REMOTE DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM

• US 20140355525A1
• Filed: 05/31/2013
• Published: 12/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barzegar, Farhad, Barnickel, Donald J., Blandino, George, Gerszberg, Irwin, Henry, Paul Shala, Willis, Thomas M. III
• Granted Patent: US 9,525,524 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• 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: H04B 7/2612 Arrangements for wireless medium access control, e.g. by allocating physical layer transmission capacity H04B7/2615 - H04B7/2643 take precedence; provision for broadband connection H04Q11/0478
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0003 Two-dimensional division time-code division H04J11/00, H04J13/00; for time-space division H04B7/0413, H04B7/0697
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

A distributed antenna system is provided that frequency shifts the output of one or more microcells to a 60 GHz or higher frequency range for transmission to a set of distributed antennas. The cellular band outputs of these microcell base station devices are used to modulate a 60 GHz (or higher) carrier wave, yielding a group of subcarriers on the 60 GHz carrier wave. This group will then be transmitted in the air via analog microwave RF unit, after which it can be repeated or radiated to the surrounding area. The repeaters amplify the signal and resend it on the air again toward the next repeater. In places where a microcell is required, the 60 GHz signal is shifted in frequency back to its original frequency (e.g., the 1.9 GHz cellular band) and radiated locally to nearby mobile devices.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, to facilitate execution of the instructions to perform operations, comprising;

facilitating receipt of a first signal from a base station device, wherein the first signal is determined to be in a cellular band;

modulating a carrier wave signal with the first signal;

generating a transmission based on the carrier wave signal and the first signal; and

directing the transmission to a remote antenna wirelessly.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission comprises a set of subcarriers of signals received from a set of base station devices.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein subcarriers of the set of subcarriers are directed to respective sets of remote antennas.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission is determined to be represented at or substantially at a frequency of at least 60 GHz.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first signal conforms to a mobile network communications protocol.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the set of subcarriers are combined by frequency division multiplexing.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission comprises metadata that indicates to which remote antenna of a set of remote antennas that a subcarrier signal received from the base station device corresponds.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a second transmission wirelessly from the remote antenna; and

extracting a second signal from the second transmission, wherein a band of the second signal is converted to the cellular band.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining which base station device of a set of base station devices to which the second signal corresponds; and

sending the second signal to the base station device to which the second signal corresponds.

10. A system, comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, to facilitate execution of the instructions to perform operations, comprising;

receiving a first wireless transmission;

extracting a signal from the first wireless transmission, wherein the signal is in a cellular band frequency;

transmitting the signal to a mobile device; and

retransmitting the first wireless transmission.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving a second signal from the mobile device;

generating a second transmission based on modulating a carrier wave signal with the second signal; and

transmitting the second transmission directed to a base station device, wherein the second transmission is at the frequency of at least about 60 GHz.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the second transmission comprises an identifier that indicates the base station device with which the second transmission is associated.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

boosting a signal to noise ratio of the first wireless transmission with a first amplifier before extracting the signal; and

amplifying the first wireless transmission with a second amplifier before retransmitting the first wireless transmission.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the first wireless transmission comprises a plurality of signals.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the extracting comprises selecting the signal from the plurality of signals that is determined to be associated with the mobile device.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein signals of the plurality of signals are combined by frequency division multiplexing.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the signal is formatted in accordance with a mobile network communication protocol.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a device comprising a processor, a defined high frequency transmission directed to a remote antenna;

identifying, by the device, a signal, from a plurality of signals, that is determined to be associated with the remote antenna, wherein the plurality of signals are carried in a plurality of channels with the defined high frequency transmission;

extracting, by the device, the signal;

transmitting, by the device, the signal directed to a mobile device; and

retransmitting, by the device, the defined high frequency transmission directed to another remote antenna.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the extracting the signal further comprises converting the signal to a cellular band frequency.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the defined high frequency transmission is a first defined high frequency transmission, and further comprising:

receiving, by the device, a second signal from the mobile device;

modulating, by the device, a carrier wave signal with the second signal;

generating, by the device, a second defined high frequency transmission in response to the modulating; and

transmitting, by the device, the defined second high frequency transmission to a base station device.