Backhaul network for femto base stations

Abstract

Providing an inter-femto Base Station (fBS) network to facilitate low interference, low power cellular access utilizing two or more fBSs is provided herein. For example, a group of fBSs can be inter-connected by a wired and/or wireless communication network. Multiple fBSs then can link with a mobile device and coordinate cellular traffic amongst the fBS network to facilitate hand-off related communication. Additionally, cellular traffic can be forwarded from one or more fBSs to an appropriate fBS designated to carry cellular traffic for each mobile device. Furthermore, by inter-connecting multiple fBSs, multi-base station cellular-type hand-off can be supported by the fBS network, while preserving predetermined cellular interface constraints associated with such mobile devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of providing a femto base station (fBS) backhaul network for interfacing a mobile device with a cellular network, comprising:
 forming a communication link with a mobile device and a first fBS;   communicatively coupling the first fBS with a neighboring fBS; and   routing at least a portion of traffic associated with the communication link to a cellular network by way of the neighboring fBS.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the neighboring fBS is designated to route cellular-related information between the mobile device and a cellular network; and   the first fBS provides more optimal contemporaneous transmission power or interference characteristics, or both, for the communication link as compared with a direct communication link between the mobile device and the neighboring fBS.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
 routing the portion of traffic associated with the communication link to the cellular network by way of the Internet; or   compensating an owner of the first fBS for at least part of the time or bandwidth, or both, required to route the at least a portion of traffic to the cellular network by way of at least the first fBS.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving at least a second portion of traffic associated with the communication link directly at the neighboring fBS; and   directing the second portion of traffic to the cellular network by way of a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection or a cable Internet Protocol (IP) connection, or a broadband over power line (BPL) connection, or a combination thereof, designated to carry cellular traffic for the mobile device.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising routing the portion of traffic associated with the communication link to the cellular network by way of one or more additional fBSs. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 mapping connectivity between the first fBS and the neighboring fBS to compile a connectivity map; and   providing the connectivity map associated with the first fBS to a radio network controller (RNC).   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 employing an autonomous algorithm at the first fBS that utilizes broadcast transmission between the first fBS and the neighboring fBS to compile at least a portion of the connectivity map for the first fBS; and   employing the algorithm at the first fBS that utilizes broadcast transmission between the first fBS and the mobile device to compile at least an additional portion of the connectivity map for the first fBS.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising establishing via the connectivity map a contemporaneous propagation, load, quality of service (QoS), or availability parameter, or a combination thereof, associated with the first fBS for voice traffic or for data traffic. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising receiving a second connectivity map from the neighboring fBS at the first fBS to facilitate a multi-hop hand-off with a third fBS. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising receiving an RNC mapping algorithm from the RNC that instructs the first fBS and the neighboring fBS to map connectivity and compile an inter-fBS connectivity map. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising controlling and synchronizing a mobile hand-off between the first fBS and the neighboring fBS by employing the connectivity map to optimize a load balancing, interference, power transmission, or a QoS parameter, or a combination thereof, for the communication link. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising coupling the first fBS and the neighboring fBS with one or more routers to coordinate communication between the first fBS and the neighboring fBS. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein communicatively coupling the first fBS and the neighboring fBS further comprises a wireless local area network (WLAN) connection, a BPL connection, a wired Ethernet connection, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) Time Domain Division (TDD) cellular link, or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) implemented over UMTS TDD spectrum, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . An apparatus that provides a fBS backhaul network to interface a mobile device with a cellular network, comprising:
 a first transceiver that supports a communication link between a mobile device and a first fBS;   a second transceiver that communicatively couples the first fBS with a neighboring fBS;   memory containing an inter-fBS application module for directing cellular related traffic between the first fBS and the neighboring fBS; and   a network processor that routes at least a portion of traffic associated with the communication link to a cellular network by way of the neighboring fBS based on operation of the inter-fBS application module.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein at least one of:
 the neighboring fBS is designated to route cellular-related information between the mobile device and a cellular network;   the first fBS provides more optimal transmission power or interference characteristics, or both, for the communication link as compared with a direct communication link between the mobile device and the neighboring fBS; or   the network processor is configured to compensate an owner of the first fBS for at least part of the time or bandwidth, or both, required to route the at least a portion of traffic to the cellular network by way of at least the first fBS.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the network processor is operable to instruct the neighboring fBS to route the portion of traffic associated with the communication link to the cellular network by way of the Internet. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the neighboring fBS is operable to receive a second portion of traffic associated with the communication link directly from the mobile device and further operable to route the second portion of traffic to the cellular network. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the neighboring fBS is operable to route the portion of traffic associated with the communication link to the cellular network by way of a DSL connection, a cable IP connection, a BPL connection, or a combination thereof, designated to carry cellular traffic for the mobile device. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the neighboring fBS or the network processor, or both, is or are operable to route the portion of traffic associated with the communication link to the cellular network by way of one or more additional fBSs. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising an inter-fBS connectivity module stored within the memory that is operable to map connectivity between the first fBS and the neighboring fBS to compile a connectivity map, the network processor is further operable to communicate the connectivity map to an RNC. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the inter-fBS connectivity module is further operable to utilize an autonomous algorithm at the first fBS or the neighboring fBS, or both, that analyzes wireless broadcast transmission to compile the connectivity map. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the connectivity map is configured to establish a contemporaneous propagation, load, QoS, or availability parameter, or a combination thereof, associated with the first fBS or the neighboring fBS, or both, for voice or for data traffic. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the second transceiver is operable to receive a second connectivity map from the neighboring fBS to facilitate a hand-off with a multi-hop communication link for the first fBS, the neighboring fBS and a third fBS. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , further comprising an fBS network map received from the RNC, the fBS network map is configured to provide inter-fBS connectivity parameters for each fBS on an fBS network, the inter-fBS connectivity parameters are configured to facilitate multi-hop fBS routing. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , the first fBS and the neighboring fBS participate in a soft hand-off with the mobile device that is directed by the RNC, where the RNC mapping module is employed for the soft hand-off to optimize load balancing, interference, power transmission, or QoS parameters, or a combination thereof, for the communication link. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the first fBS and the neighboring fBS are communicatively coupled by way of a WLAN connection, a BPL connection, a wired Ethernet connection, WiFi implemented over UMTS TDD spectrum, or a UMTS TDD cellular link, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus that provides a fBS backhaul network to interface a mobile device with a cellular network, comprising:
 means for forming a communication link between a mobile device and a first fBS;   means for communicatively coupling the first fBS with a neighboring fBS; and   means for routing at least a portion of traffic associated with the communication link to a cellular network by way of the neighboring fBS.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising at least one of:
 means for routing the portion of traffic associated with the communication link to the cellular network by way of the Internet; or   means for compensating an owner of the first fBS for at least part of the time or bandwidth, or both, required to route the at least a portion of traffic to the cellular network by way of at least the first fBS.   
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 means for receiving at least a second portion of traffic associated with the communication link directly at the neighboring fBS; and   means for directing the second portion of traffic to the cellular network by way of a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection or a cable Internet Protocol (IP) connection, or a broadband over power line (BPL) connection, or a combination thereof, designated to carry cellular traffic for the mobile device.   
     
     
         30 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a first set of codes for causing a computer to form a communication link between a mobile device and a first fBS; 
 a second set of codes for causing the computer to communicatively couple the first fBS with a neighboring fBS; and 
 a third set of codes for causing the computer to route at least a portion of traffic associated with the communication link to a cellular network by way of the neighboring fBS.