Multiple-TRX pico base station for providing improved wireless capacity and coverage in a building

Abstract

One embodiment is directed to a system for providing wireless coverage and capacity for a public land mobile network within a building. The system comprises a pico base station comprising multiple transceiver units. The pico base station is installed in the building. The system further comprises a plurality of antennas located within the building. The plurality of antennas are located remotely from the pico base station. The pico base station is communicatively coupled to the public land mobile network. The pico base station is communicatively coupled to the plurality of antennas.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for providing wireless coverage and capacity for a at least one public land mobile network within a building, the system comprising:
 a pico base station comprising multiple transceiver units, wherein the pico base station is installed in the building; and 
 a plurality of antennas located within the building, wherein the plurality of antennas are located remotely from the pico base station; 
 a distributed antenna system to couple the pico base station to the plurality of antennas, wherein the distributed antenna system comprises a hub unit installed within a rack and a plurality of remote antenna units located within the building, wherein the hub unit of the distributed antenna system is a separate component than the pico base station, wherein the remote antenna units are located remotely from the hub unit and each of the plurality of antennas is coupled to at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units; 
 wherein the pico base station is communicatively coupled to the at least one public land mobile network, where each transceiver unit of the multiple transceiver units of the pico base station is coupled to the hub unit of the distributed antenna system; 
 wherein the pico base station is communicatively coupled to the plurality of antennas; 
 wherein the pico base station is configured so that the to output wireless traffic is output by the pico base station at a power level less than one Watt; 
 wherein the system further comprises a distributed antenna system to couple the pico base station to the plurality of antennas; and 
 wherein the distributed antenna system comprises a hub unit installed within a rack included in the server room and a plurality of remote antenna units located within the building, wherein the remote antenna units are located remotely from the hub unit and each of the plurality of antennas is coupled to at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units. 
 wherein the hub unit includes one or more converters configured to convert the wireless traffic output by the pico base station to a first form, wherein each of the remote antenna units includes one or more converters configured to convert the wireless traffic from the first form to a second form, wherein the wireless traffic is radiated from the antennas in the second form. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the building is not controlled by a person or entity other than a service provider associated with the at least one public land mobile network. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the hub unit is communicatively coupled to the remote antenna units, at least in part, using at least one of unshielded twisted pair cabling, cable television cabling, optical fiber, and coaxial cabling. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the hub unit and at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units are communicatively coupled to one another via an expansion hub. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the expansion hub is communicatively coupled to the remote antenna units, at least in part, using at least one of unshielded twisted pair cabling, cable television cabling, optical fiber, and coaxial cabling. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pico base station unit is communicatively coupled to the at least one public land mobile network using an Internet Protocol (IP) backhaul connection for which voice signals are converted to IP packets. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pico base station further comprises one or more circuits configured to: 
 base station controller functionalitycontrol the multiple transceiver units and enable the multiple transceiver units to communicate with the at least one public land mobile network; and 
 network switching subsystem functionalityperform at least a portion of call switching normally implemented in a mobile switching center. 
 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pico base station further comprises a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) agent to establish sessions with devices that support the SIP protocol. 
     
     
       9. A pico base station system comprising:
 a pico base station that includes: an enclosure;   a plurality of radio transceivers, housed within the enclosure, to transmit and receive, within a building, wireless traffic using radio frequency spectrum assigned to a at least one public land mobile network; and   an interface to communicatively couple the plurality of radio transceivers to the at least one public land mobile network using an Internet Protocol (IP) backhaul connection for which voice signals are converted to IP packets;   
 wherein the pico base station is configured so that to output the wireless traffic is output by the pico base station at a power level less than one Watt; 
 wherein the pico base station is coupled to a distributed antenna system used to couple the pico base station to a plurality of antennas; and 
 wherein thea distributed antenna system comprisesincluding a hub unit installed within a rack included in a server room and a plurality of remote antenna units located within a the building, wherein the hub unit is a separate component than the pico base station, wherein the remote antenna units are located remotely from the hub unit and each of the plurality of antennas is coupled to at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units, wherein each radio transceiver of the plurality of radio transceivers of the pico base station is configured to be coupled to a hub unit of the distributed antenna system used to couple the pico base station to a plurality of antennas; 
 wherein the hub unit includes one or more converters configured to convert the wireless traffic output by the pico base station to a first form, wherein each of the remote antenna units includes one or more converters configured to convert the wireless traffic from the first form to a second form, wherein the wireless traffic is radiated from the antennas in the second form. 
 
     
     
       10. The pico base station system of  claim 9 , wherein the enclosure has a rack-mountable shape. 
     
     
       11. The pico base station system of  claim 9 , further comprising base station controller functionality one or more circuits communicatively coupled to the plurality of radio transceivers, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to perform at least some base station controller operations for the plurality of radio transceivers. 
     
     
       12. The pico base station system of  claim 9 , further comprising one or more circuits configured to: 
 base station controller functionalitycontrol the multiple transceiver units and to enable the multiple transceiver units to communicate with the at least one public land mobile network; and 
 network switching subsystem functionalityperform at least a portion of call switching normally implemented in a mobile switching center. 
 
     
     
       13. An enterprise network providing wireless coverage and capacity for a at least one public land mobile network within a building located on a premises of an enterprise, the system enterprise network comprising:
 a pico base station comprising multiple transceiver units, wherein the pico base station is installed in the building and is configured to communicate using licensed radio frequency spectrum; 
 a plurality of antennas located within the building, wherein the plurality of antennas are located remotely from the pico base station; and  
 a distributed antenna system to communicatively couple the pico base station to the plurality of antennas, wherein the distributed antenna system comprises a hub unit installed within a rack and a plurality of remote antenna units located within the building, wherein the hub unit is a separate component than the pico base station, wherein the remote antenna units are located remotely from the hub unit and each of the plurality of antennas are coupled to at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units; and 
 wherein the pico base station is communicatively coupled to the at least one public land mobile network, wherein each transceiver unit of the multiple transceiver units of the pico base station is coupled to the hub unit of the distributed antenna system; 
 wherein the pico base station further comprises one or more circuits configured to:  
 base station controller functionalityto control the multiple transceiver units and to enable the multiple transceiver units to communicate with the at least one public land mobile network; and 
 network switching subsystem functionalityperform at least a portion of call switching normally implemented in a mobile switching center; and  
 wherein the distributed antenna system comprises a hub unit installed within a rack included in a server room and a plurality of remote antenna units located within the building, wherein the remote antenna units are located remotely from the hub unit and each of the plurality of antennas are coupled to at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units; and 
 wherein the pica pico base station is configured so that the to output wireless traffic is output by the pico base station at a power level less than one Watt. 
 
     
     
       14. The system enterprise network of  claim 13 , wherein the building is not controlled by a person or entity other than a service provider associated with the at least one public land mobile network. 
     
     
       15. The system enterprise network of  claim 13 , wherein the hub unit is communicatively coupled to the remote antenna units, at least in part, using at least one of unshielded twisted pair cabling, cable television cabling, optical fiber, and coaxial cabling. 
     
     
       16. The system enterprise network of  claim 13 , wherein the hub unit and at least one of the plurality of remote antenna units are communicatively coupled to one another via an expansion hub. 
     
     
       17. The system enterprise network of  claim 16 , wherein the expansion hub is communicatively coupled to the remote antenna units, at least in part, using at least one of unshielded twisted pair cabling, cable television cabling, optical fiber, and coaxial cabling. 
     
     
       18. The system enterprise network of  claim 13 , wherein the pico base station unit is communicatively coupled to the at least one public land mobile network using an Internet Protocol (IP) backhaul connection for which voice signals are converted to IP packets. 
     
     
       19. The system enterprise network of  claim 13 , wherein the network switching subsystem functionality comprises one or more circuits are configured to perform at least a portion of call switching normally implemented in a mobile switching center using a private mobile switching center server and a private home location register for providing wireless service to local subscribers of the enterprise using the licensed radio frequency in connection with local mobile phone numbers. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the pico base station further comprises a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) agent to establish sessions with devices that support the SIP protocol. 
     
     
       21. The system of claim 1, wherein the pico base station and the hub unit are housed within a common chassis. 
     
     
       22. The enterprise network of claim 13, wherein the pico base station and the hub unit are housed within the same chassis.