Soma Networks, Inc.

Jeffrey P Castura

Ramesh Mantha

Frank M Van Heeswyk

The present invention provides a method and system for mitigating fading and/or poor reception at a receiver. The receiver includes configurations each of which can provide different reception characteristics. The receiver evaluates the reception quality of the radio signal with the antenna in a first configuration and with the antenna in at least a second configuration and selects the antenna configuration that has the best evaluated reception for use until a subsequent iteration, when the process is repeated. The antenna configurations can correspond to configurations wherein reception is favored in different directions or to configurations wherein different antennas are selected, each antenna being spaced from each other antenna. The method can also improve the reception of a signal transmitted by selecting an antenna configuration for transmissions which provides improved reception quality at the destination receiver.

System and method for mitigating fading of a signal at a radio receiver

A novel communication channel structure and method in a wireless communication system is provided. In an embodiment of the invention, the communication system includes a base station and a plurality of subscriber stations and the subscriber stations are given access to a variety of channels, including at least one uplink data channel. The uplink data channel can operate in at least a random access mode and a polled access mode. The base station informs each subscriber station it serves of the current mode of the uplink channel via an associated downlink signaling channel and, in random access mode, each subscriber station is able to randomly access the shared uplink channel. In polled mode, each subscriber station waits for permission from the base station before sending data over the shared uplink channel. A method of operating the system monitors the collisions which occur on the uplink channel in random mode and/or the amount of data and/or the data's priority level and/or QoS requirements and switches the system between random and polled modes as appropriate. In polled mode, the method determines which subscriber stations should access the uplink and when.

Communication channel structure and method

A system for transmitting data between stations, such as base stations and subscriber stations in a wireless telecommunications system, employs variable set of interleaving parameters for its interleaving operations. By using different set of interleaving parameters with the interleavers, data which would otherwise be aligned when transmitted from a station to many stations, or from many stations to a station, will not be aligned after interleaving has been performed. This reduces the peak to average ratio required for a transmitter and/or can reduce interference experienced at receivers in the system. This is especially true if a significant proportion of the otherwise aligned signals are symbols which require zero energy to transmit.

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Ottawa, Canada

Jeffrey P Castura