Interference mitigation in distributed antenna systems

Abstract

In an example, a distributed antenna system (DAS) includes a central unit configured to be coupled to a base station and the central unit is configured to receive downlink signals from the base station. The central unit is also configured to support a plurality of transmission bands and a plurality of receiver bands. The DAS further includes a plurality of remote units configured to communicate wireless signals in a coverage area of the distributed antenna system, and the plurality of remote units are communicatively coupled to the central unit and located remotely from the central unit. The DAS is configured to mitigate interference using dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A distributed antenna system, comprising:
 a central unit configured to be coupled to a base station, wherein the central unit is configured to receive downlink signals from the base station, wherein the central unit is configured to support a plurality of transmission bands and a plurality of receiver bands; and   a plurality of remote units configured to communicate wireless signals in a coverage area of the distributed antenna system, wherein the plurality of remote units are communicatively coupled to the central unit and located remotely from the central unit; and   wherein the distributed antenna system is configured to mitigate interference using dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units.   
     
     
         2 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein the distributed antenna system is configured to mitigate interference using dynamic allocation of the plurality of transmission bands and the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units. 
     
     
         3 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is based on propagation delay of the bands. 
     
     
         4 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein a source of the interference is internal to the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         5 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 4 , wherein the source of the interference is a first remote unit of the plurality of remote units. 
     
     
         6 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein a source of the interference is external to the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         7 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 6 , wherein the source of the interference is a base station not connected to the distributed antenna system and outside the coverage area of the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         8 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is based on one or more statistics associated with the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         9 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is based on user equipment device congestion in the coverage area of the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         10 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is automatic adjusted based on performance or usage. 
     
     
         11 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one remote unit of the plurality of remote units is configured to support fewer transmission bands of the plurality of transmission bands than receiver bands of the plurality of receiver bands. 
     
     
         12 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one remote unit of the plurality of remote units is configured to only transmit wireless signals in the coverage area. 
     
     
         13 . The distributed antenna system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one remote unit of the plurality of remote units is configured to only receive wireless signals from the coverage area. 
     
     
         14 . A method, comprising:
 transmitting, by a central unit of a distributed antenna system, downlink signals to a plurality of remote units of the distributed antenna system, wherein the central unit is configured to support a plurality of transmission bands and a plurality of receiver bands;   transmitting, by the plurality of remote units of the distributed antenna system, the downlink signals to one or more coverage areas of the distributed antenna system;   receiving, at the central unit, uplink signals transmitted by user equipment devices from the plurality of remote units of the distributed antenna system;   mitigating interference using dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is based on propagation delay of the bands. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is based on one or more statistics associated with the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is based on user equipment device congestion in the one or more coverage areas of the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units is automatic adjusted based on performance or usage. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein mitigating interference using dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units includes mitigating interference that is internal to the distributed antenna system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein mitigating interference using dynamic allocation of at least one of the plurality of transmission bands and/or at least one of the plurality of receiver bands among the plurality of remote units includes mitigating interference that is external to the distributed antenna system.