Mitigating potential video traffic interference

• US 8,966,565 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2013
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Huffman, James, Medina, Douglas, Kaufman, Darren
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Doshi, Akshay
• Application Number:
  US14/070,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20140059634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 480 Days
• Field of Search: 725/116, 455/63.1, 455/114.2, 455/296
• US Class Current: 725/116
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/12 Arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/226 Characteristics of the server or Internal components of the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/61 Network physical structure; Signal processing H04B takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6338 directed to network

Abstract

A method includes detecting, at a video head-end of a video distribution network, a signal populating an ultra high frequency white space frequency. The method includes determining that the ultra high frequency white space frequency is one of a plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies with a potential to interfere with video traffic at the video head-end. The method also includes sending an alert from the video head-end to a network management system. The alert indicates the potential of the signal to interfere with video traffic delivered via the video head-end.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, at a video head-end of a video distribution network, a signal populating an ultra high frequency white space frequency;

determining that the ultra high frequency white space frequency is one of a plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies with a potential to interfere with video traffic at the video head-end; and

sending an alert from the video head-end to a network management system, wherein the alert indicates the potential of the signal populating the ultra high frequency white space frequency to interfere with video traffic delivered via the video head-end.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising scanning for the plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies within a pre-defined area of the video head-end.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert indicates the ultra high frequency white space frequency.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that a strength of the signal is equal to or greater than a threshold signal strength.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies includes a first frequency that is within a pre-defined range of a frequency associated with a video content channel, and wherein the video head-end delivers video traffic via the video content channel.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data indicating that the ultra high frequency white space frequency is populated.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data from the network management system, the data indicating a corrective measure to mitigate interference with the video traffic by the signal.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies includes a second frequency that is adjacent to the first frequency associated with the video content channel.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the alert identifies the video content channel.

10. A system comprising:

a detection system having processing logic and memory accessible to the processing logic, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processing logic to perform operations including;

detecting, at a video head-end of a video distribution network, a signal populating an ultra high frequency white space frequency;

determining that the ultra high frequency white space frequency is one of a plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies with a potential to interfere with video traffic at the video head-end; and

sending an alert from the video head-end to a network management system, wherein the alert indicates the potential of the signal populating the ultra high frequency white space frequency to interfere with video traffic delivered via the video head-end of the video distribution network.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the signal is detected via a search antenna.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the memory includes a management information data store, and wherein the operations further include identifying the ultra high frequency white space frequency.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the alert is a simple network management protocol alarm.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further include determining that a strength of the ultra high frequency white space frequency is equal to or greater than a threshold signal strength, wherein the threshold signal strength is between 6 decibels isotropic and 10 decibels isotropic.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the signal is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.22 wireless regional access network signal.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the video traffic includes digital television video traffic, and wherein the signal has the potential to pixilate or freeze the digital television video traffic.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further include storing a status of the ultra high frequency white space frequency at the management information data store.

18. A computer-readable storage device having processor-readable instructions executable by a processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting, at a video head-end of a video distribution network, a signal populating an ultra high frequency white space frequency;

determining that the ultra high frequency white space frequency is one of a plurality of ultra high frequency white space frequencies with a potential to interfere with video traffic at the video head-end; and

sending an alert from the video head-end to a network management system, wherein the alert indicates the potential of the signal populating the ultra high frequency white space frequency to interfere with video traffic delivered via the video head-end.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise identifying the ultra high frequency white space frequency.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise receiving data indicating a corrective measure from a video operations center.