Visualizing and analyzing spectrum assets

• US 8,719,147 B1
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Broyles, Daniel Stewart, Machamer, Douglas L., Panella, Anthony A., Rowland, Nichole D., Iverson, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Singh, Gurkanwaljit
• Application Number:
  US13/654,880
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/04 using two or more spaced independent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic

Abstract

A method and system are provided for visualizing and analyzing spectrum assets. License, channel, and lease data from a communications authority is collected and formatted into individual polygon maps. The maps could be drawn according to county or state boundaries, or by some other mapping standard. The maps are then divided and redrawn into several market service areas and several basic trading areas. The maps are also divided and redrawn according to the bandwidth spectrum of one or more channels. Since the maps are drawn with several different boundary conditions, the layout of all of the maps result in some maps being partially overlaid onto other maps for the same region. These regions containing partially overlaid maps are redefined as superblocks. Each superblock contains all of the data from each overlaid map portion for that particular region. These superblocks provide a means of displaying or representing a completely mapped region, such as the continental United States in a completely non-overlapping manner. Several methods analyze the newly formed non-overlapping data map for purposes of deriving current assets and forming future marketing strategies.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying attributes for channels in a superblock, the computer-implemented method comprising:

forming, on a computer processor, a superblock for a spectrum map, wherein forming the superblock comprises;

dividing a mapped area into a plurality of market service areas and a plurality of basic trading areas, wherein some of said market service areas overlap others of said market service areas, and wherein some of said basic trading areas may overlap others of said basic trading areas, and wherein some of said market service areas overlap some of said basic trading areas,

further dividing said mapped area into territories, said territories each comprising a spectrum of said plurality of channels, wherein some of said territories may overlap others of said territories,

locating all of said market service areas and all of said basic trading areas and all of said territories which are overlapped by one or more other of said market service areas or other of said basic trading areas or other of said territories,

forming an individual polygon boundary around each area in which said overlapped market service areas or said overlapped basic trading areas or said overlapped territories commonly intersect, and

identifying all of said data within each individual polygon boundary for all of said polygon boundaries;

identifying, on the computer processor, desired attributes for a channel; and

analyzing, on the computer processor, a superblock associated with a collection of communication channels, wherein analyzing the superblock further comprises;

checking each channel within the superblock for matches to the one or more desired channel attributes,

generating a notification for each channel of the superblock that matches the one or more desired channel attributes, and

based on the matches to the one or more desired channel attributes, calculating spectrum depth or maximum contiguous coverage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired attributes include channel name or frequency, control type, or controlling entity.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable media comprising computer-usable instructions for performing a computer-implemented method of identifying attributes for channels in a superblock, the computer-implemented method comprising:

forming, on a computer processor, a superblock for a spectrum map, wherein forming the superblock comprises;

dividing a mapped area into a plurality of market service areas and a plurality of basic trading areas, wherein some of said market service areas overlap others of said market service areas, and wherein some of said basic trading areas may overlap others of said basic trading areas, and wherein some of said market service areas overlap some of said basic trading areas,

further dividing said mapped area into territories, said territories each comprising a spectrum of said plurality of channels, wherein some of said territories may overlap others of said territories,

locating all of said market service areas and all of said basic trading areas and all of said territories which are overlapped by one or more other of said market service areas or other of said basic trading areas or other of said territories,

forming an individual polygon boundary around each area in which said overlapped market service areas or said overlapped basic trading areas or said overlapped territories commonly intersect, and

identifying all of said data within each individual polygon boundary for all of said polygon boundaries;

identifying, on the computer processor, desired attributes for a channel; and

analyzing, on the computer processor, a superblock associated with a collection of communication channels, wherein analyzing the superblock further comprises;

checking each channel within the superblock for matches to the one or more desired channel attributes,

generating a notification for each channel of the superblock that matches the one or more desired channel attributes, and

based on the matches to the one or more desired channel attributes, calculating spectrum depth or maximum contiguous coverage.

4. The media of claim 3, wherein the desired attributes include channel name or frequency, control type, or controlling entity.

5. A computer system having computer processors and memories configured to perform a computer-implemented method of identifying attributes for channels in a superblock, the computer-implemented method comprising:

forming, on a computer processor, a superblock for a spectrum map, wherein forming the superblock comprises;

dividing a mapped area into a plurality of market service areas and a plurality of basic trading areas, wherein some of said market service areas overlap others of said market service areas, and wherein some of said basic trading areas may overlap others of said basic trading areas, and wherein some of said market service areas overlap some of said basic trading areas,

further dividing said mapped area into territories, said territories each comprising a spectrum of said plurality of channels, wherein some of said territories may overlap others of said territories,

locating all of said market service areas and all of said basic trading areas and all of said territories which are overlapped by one or more other of said market service areas or other of said basic trading areas or other of said territories,

forming an individual polygon boundary around each area in which said overlapped market service areas or said overlapped basic trading areas or said overlapped territories commonly intersect, and

identifying all of said data within each individual polygon boundary for all of said polygon boundaries;

identifying, on the computer processor, desired attributes for a channel; and

analyzing, on the computer processor, a superblock associated with a collection of communication channels, wherein analyzing the superblock further comprises;

checking each channel within the superblock for matches to the one or more desired channel attributes,

generating a notification for each channel of the superblock that matches the one or more desired channel attributes, and

based on the matches to the one or more desired channel attributes, calculating spectrum depth or maximum contiguous coverage.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the desired attributes include channel name or frequency, control type, or controlling entity.