System and communication method for interconnecting optical network and radio communication network

• US 8,351,792 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2008
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apex Net LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zheng, Ruobin
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hanh
• Application Number:
  US12/142,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20080253773A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,664 Days
• Field of Search: 398/66, 398/67, 398/68, 398/69, 398/70, 398/71, 398/72, 398/74, 398/75, 398/76, 398/77, 398/78, 398/79, 398/59, 398/60, 398/98, 398/99, 398/100, 398/115, 398/135, 398/116, 370/401, 370/328, 370/338, 370/466, 370/342, 370/352, 370/392, 370/389, 370/465, 725/105, 725/106, 725/125, 725/127, 725/129, 455/422, 455/524, 455/562, 455/443
• US Class Current: 398/115
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/14 between access point controllers and backbone network device

Abstract

A system and communication method for the system interconnecting the optical network with the radio communication network is provided. The solution mainly applies to an optical access network employing fiber for transmission and the radio communication network connected to the optical access network, wherein a base station of the radio communication network is connected to the optical access network and communicates to an entity in the optical access network to achieve interconnection between the optical network and the radio communication network. After the interconnection is established, a user equipment can enjoy communication services through the interconnected radio communication network and the optical network.

Claims

1. A system for interconnecting an optical network with a radio communication network, comprising:

an optical access network (OAN) employing fibers for transmission; and

a radio communication network connected to the optical access network, wherein

a base station in the radio communication network is connected to an entity in the optical access network, and the base station communicates with the entity for interconnection between the optical network and the radio communication network;

wherein the base station is connected to the entity via a Wireless Adaptor (WA), wherein the WA performs a part of the radio interface protocol functions in the Radio Network Layer (RNL) protocol stack.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the WA is a function entity consisting of at least a part of function module taken from a Radio Network Controller (RNC) or a base station controller in the radio communication network.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the WA further comprises a function of a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), a mobile switch center or a packet control function in the radio communication network;

and the WA communicates directly with a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) or a gateway mobile switch center or a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) in a Core network (CN) without the function of the SGSN or the mobile switch center or the packet control function.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least a part of function module taken from a Radio Network Controller (RNC) or a Base Station Controller (BSC) in the radio communication network comprises one or more functions selected from the group consisting of functions of:

Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Cell Specified Radio Resource Management (CS-RRM) and Handover (HO) Control; and

optionally comprises one or more functions selected from the group consisting of functions of Broadcast / Multicast Control (BMC), Admission Control, Cell Control and QoS Allocation.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein function modules of the RNC or the BSC excluded the functions of the WA, form a Radio Gateway (RGW), and the RGW is coupled to the OAN as the entity in the OAN.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the base station and the WA are integrated into a first network element, and a user plane of a first interface between the RNC and the SGSN in the radio communication network is employed as that of a second interface between the first element and the RGW, and a control plane of a third interface between the base station and the RNC in the radio communication network is employed as that of the second interface between the first element and the RGW.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the RGW is coupled to the OAN via a reference point v and coupled to the CN via an lu interface of the RGW at a reference point lu, and the RGW is integrated with an optical line terminal of the OAN into a second network element.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the RGW comprises a function of Broadcast Distribution and Relocation Control, and optionally comprises one or more functions selected from the group consisting of functions of Multi-Cell Radio Resource Management (MC-RRM), Paging Control, Handover Control between the Cable Access and the Radio Access, Multi-Cell Control, Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP) Message Forwarding and Radio Network Subsystem Application Protocol (RNSAP) Message Forwarding.

9. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

an adaptor function entity connecting the base station with the entity in the OAN, wherein

the base station is connected directly to the adaptor function entity via a reference point T of the OAN, or is connected to the adaptor function entity by the WA via a reference point T of the OAN, and the adaptor function entity is connected to an Optical Network Unit (ONU) or Optical Network Terminal (ONT) in the OAN via a reference point (a) of the optical network;

or,

the adaptor function entity is integrated with the base station into a third element of the radio communication network and the third element is connected to the OAN via the reference point T;

or the adaptor function entity, the base station and the WA are integrated into a fourth element of the radio communication network and the fourth element is connected to the OAN via the reference point (a).

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the base station and the WA are connected to form a fifth element and the fifth element is connected to the OAN via the reference point T, (a) or V of the OAN, and

when the WA is connected to the OAN via the reference point V, the WA is also connected to the RGW and communicates with the CN via the RGW, the OAN is connected to the CN via the RGW and the fifth element consisting of the base station and the WA connections to the RGW by means of multiple-to-multiple;

and

when the WA is connected to the OAN via the reference point V, the CN or RGW connected to the WA and the OAN respectively includes a handover control function module for switching between cable access and radio access.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the base station is connected to the WA and further to the ONU or ONT in the OAN via the WA in order to be connected to the OAN, and if the WA includes all functions of the RNC or the base station controller, the WA is connected to the CN via the OLT in the OAN.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the base station, the WA and the ONU or ONT in the OAN are integrated into a sixth element of the radio communication network, and the element is connected to the optical distribution network of the OAN to connect to the OAN.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein

the OAN and the radio communication network connect to a same Core Network (CN) through which services and management are provided for user terminals in the OAN and/or the radio communication network.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the base station is connected to the ONU or ONT in the optical network and further to the RNC or the base station controller via the OLT in the OAN, and the base station and the ONU or ONT are integrated into a seventh element in the radio communication network to provide access service for user terminals in the radio communication network.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the base station is directly connected to the reference point V in the OAN and further connected to a CN via the reference point V, and the OAN is connected to the CN via the reference point V and the CN includes an RNC or a base station controller.

16. A communication method for a system interconnecting an optical network with a radio communication network, comprising:

on an uplink, sending, by a user terminal in a radio communication network, a first message to a base station through a Wireless Adaptor (WA), forwarding the first message from the base station to an entity in an optical access network (OAN) and transmitting the first message in the OAN;

transmitting a second message by a user terminal in the OAN, wherein the WA performs a part of the radio interface protocol functions in the Radio Network Layer (RNL) protocol stack;

on a downlink, sending, by the entity in the OAN, a third message to the base station through a Wireless Adaptor (WA) and forwarding the third message to the user terminal under the base station in the radio communication network;

sending by a corresponding entity in the OAN, a fourth message to the user terminal in the OAN, wherein the WA performs a part of the radio interface protocol functions in the Radio Network Layer (RNL) protocol stack.

17. The communication method of claim 16, wherein the OAN communicates with a CN via an RGW connected to the OAN.

18. The communication method of claim 16, wherein the entity in the OAN connected to the WA, and the entity comprises one of:

an adaptor function entity, the ONU or ONT, or the optical distribution network.

19. A communication method for a system interconnecting an optical network and a radio communication network, comprising:

on an uplink, sending by a user terminal in the radio communication network a first message to a base station and forwarding by the base station the first message to a core network through a Wireless Adaptor (WA) in an optical access network (OAN); and

sending by a user terminal in the OAN a second message to the core network through an entity in the optical access network;

on a downlink, sending a third message from the core network to the base station through a Wireless Adaptor (WA) and forwarding by the base station the third message to the user terminal under the base station in the radio communication network; and

sending the second message to the user terminal in the optical network through the entity in the OAN.

20. The communication method of claim 19, wherein the OAN and the WA communicates with the core network via a radio gateway connected to the OAN and the WA.