System and method for implementing local base stations

A wireless communication system, comprising:

• a plurality of mobile devices;
• a local area network (LAN);
• a plurality of local base stations coupled to the LAN, wherein each local base station has a unique address on the LAN and is configured to transmit and receive data packets to and from the mobile devices and transfer the data packets between local base stations over the LAN using the unique address;
• and
• a subscription server operating on the LAN that stores data identifying the unique address of the local base station covering each of the mobile devices, wherein the subscription server enables the local base stations to locate any one of the mobile devices.

A wireless communication system, comprising:

• a plurality of mobile devices;
• a wide-area computer network (WAN);
• a plurality of offices, each including a local area network (LAN) coupled to the WAN;
• a plurality of local base stations within each office that are coupled to the LAN, wherein each local base station has a unique address on the LAN and WAN and is configured to transmit and receive data packets to and from the mobile devices and transfer the data packets between local base stations using the unique address;
• a plurality of subscription servers, each operating on the LAN of one of the offices, and each configured to log the mobile devices covered by each local base station within the office, wherein the subscriptions servers enable the local base stations to locate a mobile device within the office;
• and
• a network subscription server operating on the WAN that logs the mobile devices within each office, wherein the network subscription server enables the local base stations to locate which office a mobile device is in.

A local base station, comprising:

• a central processing unit (CPU)
• a sound card coupled to the CPU and configured to (a) demodulate an incoming radio frequency (RF) signal to produce an incoming frame of data, and (b) generate an outgoing modulated RF signal from an outgoing frame of data;
• means for transmitting the outgoing modulated RF signal to one or more of a plurality of mobile devices;
• means for receiving the incoming RF signal from one of the plurality of mobile devices;
• one or more software modules executed by the CPU that are configured to (a) extract a packet of data from the incoming frame of data, and encode the packet of data into an outgoing datagram, wherein the outgoing datagram includes addressing information identifying the location of another local base station on a local area network (LAN), and (b) extract a data packet from an incoming datagram received from the LAN, and encode the data packet into the outgoing frame of data, wherein the outgoing frame of data includes transmission information that enables the outgoing froma of data to be transmitted to the mobile device;
• and
• a network interface card coupled to the CPU and configured to transmit the outgoing datagrams to the LAN and receive the incoming datagrams from the LAN.

A method of routing a message from a first mobile device to a second mobile device in a wireless communication system, comprising the steps of:

• transmitting the message from the first mobile device;
• receiving the message at an A-Node base station, wherein the A-Node base station is one of a plurality of local RF base stations that are coupled to a local area network (LAN);
• locating the second mobile device by accessing a subscription server that includes a log of a plurality of mobile devices having access to the wireless communication system and the local RF base station covering each of the plurality of mobile devices;
• sending the message over the LAN to a B-Node base station, wherein the B-Node base station is the local RF base station covering the second mobile device;
• transmitting the message from the B-Node base station;
• and
• receiving the message at the second mobile device.

A method of routing a message from a first mobile device to a second mobile device in a wireless communication system, comprising the steps of:

• transmitting the message from the first mobile device;
• receiving the message at an A-Node base station, wherein the A-Node base station is one of a plurality of local RF base stations that are coupled to a local area network (LAN);
• accessing an A-Node route cache on the A-Node base station to locate the second mobile device, wherein the A-Node route cache includes a log of the local RF bases stations covering one or more of a plurality of mobile devices;
• if the A-Node route cache does not include the local RF base station covering the second mobile device, then accessing a subscription server to locate the second mobile device, wherein the subscription server includes a log of the plurality of mobile devices having access to the wireless communication system and the local RF base stations covering each of the plurality of mobile devices;
• sending the message over the LAN to a B-Node base station, wherein the B-Node base station is the local RF base station covering the second mobile device;
• determining whether the second mobile device is active;
• if the second mobile device is active, then transmitting the message from the B-Node base station;
• if the second mobile device is not active, then (a) sending a communication to an electronic mailbox accessible by the second mobile device that indicates that the message is waiting, (b) waiting until the second mobile device becomes active, and (c) transmitting the message from the B-Node base station;
• and
• receiving the message at the second mobile device.