Method and Apparatus To Estimate Relative Base Station and Subscriber Terminal Locations and Using It To Increase Frequency Reuse

Abstract

Method for estimating position information of base stations as well as terminals for three dimensional centralized real-time spectrum management to achieve high spectral efficiency. In one aspect of the invention, the method comprises i) understanding the position information of plurality of base stations, wherein the plurality of terminals and the base stations form a wireless network, ii) determining, at the central controller, position of a terminal via plurality of communication wirelessly between the base stations and a terminal and between the base station and the central controller, iii) applying network wide real time knowledge at the central controller to electronically steerable antennas to use a resource in a different direction then where it is used by other base stations to achieve frequency reuse of one.

1 . A method for increasing access to a wireless network, the method comprising:
 determining relative locations of the plurality of terminals with respect to the base stations; and   electronically steering respective antennas based on the determined relative locations to increase frequency reuse in the wireless network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining relative locations of the plurality of terminals with respect to the base stations includes:
 scanning a plurality of terminals on entry of the plurality of terminals into the wireless network by transmitting digital signals to the plurality of terminals;   estimating respective distances from the plurality of terminals to each of the base stations using the transmitted digital signals.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising
 transmitting distance information including the estimated distances to each of the base stations; and   storing and processing the distance information.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining relative locations of the plurality of terminals with respect to the base stations includes cluster localizing, cluster transforming, and cluster optimizing. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the cluster localizing includes selecting a base station of the base stations as an origin of a local coordinate, and estimating possible positions of the plurality of terminals based on the estimated distances. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising using a smart scheduling at the base stations to increase frequency reuse. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein a scheduler schedules a resource with respect to terminals bandwidth. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the base stations are synchronized to transmit and receive frames in the same time and same frequency, whereby the other base stations are aware of the scheduling in a neighboring base station in a way to reduce interference. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the base stations are synchronized to transmit and receive frames in different time and same frequency, whereby the other base stations are aware of the scheduling in a neighboring base station in a way to reduce interference. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the base stations are synchronized to transmit and receive frames in same time and different frequency, whereby the other base stations are aware of the scheduling in a neighboring base station in a way to reduce interference. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising constructing and refining non-overlapping regions and interference regions for each of the base stations and the plurality of terminals based on the periodically determined relative locations of the plurality of terminals and the base stations. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising scheduling a resource of a base station of the base stations based on the constructed and refined non-overlapping regions and interference regions. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus for increasing access to a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:
 a determination module configured to determine relative locations of a plurality of terminals with respect to the base stations; and   a steering module configured to steer antennas electronically based on the determined relative locations to increase frequency reuse.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13  further comprising:
 a scanning module configured to scan a plurality of terminals on entry of the plurality of terminals into the wireless network by ways of transmitting digital signals to the plurality of terminals. 
 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14  further comprising an estimation module configured to estimate respective distances from the plurality of terminals using the transmitted digital signals. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15  further comprising:
 a transmission module configured to transmit distance information including the periodically estimated distances to each of the base stations; and 
 a memory configured to store the distance information and process the distance information. 
 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the determining module is further configured to determine relative locations of the plurality of terminals with respect to the base stations by performing: cluster localizing, cluster transforming, and cluster optimizing. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a processor configured to instruct a scheduler to schedule a resource to increase frequency reuse. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a processor configured to construct and refine non-overlapping regions and interference regions for each of the base stations and the plurality of terminals based on the determined relative locations of the plurality of terminals and the base stations. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is further configured to instruct the scheduler to schedule a resource based on the constructed and refined non-overlapping regions and interference regions. 
     
     
         21 . A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable medium with computer readable instructions stored thereon for increasing access to a wireless network, the computer readable program, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:
 determine relative locations of the plurality of terminals with respect to the base stations; and   electronically steer respective antennas based on the determined relative locations to increase frequency reuse in the wireless network.