Wireless communication system
Methods and systems for hybrid point to multipoint communication systems having multiple downlink channels and a single uplink channel, including the steps of centrally allocating bandwidth to, and synchronizing communications with, a first and a second wireless clients; transmitting, over a shared signal wired distribution line, a first downlink signal transported over a first frequency, a second downlink signal transported over a second frequency, and an uplink signal transported over a fifth frequency; converting the frequency of the first downlink signal to a third frequency, and bi-directionally wirelessly communicating with a first wireless client over the third frequency; converting the frequency of the second downlink signal to a fourth frequency, and bi-directionally wirelessly communicating with a second wireless client over the fourth frequency; and converting and superpositioning a first received wireless uplink signal having the third frequency and a second received wireless uplink signal having the fourth frequency to the uplink signal that is transmitted over the shared signal wired distribution line using the fifth frequency.
1. A communication system comprising:
first and second hybrid converters having an overlapping coverage area and configured to:
(a) receive an incoming signal;
(b) frequency shift the incoming signal; and
(c) non-regeneratively transmit the incoming signal, wherein non-regeneratively transmitting is defined as transmitting a received signal without demodulating or remodulating the received signal;
a centralized synchronizing communication controller communicatively coupled to said first and second hybrid converters and configured to maintain a communication session with a wireless client located in the overlapping coverage area via both said first and said second hybrid converters substantially concurrently by concurrently transmitting downlink signals for the wireless client to both said first and said second hybrid converters and concurrently receiving uplink signals from the wireless client from both said first and said second hybrid converters;
wherein said first and second hybrid converters receive the downlink signals from the centralized synchronizing communication controller, frequency shift the downlink signals and non-regeneratively transmit the downlink signals to the wireless client and receive the uplink signals from the wireless client, frequency shift the uplink signals and non-regeneratively transmit the uplink signals to the centralized synchronizing communication controller.
2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said centralized synchronizing communication controller is coupled to said first and second hybrid converters via a shared medium.
3. The system according to claim 2 , wherein said shared medium is a wired distribution line.
4. The system according to claim 2 , wherein said shared medium is a wireless medium.
5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said downlink signal is modulated by the centralized synchronizing communication controller according to a Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access modulation.
6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said centralized synchronizing communication controller is further configured to generate Medium Access Control (MAC) signals for the wireless client and transmit the MAC signals to the wireless client via said hybrid converters.
7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said centralized synchronizing communication controller controls a frequency to which said first and second hybrid converters shift the downlink signals.
8. A communication method comprising:
positioning first and second hybrid converters such that they have an overlapping coverage area, wherein said first and second hybrid converters are configured to:
(a) receive an incoming signal;
(b) frequency shift the incoming signal; and
(c) non-regeneratively transmit the incoming signal, wherein non-regeneratively transmitting is defined as transmitting a received signal without demodulating or remodulating the received signal; and
maintaining a communication session with a wireless client located in the overlapping coverage area by a centralized synchronizing communication controller, communicatively coupled to the first and the second hybrid converters, by:
modulating, by the centralized synchronizing communication controller, downlink signals for the wireless client;
concurrently transmitting the downlink signals to both the first and the second hybrid converters;
receiving, by both the first and the second hybrid converters, the downlink signals from the centralized synchronizing communication controller;
frequency shifting, by both the first and the second hybrid converters, the downlink signals;
non-regeneratively transmitting, by both the first and the second hybrid converters, the downlink signals to the wireless client;
receiving, by both the first and the second hybrid converters, uplink signals from the wireless client;
frequency shifting, by both the first and the second hybrid converters, the uplink signals;
non-regeneratively transmitting, by both the first and the second hybrid converters, the uplink signals to the centralized synchronizing communication controller; and
demodulating, by the centralized synchronizing communication controller, the uplink signals.
9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein said centralized synchronizing communication controller is coupled to said first and second hybrid converters via a shared medium.
10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said shared medium is a wired distribution line.
11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein said shared medium is a wireless medium.
12. The method according to claim 8 , wherein said downlink signal is modulated by the centralized synchronizing communication controller according to a Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access modulation.
13. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising generating, by the centralized synchronizing communication controller, Medium Access Control (MAC) signals for the wireless client and transmitting the MAC signals to the wireless client via said hybrid converters.
14. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising controlling, by the centralized synchronizing communication controller, a frequency to which said first and second hybrid converters shift the downlink signals.
15. A communication system comprising:
first and second hybrid converters configured to:
(a) receive an incoming signal;
(b) frequency shift the incoming signal; and
(c) non-regeneratively transmit the incoming signal, wherein non-regeneratively transmitting is defined as transmitting a received signal without demodulating or remodulating the received signal;
wherein said first and second hybrid converters have a first overlapping coverage area;
a transmitter configured to transmit downlink signals to a wireless client located in the overlapping coverage area;
a centralized synchronizing communication controller communicatively coupled to said first and second hybrid converters and said transmitter and configured to: (a) maintain a communication session with a first wireless client located in the first overlapping coverage area via said first and said second hybrid converters and said transmitter substantially concurrently by concurrently receiving uplink signals from the wireless client from both said first and said second hybrid converters and transmitting downlink signals to the wireless client via the transmitter;
wherein: (i) said first and second hybrid converters receive the uplink signals from the second wireless client, frequency shift the uplink signals and non-regeneratively transmit the uplink signals to the centralized synchronizing communication controller.
16. The system according to claim 15 , wherein said centralized synchronizing communication controller is communicatively coupled to said first and second hybrid converters via a shared medium and receives the uplink signals from said first and second hybrid converters via the shared medium.
17. The system according to claim 15 , wherein said shared medium is a wired distribution line.
18. The system according to claim 15 , wherein said shared medium is a wireless medium.
19. The system according to claim 15 , wherein said uplink signal is an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access signal.
20. The system according to claim 16 , wherein said centralized synchronizing communication controller is communicatively coupled to said transmitter via the shared medium.