Distributed antenna system measurement receiver
Certain features relate to configuring a remote unit in a distributed antenna system (DAS) to switch between a baseband mode of operation and a measurement receiver mode of operation. In the baseband mode of operation, the remote unit can transmit a subset of baseband channels to a head-end unit or an extension unit of the DAS. The subset of baseband channels can carry wireless communication information. In the measurement receiver mode, the remote unit can transmit wideband data to the head-end unit or the extension unit of the DAS. The wideband data can include one or more of a measurement data for additional baseband channels other than the subset of baseband channels and information for use by the head-end unit to modify a configuration of the distributed antenna system.
1. A method, comprising:
configuring a remote unit in a distributed antenna system to operate in a baseband mode;
transmitting, by the remote unit, a subset of baseband channels to a head-end unit or an extension unit of the distributed antenna system based on the remote unit being configured to operate in the baseband mode, wherein the subset of baseband channels carry wireless communication information;
configuring the remote unit to operate in a measurement receiver mode; and
transmitting, by the remote unit, wideband data to the head-end unit or the extension unit of the distributed antenna system based on the remote unit being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode, wherein the wideband data includes measurement data for the subset of baseband channels and additional baseband channels other than the subset of baseband channels for use by the head-end unit to modify a configuration of the distributed antenna system.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the remote unit switches between the baseband mode and the measurement receiver mode periodically.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the remote unit transmits the subset of baseband channels and the wideband data within a common transmit frame by removing one or more RF streams carrying baseband data from the transmit frame and including the wideband data within the transmit frame.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset of baseband channels is included in a first grouping of IQ data and the wideband data is included in a second grouping of IQ data, and wherein the first grouping of IQ data and the second grouping of IQ data are part of a plurality of RF streams associated with a transmit frame.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first grouping of IQ data and the second grouping of IQ data are respectively included on a first RF stream and a second RF stream during a first time period, and wherein the first grouping of IQ data is attenuated and the second grouping of IQ data is included on the first RF stream during a second time period.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the remote unit, a beacon to one or more additional remote units based on the remote unit being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode; and
determining a relative position of the remote unit to the one or more additional remote units.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by a receiving antenna, the wideband data based on the remote unit being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode, wherein the wideband data comprises a wideband noise including a pseudo-random sequence; and
determining one or more performance factors of the distributed antenna system by calculating an impulse response between the remote unit transmitting the wideband data and the receiving antenna.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wideband data comprises a second set of baseband channels transmitted by additional remote units, and further comprising identifying a neighboring macro-cell by scanning for a broadcast control channel within the received wideband data and optimizing one or more DAS parameters for the distributed antenna system that are associated with hand-over to the neighboring macro-cell.
9. A distributed antenna system, comprising:
a remote unit configured to:
switch between a baseband mode and a measurement receiver mode,
transmit a subset of baseband channels based on being configured to operate in the baseband mode, and
transmit wideband data based on being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode; and
a head-end unit communicatively coupled to the remote unit and configured to:
switch between the baseband mode and the measurement receiver mode,
receive the subset of baseband channels transmitted by the remote unit based on being configured to operate in the baseband mode, and
receive the wideband data transmitted by the remote unit based on being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode,
wherein the subset of baseband channels carry wireless communication information and wherein the wideband data includes measurement data for the subset of baseband channels and additional baseband channels other than the subset of baseband channels for use by the head-end unit to modify a configuration of the distributed antenna system.
10. The distributed antenna system of claim 9 , wherein the remote unit and the head-end unit are configured to switch between the baseband mode and the measurement receiver mode periodically.
11. The distributed antenna system of claim 9 , wherein, based on being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode, the remote unit is further configured to transmit the subset of baseband channels and the wideband data within a same transmit frame by removing one or more RF streams carrying baseband data from the transmit frame and including the wideband data within the transmit frame.
12. The distributed antenna system of claim 9 , wherein the remote unit is further configured to transmit the subset of baseband channels included in a first grouping of IQ data and the wideband data is included in a second grouping of IQ data, and wherein the first grouping of IQ data and the second grouping of IQ data are part of a plurality of RF streams associated with a transmit frame.
13. The distributed antenna system of claim 12 , wherein the first grouping of IQ data and the second grouping of IQ data are respectively included on a first RF stream and a second RF stream during a first time period, and wherein the first grouping of IQ data is attenuated and the second grouping of IQ data is included on the first RF stream during a second time period.
14. The distributed antenna system of claim 9 , wherein the remote unit is configured to transmit a beacon to at least one additional remote unit based on being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode, and wherein the head-end unit is configured to determine a relative position of the remote unit to the at least one additional remote unit based on being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode.
15. The distributed antenna system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a second remote unit communicatively coupled to the head-end unit and configured to receive the wideband data and determine one or more performance parameters of the distributed antenna system by calculating an impulse response between the remote unit and the second remote unit, wherein the wideband data comprises a wideband source including a pseudo-random sequence.
16. The distributed antenna system of claim 9 , wherein the wideband data comprises a second set of baseband channels transmitted by a second remote unit, wherein the second remote unit is within a coverage zone of a neighboring macro-cell, and wherein the head-end unit, based on being configured to operate in the measurement receiver mode, is configured to receive the wideband data and identify the neighboring macro-cell by scanning for a broadcast control channel within the received wideband data.
17. A head-end unit of a distributed antenna system, comprising:
a processing device configured to select a baseband mode or a measurement receiver mode; and
a communications interface configured to communicate a subset of baseband channels with one or more remote units based on the processing device selecting the baseband mode, and communicate a wideband data with the one or more remote units based on the processing device selecting the measurement receiver mode, wherein the subset of baseband channels carry wireless communication information and wherein the wideband data includes measurement data for the subset of baseband channels and additional baseband channels other than the subset of baseband channels for use by the head-end unit to modify a configuration of the distributed antenna system.
18. The head-end unit of claim 17 , wherein processing device is configured to switch between the baseband mode and the measurement receiver mode periodically.
19. The head-end unit of claim 17 , wherein the processing device is further configured to determine one or more active channels included in the wideband data based on the processing device selecting the measurement receiver mode.
20. The head-end unit of claim 17 , wherein the wideband data comprises a wideband noise including a pseudo-random sequence, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine one or more performance factors of a multipath environment by calculating an impulse response of the multipath environment based on the wideband noise.