Back to results
US 8,478,272 B2Granted
Systems and methods for real time allocation of bandwidth at a femtocell
AssigneePublic Wireless, Inc.
InventorsRobert Reagan, Richard Kerr
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for real time allocation of radio devices in a femtocell that includes a plurality of software-defined radios (SDRs) are provided. The SDRs can be reconfigured in real time based on the changing network conditions and/or changes to contractual obligations of the femtocell provider. The femtocell can be reconfigured in real time either remotely from a network operations center (NOC) or the femtocell can be configured to automatically detect changing usage patterns and to automatically reconfigure the SDRs. The femtocell can also be configured to receive emergency override signals from the NOC to cause the femtocell to reconfigure one or more of the SDRs for use by emergency responders.
Claims24
A configurable base station, comprising:
- a plurality of radio devices, each of which establish a wireless connection between the base station and a plurality of user devices, at least one of the plurality of radio devices configurable to establish the wireless connections using multiple frequencies or protocols;
- a network interface that sends data to a network and receives data from the network;
- at least one processor;
- and at least one executable software module that, when executed by the at least one processor, detects a connection request from a requesting one of the plurality of user devices, identifies a carrier associated with the requesting user device, determines whether the associated carrier has subscribed for coverage from the base station, and when it is determined that the associated carrier has subscribed for coverage from the base station, determines whether there is an available contracted one of the plurality of devices, when it is determined that there is an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, establishes a connection between the requesting user device and the available contracted radio device, and when it is determined that there is not an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, determines whether the associated carrier has overage coverage, and when it is determined that the associated carrier has overage coverage, reconfigures one of the plurality of radio devices to use a frequency or protocol which is different than it was using prior to reconfiguration and establishes a connection between the requesting user device and the reconfigured radio device.
1 more element
A method of operating a base station, the base station comprising a processor and a plurality of radio devices, the method comprising, by the processor:
- detecting a connection request from a user device;
- identifying a carrier associated with the user device;
- determining whether the associated carrier has subscribed for coverage from the base station;
- and, when it is determined that the associated carrier has subscribed for coverage from the base station, determining whether there is an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, when it is determined that there is an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, establishing a connection between the user device and the available contracted radio device, and, when it is determined that there is not an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, determining whether the associated carrier has overage coverage, and, when it is determined that the associated carrier has overage coverage, reconfiguring one of the plurality of radio devices to use a frequency or protocol which is different than it was using prior to reconfiguration and establishing a connection between the user device and the reconfigured radio device.
1 more element
A wireless base station, comprising:
- radio devices configured to establish wireless connections between the base station and user devices, the radio devices capable of establishing the wireless connections between the base station and the user devices using multiple frequencies or protocols;
- a network interface configured to send data to a network and receive data from the network;
- a processor;
- and a radio allocation module comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the base station to identify a carrier associated with a new user device, determine whether the associated carrier has contracted for coverage from the base station, and when it is determined that the associated carrier has contracted for coverage from the base station, determine whether there is an available contracted one of the radio devices, when it is determined that there is an available contracted one of the radio devices, establish a connection between the new user device and the available contracted radio device, and when it is determined that there is not an available contracted one of the radio devices, determine whether the associated carrier has contracted for overdraft coverage from the base station, and when it is determined that the associated carrier has contracted for overdraft coverage from the base station, determine whether there is an available uncontracted one of the radio devices, and when it is determined that there is an available uncontracted one of the radio devices, configure the available uncontracted one of the radio devices to operate using a frequency and protocol suitable for connecting with user devices associated with the associated carrier, and establish a connection between the new user device and the reconfigured available uncontracted one of the radio devices.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.