of the telecommunications network; employing the third antenna system to communicate with a base station of the telecommunications network to provide a first wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; employing the fourth antenna system to provide a wireless communication link to facilitate coupling of the apparatus into a mesh network of devices, the mesh network having at least one point of access into the telecommunications network such that the mesh network supports provision of at least one further wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; in at least one mode of operation, controlling utilisation of the third antenna system and the fourth antenna system to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for at least items of user equipment connected to the apparatus via the first and second antenna systems by performing a backhaul determination process to evaluate, for both said first wireless backhaul path and one or more routes through the mesh network to support said at least one further wireless backhaul path, at least one metric indicative of link quality, determining that said at least one metric indicative of link quality satisfies at least one condition, and using a combination of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path to provide the backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network; evaluating available capacity of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path; determining, based on said evaluating, that the available capacity is greater than a threshold amount; and allowing, based on said determining that the available capacity is greater than the threshold amount, the apparatus to act as a routing node within the mesh network to control usage of at least one of the third antenna system and the fourth antenna system to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for items of user equipment connected to devices within the mesh network other than said apparatus.
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25. An apparatus comprising:
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first antenna means for providing a first sector of a telecommunications network; second antenna means for providing a second sector of the telecommunications network; third antenna means for communicating with a base station of the telecommunications network to provide a first wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; fourth antenna means for providing a wireless communication link to facilitate coupling of the apparatus into a mesh network of devices, the mesh network having at least one point of access into the telecommunications network such that the mesh network supports provision of at least one further wireless backhaul path for said first sector and said second sector; and backhaul management means for controlling, in at least one mode of operation, utilisation of the third antenna means and the fourth antenna means to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for at least items of user equipment connected to the apparatus via the first and second antenna means, wherein the backhaul management means comprises backhaul options analysis means for performing a backhaul determination process to evaluate, for both said first wireless backhaul path and one or more routes through the mesh network to support said at least one further wireless backhaul path, at least one metric indicative of link quality, wherein the backhaul management means is configured, when said at least one metric indicative of link quality satisfies at least one condition, to use a combination of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path to provide the backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network, and wherein the backhaul management means further comprises traffic monitoring means for (i) evaluating available capacity of the first wireless backhaul path and the at least one further wireless backhaul path and (ii) determining, based on said evaluation, whether to allow the apparatus to act as a routing node within the mesh network, when acting as the routing node the apparatus being arranged to control usage of at least one of the third antenna means and the fourth antenna means to provide backhaul connectivity to the telecommunications network for items of user equipment connected to devices within the mesh network other than said apparatus.
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Specification