Method for scheduling users in a hierarchical network

1. A method of scheduling mobile units in a wireless telecommunications network including first and second wireless connection points having a wireless communication link therebetween, the first wireless connection point being communicatively connected to a network, comprising:

determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point;

determining a second number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with the second wireless connection point, the second number of mobile units using the wireless communication link between the first and second wireless connection points as a wireless backhaul link for communication with the network, wherein determining the second number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the second wireless connection point comprises receiving, at the first wireless connection point, information indicative of the second number of mobile units having the wireless telecommunications link with the second wireless connection point; and

scheduling the mobile units based upon the first and second numbers of mobile units so that the first and second numbers of mobile units have fair access to wireless communication resources provided by the first wireless connection point.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point comprises determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with a base station in an umbrella network.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the first number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the base station in the umbrella network comprises determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless telecommunications link with a CDMA2000 EV-DO (Evolution Data-Optimized) base station.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the second number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the second wireless connection point comprises determining a second number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with an access point in a wireless local area network.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining the second number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the access point in the wireless local area network comprises determining a second number of mobile units having a wireless telecommunications link with at least one of an IEEE 802.11 access point and a Bluetooth access point.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the information indicative of the second number of mobile units comprises receiving information indicative of an equivalent number of active mobile units.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the information indicative of a second number of mobile units comprises receiving information indicative of at least one of a minimum throughput requirement, a maximum latency constraint, a maximum delay jitter constraint, and a maximum packet error rate.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the information indicative of the second number of mobile units comprises receiving information indicative of at least one of an advertised transmission rate and a transmission format.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the information indicative of the second number of mobile units comprises receiving information indicative of at least one of an increment scale and a decrement scale for an equivalent number of active users.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the information indicative of the second number of mobile units comprises information indicative of an increase or decrease in the equivalent number of users.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein scheduling the mobile units comprises forming a scheduling metric based on the second number of mobile units.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein scheduling the mobile units comprises scheduling the wireless telecommunication link between the first and second wireless connection points.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein scheduling the wireless telecommunication link between the first and second wireless connection points comprises scheduling the wireless backhaul link between the first and second wireless connection points.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein scheduling the mobile units comprises scheduling the mobile units using a proportional fairness scheduling algorithm.

15. A method of scheduling mobile units in a wireless telecommunications network including first and second wireless connection points having a wireless communication link therebetween, the first wireless connection point being communicatively connected to a network, comprising:

determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point;

providing information indicative of the first number of mobile units to the second wireless connection point, wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of an equivalent number of active mobile units;

receiving data scheduled for transmission based on the first number of mobile units and a second number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with the second wireless connection point, the second number of mobile units using the wireless communication link between the first and second wireless connection points as a wireless backhaul link for communication with the network, and the data being scheduled so that the first and second numbers of mobile units have fair access to wireless communication resources provided by the first wireless connection point.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the first number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point comprises determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with an access point in a wireless local area network.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of at least one of a minimum throughput requirement, a maximum latency constraint, a maximum delay jitter constraint and a maximum packet error rate.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of at least one of an advertised transmission rate and a transmission format.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of at least one of an increment scale and a decrement scale for an equivalent number of active users.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of an increase or decrease in an equivalent number of users.

21. The method of clam 15 , wherein receiving said data comprises receiving data intended for transmission to at least one of the mobile units having a wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point.

22. A method of scheduling mobile units in a wireless telecommunications network including first and second wireless, connection points having a wireless communication link therebetween, the first wireless connection point being communicatively connected to a network, comprising:

determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point;

providing information indicative of the first number to the second wireless connection point, wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of an equivalent number of active mobile units;

providing data based on a schedule determined using the first number and a second number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with the second wireless connection point, the second number of mobile units using the wireless communication link between the first and second wireless connection points as a wireless backhaul link for communication with the network, and the data being scheduled so that the first and second numbers of mobile units have fair access to wireless communication resources provided by the first wireless connection point.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein determining the first number of mobile units having the wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point comprises determining a first number of mobile units having a wireless communication link with an access point in a wireless local area network.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of at least one of a minimum throughput requirement, a maximum latency constraint, a maximum delay jitter constraint and a maximum packet error rate.

25. The method of claim 22 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of at least one of an advertised transmission rate and a transmission format.

26. The method of claim 22 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of at least one of an increment scale and a decrement scale for an equivalent number of active users.

27. The method of claim 22 , wherein providing the information indicative of the first number of mobile units comprises providing information indicative of information indicative of an increase or decrease in an equivalent number of users.

28. The method of clam 22 , wherein providing said data comprises providing data provided by at least one of the mobile units having a wireless communication link with the first wireless connection point.