Method and apparatus for picocell distributed radio heads providing macrocell capabilities

A method of telecommunications, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a first signal through an antenna in a first remote radio head;
• transmitting the first signal to a second remote radio head using a digital radio interface over a shared network;
• receiving a second signal through an antenna in the second remote radio head;
• transmitting the first signal and the second signal to a base band unit across the shared network using the digital radio interface;
• and,
• in parallel, receiving or transmitting a third signal across the shared network to one or more service subscribers.

An article of manufacture comprising:

• a computer readable medium;
• and
• computer-executable instructions carried on the computer readable medium, the instructions readable by a processor, the instructions, when read and executed, for causing the processor to:
• receive a first signal through an antenna in a first remote radio head;
• transmit the first signal to a second remote radio head using a digital radio interface over a shared network;
• receive a second signal through an antenna in the second remote radio head;
• transmit the first signal and the second signal to a base band unit using the digital radio interface over a shared network;
• and
• in parallel, receive or transmit a third signal across the shared network to one or more service subscribers.