Service flow with robust header compression (ROHC) in a WiMAX wireless network

#1. Technical Field

#The present invention relates generally to broadband wireless access data networks, and more particularly to data routing functionality for such data networks.

#2. Related Art

#FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a wireless communication network environment that includes circuit devices and network elements and the operation thereof according to an embodiment of the invention;

#FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a WiMAX base transceiver station according to an embodiment of the invention;

#FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a front end processing module of a WiMAX base transceiver station constructed according to an embodiment of the invention;

#It should be understood at the outset that although an exemplary implementation of one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated below, the present system may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents. It is further understood that as used herein, terms such as “coupled”, “connected”, “electrically connected”, “in signal communication”, “communicatively coupled” and the like may include direct connections between components, indirect connections between components, or both, as would be apparent in the overall context of a particular embodiment. The terms “transmit,” “transmitted,” or “transmitting” is intended to include, but not be limited to, the electrical transmission of a signal from one device to another.

#FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a wireless communication network environment 10 that includes circuit devices and network elements and the operation thereof according to an embodiment of the invention. More specifically, a star topology zone 102 is a part of the network environment 10, which can include, by way of example, one or more of a data network 160, an access service networks gateway (ASN-GW) 162, a connectivity service network (CSN) 166, and a 3G radio access network (RAN) 164. The base transceiver stations operate under broadband wireless access specifications such as WiMAX (that is, IEEE §802.16d for fixed wireless access and IEEE §802.16e for mobile wireless access), and support mesh access specifications (such as under IEEE §802.11s).

#The broadband wireless communication network environment 10, via a star topology zone 102 that includes the mesh and wired base transceiver stations, operates to deliver broadband multimedia data ubiquitously over wireless links at multiples of the speed of traditional circuit-switched wireless systems, and over a far greater coverage area than other wireless technologies (for example, IEEE §802.11 WiFi technology). In this manner, the network environment 10 is designed to deliver wireless access at similar costs, but across tens of kilometers and realizing greater performance and higher data throughput. That is, in contrast to other wireless technologies, WiMAX is capable of providing high-bandwidth over distance, whereas WiFi (under IEEE §802.11 specifications) may provide high bandwidth (but not distance), and cellular systems may provide distance, but not bandwidth.