DIGITAL DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM

• US 20090180426A1
• Filed: 12/19/2008
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sabat, John, Porte, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,855,036 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

A digital distributed antenna system (DDAS) that regains the capability to perform simulcast to multiple simulcast groups while using a base station'"'"'s direct digital output is provided. The User Plane data is adapted for simulcast and also for eliminating time delay ambiguities across multiple simulcast digital radios. In addition, the Control and Management Plane is aggregated across multiple remote units to allow a non-modified donor digital base station to control simulcast groups. The result is a low cost digital DAS that can efficiently distribute the capacity of a digital base station to solve coverage and capacity requirements in a manner similar to that now accomplished using a traditional base station with RF in/out.

Claims

1. A digital distributed wireless communication system, comprising:

a base station providing and receiving a digital multiplexed communication signal;

a plurality of remote transceiver units;

a digital distributed interface unit coupled to the base station and the plurality of remote transceiver units and providing the digital signal in a 1;

N simulcast distribution to, and providing time alignment of the digital multiplexed signals from, the plurality of remote transceiver units.

2. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of fiber optic digital interface links corresponding to each of the plurality of remote transceiver units, wherein the fiber optic digital interface links provide the digital multiplexed signal to and from the remote transceiver units.

3. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the digital distributed interface unit manages a remote digital interface delay to align a plurality of remote digital multiplexed signals from the plurality of remote transceiver units.

4. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of transceiver remote units comprises a programmable delay to equalize propagation time to the digital distributed interface unit.

5. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the DDR Hub responds to the timing measurements of the donor base station interface with a value that equals the common propagation delay from the base station through the DDR Hub to the remote unit(s).

6. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

a Control &

Management (C&

M) processor for processing C&

M data plane provided to the plurality of remote transceiver units.

7. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the digital distributed interface unit provides control commands to each of the plurality of remote transceiver units.

8. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the digital multiplexed communication signal is a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) Open Basestation Architecture initiative (OBSAI) signal.

9. The digital distributed wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of remote digital transceiver units are Digital Distributed Radio (DDR) units providing an airlink to remote users.

10. A digital distribution communication network, comprising:

a host digital base station providing and receiving a digital multiplexed communication signal;

a plurality of digital distributed radio (DDR) remotes coupled to receive the digital multiplexed communication signal from the base station; and

a DDR Hub configured to provide a 1;

N simulcast of the digital multiplexed signal, the DDR Hub coupled to the base station and to each of the plurality of DDR remotes, wherein the DDR Hub comprises;

a multiplexer coupled to the host digital base station;

a plurality of fiber optic digital interface links coupled to a plurality of multiplexers and to each of the corresponding plurality of DDR remotes; and

a user plane processor for implementing summation and splitting operations, and providing a programmable delay for providing a common delay value to the digital multiplexed signals to and from the plurality of DDR remotes.

11. The digital distribution communication network of claim 10, further comprising:

a Control and Management (C&

M) processor for processing C&

M data plane from both the host base station and the plurality of DDR remotes and managing the simulcast distribution of the data plane to the plurality of DDRs.

12. The digital distribution communication network of claim 10, wherein the DDR hub manages a remote digital interface delay to align a plurality of remote digital multiplexed signals from the plurality of DDR remotes.

13. The digital distribution communication network of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of DDR remotes comprises a programmable delay for equalizing all of the plurality of DDR propagation times to the DDR Hub.

14. The digital distribution communication network of claim 10, wherein the digital multiplexed signal is a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) signal.

15. A method for providing a digital communication signal between a digital base station and a plurality of remote transceiver units, the method comprising:

providing and receiving a digital multiplexed communication signal at a digital base station via a digital distributed interface unit; and

processing the digital multiplexed communication signal for controlled distribution of a 1;

N simulcast distribution of the digital multiplexed communication signal to and from a plurality of remote transceiver units,

wherein the digital distributed interface unit manages a remote digital interface delay to align a plurality of remote digital multiplexed signals from the plurality of remote transceiver units.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

coupling the digital multiplexed signals to a plurality of fiber optic digital interface links corresponding to each of the plurality of remote transceiver units and the digital distributed interface unit for providing the simulcast digital multiplexed signal to the remote unit.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of transceiver remote units comprises a programmable delay to equalize propagation time to the digital distributed interface unit.

18. The of claim 15, wherein the DDR Hub responds to the timing measurements of the donor base station interface with a value that equals the common propagation delay from the base station through the DDR Hub to the remote unit(s).

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

processing Control &

Management (C&

M) data plane from both the digital base station and the plurality of remote transceiver units; and

managing the simulcast distribution of the data plane to the plurality of remote transceiver units.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the digital multiplexed signal is a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) or Open Basestation Architecture Initiative (OBSAI) signal.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of remote digital transceiver units provide airlink transmission to and from remote users.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising commanding each individual remote digital transceiver unit via a set of remote CPRI or OBSAI commands transmitted via a corresponding fiber optic digital interface link.