METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING HIGH RATE PACKET DATA OVER UNDERUTILIZED VIRTUAL CIRCUITS

• US 20080031163A1
• Filed: 10/12/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joel Javitt, J Stevenson
• Original Assignee: Joel Javitt, J Stevenson
• Inventors: Stevenson, J., JAVITT, JOEL
• Granted Patent: US 8,081,983 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/277
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5607 Radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5615 Network termination, e.g. NT1, NT2, PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

A method for communicating data in a wireless communications system having a base station communicating to at least one of a plurality of terminals over a set of carrier frequencies, the method comprising periodically monitoring the carrier energy level of each said carrier frequency received at a given terminal to identify a list of optimal frequencies over which the carrier energy level is strong enough to maintain a viable transmission from said base station to said given terminal, wherein said viable transmission provides a given coding gain; and simultaneously transmitting a given set of packet data from said base station to said given terminal over a plurality of frequencies from said list of optimal frequencies identified for said given terminal.

Claims

1. A method for communicating data in a wireless communications system having a base station communicating to at least one of a plurality of terminals over a set of carrier frequencies, the method comprising:

monitoring a carrier energy level of each of said carrier frequencies received at a terminal to identify a list of optimal frequencies over which the carrier energy level is able to maintain a viable transmission from said base station to said terminal, wherein said viable transmission provides a given coding gain; and

transmitting a set of packet data from said base station to said terminal over a plurality of frequencies from said list of optimal frequencies identified for said terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a buffer for buffering data packets to be transmitted from said base station to said terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a set of data packets from said terminal to said base station over two frequencies selected from said list of optimal frequencies.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

repeating said monitoring and transmitting for each said plurality of terminals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said monitoring comprises:

receiving, at said base station, RF measurements of the carrier energy level of each carrier frequency received at said terminal via a radio transmission; and

selecting at said base station each carrier frequency having an RF measurement greater than a predetermined RF level form said list of optimal frequencies, wherein said predetermining RF level represent a minimum level for supporting a given coding gain.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said carrier frequencies comprise voice dedicated frequencies and data packet dedicated frequencies.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said list of optimal frequencies comprises voice dedicated frequencies and data packet dedicated frequencies.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said transmitting comprises:

transmitting said data packets during inactive voice periods when transmitting on said voice dedicated frequencies; and

transmitting said data packets over a plurality of frequencies when transmitting on said packet data dedicated frequencies.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said wireless communications system is a fixed wireless access system.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein each of said carrier frequencies provides a full duplex communication path for communications between said base station and said terminal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said full duplex communication path comprises a discrete independent virtual voice channel.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said full duplex communication path comprises a virtual voice channel.

13. A wireless system for communicating packet data, comprising:

a base station; and

a set of carrier frequencies over which said base station and at least one terminal communicate said packet data;

each of said at least one terminal being operable to monitor each frequency of said set of carrier frequencies to identify a list of optimal frequencies over which a carrier energy level is able to maintain a viable transmission having a given coding gain;

said base station being operable to transmit said packet data to said at least one terminal over a plurality of frequencies from said list of optimal frequencies identified by said terminal.

14. The wireless system of claim 13, wherein each of said at least one terminal is operable to transmit said packet data to said base station over at least one of said list of optimal frequencies identified by said terminal.

15. The wireless system of claim 14, wherein said list of frequencies over which said base station transmits said packet data to said terminal comprises voice-dedicated frequencies and data packet dedicated frequencies.

16. The wireless system of claim 15, wherein said base station transmits said data packet over said voice dedicated frequencies during inactive voice periods.

17. The wireless system of claim 16, wherein said base station transmits said packet data over a plurality of data packet dedicated frequencies and a voice dedicated frequency.

18. The wireless system of claim 13, wherein each of said at least one terminal is operable to report said list of optimal frequencies to said base station.

19. The wireless system of claim 18, wherein said base station is operable to store said reported list of optimal frequencies for each of said at least one terminal.

20. The wireless system of claim 13, wherein the wireless system is a fixed wireless access system.

21. The wireless system of claim 20, wherein each of said carrier frequencies provides a full duplex voice communication path for communications between said base station and said at least one terminal.

22. The wireless system of claim 21, wherein said full duplex voice communication path comprises a discrete independent channel or a virtual channel.

23. The wireless system of claim 22, wherein said base station maintains a buffer for temporarily storing said data packets being sent to said at least one terminal.

24. The wireless system of claim 13, wherein said at least one frequency over which said base station transmits said data packets to said at least one terminal has an inactive voice period.

25. The wireless system of claim 13, further comprising a controller for maintaining said list of optimal frequencies for each of said at least one terminal.