Automatic determination and tuning of pico-cell topology for low-power wireless systems

A method of determining the cellular topology of a cellular network, having a plurality of radio base stations connected to a central controller, comprising the steps of:

• a) selecting a base station from said plurality of base stations;
• b) broadcasting from said selected base station a test signal;
• c) receiving the test signal at each base station located within the radio propagation range of said selected base station;
• d) measuring the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) level at each base station able to receive said test signal from said selected base station;
• e) forwarding the measured RSSI level to the central controller;
• f) repeating steps a) to e) until each base station in said plurality has been selected and until all RSSI levels have been measured;
• and
• g) determining the relative location of each base station from one another by mapping a matrix of measured RSSI levels for the corresponding radio base stations, so as to delineate the cellular bounds of the network.