Metropolitan wide area network

Abstract

A wide area communication network includes at least two hub sites which are interconnected by a communication backbone. Each hub site provides wireless coverage in at least one sector. At least two remote sites reside in each sectors and are coupled to a corresponding hub site via a point to multi point broadband wireless system. The network preferably includes at least one service node which is accessible to the remote sites via the hub sites and backbone.

1 . A wide area communication network comprising:
 at least two hub sites, said hub sites being interconnected by a communication backbone, each said hub site providing coverage in at least one sector;   at least two remote sites corresponding to each of said sectors; and   a point-to-multi point broadband wireless system, said at least two remote sites being coupled to a corresponding hub site through said point-to-multi point broadband wireless system, wherein said point-to-multi point broad band wireless system at each said hub site comprises:   a first radio unit operating on a first selectable frequency and providing coverage in a first sector;   a second radio unit operating on a second selectable frequency and providing coverage in a second sector, said second sector being substantially adjacent to said first sector; and   a frequency selector to select said first selectable frequency and said second selectable frequency from a plurality of available frequencies such that said first and second selectable frequencies are substantially separated thereby minimizing co-channel interference.   
     
     
         2 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one service node, said service node being operatively coupled to at least one of said hub sites. 
     
     
         3 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 2 , wherein said at least one service node includes at least one of an Internet service node service, a long distance telephony service node, a local telephony service node, and a video service node. 
     
     
         4 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said at least two remote sites comprise:
 an outdoor unit, said outdoor unit including a radio transceiver operatively coupled to an antenna;   a plurality of indoor units, said indoor units being operatively coupled to a plurality of customer premises equipment; and   an interfacility link, said interfacility link coupling said outdoor unit to said plurality of indoor units, whereby said radio transceiver supports a plurality of said customer premises equipment.   
     
     
         5 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 4 , further comprising a statistical multiplexing device configured to use said radio unit among said plurality of customer premises equipment. 
     
     
         6 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 4 , wherein said indoor units comprise:
 a chassis, said chassis having a receiver for a plurality of line cards; and   a line card, said line card providing a service specific interface between said chassis and a customer premise equipment.   
     
     
         7 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 6 , wherein said line card can support an additional indoor unit in a daisy chain configuration. 
     
     
         8 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 4 , wherein said interfacility link is a fiber link. 
     
     
         9 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 4 , wherein said remote site is located at a multi story dwelling and an indoor unit is installed on a plurality of floors of the dwelling. 
     
     
         10 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said at least two remote sites comprise an integrated unit providing selected services to customer premise equipment. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least a third radio unit operating on a third selectable frequency, said third radio unit providing further coverage in one of said first and second sectors, said frequency selector being further configured to select said third selectable frequency such that said first, second and third selectable frequencies are substantially different. 
     
     
         13 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , wherein said hub site includes a plurality of adjacent and non-adjacent sectors and wherein said frequency selector being configured to reuse said available frequencies on said non-adjacent sectors. 
     
     
         14 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , wherein said communication backbone and said broad band wireless system each support a packet based data transfer protocol. 
     
     
         15 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 14 , wherein said packet based transfer protocol is Asynchronous Transfer Mode. 
     
     
         16 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 14 , wherein said packet based transfer protocol for backbone to hub site communication includes both Asynchronous Transfer Mode and Synchronous Transfer Mode. 
     
     
         17 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 16 , wherein said packets are ATM packets including a header portion and a payload portion, said header portion including a quality of service parameter and wherein said network further comprises a system bandwidth allocator configured to allocate bandwidth based on said quality of service parameter. 
     
     
         18 . A wide area communication network according to  claim 1 , wherein each of said at least two hub sites is configured to dynamically allocate communication bandwidth among the at least two remote sites in each sector combined with Asynchronous Transfer Mode statistical multiplexing of communication bandwidth allocated to users within each remote site.