Nortel Networks Corporation

Richard John Driscoll

Keith Russell Edwards

Jie Lin

Philip N Johnson

The disclosure relates to an asymmetric data access scheme eg Internet access scheme, over a fixed wireless access network. The disclosure provides apparatus for bandwidth efficient provision of asymmetric data services operating a method of communicating between a radio base station and a plurality of subscriber terminals, each subscriber terminal comprising a subscriber antenna. Each sector of a tri-sectored cellular arrangement operates a plurality of frequency division duplex pairs, plus one or more additional unpaired downlink frequencies. On the uplink, packet switched data is transmitted on the conventional access channel, eg ALOHA, but on the downlink, packet switched data is transmitted on an unpaired downlink frequency over a broad sectorized beam.

Asymmetric data access scheme

An accelerated access system for a computing device, in which the computing device is connected to a first data network, such as the Internet, via a second data network such as a wireless telecommunication network. The system comprising a server for downloading data from the first data network before that data has been requested by a user of the computing device and a cache for storing the downloaded data. For example, during browsing of the Internet by a user of the computing device the server downloads data linked to an Internet site being displayed by the computing device for storage in the cache. Then when a user subsequently requests the data stored in the cache it appears on the screen of the computing device faster than it would take to access it from the Internet. The system is located between the first data network and the second data network so that not all of the data downloaded by the server and only requests for data made by a user of the computing device are transmitted over the second data network.

Data network accelerated access system

Traditionally a user has accessed an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a circuit switched access network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). This advantage is lost in current packet switched access networks where there is no mechanism for a user to select a particular ISP in the access network. The present invention provides a method for a user in a packet switched access network to select a connection facility to a second network, the method comprising, the user prepending the access network address of the connection facility to each data packet sent across the access network by the user, and the access network connection removing the prepended address from each packet prior to sending the packets on to the second network.

Service selection on IP access networks

A radio base station in a Fixed Wireless Access System broadcasts downlink data packets, each packet being transmitted on a single logical channel. A plurality of network subscribers in a sector may be members of a user group, each user group configured to receive and transmit packets transferred on a specific single logical channel only. Packets include a destination address which specifies a member of the user group. The packets include a token which specifies which user group member may transmit uplink data to the base station on the next frame. Logical channels are yielded for use by circuit switched traffic when required.

Growing community of inventors

Totnes, United Kingdom

Richard John Driscoll