United access channel for use in a mobile communications system

Abstract

A method and apparatus for operating a first base station in a cellular telecommunications system, wherein the first base station has first and second transceivers that receive radio signals that are divided into uplink time slots, includes operating the first transceiver in synchronization with a first frame of uplink time slots and operating the second transceiver in synchronization with a second frame of uplink time slots, wherein the second frame of uplink time slots are offset by a predetermined amount relative to the first frame of uplink time slots. A united random access channel is formed by using a first time slot in each of the first and second transceivers in combination. A mobile station that transmits an uplink radio frequency burst may access the first base station by having the uplink radio frequency burst received by at least one of the first and second transceivers during that transceiver's first time slot. The uplink radio frequency burst may be received by both the first and second transceivers during the respective first time slots of the first and second transceivers. In this case, a comparison is made between the message contents, frame number and access delay of the bursts received by the first and second transceivers in order to determine that the bursts correspond to an access attempt by one mobile station.