Smart distributed antenna systems, platforms, and methods

A smart distributed antenna system (sDAS), comprising:

• a multi-band, multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) digital unit (mDU), the mDU comprising:
• a radio management unit (RMU) comprising a software multiplexer, the software multiplexer software enabling broadcast of multiple technologies from a single radio and a single mDU,
• a field programmable gate array (FPGA) coupled to the RMU and receiving signals digitized in the mDU from analog signals originating from a wireless carrier, wherein the FPGA executes to map received and digitized signals to one of a plurality of frequency bands, and
• only a single optical fiber interface coupled to the FPGA, wherein mapped received digital signals are provided to one or more remote radio units over an optical fiber cable;
• a multi-point of interface (mPOI) coupled to the mDU and coupled to one or more base transceiver station equipment (BTS) installations, the mPOI receiving analog radiofrequency signals from the coupled BTS installations;
• and
• one or more multi-band, remote multi-RAT radio units (mRUs) coupled to the mDU through the single optical fiber interface using a daisy-chain configuration, each of the one or more mRUs comprising:
• a local FPGA, wherein the local FPGA de-maps the mapped received digital signals to a specified frequency,
• a digital to analog converter that converts de-mapped digital signals to radio frequency (RF) signals, and
• a transmit section that provides the RF signals to a distributed antenna for broadcast to a defined volume.

A method for operating a smart distributed antenna system (sDAS), comprising:

• receiving by a processor of a multi band, multi radio access technology digital unit (mDU), a digital representation of a first radio frequency (RF) signal having a specific frequency;
• receiving, from the mDU, the digital representation at a radio management unit (RMU) coupled to the mDU and comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA) comprising a software multiplexer, the software multiplexer enabling broadcast of multiple technologies from a single radio and the mDU;
• the FPGA mapping the digital representation to a specified frequency band based on the specific frequency of the first RF signal, thereby creating a mapped digital signal;
• transporting the mapped digital signal to a plurality of remote radio units, wherein multiple remote radio units are daisy-chained to the mDU using only a single fiber optic interface;
• de-mapping the mapped digital signal in one or more of the multi band, multi radio access technology remote radio units;
• converting the de-mapped digital signal to a second RF signal;
• and
• transporting the second RF signal to one or more distributed antennas for broadcast.