System and method for optimizing network capacity in a cellular wireless network
First Claim
1. A wireless communication system, the system comprising:
- a plurality of Remote Radio Units (RRUs), each including a packet transceiver module, each transceiver module located at one of a plurality of cell sites in said wireless communication system, each of said transceiver modules communicatively coupled to a hub via a first transport communication medium, said first transport communication medium transporting information in form of packetized bit streams, said transceiver modules being configured to receive RF radio signals over a wireless link and process the received RF signals to produce packetized demodulated bit streams for transmission over the transport communication medium;
the hub including;
at least one traffic consolidator unit (TCU) configured to receive the packetized demodulated bit streams transmitted by the packet transceiver systems via the first transport communication medium and process the received digital packetized demodulated bit streams to reproduce the RF radio signals transmitted over said wireless link; and
a base transceiver station (BTS) communicatively coupled to a second transceiver module and configured to process the reproduced RF radio signal to produce a corresponding T1/E1 signal on said second transceiver module;
a mobile switching office (MSO) in communication with the hub via a second transport communication medium and configured to receive and process the T1/E1 signal to produce a channelized circuit-switched T1/E1 signal;
wherein the traffic consolidator unit includesan application server shelf configured to support a plurality of customized software applications, includinga continuous network optimization (CNO) application for continuously monitoring network performance as represented by a plurality of network parameters related to RF capacity for automatically providing sufficient bandwidth and determining what level of baseband resources are required;
determining if an increase/decrease in RF activity has occurred based on said monitored parameters; and
automatically adjusting the bandwidth between one of the following sites, Cellsite and hub, Hub to MSO, hub to hub or MSO to MSO; and
a network re-routing application to automate spectrum and network optimization processes based on commands from said CNO.
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Abstract
A system and method is disclosed for increasing the efficiency of a cellular communication network, reduce ongoing operating costs and increase revenue. According to one aspect, a method is disclosed for increasing the efficiency of a cellular communication network whereby network capacity in the radio access network (RAN) and baseband processing for wireless connections are dynamically adjusted to automatically provision sufficient bandwidth and baseband processing capacity in response to changes in the network. The method is further extended by implementing policy management which allows wireless carriers to develop and implement network based policies to automatically increase or decrease the amount of processing resources and network bandwidth required from any cell site, hub or mobile switching office. According to another aspect, network efficiency is enhanced by utilizing a novel cellular network infrastructure. RF signals from cell site antennas of various technology types are demodulated, digital bit information is extracted from the RF signals, processed, and groomed into Gigabit Ethernet/Resilient Packet Ring (GigE/RPR) or Ethernet over copper traffic flows using specific Quality of Service (QoS) priorities. The GigE/RPR traffic flows are routed to hub sites or mobile switching offices, at which point the packetized information is extracted and converted to RF signals that are equivalent to the signals that were received at the antenna. The RF signals are sent over coaxial cable to a network hub including a pool of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) (or Node Bs). The hub is coupled to one or more mobile switching offices via a second fiber optic ring.
92 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A wireless communication system, the system comprising:
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a plurality of Remote Radio Units (RRUs), each including a packet transceiver module, each transceiver module located at one of a plurality of cell sites in said wireless communication system, each of said transceiver modules communicatively coupled to a hub via a first transport communication medium, said first transport communication medium transporting information in form of packetized bit streams, said transceiver modules being configured to receive RF radio signals over a wireless link and process the received RF signals to produce packetized demodulated bit streams for transmission over the transport communication medium; the hub including; at least one traffic consolidator unit (TCU) configured to receive the packetized demodulated bit streams transmitted by the packet transceiver systems via the first transport communication medium and process the received digital packetized demodulated bit streams to reproduce the RF radio signals transmitted over said wireless link; and a base transceiver station (BTS) communicatively coupled to a second transceiver module and configured to process the reproduced RF radio signal to produce a corresponding T1/E1 signal on said second transceiver module; a mobile switching office (MSO) in communication with the hub via a second transport communication medium and configured to receive and process the T1/E1 signal to produce a channelized circuit-switched T1/E1 signal; wherein the traffic consolidator unit includes an application server shelf configured to support a plurality of customized software applications, including a continuous network optimization (CNO) application for continuously monitoring network performance as represented by a plurality of network parameters related to RF capacity for automatically providing sufficient bandwidth and determining what level of baseband resources are required;
determining if an increase/decrease in RF activity has occurred based on said monitored parameters; and
automatically adjusting the bandwidth between one of the following sites, Cellsite and hub, Hub to MSO, hub to hub or MSO to MSO; anda network re-routing application to automate spectrum and network optimization processes based on commands from said CNO. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for transporting digital bit streams extracted from radio frequency (RF) signals between antennas and processing elements in a wireless communications network, the method comprising:
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receiving a RF (Radio Frequency) signal at a packet transceiver system over a wireless link via an antenna, said first transceiver located at one of a plurality of remote cell sites; processing the received RF signal by a continuous network optimization (CNO) at said packet transceiver system and to produce a packetized demodulated bit stream supporting serial transmission of the bit stream over a first transport communication medium; transmitting the bit stream over the first transport communication medium to a traffic consolidator unit located at a hub in the network; upon receipt of the transmitted bit stream at the traffic consolidator unit, processing the received bit stream at the traffic consolidator unit to reproduce the RF signal received at the packet transceiver system; providing the reproduced RF signal as an input to a base transceiver station (BTS) located at said hub; processing the reproduced RF signal at the BTS to produce a T1/ E1 signal; providing the T1/E1 signal as an input to the traffic consolidator unit; packetizing the T1/E1 signal at the traffic consolidator unit to produce a packetized T1/E1 signal; transmitting the packetized T1/E1 signal over a second transport communication medium to a mobile switching office (MSO); and upon receipt of transmitted bit stream at the MSO, processing the received packetized T1/E1 signal to produce a channelized circuit-switched T1/E1 signal; monitoring a plurality of network parameters related to RF capacity using a continuous network optimization (CNO) application that includes three sub-processes that continuously monitors network performance indicators for automatically provisioning sufficient bandwidth and determining what level of baseband resources are required; determining if an increase/decrease in RF activity has occurred based on said monitored parameters; and said CNO automatically adjusting the bandwidth between one of the following sites, Cellsite and hub, Hub to MSO, hub to hub or MSO to MSO. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A wireless communication system comprising:
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at least one transport communication medium adapted to generate bidirectional digital information in form of packetized bit streams arranged in accordance with an IP protocol; a plurality of cells, each cell including a RF antenna in wireless communication with a plurality of mobile devices, a packet transceiver system connected to said transport medium, said packet transceiver system exchanging RF signals with said antenna and exchanging corresponding packetized bit streams with said one transport medium; a hub coupled to said transport medium, said hub receiving packetized bit streams from said packet transceiver systems, converting said packetized bit stream into converted signals and transmitting said converted signals to other devices for processing; and a traffic consolidator unit including an application sewer configured to support a plurality of customized software applications, including a continuous network optimization (CNO) application for continuously monitoring network performance as represented by a plurality of network parameters related to RF capacity for automatically providing sufficient bandwidth and determining what level of baseband resources are required;
determining if an increase/decrease in RF activity has occurred based on said monitored parameters; and
automatically adjusting the bandwidth between one of the following sites, Cellsite and hub, Hub to MSQ, hub to hub or MSO to MSO; anda network re-routing application to automate spectrum and network optimization processes based on commands from said CNO. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification