Low power cellular base station
RF repeaters may be used to extend coverage of an IoT system. Further, small base stations, commonly referred to as small cells, may be use to provide local coverage. When small cells are used, the issue of power consumption is addressed as these systems could often be remotely located and may be running off of battery power or some renewable power source.
1. A system for extending coverage of an Internet of Things (IoT) network having one or more IoT nodes, each of the one or more IoT nodes having a sensor to sense a value in a local environment according to a sensing schedule, a sensor processor to generate information representing the value, and a modem to communicate the information to the Internet, the system comprising:
a small cell radio frequency (RF) repeater that is positioned within the local environment and configured to receive the information communicated from the modem of the IoT node associated with the local environment, the small cell RF repeater being configured by a schedule to alternate between an OFF or a low-power mode and an ON mode to be able to receive the information communicated from the modem of the IoT node associated with the local environment, the schedule being synchronized with the sensing schedule of each of the one or more IoT nodes; and
a small cell evolved packet core in communication with the small cell RF repeater to receive the information from the small cell RF repeater, and in communication with the IoT network via a wireless link to transmit the information from the small cell RF repeater to the IoT network.
2. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the small cell evolved packet core is in communication with the small cell RF repeater via a wired connection.
3. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the small cell evolved packet core is in communication with the small cell RF repeater via a wireless link.
4. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the small cell evolved packet core is in communication with the small cell RF repeater via an LTE modem.
5. The system in accordance with claim 4 , wherein the LTE modem and the small cell RF repeater are packaged into a common housing that forms a relay.
6. A system for extending coverage of an Internet of Things (IoT) network having one or more IoT nodes, each of the one or more IoT nodes having a sensor to sense a value in a local environment according to a sensing schedule, a sensor processor to generate information representing the value, and a modem to communicate the information to the Internet, the system comprising:
a relay that is positioned within the local environment, the relay comprising a small cell radio frequency (RF) repeater configured to receive the information communicated from the modem of the IoT node associated with the local environment, the small cell RF repeater being configured by a schedule to alternate between an OFF or a low-power mode and an ON mode to be able to receive the information communicated from the modem of the IoT node associated with the local environment, the schedule being synchronized with the sensing schedule of each of the one or more IoT nodes, the relay further comprising a wireless modem for transmitting the information received by the small cell RF repeater; and
a small cell evolved packet core in communication with the wireless modem of the relay to receive the information from the small cell RF repeater, and in communication with the IoT network via a wireless link to transmit the information from the small cell RF repeater to the IoT network.
7. The system in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the wireless modem of the relay includes an LTE modem.
8. The system in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the schedule includes a regular wake-up schedule to turn the small cell RF repeater to the ON mode.
9. The system in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the schedule includes an operating frequency that is synchronized with the IoT node.