Architecture, devices and methods for supporting multiple operators in a wireless basestation

• US 8,494,587 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2011
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aviat U.S., Inc. (Aviat Networks Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: PureWave Networks
• Inventors: Picker, Dan, Vengosh, Ronen, Cohen, Rephael
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEHRA, INDER P
• Application Number:
  US13/235,562
• Publication Number:
  US 20130072203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 673 Days
• Field of Search: 455/62, 455/63.4, 455/272, 455/277.1, 455/432.3, 455/434, 455/561, 455/562.1, 370/238, 370/252, 370/329, 370/337, 370/431, 370/465
• US Class Current: 455/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/00 Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods are presented for a wireless Base Station (BS) capable of simultaneously providing service to subscribers of multiple Operators. Depending upon the particular deployment requirements or equipment capabilities, each Operator may be operating on the same or different frequencies (in which different frequencies may be adjacent, closely separated, or widely separated). The wireless BS will distinguish and logically separate and route the traffic between each subscriber device and its relevant Operator'"'"'s Core Network, potentially supporting different logical or even different physical interfaces between the wireless BS and each Operator.

Claims

1. A wireless Base Station (BS) system operative to directly communicate with multiple Core Network data sources on one side and directly provide multiple corresponding Radio Access Networks (RAN) on the other side, comprising:

a network processor operative to maintain at least two network Tunnels extending directly to at least two corresponding Core Network data sources;

at least one Baseband Processor operative to create at least two RAN simultaneously; and

at least one radio transceiver chain, operative to accommodate the at least one Baseband Processor in creating the at least two RAN simultaneously;

wherein the system is configured to;

split dynamically a pool of pre-allocated wireless Access Spectrum between the at least two RAN according to a criterion;

reconfigure the at least one Baseband Processor to maintain the at least two RAN according to the recent split; and

operate the at least two RAN using data communicated with the corresponding at least two Core Network data sources via the corresponding at least two network Tunnels.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the criterion is based on dynamic data rate requirements of at least one of the Core Network data sources.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the criterion is based on measuring data rates over at least one of the RAN.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the criterion is based on measuring data rates over at least one of the network Tunnels.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the split creates at least two amounts of wireless Access Spectrum, each amount of wireless Access Spectrum is allocated to one of the at least two RAN.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the amounts of Access Spectrum is smaller than at least one other of the amounts of Access Spectrum.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one Baseband Processor is a programmable Baseband Processor, and reconfiguring the at least one Baseband Processor further comprises executing at least two software instances on the at least one Baseband Processor, each software instance associated with one of the at least two RAN, and each software instance operative to create a Baseband signal having a bandwidth that is dynamically related to the amount of wireless Access Spectrum allocated for the RAN by the split.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one radio transceiver chain is a single radio transceiver chain, and the Baseband signals of the at least two software instances are fed to the single radio transceiver chain, thereby generating the at least two RAN, each RAN driven by one of the corresponding Baseband signals.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the Baseband signals of the at least two software instances are fed to a corresponding one of the radio transceiver chains, thereby generating the at least two RAN, each RAN comprising one of the radio transceiver chains.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one Baseband Processor is a programmable Baseband Processor, and reconfiguring the at least one Baseband Processor further comprises dynamically synthesizing a single compound signal on the at least one Baseband Processor, the compound signal having at least two frequency portions, each frequency portion associated with one of the at least two RAN, and each frequency portion is dynamically related to the amount of wireless Access Spectrum allocated for the RAN by the split.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one radio transceiver chain is a single radio transceiver chain, and the single compound signal is fed to the single radio transceiver chain, thereby generating the at least two RAN, each RAN driven by one of the at least two frequency portions.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least two RAN are WiMax or LTE, the single compound signal is an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, and each of the two frequency portions comprise at least one unique sub-channel of the OFDMA signal.