Lucent Technologies Inc.

Alcatel Lucent

Agere Systems Inc.

Alcatel-lucent USA Inc.

Agere Systems Guardian Corp.

Dan Avidor

Theodore Sizer

Reinaldo A Valenzuela

Sanjay Kasturia

Gregory Alan Wright

Jonathan Ling

Theodore Ii Sizer

Colin Alan Warwick

Constantinos B Papadias

Sayandev Mukherjee

Ashutosh Sabharwal

Jeong-Dong Ryoo

The method includes sending a request for permission to transmit by each ready node in the wireless network. Each ready node is a node of the wireless network ready to transmit, each request identifies a node in the network that is the destination, and each request is sent over a control channel. An iterative process based on priorities determined for the ready nodes is then performed to determine which ready nodes to block from transmission and which ready nodes to clear for transmission. Transmissions are sent over a payload channel from ready nodes in the clear to transmit state.

Method of managing transmission within a wireless communications network

In a method of improving system throughput while reducing packet delay for users of a wireless communication system, a user may be selected from a user population based on a parameter that is tracked for each user of the user population. A preferred beam for the user may be determined based on a highest running average data rate from each beam of a finite plurality of selectable beams so as to maximize the selected user's chances to be scheduled to receive the next packet. The preferred beam may be used for transmitting a pilot signal for scheduling a user in the user population to receive a next transmission on the preferred beam.

Opportunistic beamforming and scheduling of users in a communication system

In a method of determining a beam to be generated for a user, a user may be selected from a user population based on a parameter that is tracked for each user in the user population, and a beam preferred by the selected user may be determined. The preferred beam may be generated and used by a base station to transmit a pilot signal to the user population. Each user of the user population responds to the pilot signal. The base station may run a scheduling algorithm and schedule a user based on feedback received from all the users in the user population, and information may be transmitted to the scheduled user using the preferred beam.

A time-division-multiplexed fixed wireless loop system and methods therefor are disclosed. The system comprises a plurality of cells each having a base station and a plurality of terminals. The base station includes a steerable and adjustable multibeam antenna for communicating with each of the terminals, which have fixed antennas. A cell controller associated with each base station allocates communication time slots so as to minimize mutual interference between base station/terminal links sharing the same time slot. Slot assignment is based on regional, periodically updated interference measurements that are stored in data bases.

TDM-based fixed wireless loop system

A frequency and phase estimator simultaneously estimates the frequency and phase of an MPSK modulated signal with a frequency uncertainty range on the order of the symbol rate. The estimator defines a plurality of contiguous bands within the frequency uncertainty range of the signal, estimates the frequency to one of the bands, and utilizes the frequency estimate to derive a phase estimate. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of signal samples of the frequency shifted signal in each of said bands are accumulated to produce a vector for each band, and the frequency estimate is selected in one of said bands, based upon the magnitude of the corresponding vector. The phase is estimated from the argument of the corresponding vector. The present invention is particularly suited for burst modems or TDMA systems, where frequency and phase estimates must be derived reliably from a limited number of incoming symbols at the beginning of each burst.

Frequency and phase estimation for MPSK signals

Without intercell coordination on a per communication request basis, channel assignment can be efficiently performed by developing for each cell, or a sector thereof when the cells are sectorized using directional antennas, a priority list of groups of channels, and selecting a channel to be assigned in response to a request for service from the highest priority group which has available channels at the time of the service request. The priority lists are developed based on various interference measurements that are made. The priority lists tend to remain the same for relatively long periods of time. However, periodically, the priority lists should be redetermined to insure that the best lists are being employed. For example the lists may need to be changed due to new construction or to seasonal vegetation changes which may affect the interference experienced in the system. Advantageously, system capacity under peak concentrated load conditions may increase. This advantage is further magnified under field conditions for which the cell shapes are not ideal.

Distributed channel assignment method

In a base station for providing wireless cellular service, an antenna arrangement is employed to transmit information to Mobile terminals, e.g., cellular radiotelephones, in a cell. The cell is divided into sectors. The antenna arrangement includes a number of antennas, each of which is used to serve one or more of the sectors. However, transmission of an antenna to a sector corresponding thereto is interfered by transmissions of other antennas to their corresponding sectors. To reduce such inter-sector interference in each sector, each antenna is designed to maximize beam efficiency of the sector, which is defined as a ratio of the power transmitted to the sector by the corresponding antenna to the total power radiated from the antenna.

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Little Silver, NJ, United States of America

Dan Avidor