British Telecommunications Public Limited Company

British Telecommunications Corporation

Ian Neild

David John Taylor Heatley

Philip Alfred Barker

Richard Gedge

Mohammad Zoualfaghari

Adrian R Thurlow

Andrew Reeves

Michael A Fisher

David J T Heatley

Paul Anthony Putland

Tim Stevens

MohammadHossein Zoualfaghari

Michael Williamson

Adrian Richard Thurlow

Paul Putland

Michael Fisher

A method () of operating a wireless telecommunications network (), said network comprising a plurality of User Equipment (), UEs, a Wireless Access Point (), WAP, and a Wireless Local Area Network (), WLAN, provided by means of the WAP, the method comprising the steps of: associating, against each of the plurality of UEs, an item of information and a unique character slot for the item of information (); compiling each item of information into a string, wherein said items of information are arranged according to each associated character slot (); broadcasting, by means of the WAP, a network identifier for the WLAN, said network identifier comprising the compiled string (); identifying, by means of each of the UEs, the broadcast network identifier (); retrieving, by means of each UE, the character slot for the associated UE; and using, by means of each UE, the retrieved character slot so as to extract the associated item of information from the identified network identifier.

Method of operating a wireless telecommunications network

A method of operating a wireless telecommunications network, said network comprising a plurality of User Equipment devices, UEs, a Wireless Access Point, WAP, and a Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN, provided by means of the WAP, the method comprising the steps of: allocating, to each of the plurality of UEs, an item of information; encoding, by code-division multiplexing, the allocated items of information, thereby to output a signal string; assigning to the WLAN a network identifier, wherein said network identifier is derived from the output signal string; broadcasting, by means of the WAP, the assigned network identifier; retrieving, by means of each of the UEs, the signal string from the broadcast network identifier; and subsequently performing, by each of the UEs, code-division demultiplexing upon the retrieved signal string, each given UE thereby outputting the item of information allocated to that given UE. Methods of operating the UE and WAP are also described, as well as the wireless telecommunications network, UE and the WAP.

A passive sensor for detecting the operation of a light source includes a photosensor which, when illuminated by the light source, delivers a voltage to a field effect transistor (FET) which can switch a circuit to control a device at a remote location. The FET transitions rapidly between very low resistance (short circuit) and very high resistance (open circuit), allowing a binary indication to be given in the circuit. The circuit can be used to charge an electrical storage device to allow later download of recent status of the lamp by detecting the charge stored in the device.

Passive optical sensors

Methods and systems are disclosed for enabling sensor data to be collected from sensor devices (), the sensor devices being configured to sense a condition and to send sensor messages according to a wireless communication protocol to a wireless access point () of a local network (), the sensor messages comprising sensor data indicative of said condition, said sensor messages also comprising a destination indication indicative of a predetermined network location outside the local network ().

Collection of sensor data from sensor devices

The invention relates to a method of managing a digital subscriber line, in particular for identifying the location of weather related faults. The invention continuously measures the signal to noise (SNR) margin on the DSL line as well as measurements from weather related sensors, such as moisture and wind sensors, which each have an associated geographical location. The SNR margin measures are compared to predetermined conditions based on SNR margin characteristics associated with a population of good lines. If the SNR margin measures fail to meet the predetermined conditions, the SNR measures are also compared to the weather sensor measurements over a day or number of days. If there is a correlation between the SNR margin measures and at least one of the sensors, then location of the fault is identified as the location of the sensor having the strongest correlation with the SNR measures.

Line fault localisation

A system for use in installation of blown fiber for detecting a signal indicative of presence of at least one of a gas flow or an optical fiber at a remote location, comprising a gas vibration detector configured to acoustically couple with an installation duct through which the signal can travel after its generation at the remote location, and a processor arranged to receive an input from the vibration detector and to process the input to identify the signal present within the input; and a sensor for generating the signal upon sensing the presence of at least one of the gas flow or the optical fiber at the remote location. The signal can be provided by a whistle mounted on the remote end of the installation duct. The vibration sensor is typically a microphone.

Passive remote detection of gas flow and cable arrival

A device for use with a conduit having a first conduit end and a conduit second end, into which conduit a cable can be installed using a flow of air into the first conduit end, the device being suitable for confirming that the flow of air is exiting the second conduit end, the device including a housing, means to enable connection of the device to the second conduit end, a light source, a detector arranged to detect a presence or absence of a light signal, and a light shield, wherein in use, the flow of air entering the device causes the light shield and at least one of the light source or the detector, to move to and to stay at a position relative to the other, permitting the detector to detect detections including one or more of a presence or absence of the light signal, an intensity level of the light signal, a change in the presence or absence of the light signal, or a change in the intensity level of the light signal.

Cable installation using optical detection

A device for use with a conduit having a first conduit end and a conduit second end, into which conduit a cable can be installed using a flow of air into the first conduit end, the device being suitable for confirming that the air is flowing out from the second conduit end. In an embodiment, the device includes a housing, means to enable connection of the device to the second conduit end, a detector arranged to detect an electrical property change, and an actuator for causing an electrical property change detectable by the detector, wherein in use, the air flowing into the device causes the detector and the actuator to move relative to each other, causing an electrical property change detectable by the detector.

Cable installation using induction

A method, for use in connection with installing a cable into a conduit () having a first end and a second end (), of detecting whether air is flowing from the first end to the second end, the method including the steps of: &#x2014;providing a movement sensor () within or proximate to the conduit; &#x2014;providing an air flow () into the conduit from the first end; and &#x2014;detecting that the air is flowing to the second end when the air flow disrupt the movement sensor.

Cable installation

A method for use in connection with installing a fiber unit into a conduit having a first end and a second end, the method being suitable to detect when the fiber unit introduced into the first end arrives at the second end. The fiber unit is introduced into the conduit from the first end and installed towards the second end; introducing a light with a light source into the fiber unit at the first end; detecting reflected light in the fiber unit with a light detector at the first end, and detecting changes in the reflected light, whereby an operator may determine that the fiber unit has arrived at the second end.

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Ipswich, United Kingdom

Ian Neild