US 6,785,558 B1Granted

System and method for distributing wireless communication signals over metropolitan telecommunication networks

AssigneeLGC Wireless, Inc.

InventorsScott B. Stratford, Simon P. S. Yeung, Lance K. Uyehara, Robin Y. K. Young

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A method for transporting wireless communication signals between a base station hotel and remote cell sites with separately digitized RF carrier signals is provided. Separately digitized carriers are transmitted over a digital network between the hotel and the remote sites, remaining in digital format until reaching terminal antenna units. At the antenna units, downlink digital signals are converted to analog RF signals and transmitted, while uplink analog signals are received and converted to digital signals. A corresponding system comprising a base station hotel, at least one remote site, and a digital data network connecting the hotel to the remote site is provided. The hotel includes a plurality of base stations and a digital hub for interfacing the hotel to the network. The remote site includes a set of antenna units connected via a local data link to a network access node for interfacing to the network.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method of wireless communication comprising:

a) at a base station hotel comprising a plurality of base stations, generating at each of the base stations a plurality of downlink analog carrier signals, where each downlink analog carrier signal comprises one or more downlink information signals modulated onto the downlink analog carrier signal;
b) at the base station hotel, individually digitizing each of the plurality of downlink analog carrier signals to produce a corresponding plurality of downlink digital carrier signals, formatting the downlink digital carrier signals according to a digital network protocol, and communicating the formatted downlink digital carrier signals to a remote site via a digital network;
c) at a network access node at the remote site, recovering the downlink digital carrier signals from the formatted downlink digital carrier signals and communicating the recovered downlink digital carrier signals via a local digital link to antenna units at the remote site;
d) at each of the antenna units, converting at least one of the downlink digital carrier signals to a downlink analog intermediate carrier signal, frequency up-converting and amplifying the downlink analog intermediate carrier signal to produce a downlink RF carrier signal and transmitting the downlink RF carrier signal from an antenna to at least one subscriber unit.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.