Wireless access telephone-to-telephone network interface architecture

• US 5,195,090 A
• Filed: 07/09/1991
• Issued: 03/16/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Windward Corp. (Avaya Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: Ho, Kenneth Y., Dennison, Marc K., Smith, Michael A., Miller, Paul E., Spencer, Douglas A., Windhausen, Richard A., Kissel, David M., Miller, Richard D., Thompson, John S., Heidebrecht, Richard M., Smolik, Kenneth F., Farwell, Charles Y., Hearn, Michel L., English, Michael J., Roberts, LaJeana N., Mulberg, Alan S., Ho, Kelvin K., Bolliger, Brian D., Strom, Kenneth W., Bursh, Talmage P. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLUM, RUSSELL
• Application Number:
  US07/727,498
• Time in Patent Office: 616 Days
• Field of Search: 370/94.1, 370/60, 370/79, 370/95.3, 370/93, 379/58, 379/59, 379/60, 455/33, 455/33.1-33.4
• US Class Current: 370/314
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0632 Synchronisation of packets and cells, e.g. transmission of voice via a packet network, circuit emulation service [CES] queuing arrangements in packet switching elements H04L49/90; synchronising systems for the synchronous transmission of a pulse code modulated video signal with one or more other pulse code modulated signals H04N7/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection

Abstract

A wireless-access communications system, such as a CDMA cellular radio-telephone system (FIG. 2), comprises a packet-switched communications network (202, 207, 201) that interconnects cells (base stations; 202) with each other and with the public telephone network (100). Traffic of individual calls is packetized, and packet-bearing frames (300 in FIG. 7) of a plurality of calls are then statistically multiplexed and frame-relayed through the network to yield the high capacity, efficiency, and speed of traffic transport and handoff required for a CDMA cellular system. At each call processing unit (264 in FIG. 5), individual calls are handled by individual service circuits (602 and 612) which perform speech-processing functions such as coding and decoding, tone insertion, and echo cancellation, and packet-to-circuit-switched-PCM traffic conversion. Processors (602) adapt call processing unit timing to compensate for asynchrony between cells and call processing units and variations in call path transmission delays. Cell-to-cell communications, fixed call path addressing, and packetized control message transfers ensure that the same service circuit handles a call through even multiple soft handoffs (FIGS. 27-29) and efficiently communicates simultaneously with all cells involved in the handoff without involvement of system control entities and negative effect on system call-handling capacity. Both coded (packet-switched) and uncoded (circuit-switched) radio-telephone traffic are accommodated side-by-side. Wherever possible, existing and proven technology and component units are used to achieve low cost and high reliability.

Claims

1. A wireless-access communications system comprising:

a plurality of service nodes each providing wireless-call services to user terminals located in a vicinity of the service node;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of service nodes, at least one link connected to each service node;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying wireless-call traffic to and from the service nodes over the links;

each service node including first means responsive to wireless reception of deterministic incoming call traffic from user terminals, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form for deterministic wireless transmission of the outgoing traffic to the user terminals; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of deterministic outgoing call traffic destined for user terminals served by a service node, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the service node, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the service node for deterministic transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic,

the second means including

means for controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the packets carrying the outgoing traffic to ensure receipt of the transmitted packets, at a service node serving a user terminal for which the transmitted packets are destined, within predetermined windows of time, and

means for controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the incoming traffic to ensure that the packets carrying the incoming traffic will have been received at the switching system within predetermined windows of time prior to the time instants of their transmission from the switching system.

2. A wireless-access communications system comprising:

a plurality of service nodes each providing wireless-call services to user terminals located in a vicinity of the service node;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of service nodes, at least one link connected to each service node;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying wireless-call traffic to and from the service nodes over the links;

each service node including first means responsive to wireless reception of deterministic incoming call traffic from user terminals, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form for deterministic wireless transmission of the outgoing traffic to the user terminals; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of deterministic outgoing call traffic destined for user terminals served by a service node, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the service node, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the service node for deterministic transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each link includes

time-slot interchange (TSI) means connected to the first means of a service node,

a packet transmission medium connected to the second means of a switching system, and

third means interconnecting the TSI means with the packet transmission medium; and

each first means include

fourth means responsive to wireless reception of deterministic incoming call traffic of individual ones of a plurality of calls for individually packetizing the incoming traffic of each call, and responsive to receipt of packets of outgoing call traffic of the individual ones of the plurality of the calls for depacketizing the outgoing traffic for deterministic wireless transmission of the outgoing traffic of the individual calls, and

fifth means connected to the fourth means and to the TSI means for statistically-multiplexing the packets carrying the incoming traffic into incoming time slots of the TSI means, and for retrieving statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic from outgoing time slots of the TSI means and demultiplexing the retrieved packets;

the third means are responsive to receipt of statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic on the packet transmission medium for statistically-multiplexing the received packets into the outgoing time slots of the TSI means, and for retrieving the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic from the incoming time slots of the TSI means and transmitting the retrieved packets in statistically-multiplexed form on the packet transmission medium; and

the second means include

sixth means responsive to receipt of the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic on the packet transmission medium for demultiplexing the received packets, and for transmitting received packets carrying the outgoing traffic on the packet transmission medium in statistically-multiplexed form,

seventh means connected to the sixth means for depacketizing the incoming traffic carried by the received demultiplexed packets, and for packetizing received outgoing traffic and supplying the packets carrying the outgoing traffic to the fifth means, and

eighth means connected to the seventh means for deterministically transmitting the depacketized incoming traffic, and for deterministically receiving outgoing traffic and supplying the received outgoing traffic to the seventh means.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein:

each first means are for frame-relaying packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link, and are further for receiving frame-relayed packets carrying outgoing traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link; and

each second means are for frame-relaying packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls on the at least one link, and are further for receiving frame-relayed packets carrying incoming traffic of the individual calls on the at least one link.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein:

the system is a digital radio-communications system; and

each first means are responsive to digital radio reception of the incoming call traffic, and also receive the packets carrying the outgoing traffic for digital radio transmission of the outgoing traffic.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein:

the system is a CDMA radio-communications system; and

each first means are responsive to CDMA radio reception of the incoming call traffic, and receive the packets carrying the outgoing traffic for CDMA radio transmission of the outgoing traffic.

6. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic,

the second means including

means for controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the packets carrying the outgoing traffic to ensure receipt of the transmitted packets, at a cell serving a user terminal for which the transmitted packets are destined, within predetermined windows of time, and

means for controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the incoming traffic to ensure that the packets carrying the incoming traffic will have been received at the switching system within predetermined windows of time prior to the time instants of their transmission from the switching system.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein:

each first means are for frame-relaying packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link, and are further for receiving frame-relayed packets carrying outgoing traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link; and

each second means are for frame-relaying packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls on the at least one link, and are further for receiving frame-relayed packets carrying incoming traffic of the individual calls on the at least one link.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein:

the system is a CDMA cellular radio-telephone system; and

each first means are responsive to CDMA radio reception of the incoming call traffic, and receive the packets carrying the outgoing traffic for CDMA radio transmission of the outgoing traffic.

9. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each link includes

a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) communications medium connected to a cell,

a packet transmission medium connected to a switching system, and

third means interconnecting the TDM communications medium with the packet transmission medium; and

each first means include

at least one fourth means for statistically-multiplexing the packets carrying the incoming traffic and demultiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic, and

fifth means connected to the fourth means and to the TDM communications medium for time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic into first time slots of the TDM communications medium and for time-division-demultiplexing statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic from second time slots of the TDM communications medium; and

the third means are for time-division-multiplexing packets carrying the outgoing traffic and received on the packet transmission medium in statistically-multiplexed form into the second time slots of the TDM communications medium, and for time-division-demultiplexing packets carrying the incoming traffic from the second time slots of the TDM communications medium for transmission of the packets carrying the incoming traffic in statistically-multiplexed form on the packet transmission medium.

10. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each first means include

a plurality of channel elements each for conveying the outgoing and the incoming call traffic of individual calls to and from at least one radio, and

third means connected to the plurality of channel elements for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of individual calls received from the channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected at least one link, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of a plurality of the calls destined for the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected at least one link and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to destination channel elements.

11. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each first means include

a plurality of channel elements each for respectively conveying the outgoing and the incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one radio,

a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a sequence of frames each having a plurality of time slots,

at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the TDM bus for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of individual calls received from the connected channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of the plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the TDM bus in channels assigned to the cluster controller and each comprising a plurality of first time slots of each frame, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of a plurality of the calls destined for the connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the TDM bus in channels assigned to the cluster controller and each comprising a plurality of second time slots of each frame and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to connected destination channel elements, and

a different link interface connected to each link which is connected to the cell, each link interface connected to the TDM bus for transmitting contents of a first group of the channels of the TDM bus which are assigned to the link interface in first time slots of the connected link, and for transmitting contents of second time slots of the connected link in a second group of the channels of the TDM bus which are assigned to the link interface.

12. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

the plurality of communications links include

a plurality of first communications link segments connected to the plurality of cells, at least one first link segment connected to each cell,

a plurality of second communications link segments connected to the at least one switching system, at least one second link segment connected to each switching system, and

at least one cell interconnect module interconnecting the first link segments with the second link segments, for frame-relaying packets received on the first link segments on the second link segments and frame-relaying packets received on the second link segments on the first link segments.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein each cell interconnect module includes:

a packet transmission bus;

at least one third means connected to the bus and each further connected to a different first link segment, each third means for transmitting on the bus packets received on the connected first link segment and for receiving on the bus packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the connected first link segment and transmitting the received packets on the connected first link segment; and

at least one fourth means connected to the bus and each further connected to a different second link segment, each fourth means for transmitting on the bus packets received on the connected second link segment and for receiving on the bus packets destined for the switching system which is connected to the connected second link segment and transmitting the received packets on the connected second link segment.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein:

each first link segment is a time-division-multiplexed communications medium defining a plurality of time slots;

each second link segment is a packet transmission communications medium; and

each cell interconnect module includes a packet transmission bus,

at least one third means connected to the bus and each further connected to a different first link segment, each third means for time-division-demultiplexing packets received in incoming time slots of the connected first link segment and transmitting the received demultiplexed packets on the bus, and for receiving on the bus packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the connected first link segment and time-division-multiplexing the received packets into outgoing time slots of the connected first link segment, and

at least one fourth means connected to the bus and each further connected to a different second link segment, each fourth means for transmitting on the bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected second link segment, and for receiving on the bus packets destined for the switching system which is connected to the connected second link segment and transmitting the received packets on the connected second link segment in statistically-multiplexed form.

15. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call; and

each second means include

third means responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic from a plurality of the channels for individually packetizing the call traffic received from each channel, and responsive to receipt of a plurality of packets each carrying incoming call traffic destined for a different one of the channels for depacketizing and distributing the incoming call traffic to the destination channels.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein

each second means further include:

a plurality of fourth means connected to the third means and each connected to a different link for receiving from the third means packets carrying the outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by the cell to which the link is connected and transmitting the received packets on the link in statistically-multiplexed form, and for transmitting to the third form, and for transmitting to the third means packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected link and each carrying the incoming traffic of a single call.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein:

each first means transmit and receive packets carrying encoded call traffic; and

each third means include

fourth means responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic from a plurality of the channels for individually encoding the call traffic received from each channel prior to the packetization, and responsive to depacketization of the incoming call traffic for decoding the depacketized traffic prior to the distribution.

18. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each switching system includes

a packet transmission bus,

a plurality of third means each connected to the packet transmission bus, each for handling a different call and responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic of the handled call for packetizing the received outgoing call traffic and transmitting the packets on the packet transmission bus, and for receiving on the packet transmission bus packets carrying incoming call traffic of the handled call and for depacketizing the incoming call traffic for transmission of the incoming call traffic to a destination, and

a plurality of fourth means connected to the packet transmission bus and each connected to a different link for receiving from the packet transmission bus packets carrying the outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by the cell to which the link is connected and transmitting the received packets on the link in statistically-multiplexed form, and for transmitting on the packet transmission bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected link and each carrying the incoming traffic of a single call.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein:

each first means transmit and receive packets carrying encoded call traffic; and

each third means include

fifth means responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic of the handled call for encoding the received call traffic prior to transmission thereof in packets on the packet transmission bus, and responsive to receipt of packets carrying encoded incoming call traffic for decoding the encoded traffic prior to transmission thereof to the destination.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein:

each switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call; and

each switching system further includes

time-slot interchange (TSI) means defining a plurality of time slots and connected to the plurality of third means, and

at least one fifth means connected to the TSI means and to the plurality of telephone network channels, each fifth means responsive to receipt from a connected channel of outgoing call traffic of an individual call for transmitting the received outgoing call traffic to the TSI means in first time slots that are assigned to the call, and responsive to receipt of incoming call traffic of an individual call from the TSI means in second time slots that are assigned to the individual call for transmitting the received incoming call traffic on the connected channel that carries traffic of that call;

the plurality of third means each respectively receiving outgoing call traffic and transmitting incoming call traffic on the first and the second time slots of the TSI means which are assigned to the call which is handled by the third means.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein:

a plurality of the cells occasionally simultaneously provide radio-telephone call services to a common one mobile radio-telephone; and

each third means include

means responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic of the handled call and destined for the one mobile radio-telephone, for replicating the received outgoing call traffic, packetizing each replica of the outgoing call traffic, and addressing the packets of each replica to a different one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio-telephone, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming call traffic of the handled call from each one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio telephone, the packets received from different cells each carrying a copy of the incoming traffic, depacketizing the packets received from the different cells, and selecting only one of the depacketized copies of the incoming traffic for transmission to the destination.

22. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

a plurality of the cells occasionally simultaneously provide radio-telephone call services to a common one mobile radio-telephone; and

the second means of a switching system include

third means responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic destined for the one mobile radio-telephone, for transmitting packets each carrying a copy of the outgoing traffic of the call to each one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio-telephone, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the call from each one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio-telephone, the packets received from different cells each carrying a copy of the incoming traffic, and selecting only one of the received copies of the incoming traffic for transmission to the destination.

23. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each first means transmit and receive packets carrying blocks of encoded call traffic; and

each second means include

a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) transmission medium, and

a plurality of modules each comprising

third means connected to the links for receiving from a link first packets each carrying a block of coded traffic for a call incoming from a radio telephone and for transmitting on the link second packets each carrying a block of coded traffic for the call outgoing to a radio telephone,

fourth means connected to the third means for depacketizing first packets received by the third means and periodically outputting individual ones of the carried blocks of coded incoming call traffic, and for periodically receiving individual blocks of coded outgoing call traffic, packetizing the individual blocks to form second packets, and outputting the second packets to the third means

fifth means connected to the fourth means for decoding the blocks of coded incoming call traffic output by the fourth means to generate an output stream of incoming call traffic, and for coding a received input stream of outgoing call traffic to generate blocks of coded outgoing call traffic for receipt by the fourth means, and

sixth means connected to the TDM medium and to the fifth means for transmitting the output stream of incoming call traffic generated by the fifth means in first time slots assigned to the call of the TDM medium, and for receiving the input stream of outgoing call traffic in second time slots assigned to the call of the TDM medium and supplying the received stream to the fifth means.

24. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

each first means transmit and receive packets carrying blocks of encoded call traffic; and

each second means include

a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) transmission medium,

third means connected to the links for receiving from the links first packets each carrying a block of coded traffic incoming from radio telephones for any one of a plurality of calls, and for transmitting on the links second packets each carrying a block of coded traffic outgoing to radio telephones for any one of the plurality of calls,

fourth means connected to the third means for depacketizing first packets received by the third means and each carrying a block of coded incoming call traffic for a different one of the calls and periodically outputting the carried blocks of coded incoming call traffic, and for periodically receiving blocks of coded outgoing call traffic each for a different one of the calls, packetizing each block to form second packets, and outputting the second packets to the third means,

a plurality of fifth means connected to the fourth means, each for decoding the blocks of coded incoming call traffic output by the fourth means for an individual one of the calls to generate an output stream of incoming call traffic for the call, and for coding a received input stream of outgoing call traffic for the individual call to generate blocks of coded outgoing call traffic for the individual call for receipt by the fourth means, and

sixth means connected to the TDM medium and to the plurality of the fifth means for transmitting the output streams of incoming traffic for the individual calls generated by the plurality of fifth means in first time slots of the TDM medium which are assigned to the individual calls, and for receiving input streams of outgoing call traffic for the individual calls in second time slots of the TDM medium which are assigned to the individual calls and supplying the received streams to the plurality of the fifth means.

25. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

the first means of each cell include

a plurality of channel elements for conveying the outgoing and incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one digital radio,

a first time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a plurality of time slots, and

at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the first TDM bus for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the connected channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in first time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls destined for different connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in second time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic to connected destination channel elements;

the at least one link connected to the individual cell includes

at least one time-division-multiplexed (TDM) link connected to the individual cell and defining a plurality of time slots,

at least one packet transmission link, and

at least one cell interconnect module interconnecting the TDM links and the packet transmission links;

the first means of the individual cell further include

at least one third means each connected to a different TDM link and to the TDM bus, each third means for transmitting contents of first time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the third means in first time slots of the connected TDM link, and for transmitting contents of second time slots of the connected TDM link in second time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the third means;

each cell interconnect module includes

a first packet transmission bus,

at least one fourth means connected to the first packet transmission bus and each connected to a different TDM link, each fourth means for time-division-demultiplexing packets received in the first time slots of the connected TDM link and transmitting the received demultiplexed packets on the first packet transmission bus, and for receiving on the first packet transmission bus packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the connected TDM link and time-division-multiplexing the received packets into the second time slots of the connected TDM link, and

at least one fifth means connected to the first packet transmission bus and each further connected to a different packet transmission link, each fifth means for transmitting on the first packet transmission bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected packet transmission link and for receiving on the first packet transmission bus packets destined for a switching system which is connected to the connected packet transmission link and transmitting the received packets on the connected packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form;

an individual switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call; and

the second means of the individual switching system include

a second packet transmission bus,

a second TDM bus defining a plurality of time slots,

at least one sixth means connected to the second packet transmission bus and each further connected to a different packet transmission link for receiving from the second packet transmission bus packets carrying outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by the cell to which the connected packet transmission link is connected and transmitting the received packets on the connected packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form, and for transmitting on the second packet transmission bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected packet transmission link,

a plurality of seventh means each connected to the second packet transmission bus and to the second TDM bus, each for handling a different call and responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic of the handled call on the second TDM bus in first time slots assigned to the seventh means for packetizing the received outgoing call traffic and transmitting the packets on the second packet transmission bus, and for receiving on the second packet transmission bus packets carrying incoming call traffic of the handled call and for depacketizing and transmitting the incoming call traffic on the second TDM bus in second time slots assigned to the seventh means, and

at least one eighth means connected to the second TDM bus and to the plurality of telephone network channels, each eighth means responsive to receipt from a connected channel of outgoing call traffic of an individual call for transmitting the received outgoing call traffic on the second TDM bus in the first time slots that are assigned to the seventh means that are handling the call, and responsive to receipt of incoming call traffic of an individual call on the second TDM bus in second time slots that are assigned to the seventh means that are handling the individual call for transmitting the received incoming call traffic on the connected channel that carries traffic of that call.

26. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

at least one cell provides radio-telephone call services to a first and a second type of radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

the first means of at least one cell include

third means responsive to radio reception of incoming traffic of first calls, from radio telephones of the first type, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual first calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing traffic of the individual first calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones of the first type, and

fourth means responsive to radio reception of incoming traffic of second calls, from radio telephones of the second type, for transmitting the incoming traffic of the second calls on a connected link in time-division-multiplexed (TDM) circuit-switched form, and further for receiving outgoing traffic of the second calls on the connected link in TDM circuit-switched form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones of the second type; and

the second means of at least one switching system include

fifth means responsive to receipt of outgoing traffic of the first calls destined for radio telephones of the first type which are served by the at least one cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual first calls on the at least one link connected to the at least one cell in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the individual first calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, and

sixth means responsive to receipt of outgoing traffic of the second calls destined for radio telephones of the second type which are served by the at least one cell, for transmitting the outgoing traffic of the second calls on a link connected to the at least one cell in TDM circuit-switched form, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the second calls in TDM circuit-switched form on the link connected to the at least one cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic.

27. A radio-telephone communications system comprising:

a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell;

a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell;

at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links;

each cell including first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, for transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and further for receiving packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones; and

each switching system including second means responsive to receipt of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, for transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell, and further for receiving packets carrying incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one line connected to the cell for transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, wherein

the first means of an individual cell include

a plurality of channel elements for conveying compressed outgoing and incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one digital radio,

a first time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a plurality of time slots, and

at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the first TDM bus for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the connected channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in first time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic destined for of the individual calls connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in second time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic to connected destination channel elements;

the individual cell further includes

at least one third means connected to the first TDM bus, each third means for conveying noncompressed outgoing and incoming traffic of at least one call to and from a radio by transmitting the incoming call traffic on the first TDM bus in third time slots which are assigned to the third means and for receiving the outgoing call traffic on the first TDM bus in fourth time slots which are assigned to the third means;

the at least one link connected to the individual cell includes

at least one time-division-multiplexed (TDM) link connected to the individual cell and defining a plurality of time slots,

at least one packet transmission link,

at least one circuit-switched transmission link, and

at least one cell interconnect module interconnecting the TDM links, the packet transmission links, and the circuit-switched transmission links;

the first means of the individual cell further include

at least one fifth means each connected to a different TDM link and to the first TDM bus, each fifth means for transmitting contents of first and third time slots of the first TDM bus which are assigned to the fifth means in first and third time slots of the connected TDM link, and for transmitting contents of second and fourth time slots of the connected TDM link in second and fourth time slots of the first TDM bus which are assigned to the fifth means;

each cell interconnect module includes

a first packet transmission bus,

a second TDM bus defining a plurality of time slots,

at least one sixth means connected to the first packet transmission bus and each connected to a different TDM link, each sixth means for time-division-demultiplexing packets received in the first time slots of the connected TDM link and transmitting the received demultiplexed packets on the first packet transmission bus, and for receiving on the first packet transmission bus packets destined for radio telephones served by the individual cell and time-division-multiplexing the received packets into the second time slots of the connected TDM link,

at least one seventh means connected to the second TDM bus and each connected to a different TDM link, each seventh means for time-slot-interchanging contents of the second time slots of the connected TDM link into first time slots of the second TDM bus, and for time-slot-interchanging contents of second time slots of the second TDM bus into the fourth time slots of the connected TDM link,

at least one eighth means connected to the first packet transmission bus and each further connected to a different packet transmission link, each eighth means for transmitting on the first packet transmission bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected packet transmission link and for receiving on the packet transmission bus packets destined for a switching system which is connected to the connected transmission link and transmitting the received packets on the connected packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form, and

at least one ninth means connected to the second TDM bus and each further connected to a different circuit-switched transmission link, each ninth means for transmitting call traffic received on the connected circuit-switched transmission link on the second TDM bus in second time slots assigned to the ninth means, and for transmitting on the connected circuit-switched transmission link call traffic received on the second TDM bus in first time slots assigned to the ninth means;

an individual switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call;

the individual radio-telephone switching system includes

switching means for interconnecting the circuit-switched transmission links with at least one third link; and

the second means of the individual switching system include

a second packet transmission bus,

a third TDM bus defining a plurality of time slots,

at least one tenth means connected to the second packet transmission bus and each further connected to a different packet transmission link for receiving from the second packet transmission bus packets carrying outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by the cell to which the connected packet transmission link is connected and transmitting the received packets on the connected packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form, and for transmitting on the second packet transmission bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected packet transmission link,

a plurality of eleventh means each connected to the second packet transmission bus and to the third TDM bus, each for handling a different call and responsive to receipt of outgoing call traffic of the handled call on the third TDM bus in first time slots assigned to the eleventh means for compressing the received outgoing call traffic and packetizing the compressed outgoing call traffic and transmitting the packets on the second packet transmission bus, and for receiving on the second packet transmission bus packets carrying incoming call traffic of the handled call and depacketizing the incoming call traffic and decompressing the depacketized incoming call traffic and transmitting the decompressed incoming call traffic on the third TDM bus in second time slots assigned to the eleventh means,

at least one twelfth means connected to the third TDM bus and each further connected to a different third link, each twelfth means for transmitting noncompressed call traffic received on the connected third link on the third TDM bus in third time slots assigned to the twelfth means, and for transmitting on the connected third link noncompressed call traffic received on the third TDM bus in fourth time slots assigned to the twelfth means, and

at least one thirteenth means connected to the third TDM bus and to the plurality of telephone network channels, each thirteenth means responsive to receipt from a connected channel of outgoing call traffic of an individual call for transmitting the received outgoing call traffic on the third TDM bus either (a) in the first time slots that are assigned to the eleventh means that are handling the call or (b) in the fourth time slots assigned to the twelfth means whose connected third link carries call traffic of the call, and responsive to receipt of incoming call traffic of an individual call on the third TDM bus either (c) in second time slots that are assigned to the eleventh means that are handling the individual call or (d) in the third time slots assigned to the twelfth means whose connected third link carries call traffic of the call, for transmitting the received incoming call traffic on the connected channel that carries traffic of that call.

28. A cell for providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell in a radio-telephone communications system, the cell including:

first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from a plurality of the radio telephones, for statistically-multiplexing packets carrying the incoming call traffic of individual calls from the plurality of radio telephones, and responsive to receipt from a source of statistically-multiplexed packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls, for demultiplexing the received multiplexed packets for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the plurality of radio telephones;

second means for informing the source how to adjust time instants of transmission from the source of the packets carrying the outgoing traffic to ensure receipt of the transmitted packets at the cell within predetermined windows of time; and

at least one of

(a) third means connected to the first means for time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic into first time slots of a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) communications medium, and for time division-demultiplexing from second time slots of the TDM communications medium the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic, and

(b) fourth means connected to the first means for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic away from the first means on a connected communications medium, and for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic to the first means from the connected communications medium.

29. The cell of claim 28 for providing the services to CDMA radio telephones, wherein:

the first means are responsive to CDMA radio reception of the incoming call traffic, and demultiplex the packets carrying the outgoing call traffic for CDMA radio transmission of the outgoing call traffic.

30. A cell for providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell in a radio-telephone communications system, the cell including:

first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from a plurality of the radio telephones, for statistically-multiplexing packets carrying the incoming call traffic of individual calls from the plurality of radio telephones, and responsive to receipt of statistically-multiplexed packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls, for demultiplexing the received multiplexed packets for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the plurality of radio telephones; and

at least one of

(a) second means connected to the first means for time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic into first time slots of a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) communications medium, and for time division-demultiplexing from second time slots of the TDM communications medium the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic, and

(b) third means connected to the first means for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic away from the first means on a connected communications medium, and for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic to the first means from the connected communications medium, wherein

the first means include

a plurality of channel elements for conveying the outgoing and the incoming call traffic of individual calls to and from at least one radio, and

fourth means connected to the plurality of channel elements for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form to the second or third means, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls destined for the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form from the second or third means and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to destination channel elements.

31. A cell for providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell in a radio-telephone communications system, the cell including:

first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from a plurality of the radio telephones, for statistically-multiplexing packets carrying the incoming call traffic of individual calls from the plurality of radio telephones, and responsive to receipt of statistically-multiplexed packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls, for demultiplexing the received multiplexed packets for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the plurality of radio telephones; and

at least one of

(a) second means connected to the first means for time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic into first time slots of a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) communications medium, and for time division-demultiplexing from second time slots of the TDM communications medium the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic, and

(b) third means connected to the first means for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic away from the first means on a connected communications medium, and for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic to the first means from the connected communications medium, wherein

the first means include

a plurality of channel elements for conveying the outgoing and the incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one radio,

a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a plurality of time slots, and

at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the TDM bus for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the connected channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the TDM bus in first time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls destined for the connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the TDM bus in second time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to connected destination channel elements; and

the second or third means include

at least one communications link interface each connected to the TDM bus for transmitting contents of first time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the link interface in first time slots of a communications link, and for transmitting contents of second time slots of the communications link in second time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the link interface.

32. A cell for providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell in a radio-telephone communications system, the cell including:

first means responsive to radio reception of incoming voice call traffic from a plurality of the radio telephones, for statistically-multiplexing packets carrying the incoming call traffic of individual calls from the plurality of radio telephones, and responsive to receipt of statistically-multiplexed packets carrying outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls, for demultiplexing the received multiplexed packets for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the plurality of radio telephones; and

at least one of

(a) second means connected to the first means for time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic into first time slots of a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) communications medium, and for time division-demultiplexing from second time slots of the TDM communications medium the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic, and

(b) third means connected to the first means for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic away from the first means on a connected communications medium, and for frame-relaying the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic to the first means from the connected communications medium, wherein

the first means include

a plurality of channel elements for conveying compressed outgoing and incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one digital radio,

a first time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a plurality of time slots, and

at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the first TDM bus for separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the connected channel elements and transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in first time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller, and for receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls destined for the connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in second time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller and for depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to connected destination channel elements;

the cell further includes

at least one fourth means connected to the first TDM bus, each fourth means for conveying noncompressed outgoing and incoming traffic of at least one call to and from a radio by transmitting the incoming call traffic on the first TDM bus in third time slots which are assigned to the fourth means and for receiving the outgoing call traffic on the first TDM bus in fourth time slots which are assigned to the fourth means; and

the second or third means include

at least one communications link interface each connected to the TDM bus for transmitting contents of first and third time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the fifth means in first and third time slots of a communications link, and for transmitting contents of second and fourth time slots of the communications link in second and fourth time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the fifth means.

33. A method of transporting wireless-call traffic in a wireless-access communications system that includes a plurality of service nodes each providing wireless-call services to user terminals located in a vicinity of the service node, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of service nodes, at least one link connected to each service node, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the wireless-call traffic to and from the service nodes over the links, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to wireless reception at a service node of deterministic incoming call traffic from user terminals, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the service node on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for deterministic transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, including

controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the incoming traffic to ensure that the packets carrying the incoming traffic will have been received at the switching system within predetermined windows of time prior to the time instants of their transmission from the switching system;

in response to receipt at the switching system of deterministic outgoing call traffic destined for user terminals served by a service node, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the service node, including

controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the packets carrying the outgoing traffic to ensure receipt of the transmitted packets, at a service node serving a user terminal for which the transmitted packets are destined, within predetermined windows of time; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls at the service nodes on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form for deterministic wireless transmission of the outgoing traffic to the user terminals.

34. A method of transporting wireless-call traffic in a wireless-access communications system that includes a plurality of service nodes each providing wireless-call services to user terminals located in a vicinity of the service node, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of service nodes, at least one link connected to each service node, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the wireless-call traffic to and from the service nodes over the links, and wherein a link includes a time-slot interchange (TSI) arrangement connected to the first means of a service node, a packet transmission medium connected to the second means of a switching system, and an interface node interconnecting the TSI arrangement with the packet transmission medium, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to wireless reception at a service node of deterministic incoming call traffic from user terminals, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the service node on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for deterministic transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of deterministic outgoing call traffic destined for user terminals served by a service node, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the service node; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls at the service node on the connected at least one link in non-deterministic, statistically-multiplexed form for deterministic wireless transmission of the outgoing traffic to the user terminals, wherein

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

wirelessly receiving at the service node deterministic incoming traffic of individual ones of a plurality of calls,

individually packetizing the received incoming traffic of each call,

statistically-multiplexing the packets carrying the incoming traffic of the plurality of the calls into incoming time slots of the TSI arrangement at the service node,

retrieving the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic from the incoming time slots of the TSI arrangement at the interface node, and

transmitting the retrieved packets carrying the incoming traffic in statistically-multiplexed form from the interface node on the packet transmission medium;

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

receiving the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic from the packet transmission medium at the switching system,

demultiplexing the received packets carrying the incoming traffic,

depacketizing the incoming traffic carried by the received demultiplexed packets, and

transmitting the depacketized incoming traffic of the individual ones of the plurality of the calls deterministically from the switching system;

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

receiving deterministic outgoing call traffic of the individual ones of the plurality of the calls at the switching system,

packetizing the received outgoing traffic of the individual ones of the calls, and

transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the plurality of the calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the packet transmission medium; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

receiving the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic from the packet transmission medium at the interface node,

statistically-multiplexing the packets carrying the outgoing traffic received at the interface node into outgoing time slots of the TSI arrangement at the interface node,

retrieving the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic from the outgoing time slots of the TSI arrangement at the service node,

demultiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic retrieved at the service node,

depacketizing the outgoing traffic of the individual ones of the plurality of the calls, and

wirelessly transmitting the depacketized outgoing traffic of the individual ones of the plurality of calls deterministically from the service node.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein:

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

frame-relaying the packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link to the switching system; and

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

frame-relaying the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls from the switching system on the at least one link to the cell.

36. The method of claim 35 in a digital radio communications system, wherein:

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic occurs in response to digital radio reception of the incoming call traffic; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic for digital radio transmission of the outgoing traffic.

37. The method of claim 36 in a CDMA radio communications system wherein:

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic occurs in response to CDMA radio reception of the incoming call traffic; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic for CDMA radio transmission of the outgoing traffic.

38. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic, including

controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the incoming traffic to ensure that the packets carrying the incoming traffic will have been received at the switching system within predetermined windows of time prior to the time instants of their transmission from the switching system;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell, including

controlling time instants of switching system transmission from the switching system of the packets carrying the outgoing traffic to ensure receipt of the transmitted packets, at a cell serving a user terminal for which the transmitted packets are destined, within predetermined windows of time; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein:

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

frame-relaying the packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link to the switching system; and

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

frame-relaying the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls from the switching system on the at least one link to the cell.

40. The method of claim 38 in a CDMA radio-telephone system, wherein:

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic occurs in response to CDMA radio reception of the incoming call traffic; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic for CDMA radio transmission of the outgoing traffic.

41. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein a link includes a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) communications medium connected to a cell, a packet transmission medium connected to a switching system, and a node interconnecting the TDM communications medium with the packet transmission medium, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

statistically-multiplexing the packets carrying the incoming traffic,

time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic into time slots of the TDM communications medium outgoing from the cell,

time-division-demultiplexing packets carrying the incoming traffic from time slots of the TDM communications medium incoming at the node, and

transmitting the time-division-demultiplexed packets carrying the incoming traffic from the node on the packet transmission medium in statistically-multiplexed form; and

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the packet transmission medium,

time-division-multiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic and received at the node on the packet transmission medium into time slots of the TDM communications medium outgoing from the node,

time-division-demultiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic from time slots of the TDM communications medium incoming at the cell, and

demultiplexing the statistically-multiplexed packets carrying the outgoing traffic.

42. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein a cell includes a plurality of channel elements for conveying the outgoing and the incoming call traffic of individual calls to and from at least one radio, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of individual calls received from the channel elements, and

transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected at least one link; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

receiving packets of the outgoing call traffic of a plurality of the calls destined for the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the connected at least one link, and

depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to destination channel elements.

43. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein a cell includes a plurality of channel elements for conveying the outgoing and the incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one radio, a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a sequence of frames each having a plurality of time slots, at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the TDM bus, and a different link interface connected to each link which is connected to the cell, each link interface being connected to the TDM bus, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

separately packetizing the incoming call traffic of individual calls received at a cluster controller from the connected channel elements,

transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form from the cluster controller on the TDM bus in channels assigned to the cluster controller and each comprising a plurality of first time slots of each frame, and

transmitting contents of a first group of the channels of the TDM bus which are assigned to a link interface from the link interface in first time slots of the connected link; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls at the link interface in second time slots of the connected link,

transmitting the contents of the second time slots of the connected link from the link interface in a second group of the channels of the TDM bus which are assigned to the link interface,

receiving the packets of the outgoing call traffic of a plurality of the calls destined for the connected channel elements at the cluster controller in statistically-multiplexed form on the TDM bus in channels assigned to the cluster controller and each comprising a plurality of second time slots of each frame, and

depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to the destination channel elements that are connected to the cluster controller.

44. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein the plurality of communications links include a plurality of first communications link segments connected to the plurality of cells, at least one first link segment connected to each cell, a plurality of second communications link segments connected to the at least one switching system, at least one second link segment connected to each switching system, and at least one cell interconnect module interconnecting the first link segments with the second link segments, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

transmitting the packets carrying the incoming traffic from the cell on the first communications link segments, and

frame-relaying packets received at a cell interconnect module on the first link segments from the cell interconnect module on the second link segments; and

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic from the switching system on the second communications link segments, and

frame-relaying packets received at the cell interconnect module on the second link segments from the cell interconnect module on the first link segments.

45. The method of claim 44 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein each cell interconnect module includes a packet transmission bus, at least one first bus interface connected to the bus and each further connected to a different first link segment, and at least one second bus interface connected to the bus and each further connected to a different second link segment, wherein:

the step of frame-relaying packets received at a cell interconnect module on the first link segments comprises the steps of

transmitting on the bus packets received at a first bus interface on the interface'"'"'s connected first link segment,

receiving on the bus at a second bus interface packets destined for the switching system which is connected to the interface'"'"'s connected second link segment, and

transmitting the received packets from the second bus interface on the connected second link segment; and

the step of frame-relaying packets received at a cell interconnect module on the second link segments comprises the steps of

transmitting on the bus packets received at a second bus interface on the interface'"'"'s connected second link segment,

receiving on the bus at a first bus interface packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the interface'"'"'s connected first link segment, and

transmitting the received packets from the first bus interface on the connected first link segment.

46. The method of claim 44 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein each first link segment is a time-division-multiplexed communications medium defining a plurality of time slots, each second link segment is a packet transmission communications medium, and each cell interconnect module includes a packet transmission bus, at least one first bus interface each connected to the bus and to a different first link segment, and at least one second bus interface each connected to the bus and to a different second link segment, wherein:

the step of frame-relaying packets received at a cell interconnect module on the first link segments comprises the steps of

time-division demultiplexing packets received at a first bus interface in incoming time slots of the interface'"'"'s connected first link segment,

transmitting the received demultiplexed packets from the first bus interface on the bus,

receiving on the bus at a second bus interface packets destined for the switching system which is connected to the interface'"'"'s connected second link segment, and

transmitting the received packets from the second bus interface on the connected second link segment in statistically-multiplexed form; and

the step of frame-relaying packets received at a cell interconnect module on the second link segments comprises the steps of

transmitting on the bus packets received in statistically-multiplexed form at a second bus interface on the interface'"'"'s connected second link segment,

receiving on the bus at the first bus interface packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the interface'"'"'s connected first link segment, and

time-division multiplexing the received packets at the first bus interface into outgoing time slots of the interface'"'"'s connected first link segment.

47. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein each switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, and each channel is for carrying traffic of an individual call, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the step of

in response to receipt of a plurality of packets each carrying incoming call traffic destined for a different one of the channels, depacketizing and distributing the incoming call traffic of the individual calls to the destination channels; and

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

in response to receipt of outgoing call traffic of the individual calls from a plurality of the channels, individually packetizing the call traffic received from each channel.

48. The method of claim 47 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein packets carry encoded call traffic, wherein:

the step of individually packetizing the call traffic comprises the step of individually encoding the call traffic received from each channel prior to the packetization; and

the step of depacketizing and distributing comprise the step of

in response to depacketization of the incoming call traffic, decoding the depacketized traffic prior to the distribution.

49. The method of claim 47 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein a switching system includes a packet transmission bus, a plurality of first bus interface each connected to the packet transmission bus and to a different link, and a plurality of call-handling units each connected to the packet transmission bus, each for handling a different call, wherein:

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

transmitting on the packet transmission bus packets received by a bus interface in statistically-multiplexed form on the interface'"'"'s connected link, each packet carrying the incoming traffic of a single call,

receiving on the packet transmission bus at a call-handling unit packets carrying incoming call traffic of the handled call,

depacketizing the received packets of the incoming call traffic, and

transmitting the depacketized incoming call traffic from the call-handling unit to a destination; and

the step of transmitting the packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the steps of

in response to receipt at a call-handling unit of outgoing call traffic of the handled call, packetizing the received outgoing call traffic,

transmitting the packets from the call-handling unit on the packet transmission bus,

receiving from the packet transmission bus at a bus interface packets carrying the outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by the cell to which the interface'"'"'s connected link is connected, and

transmitting the received packets from the bus interface on the link in statistically-multiplexed form.

50. The method of claim 49 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein the switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call, and the switching system further includes a time-slot interchange (TSI) arrangement defining a plurality of time slots and connected to the plurality of call-handling units, and at least one second bus interface connected to the TSI arrangement and to the plurality of telephone network channels, wherein:

the step of packetizing the outgoing call traffic comprises the steps of

in response to receipt at a second bus interface from a connected channel of outgoing call traffic of an individual call, transmitting the received outgoing call traffic to the TSI arrangement in first time slots that are assigned to the call, and

receiving the outgoing call traffic at a call-handling unit in the first time slots of the TSI arrangement which are assigned to the call which the call-handling unit is handling; and

the step of transmitting the depacketized incoming call traffic to a destination includes the steps of

transmitting incoming call traffic from a call-handling unit in second time slots of the TSI arrangement which are assigned to the call which is handled by the call-handling unit,

receiving incoming call traffic of an individual call at a second bus interface from the TSI arrangement in second time slots that are assigned to the individual call, and

transmitting the received incoming call traffic from the second bus interface on the connected channel that carries traffic of that call.

51. The method of claim 49 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein packets carry encoded call traffic, wherein:

the step of packetizing the received outgoing call traffic comprises the step of

encoding the received call traffic prior to transmission thereof in packets on the packet transmission bus; and

the step of transmitting the depacketized incoming call traffic comprises the step of

decoding the depacketized encoded incoming traffic prior to transmission thereof to the destination.

52. The method of claim 49 in a radio-telephone communications system wherein a plurality of the cells occasionally simultaneously provide radio-telephone call services to a common one mobile radio-telephone, wherein:

the step of transmitting outgoing call traffic includes the steps of

in response to receipt at a call-handling unit of outgoing call traffic of the handled call destined for the one mobile radio-telephone, replicating the received outgoing call traffic,

packetizing each replica of the outgoing call traffic, and

addressing the packets of each replica to a different one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio-telephone; and

the step of receiving incoming call traffic includes the steps of

receiving at a call-handling unit packets carrying incoming call traffic of the handled call from each one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio telephone, the packets received from different cells each carrying a copy of the incoming traffic,

depacketizing the packets received from the different cells, and

selecting only one of the depacketized copies of the incoming traffic for transmission to the destination.

53. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein a plurality of the calls occasionally simultaneously provide radio-telephone call services to a common one mobile radio-telephone, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic comprises the step of

in response to receipt of outgoing call traffic destined for the one mobile radio-telephone, transmitting packets each carrying a copy of the outgoing traffic of the call to each one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio-telephone; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic comprises the steps of

receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the call from each one of the cells that are simultaneously providing the services to the one mobile radio-telephone, the packets received from different cells each carrying a copy of the incoming traffic, and

selecting only one of the received copies of the incoming traffic for transmission to the destination.

54. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein packets carry blocks of encoded call traffic, and a switching system includes a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) transmission medium and a plurality of call-handling modules connected to the TDM transmission medium, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of receiving packets carrying the incoming call traffic includes the steps of

receiving from a link at a call-handling module first packets each carrying a block of coded incoming traffic for a call from a radio-telephone,

depacketizing the received first packets in order to periodically generate an individual one of the carried blocks of coded incoming call traffic,

decoding the blocks of generated coded incoming call traffic to generate an output stream of incoming call traffic, and

transmitting the generated output stream of incoming call traffic from the call-handling module on the TDM medium in first time slots assigned to the call; and

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing call traffic includes the steps of

receiving an input stream of outgoing call traffic for a call to a radio-telephone at a call-handing module on the TDM medium in second time slots assigned to the call,

coding the received input stream of outgoing call traffic to generate blocks of coded outgoing call traffic,

periodically packetizing individual ones of the generated blocks of coded outgoing call traffic in order to form second packets, and

transmitting the second packets from the call-handling module on a link.

55. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein each cell includes a plurality of channel elements for conveying the outgoing and incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one digital radio, a first time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a plurality of time slots, and at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the first TDM bus, the at least one link connected to the individual cell includes at least one time-division-multiplexed (TDM) link connected to the individual cell and defining a plurality of time slots, at least one packet transmission link, and at least one first packet transmission bus interconnecting the TDM links and the packet transmission links, and each switching system is further connected to at least one packet transmission link and to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call, and includes a second packet transmission bus, a second TDM bus connected to the plurality of channels and defining a plurality of time slots, and at least one call-handling unit interconnecting the second packet transmission bus and the second TDM bus, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming call traffic includes the steps of

separately packetizing at a cluster controller the incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the connected channel elements,

transmitting packets of the incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in first time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller, and

transmitting contents of first time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to a TDM link and which are received at the TDM link in first time slots of the TDM link;

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming call traffic includes the steps of

time-division demultiplexing packets received in the first time slots of the TDM link at a first packet transmission bus,

transmitting the received time-division demultiplexed packets on the first packet transmission bus,

receiving on the first packet transmission bus at a packet transmission link transmitted packets destined for a switching system which is connected to the packet transmission link,

transmitting the received packets on the packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form,

transmitting on the second packet transmission bus packets received at the second packet transmission bus in statistically-multiplexed form on a packet transmission link,

receiving on the second packet transmission bus at a call-handling unit packets carrying incoming call traffic of a handled call,

depacketizing the received packets and transmitting the incoming call traffic from the call-handling unit on the second TDM bus in second time slots assigned to the call, and

in response to receipt at a channel of incoming call traffic of the call carried by the channel on the second TDM bus in second time slots that are assigned to the call, transmitting the received incoming call traffic on the channel;

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing call traffic includes the steps of

in response to receipt from a channel of outgoing call traffic of an individual call, transmitting the received outgoing call traffic on the second TDM bus in first time slots that are assigned to the call,

in response to receipt at a call-handling unit of outgoing call traffic of a call on the second TDM bus in first time slots assigned to the call-handling unit, packetizing the received outgoing call traffic of the call,

transmitting the packets from the call-handling unit on the second packet transmission bus,

receiving from the second packet transmission bus at a packet transmission link packets carrying outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell to which the packet transmission link is connected,

transmitting the received packets on the packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form,

transmitting on the first packet transmission bus packets received at the first packet transmission bus in statistically-multiplexed form on a connected packet transmission link,

receiving on the first packet transmission bus at a TDM link packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the TDM link, and

time-division-multiplexing the received packets into second time slots of the TDM link; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing call traffic comprises the steps of

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing call traffic comprises the steps of

transmitting contents of second time slots of a TDM link which are received at the TDM bus in second time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to the TDM link,

receiving at a cluster controller packets of the outgoing call traffic of a plurality of the calls destined for the connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in second time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller, and

depacketizing and distributing the outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to the connected destination channel elements.

56. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein at least one cell provides radio-telephone call services to a first and a second type of radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic for the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic includes the steps of

in response to radio reception of incoming traffic of first calls, from radio telephones of the first type, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual first calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and

in response to radio reception of incoming traffic of second calls, from radio telephones of the second type, transmitting the incoming traffic of the second calls on a connected link in time-division-multiplexed (TDM) circuit-switched form;

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming traffic includes the steps of

receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the individual first calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link connected to the cell,

depacketizing the received incoming traffic of the first calls,

transmitting the depacketized incoming traffic of the individual first calls to destinations of the individual first calls,

receiving packets carrying incoming traffic of the second calls in TDM circuit-switched form on the link connected to the at least one cell, and

transmitting the received incoming traffic of the second calls in its received form to destinations of the second calls;

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic includes the steps of

in response to receipt of outgoing traffic of the first calls destined for radio telephones of the first type which are served by the at least one cell, transmitting packets carying the outgoing traffic of the individual first calls on that at least one link connected to the at least one cell in statistically-multiplexed form, and

in response to receipt of outgoing traffic of the second calls destined for radio telephones of the second type which are served by the at least one cell, transmitting the outgoing traffic of the second calls on a link connected to the at least one cell in TDM circuit-switched form; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing traffic includes the steps of

receiving outgoing traffic of the second calls on the connected link in TDM circuit-switched form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic in its received form to the radio telephones of the second type,

receiving packets carrying outgoing traffic of the individual first calls on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form, and

depacketizing the received outgoing traffic of the first calls for transmission of the depacketized outgoing traffic of the individual first calls to the radio telephones of the first type.

57. A method of transporting radio-telephone call traffic in a radio-telephone communications system that includes a plurality of cells each providing radio-telephone call services to radio telephones located in a zone served by the cell, a plurality of communications links connected to the plurality of cells, at least one link connected to each cell, and at least one switching system connected to the plurality of links for conveying the radio-telephone call traffic to and from the cells over the links, and wherein an individual cell includes a plurality of channel elements for conveying compressed outgoing and incoming traffic of individual calls to and from at least one digital radio, a first time-division-multiplexed (TDM) bus defining a plurality of time slots, and at least one cluster controller each connected to a plurality of different ones of the channel elements and to the first TDM bus, the at least one link connected to the individual cell includes at least one time-division-multiplexed (TDM) link connected to the individual cell and defining a plurality of time slots, at least one packet transmission link, at least one circuit-switched transmission link, and at least one cell interconnected module interconnecting the TDM links, the packet transmission links, and the circuit-switched transmission links, each cell interconnect module includes a first packet transmission bus, and a second TDM bus defining a plurality of time slots, and an individual switching system is further connected to a plurality of communication channels of a telephone network, each channel for carrying traffic of an individual call, and the individual switching system includes a switch for interconnecting the circuit-switched transmission links with at least one third link, a second packet transmission bus, and a third TDM bus defining a plurality of time slots, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to radio reception at a cell of incoming voice call traffic from radio telephones, transmitting packets carrying the incoming traffic of individual calls from the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form;

receiving the packets carrying the incoming voice call traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form on the at least one link at a switching system for periodically-distributed transmission of the incoming traffic to destinations of the incoming traffic;

in response to receipt at the switching system of outgoing voice call traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell, transmitting packets carrying the outgoing traffic of the individual calls in statistically-multiplexed form from the switching system on the at least one link connected to the cell; and

receiving the packets carrying the outgoing voice call traffic of the individual calls at the cell on the connected at least one link in statistically-multiplexed form for radio transmission of the outgoing traffic to the radio telephones, wherein

the step of transmitting packets carrying the incoming call traffic comprises the steps of

separately packetizing at a cluster controller compressed incoming call traffic of the individual calls received from the connected channel elements,

transmitting packets of the compressed incoming call traffic of a plurality of the calls received from the channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in first time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller,

transmitting noncompressed incoming traffic of at least one call received from a second radio on the first TDM bus in third time slots which are assigned to the second radio, and

transmitting contents of first and thrid time slots of the TDM bus which are assigned to a TDM link and which are received at the TDM link in first and third time slots of the TDM link;

the step of receiving the packets carrying the incoming call traffic includes the steps of

time-division demultiplexing packets received in the first time slots of the TDM link at a first packet transmission bus,

transmitting the received time-division demultiplexed packets on the first packet transmission bus,

receiving on the first packet transmission bus at a packet transmission link transmitted packets destined for a switching system which is connected to the packet transmission link,

transmitting the received packets on the packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form,

transmitting on the second packet transmission bus packets received at the second packet transmission bus in statistically-multiplexed form on a packet transmission link,

receiving on the second packet transmission bus at a call-handling unit packets carrying compressed incoming call traffic of a handled call,

depacketizing the received packets carrying the compressed call incoming traffic,

decompressing the depacketized compressed incoming call traffic,

transmitting the decompressed incoming call traffic from the call-handling unit on the third TDM bus in second time slots assigned to the call,

time-slot-interchanging contents of the third time slots of the TDM link received at a second TDM bus into first time slots of the second TDM bus,

transmitting on a circuit-switched transmission link incoming call traffic received at the circuit-switched transmission link on the second TDM bus in first time slots assigned to the circuit-switched transmission link,

switching incoming call traffic received at the switch on the circuit-switched transmission links to the at least one third link,

transmitting noncompressed incoming call traffic received on a third link on the third TDM bus in third time slots assigned to the third link,

in response to receipt at a channel of incoming call traffic of an individual call carried by the channel on the third TDM bus in either (c) second time slots that are assigned to the call or (d) third time slots that are assigned to the call, transmitting the received incoming call traffic on the channel;

the step of transmitting packets carrying the outgoing call traffic comprises the steps of

in response receipt from a channel of noncompressed outgoing call traffic of an individual call, transmitting the received outgoing call traffic on the third TDM bus either (a) in first time slots that are assigned to the call or (b) in fourth time slots assigned to the call,

in response to receipt at a call-handling unit of outgoing call traffic of a call on the third TDM bus in first time slots assigned to the call-handling unit, compressing the received outgoing call traffic of the call,

packetizing the compressed outgoing call traffic of the call,

transmitting the packets from the call-handling unit on the second packet transmission bus,

receiving from the second packet transmission bus at a packet transmission link packets carrying outgoing traffic destined for radio telephones served by a cell to which the packet transmission link is connected,

transmitting the received packets on the packet transmission link in statistically-multiplexed form,

transmitting on the first packet transmission bus packets received at the first packet transmission bus in statistically-multiplexed form on a connected packet transmission link,

receiving on the first packet transmission bus at a TDM link packets destined for radio telephones served by the cell which is connected to the TDM link,

time-division multiplexing the received packets into second time slots of the TDM link,

transmitting on a third link noncompressed call traffic received on the third TDM bus in fourth time slots assigned to the third link,

switching outgoing call traffic received at the switch on the at least one third link to the circuit-switched transmission links,

transmitting outgoing call traffic received on a circuit-switched transmission link on the second TDM bus in second time slots assigned to the circuit-switched transmission link, and

time-slot-interchanging contents of the second time slots of the second TDM bus into fourth time slots of the TDM link; and

the step of receiving the packets carrying the outgoing call traffic comprises the steps of

transmitting contents of second and fourth time slots of a TDM link which are received at the first TDM bus in second and fourth time slots of the first TDM bus which are assigned to the TDM link,

receiving at a cluster controller packets of the compressed outgoing call traffic of a plurality of the calls destined for the connected channel elements in statistically-multiplexed form on the first TDM bus in second time slots which are assigned to the cluster controller,

depacketizing and distributing the compressed outgoing call traffic of the individual calls to the connected destination channel elements, and

receiving noncompressed outgoing call traffic of the at least one call on the first TDM bus in fourth time slots which are assigned to the second radio for transmission of the noncompressed outgoing call traffic to the second radio.