Method and apparatus for geographic based control in a communication system

A selective call transceiver, comprising:

• a receiver module having an automatic gain controller;
• a transmitter module coupled to the receiver module and further having a power amplifier, wherein the transmitter transmits data to a messaging system;
• a controller coupled to the receiver module and the transmitter module for controlling the operation of the selective call transceiver;
• and
• a GPS receiver coupled to the receiver module and the transmitter module, wherein a radio received signal strength indication and location information from the GPS receiver is used to control the gain at the automatic gain controller and to control transmit power at the power amplifier, wherein the GPS receiver also provides geographic information which is compared with site coordinates of transmitters in the messaging system allowing at least one of the plurality of transmitters transmitting to the selective call transceiver to adjust its power to the selective call transceiver based on data derived from the geographic information and the site coordinates.

A selective call transceiver in a messaging system having a plurality of transmitters, comprising:

• a receiver module;
• a transmitter module coupled to the receiver module;
• a controller coupled to the receiver module and the transmitter module for controlling the operation of the selective call transceiver;
• a GPS receiver for receiving GPS information and coupled to the controller, wherein the controller uses the GPS information to assist in the control of functions selected from the group consisting of transmitter power control, site selection switching, sub-zone selection switching, forward error correction, retry transmission decisions, Doppler frequency shifting, synchronization, and frequency scanning and selection;
• a received signal strength indicator coupled to the receiver module and the controller for providing a measurement of received signal strength for a given one of the plurality of transmitters;
• and
• a memory for storing site coordinates corresponding to the plurality of transmitters, wherein the geographic information is compared with the site coordinates along with the received signal strength measurement to adjust the power from at least one of the plurality of transmitters for optimum efficiency.

A method of controlling the operation of a two-way selective call subscriber device having a GPS receiver within a messaging system having a plurality of transmitters having known coordinates, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring GPS information from the GPS receiver comprising information selected from the group of latitude, longitude, and velocity;
• acquiring a received signal strength measurement at the two-way selective call subscriber device;
• accessing a look-up table of the known transmitter coordinates and comparing the known transmitter coordinates with the GPS information;
• and
• adjusting the power of at least one of the plurality of transmitters within the messaging system communicating with the two-way selective call subscriber device based on the GPS information, the received signal strength measurement and the known transmitter coordinates.

A method of controlling the operation of a two-way selective call subscriber device having a GPS receiver within a messaging system having a plurality of base receivers with known coordinates, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring GPS information from the GPS receiver comprising information selected from the group of latitude, longitude, and velocity;
• acquiring a base receiver sensitivity measurement of at least one of the plurality of base receivers at the two-way selective call subscriber device;
• and
• controlling the operation of the messaging system based on the GPS information and the base receiver sensitivity measurement, wherein the step of controlling comprises selecting the at least one of the plurality of base receivers having the closest distance between the base receiver and the two-way selective call subscriber device using the GPS information and adjusting a power level transmitted from the two-way selective call subscriber device to the selected base receiver based on knowledge of the base receiver's sensitivity.