APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR A REMOTE RADIO MODULE WITH RELAY CAPABILITY

• US 20110032879A1
• Filed: 04/21/2009
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Beaudin, Steve, Conradi, Carl Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,605,654 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15542 Selecting at relay station its transmit and receive resources selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02; arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path by two-dimensional division of the resources H04L5/0003, or by allocating sub-channels H04L5/003
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus, system, and method for facilitating wireless communication between a hub and a mobile terminal via a remote radio module. The remote radio module includes a first transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with the mobile terminal, a second transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with the hub that is coupled to a core network, and a processor for executing instructions stored in memory. The instructions include instructions for receiving a signal from the hub at a first carrier frequency and processing the signal so that the signal can be retransmitted to the mobile terminal at a second carrier frequency different from the first carrier frequency.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a remote radio module for facilitating wireless communication between a hub and a mobile terminal in a wireless network, the remote radio module including:

a first transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with the mobile terminal;

a second transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with the hub that is coupled to a core network; and

a processor for executing instructions stored in memory, the instructions including instructions for;

receiving a signal from the hub at a first carrier frequency; and

processing the signal so that the signal can be retransmitted to the mobile terminal at a second carrier frequency different from the first carrier frequency.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions for:

receiving another signal from the mobile device at the second carrier frequency; and

processing the another signal so that the another signal can be retransmitted to the hub at the first carrier frequency.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions for processing the another signal includes performing an adaptive gain function based on a strength of the another signal received by the remote radio module.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions further include instructions for searching for a control channel transmitted from the hub, the control channel being located within a transition band of the first carrier frequency.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control channel includes a proprietary Operational, Alarm, and Monitor (OA&

M) control channel.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver are configured as one of:

a single radio having four transmitters and four receivers, wherein two transmitters and two receivers are used for a backhaul connection to the hub at the first carrier frequency and wherein two transmitters and two receivers are used for an access connection to the mobile terminal at the second carrier frequency; and

two radios and a data interconnection between the two radios, each radio having two transmitters and two receivers, wherein one radio is used for a backhaul connection to the hub at the first carrier frequency and wherein the other radio is used for an access connection to the mobile terminal at the second carrier frequency.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a modem coupled to the core network via a wired backhaul connection;

wherein the remote radio module includes hardware that is configured for connecting to the modem.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless network supports one of a WiMAX standard, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, UMTS standard, CDMA standard, and GSM standard.

9. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the signal includes an OFDM modulated signal having a plurality of tones;

and

wherein the instructions further includes instructions for utilizing one or more of the tones for an Operational, Alarm, and Monitoring (OA&

M) control channel between the hub and the remote radio module, the one or more tones being reserved for non-traffic data as specified by the one of the standards using an OFDM carrier.

10. A wireless communication system, comprising:

a hub coupled to a core network; and

a plurality of remote radio modules, each remote radio module including;

a first transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with a mobile terminal;

a second transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with the hub; and

a processor for executing instructions stored in memory, the instructions including instructions for;

receiving a signal from the hub at a first carrier frequency; and

processing the signal so that the signal can be retransmitted to the mobile device at a second carrier frequency different from the first carrier frequency.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the hub includes a base station (BS) of a macro-cell, the BS being coupled to the core network via a wired backhaul connection using a modem.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the hub and the plurality of remote radio modules combine to form a cluster, the cluster including six remote radio modules surrounding the hub.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the cluster implements an n=3 frequency plan;

wherein the hub provides a wireless access connection to other mobile terminals at frequency1;

wherein one of the remote radio modules provides a wireless backhaul connection to the hub at frequency2 and provides a wireless access connection to the mobile terminal at frequency3; and

wherein another remote radio module adjacent to the one of the remote radio module provides a wireless backhaul connection to the hub at frequency3 and provides a wireless access connection to the mobile terminal at frequency2.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the hub and one of the remote radio modules use a proprietary Operational, Alarm, and Monitor (OA&

M) control channel, the OA&

M channel including one of;

a dedicated tone or a narrow band carrier in a transition band of the first carrier frequency; and

a reserved tone or a set of tones of the first carrier frequency, the reserved tone being reserved for non-traffic data as specified by a wireless communication standard.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication system includes a wireless network supporting one of a WiMAX standard and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.

16. A method for facilitating wireless communication between a hub and a mobile terminal via a remote radio module, the method comprising:

providing the remote radio module having a first transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with a mobile terminal and a second transceiver operable to wirelessly communicate with the hub;

receiving a signal from the hub at a first carrier frequency; and

processing the signal so that the signal can be retransmitted to the mobile terminal at a second carrier frequency different from the first carrier frequency.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising utilizing a proprietary control channel between the hub and the remote radio module, the control channel including one of:

a dedicated tone in a transition band of the first carrier frequency; and

a reserved tone of the first carrier frequency, the reserved tone being reserved for non-traffic data as specified by a wireless communication standard.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving another signal from the mobile terminal at the second carrier frequency; and

processing the another signal so that the another signal can be retransmitted to the hub at the first carrier frequency.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein processing the another signal includes performing an adaptive gain function based on a strength of the another signal received by the remote radio module.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the method is implemented in a wireless network that supports one of a WiMAX standard and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.