Distributed cellular telephone antenna system with adaptive cell configuration

A distributed antenna system for use in an in-building cellular telephone network, the system comprising:

• a first and a second base transmission station (BTS);
• and
• a distributed antenna for conveying transmissions to and from either of said BTSs (24,80), said distributed antenna comprising:
• a plurality of serially-interconnected radiant segments;
• at least one delay element intermediate two of said plurality of radiant segments, said delay element operative to introduce a delay in a transmission between said BTS and a mobile station (MS);
• and
• at least one switch intermediate two of said plurality of radiant segments, said delay element operative to actuate said switch, thereby disconnecting at least one of said plurality of radiant segments from either one of said BTSs
• wherein said either of said BTSs are operative to:
• discern said delay in said transmission and thereby determine which of said plurality of radiant segments is closest to said MS,
• determine which of said BTSs lacks the capacity to accommodate said MS, and
• cause said delay element to actuate said switch thereby disconnecting said closest segment from said BTS lacking capacity.

A method for implementing a distributed antenna system in an in-building cellular telephone system having at least two base transmission stations (BTS) sharing an intermediate distributed antenna including a plurality of serially-interconnected radiant segments for conveying transmissions to and from said BTSs, the method comprising the steps of:

• introducing a delay in a transmission between either of said BTSs and a module station (MS) for each traversal of said transmission via any of said plurality of serially-interconnected radiant segments;
• discerning said delay in said transmission, thereby determining which of said plurality of radiant segments is closest to said MS;
• determining which of said BTSs lacks the capacity to accommodate said MS;
• and
• disconnecting said closest segment from said BTS lacking capacity.