Frequency overlay technique for a PICO cell system

A pico cell system for use in an indoor service area to provide wireless communications, comprising:

• one or more base stations configured for providing mobile wireless communication with a mobile station operating within the indoor service area;
• a base station controller for controlling wireless operations of the one or more base stations;
• and
• a communication interface coupled to the one or more base stations for providing two-way communications to and from a public communication network, wherein:
• the one or more base stations provide the mobile wireless communication service in accord with a first public wireless communication protocol within the indoor service area, on a frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for mobile wireless communication in accord with a second public wireless communication protocol via a public mobile communication network operating in a surrounding outdoor region;
• the second public wireless communication protocol is different from the first public wireless communication protocol;
• and
• the base station controller controls operational frequency of the one or more base stations in response to changes in position of a vehicle containing the indoor service area, to reflect changes in the frequency band allocated for mobile wireless communication in accord with the second public wireless communication protocol via the public mobile communication network as the vehicle moves to a different surrounding outdoor region.

A method, comprising steps of:

• (a) operating a pico cell system, including at least one pico cell base station, in an interior of a moving vehicle to provide wireless communications in the moving vehicle, in accordance with first and second public wireless communication protocols, the second public wireless communication protocol being different from the first public wireless communication protocol;
• (b) controlling the at least one pico cell base station to provide the wireless communication service for one or more mobile devices within the vehicle in accordance with the first public wireless communication protocol, on a first frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in a first surrounding outdoor region in accordance with the different second public wireless communication protocol;
• (c) controlling the at least one pico cell base station to provide the wireless communication service for one or more mobile devices within the vehicle in accordance with the second public wireless communication protocol, on a second frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in the first surrounding outdoor region in accordance with the first public wireless communication protocol;
• (d) dynamically changing the first frequency band on which the at least one base station provides services for a first plurality of mobile devices so as to correspond to at least a portion of a different frequency band allocated for second protocol wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in a different second surrounding outdoor region, upon movement of the vehicle into the different second surrounding outdoor region, thereby enabling the at least one base station to provide the services to the first plurality of mobile devices on the different frequency band allocated for the second protocol wireless service;
• and
• (e) dynamically changing the second frequency band on which the at least one base station provides services for a second plurality of mobile devices so as to correspond to at least a portion of a different frequency band allocated for first protocol wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in the different second surrounding outdoor region, upon movement of the vehicle into the different second surrounding outdoor region, thereby enabling the at least one base station to provide the services to the second plurality of mobile devices on the different frequency band allocated for the first protocol wireless service.

A pico cell system for use in an interior of a moving vehicle to provide wireless communications in the moving vehicle, the pico cell system comprising:

• one or more base stations configured for communication with mobile stations in accordance with different first and second public wireless communication protocols respectively, within the interior of the moving vehicle;
• a base station controller for controlling wireless operations of the one or more base stations;
• and
• a communication interface coupled to the one or more base stations for providing two-way communications to and from a public communication network,
• wherein the base station controller is configured to control operations of the one or more base stations so as to coordinate frequencies of operation of the pico cell system with frequencies through or over which the moving vehicle travels, the controlled operations comprising functions to:
• (a) control the one or more pico cell base stations to provide the wireless communication service for one or more mobile devices within the vehicle in accordance with the first public wireless communication protocol, on a first frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in a first surrounding outdoor region in accordance with the different second public wireless communication protocol;
• (b) control the one or more pico cell base stations to provide the wireless communication service for one or more mobile devices within the vehicle in accordance with the second public wireless communication protocol, on a second frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in the first surrounding outdoor region in accordance with the first public wireless communication protocol;
• (c) dynamically change the first frequency band on which the one or more base stations provide services for a first plurality of mobile devices so as to correspond to at least a portion of a different frequency band allocated for second protocol wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in a different second surrounding outdoor region, upon movement of the vehicle into the different second surrounding outdoor region, thereby enabling the one or more base stations to provide the services to the first plurality of mobile devices on the different frequency band allocated for the second protocol wireless service;
• and
• (d) dynamically change the second frequency band on which the one or more base stations provide services for a second plurality of mobile devices so as to correspond to at least a portion of a different frequency band allocated for first protocol wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in the different second surrounding outdoor region, upon movement of the vehicle into the different second surrounding outdoor region, thereby enabling the one or more base stations to provide the services to the second plurality of mobile devices on the different frequency band allocated for the first protocol wireless service.

A program product comprising a non-transitory machine readable medium and executable code embodied on the medium, wherein execution of the code by a programmable controller of a pico cell system operating at least one base station in an interior of a moving vehicle will cause the controller to control operations of the at least one base station of the pico cell system to provide wireless communications for mobile stations in the interior of the moving vehicle, the controlled operations including steps comprising:

• (a) operating the pico cell system, including the at least one pico cell base station, to provide wireless communications in the moving vehicle, in accordance with first and second public wireless communication protocols, the second public wireless communication protocol being different from the first public wireless communication protocol;
• (b) controlling the at least one pico cell base station to provide the wireless communication service for one or more mobile devices within the vehicle in accordance with the first public wireless communication protocol, on a first frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in a first surrounding outdoor region in accordance with the different second public wireless communication protocol;
• (c) controlling the at least one pico cell base station to provide the wireless communication service for one or more mobile devices within the vehicle in accordance with the second public wireless communication protocol, on a second frequency band corresponding to at least a portion of a frequency band allocated for wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in the first surrounding outdoor region in accordance with the first public wireless communication protocol;
• (d) dynamically changing the first frequency band on which the at least one base station provides services for a first plurality of mobile devices so as to correspond to at least a portion of a different frequency band allocated for second protocol wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in a different second surrounding outdoor region, upon movement of the vehicle into the different second surrounding outdoor region, thereby enabling the at least one base station to provide the services to the first plurality of mobile devices on the different frequency band allocated for the second protocol wireless service;
• and
• (e) dynamically changing the second frequency band on which the at least one base station provides services for a second plurality of mobile devices so as to correspond to at least a portion of a different frequency hand allocated for first protocol wireless service via a public mobile communication network operating in the different second surrounding outdoor region, upon movement of the vehicle into the different second surrounding outdoor region, thereby enabling the at least one base station to provide the services to the second plurality of mobile devices on the different frequency band allocated for the first protocol wireless service.