Scalable millimeter-wave wireless network architecture for high user concentrations
View Patent ↗Technologies are presented for an architecture and infrastructure for a scalable, very high bandwidth, wireless network that can accommodate arbitrarily high geographic concentrations of high-bandwidth users. The architecture may include a network of highly localized service areas that communicate with a central access point through a hierarchy of aggregate-and-relay stages. Communications may be mediated by a hybrid combination of ad-hoc and infrastructure-network features that are supported separately within the framework of a standardized system, for example in the 60 GHz (millimeter-wave) band. The infrastructure may include a dense mesh of fixed control points that communicate over lossy, high-bandwidth, directional channels permitting dense spatial frequency sharing and providing for highly localized coverage, thereby enabling high user densities.
1. A method for providing a scalable wireless network architecture for high-user concentrations, the method comprising:
forming a network structure based on a plurality of wireless central points (PCPs) each PCP serving an ad-hoc basic service area (BSA) and aggregating communication traffic within their respective BSA for forwarding to a cluster PCP through a stationary BSA control-point device within a clustered hierarchical network, the network leverages high free-space path-loss to minimize interference;
enabling wireless communication between user devices and respective PCPs over one or more lossy, high-bandwidth, directional channels as communication channels; and
enabling the wireless communication through efficient sharing of the communication channels by supporting a multi-source subframe addressing and a multi-destination subframe addressing in the wireless communication.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the BSAs are configured as highly localized service areas.
3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the service areas are confined to less than about 10 meters.
4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the service areas cover a fixed local area.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the communication channels employ the millimeter-wave band.
6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising extending the aggregating and forwarding of the communication traffic through a plurality of layers, wherein each PCP services the user devices in its BSA and serves as a relay point for other PCPs in its cluster.
7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the network structure is scalable based on a number of the layers.
8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein a top layer of the network structure includes a cluster with a central access point to couple to a backhaul network.
9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising mediating an access to each PCP by scheduled service intervals so that competing transmissions from different user devices and other PCPs over a same channel occur during non-overlapping time periods.
10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising aggregating frames at each PCP.
11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the network structure employs a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) standard providing station clustering and multi-link relaying at ad-hoc BSA levels.
12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the network structure employs a Basic Service Set (BSS) standard providing fixed PCPs and frame aggregation for network infrastructure.
13. A scalable wireless network for high-user concentrations, the network comprising:
a plurality of wireless central points (PCPs) each PCP serving an ad-hoc basic service area (BSA) and aggregating communication traffic within their respective BSA for forwarding to a cluster PCP through a stationary BSA control-point device within a clustered hierarchical network, which support multi-link relaying to optimize spatial frequency sharing among channels, and wherein the network leverages high free-space path-loss to minimize interference;
a plurality of a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) standard and a Basic Service Set (BSS) standard combined to form a hybrid architecture used to relay the communication traffic in the network; and
a plurality of user devices in each BSA enabled to wirelessly communicate with respective PCPs over one or more lossy, high-bandwidth, directional channels.
14. The network according to claim 13 , wherein the BSAs are configured as highly localized service areas.
15. The network according to claim 14 , wherein the service areas are confined to less than about 10 meters.
16. The network according to claim 14 , wherein the service areas cover a fixed local area.
17. The network according to claim 13 , wherein the communication channels employ the millimeter-wave band.
18. The network according to claim 13 , the aggregating and forwarding of the communication traffic is extended through a plurality of layers and each PCP services the user devices in its BSA and serves as a relay point for other PCPs in its cluster.
19. The network according to claim 18 , wherein the network structure is scalable based on a number of the layers.
20. The network according to claim 18 , wherein a top layer of the network structure includes a cluster with a central access point to couple to a backhaul network.
21. The network according to claim 13 , wherein an access to each PCP is mediated by scheduled service intervals so that competing transmissions from different user devices and other PCPs over a same channel occur during non-overlapping time periods.
22. The network according to claim 13 , wherein frames are aggregated at each PCP.
23. The network according to claim 13 , wherein the network structure employs the Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) standard providing station clustering and multi-link relaying at ad-hoc BSA levels.
24. The network according to claim 13 , wherein the network structure employs the Basic Service Set (BSS) standard providing fixed PCPs and frame aggregation for network infrastructure.
25. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon for providing a scalable wireless network architecture for high-user concentrations, the instructions comprising:
forming a network structure based on a plurality of wireless central points (PCPs) each PCP serving an ad-hoc basic service area (BSA) and aggregating communication traffic within their respective BSA for forwarding to a cluster PCP through a stationary BSA control-point device within a clustered hierarchical network, which support multi-link relaying to optimize spatial frequency sharing among channels, and wherein the network leverages high free-space path-loss to minimize interference;
combining a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) standard and a Basic Service Set (BSS) standard to form a hybrid architecture used to relay the communication traffic in the network;
enabling wireless communication between user devices and respective PCPs over one or more lossy, high-bandwidth, directional channels as communication channels; and
enabling the wireless communication through efficient sharing of the communication channels by supporting a multi-source subframe addressing and a multi-destination subframe addressing in the wireless communication.
26. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the BSAs are configured as highly localized service areas.
27. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 26 , wherein the service areas are confined to less than about 10 meters.
28. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 26 , wherein the service areas cover a fixed local area.
29. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the communication channels employ the millimeter-wave band.
30. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the instructions further comprise extending the aggregating and forwarding of the communication traffic through a plurality of layers, wherein each PCP services the user devices in its BSA and serves as a relay point for other PCPs in its cluster.
31. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 30 , wherein the network structure is scalable based on a number of the layers.
32. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 30 , wherein a top layer of the network structure includes a cluster with a central access point to couple to a backhaul network.
33. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the instructions further comprise mediating an access to each PCP by scheduled service intervals so that competing transmissions from different user devices and other PCPs over a same channel occur during non-overlapping time periods.
34. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the instructions further comprise aggregating frames at each PCP.
35. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the network structure employs the Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) standard providing station clustering and multi-link relaying at ad-hoc BSA levels.
36. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25 , wherein the network structure employs the Basic Service Set (BSS) standard providing fixed PCPs and frame aggregation for network infrastructure.