Method of connecting base station to cellular system

• US 6,292,891 B1
• Filed: 06/08/2000
• Issued: 09/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Networks (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Bergenwall, Martin, Pirkola, Juha
• Primary Examiner(s): Peeso, Thomas R.
• Application Number:
  US09/589,998
• Time in Patent Office: 467 Days
• Field of Search: 713/151, 713/164, 713/165, 713/168, 380/247
• US Class Current: 713/151
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/045 between access point and backbone network device

Abstract

The invention relates to a cellular radio network and a method of connecting a base station (100) to a cellular radio system, which enable a fast and automatized installation of base stations wherever an IP information network is available, the cellular radio system comprising a base station system which comprises as network elements a base station controller (102) and at least one base station, and in which method the base station controller controls at least one base station. The invention is characterized in that the network elements (102,100) are interconnected by an information network using a packet protocol, and that each network element is provided with a unique network element address, and that the network configuration information of said information network using the packet protocol is maintained at a configuration server (104) connected to the information network, and that a new base station connected to the network first contacts the configuration server, and that the configuration server transmits the network configuration information to the base station.

Claims

1. A cellular radio system comprising:

a base station system which comprises a base station controller and at least one base station as network elements, and in which cellular radio system the base station controller is arranged to control at least one base station, wherein in the cellular radio system, the network elements are connected by an information network using a packet protocol and at least one network element is autoconfigurating;

a configuration server, connected to the network elements, by the information network using the packet protocol; and

at least one base station is arranged to contact the configuration server and to load parameters from the configuration server into the base station.

2. The cellular radio network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cellular radio network comprises as network elements a mobile services switching centre, a speech encoding unit and a radio system network element using packet transmission, which are connected to other network elements.

3. The cellular radio system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each network element has a unique network element address which is attached to packets to be transmitted and on a basis of which information is transmitted to the correct network element.

4. The cellular radio system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the unique network element address of each base station, network element address of the configuration server, unique geographical coordinates of each base station, network element address of a default gateway are set in the base station.

5. The cellular radio system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information network using the packet protocol is an Internet protocol information network, and the network element address is an IP information network address.

6. A method of connecting a base station to a cellular radio system comprising:

a base station system which comprises a base station controller and at least one base station as network elements, and in which method the base station controller controls at least one base station,

wherein the network elements are interconnected by means of an information network using a packet protocol, and that at least one network element is functioning autoconfigurously, and that each network element is provided with a unique network element address, and that the network configuration information of said information network using the packet protocol is maintained at a configuration server connected to the information network, and that a new base station connected to the network first contacts the configuration server, and that the configuration server transmits the network configuration information to the base station.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the configuration server transmits the network element address of the nearest base station controller to the base station.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one base station contacts the configuration server and loads parameters from the configuration server into the base station.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the configuration server determines the location of the base station from the unique network element address of the base station.

10. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein geographical coordinates of the base station are transmitted to the base station controller when the base station is installed.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the base station transmits the base station'"'"'s geographical coordinates to the configuration server when the base station is established.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the base station controller uses the geographical coordinates in order to allocate radio frequencies to the base station.

13. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base station establishes Operation and Maintenance and signaling connections to the base station controller.

14. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein a mobile services switching centre serves to transmit connections of the cellular radio system in the information network.

15. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein on connections between the configuration server, the network elements and mobile services switching centre, at least encryption or eavesdropping prevention is used.

16. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base station controller stops contacting the base station if delays that are longer than desired occur on the connections between the network elements.

17. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein speech and data packets are transmitted as unitdata packets.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein several speech and data packets which arrive at the same time can be transmitted in the same unitdata packet.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein an identifier has been attached to each speech and data packet in order to connect the packet to the correct connection.

20. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein an Internet protocol information network, is used as the information network using the packet protocol, an Internet protocol information network address is used as the network element address, and a UDP/IP packet is used as the unitdata packet.