Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Multiple computer communication using cryptography – Protection at a particular protocol layer
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-08
2001-09-18
Peeso, Thomas R. (Department: 2132)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Multiple computer communication using cryptography
Protection at a particular protocol layer
C713S164000, C713S168000, C380S247000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292891
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a cellular radio system comprising a base station system which comprises a base station controller and at least one base station as network elements, and in which cellular radio system the base station controller is arranged to control at least one base station.
The invention further relates to a method of connecting a base station to a cellular radio system comprising a base station system which comprises a base station controller and at least one base station as network elements, and in which method the base station controller controls at least one base station.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Demands made upon data transmission systems are on the increase. This concerns particularly wireless digital data transmission systems, such as cellular radio systems, which are expected to produce increasingly complex services, for example various data services.
A typical cellular radio system comprises a fixed base station network in which a subscriber terminal communicates with one or more base stations of the system. Furthermore, the cellular radio system comprises a base station controller which controls the base stations, and a mobile services switching centre. In connection with the cellular radio system, it has been known to connect a plurality of base stations of the cellular radio system so as to enable a plurality of base stations to be controlled by one base station controller by means of telecommunication connections by fixed connections, such as cabling or fixedly installed radio links.
It is previously known that a transmission connection between network elements is typically implemented using a
2
Mbit/s connection, i.e. a PCM (Pulse Coded Modulation) link. At worst, the
2
Mbit/s PMC link used by the operator for transmission is so occupied that the increase in capacity mentioned above would require a new PCM link to be introduced. This would be both expensive and difficult.
The prior art solutions allow the number of telecommunication connections between the base stations in a network, i.e. the network configuration, to be manually changed in such a manner that the maintenance personnel visits all base stations to be changed. This is laborious, and such a prior art system does not enable the structure of the network to be flexibly changed. For example, it is thus impossible to change the transmission capacity of different base stations daily according to the base station which has the heaviest traffic. It would be most desirable that mobile telephone operators in urban and suburban areas should have such a characteristic.
Another disadvantage of the prior art system is that owing to the manual configuration of the network transmission connections, the prior art network is difficult to manage since the network cannot be managed from one point but the base stations have to be separately visited when the network configuration is to be changed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a cellular radio system so as to solve the problems described above. This can be achieved by a cellular radio system of the type described in the introduction, which is characterized in that in the cellular radio system, the network elements are connected by an information network using a packet protocol.
Another object of the invention is also to provide a method of installing a base station in a cellular radio system so as to solve the above problems. This, again, can be achieved by a method of the type described in the introduction, which is characterized in that the network elements are interconnected by means of an information network using a packet protocol, and that each network element is provided with a unique network element address, and that the network configuration information of said information network using the packet protocol is maintained at a configuration server connected to the information network, and that a new base station connected to the network first contacts the configuration server, and that the configuration server transmits the network configuration information to the base station.
The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
Packet switching is a method in which a connection between users is established by transmitting data as packets which, in addition to the actual data, comprise address data and control data. Several connections can use the same transmission connection simultaneously. In recent years, research has been carried out on the use of packet switched radio systems particularly for transmitting data. It is unnecessary to allocate a data transmission connection. for the whole time, only for transmitting packets. This results in considerably lower costs and a smaller capacity need both when a network is being built and used.
The invention is based on the idea that a base station system uses data transmission based on a packet protocol, such as an Internet protocol (IP), and that the base station system comprises auto configuration base stations. The system comprises known network elements, such as base stations, base station controllers and a mobile services switching centre, which use an Internet protocol, i.e. an IP information network, and a new network element, i.e. a configuration server. When a new base station is connected to the network, it first contacts the configuration server in order to obtain the network configuration information, i.e. the IP address information of the nearest base station controller and other relevant network elements. The geographical coordinates of the base station can be fed into the base station while it is being installed, whereupon they are transmitted to the configuration server at a stage when the base station is introduced. The configuration server can also directly estimate the location of the base station from its IP address. When the base station has the IP information network address of the nearest base station controller, it can establish O&M (Operation and Maintenance) and signaling connections to the base station controller, which thus starts controlling the base station in a known manner. The base station controller can also utilize the information on the location of the base station in order to allocate radio frequencies to the base station.
Several advantages can be achieved by the cellular radio system and method of installing a base station in a cellular radio system of the invention. The cellular radio system and method of installing a base station in a cellular radio system enable a fast and automatized installation of base stations wherever an IP information network is available. By means of an IP-based autoconfigurating base station, the mobile communication network can be temporarily extended without an actual network extension. This is extremely useful for instance in connection with big concerts, sport events, conferences and other events in which people are congregated in a small area for a relatively short time. An existing IP-based network structure can also be utilized when a new information network is being built. Hence, it can be utilized for cellular network elements.
Furthermore, an advantage of the invention is that a base station becomes quicker and easier to install since the number of procedures that the base station installer must perform can be reduced and automatized. In addition, the base station installer does not have to know the structure of the entire base station network. The system and method of the invention reduce errors and erroneous functions in the base station network.
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Bergenwall Martin
Pirkola Juha
Altera Law Group LLC
Nokia Networks Ov
Peeso Thomas R.
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