WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS SUPPORTING SELECTIVE ROUTING OF CARRIER AGGREGATION (CA) AND MULTIPLE-INPUT MULTIPLE-OUTPUT (MIMO) DATA STREAMS
Wireless communications systems supporting selective routing of carrier aggregation (CA) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) data streams are disclosed. The wireless communications system includes a signal router circuit communicatively coupled to one or more signal sources. The signal router circuit is configured to receive MIMO and CA communications signals for data transmission from the signal source(s) and distribute the communications signals (e.g., data streams) to remote units communicatively coupled to the signal router circuit. The signal router circuit determines whether to route each data stream in a MIMO configuration, a CA configuration, or both to provide an improved wireless communications environment for mobile communications devices connected to the remote units. The improved wireless communications environment may increase throughput, reduce interference and/or noise, and/or improve the transmission quality of wireless communications signals.
1 . A wireless communications system, comprising:
a signal router circuit configured to route multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications signals and carrier aggregation (CA) communications signals, comprising:
a first signal source input configured to receive a first data stream;
a second signal source input configured to receive a second data stream;
a plurality of signal outputs each configured to couple to a remote unit among a plurality of remote units; and
a routing control input configured to receive a routing control signal; and
a controller circuit comprising a routing control output coupled to the routing control input, the controller circuit configured to:
determine a first routing configuration for a first signal output of the plurality of signal outputs, comprising:
determining to route the first data stream in at least one of a first MIMO configuration or a first CA configuration; and
determining to route the second data stream in at least one of a second MIMO configuration or a second CA configuration; and
communicate the routing control signal indicating the first routing configuration for routing the first data stream and the second data stream to the first signal output.
2 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to:
receive an indication of a communication condition associated with at least one of the plurality of signal outputs;
determine to route the first data stream in at least one of the first MIMO configuration or the first CA configuration based on the communication condition; and
determine to route the second data stream in at least one of the second MIMO configuration or the second CA configuration based on the communication condition.
3 . The wireless communications system of claim 2 , wherein:
the communication condition comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with the first signal output; and
when the SNR associated with the first signal output exceeds a threshold, the controller circuit is configured to:
determine to route the first data stream in at least the first MIMO configuration; and
determine to route the second data stream in at least the second MIMO configuration interleaved with the first data stream.
4 . The wireless communications system of claim 2 , wherein:
the communication condition comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with the first signal output;
when the SNR associated with the first signal output does not exceed a threshold, the controller circuit is configured to:
determine to route the first data stream in the first CA configuration; and
determine to route the second data stream in the second CA configuration interleaved with the first data stream.
5 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to:
receive an indication of a communication condition associated with at least one of the plurality of signal outputs;
determine a second routing configuration for a second signal output of the plurality of signal outputs based on the communication condition; and
communicate the routing control signal indicating the first routing configuration and the second routing configuration.
6 . The wireless communications system of claim 5 , wherein the communication condition comprises a distribution of user mobile communications devices in communication with at least one of a first remote unit coupled to the first signal output or a second remote unit coupled to the second signal output.
7 . The wireless communications system of claim 6 , wherein when the distribution of the user mobile communications devices indicates a majority of the user mobile communications devices are located within an overlapping coverage area of the first remote unit and the second remote unit:
the signal router circuit further comprises:
a third signal source input configured to receive a third data stream; and
a fourth signal source input configured to receive a fourth data stream; and
the controller circuit is further configured to:
determine the first routing configuration, comprising:
determining to route the first data stream in the first MIMO configuration and the first CA configuration; and
determining to route the second data stream in the second MIMO configuration and the second CA configuration;
determine the second routing configuration, comprising:
determining to route the third data stream in a third MIMO configuration interleaved with the first data stream and in a third CA configuration; and
determining to route the fourth data stream in a fourth MIMO configuration interleaved with the second data stream and in a fourth CA configuration; and
communicate the routing control signal indicating the first routing configuration for routing the first data stream and the second data stream to the first signal output and indicating the second routing configuration for routing the third data stream and the fourth data stream to the second signal output.
8 . The wireless communications system of claim 6 , wherein when the distribution of the user mobile communications devices indicates a majority of the user mobile communications devices are located within a threshold distance of the first remote unit or the second remote unit, the controller circuit is further configured to:
determine the first routing configuration, comprising:
determining to route the first data stream in the first MIMO configuration; and
determining to route the second data stream in the second MIMO configuration interleaved with the first data stream; and
determine the second routing configuration, comprising routing the first data stream and the second data stream to the second signal output.
9 . The wireless communications system of claim 8 , wherein:
the signal router circuit further comprises:
a third signal source input configured to receive a third data stream;
a fourth signal source input configured to receive a fourth data stream; and
the controller circuit is further configured to:
determine the first routing configuration, comprising:
determining to route the third data stream in a third MIMO configuration and in a third CA configuration; and
determining to route the fourth data stream in a fourth MIMO configuration interleaved with the third data stream and in a fourth CA configuration; and
determine the second routing configuration, comprising routing the first data stream, the second data stream, the third data stream, and the fourth data stream to the second signal output.
10 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to determine the first routing configuration based on a predicted throughput associated with the plurality of signal outputs.
11 . The wireless communications system of claim 10 , wherein the predicted throughput is based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement associated with at least one of the plurality of signal outputs.
12 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to determine the first routing configuration based on a measured throughput associated with the plurality of signal outputs.
13 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to determine the first routing configuration based on a measurement of interference associated with the plurality of signal outputs.
14 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the controller circuit comprises a communications interface configured to couple to at least one of the plurality of remote units or a signal source circuit coupled to the first signal source input.
15 . The wireless communications system of claim 14 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to:
receive an indication of a communication condition from a first remote unit of the plurality of remote units through the communications interface, the communication condition comprising at least one of a MIMO capability, a CA capability, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement, or a distribution of user mobile communications devices in communication with the first remote unit;
determine the first routing configuration based on the indication of the communication condition; and
communicate an indication of the first routing configuration to the first remote unit.
16 . The wireless communications system of claim 14 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to:
receive a capability indication from the signal source circuit coupled to the first signal source input, comprising at least one of a number of data streams available or a CA or MIMO mode capability; and
determine the first routing configuration based on the capability indication;
communicate a request to the signal source circuit to configure the first data stream and the second data stream in accordance with the first routing configuration through the communications interface.
17 . The wireless communications system of claim 14 , wherein the controller circuit is further configured to:
receive an indication of a communication condition from the signal source circuit coupled to the first signal source input, the communication condition comprising at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement or a distribution of user mobile communications devices; and
determine the first routing configuration based on the communication condition.
18 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , further comprising the plurality of remote units each coupled to a corresponding signal output of the plurality of signal outputs.
19 . The wireless communications system of claim 18 , wherein:
the first signal source input is configured to receive the first data stream in baseband; and
in response to receiving the first routing configuration from the controller circuit, the signal router circuit is configured to route the first data stream in baseband to a first remote unit of the plurality of remote units over the first signal output.
20 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , further comprising a signal source circuit coupled to the first signal source input and the second signal source input;
wherein the signal source circuit is configured to:
transmit the first data stream in baseband to the first signal source input in at least one of the first MIMO configuration or the first CA configuration according to the first routing configuration; and
transmit the second data stream in baseband to the second signal source input in at least one of the second MIMO configuration or the second CA configuration according to the first routing configuration.
21 . The wireless communications system of claim 20 , wherein the signal source circuit couples to the first signal source input and the second signal source input through a single physical interface.
22 . The wireless communications system of claim 20 , wherein the signal source circuit comprises an Evolved Node B (eNB) base station of a telecommunications network.
23 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , further comprising the plurality of remote units each coupled to a corresponding signal output of the plurality of signal outputs by an optical fiber communications link;
wherein:
the first signal output comprises an electrical-to-optical (E-O) converter configured to transmit a first optical communications signal by the respective optical fiber communications link for the first data stream and the second data stream; and
a first remote unit of the plurality of remote units comprises an optical-to-electrical (O-E) converter configured to convert the first optical communications signal into a first electrical communications signal to interface with a radio frequency (RF) transmitter/receiver.
24 . The wireless communications system of claim 1 , wherein the first data stream comprises:
an uplink configured to transmit data from a mobile device to a telecommunications network; and
a downlink configured to transmit data from the telecommunications network to the mobile device.
25 . The wireless communications system of claim 24 , wherein the second data stream comprises a downlink configured to transmit data from the telecommunications network to the mobile device.
26 . The wireless communications system of claim 25 , wherein the second data stream further comprises an uplink configured to transmit data from the mobile device to the telecommunications network.
27 . A method for selectively routing a first data stream and a second data stream from one or more signal source circuits to a plurality of remote units in a wireless communications system, comprising:
receiving the first data stream;
receiving the second data stream;
receiving an indication of a communication condition associated with at least one of the plurality of remote units;
determining a first routing configuration, comprising:
determining to route the first data stream in at least one of a first multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration or a first carrier aggregation (CA) configuration based on the communication condition; and
determining to route the second data stream in at least one of a second MIMO configuration or a second CA configuration based on the communication condition; and
routing the first data stream and the second data stream to at least a first remote unit of the plurality of remote units according to the first routing configuration.
28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein:
the communication condition comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with the first remote unit; and
when the SNR associated with the first remote unit exceeds a threshold, determining the first routing configuration comprises:
determining to route the first data stream in at least the first MIMO configuration; and
determining to route the second data stream in at least the second MIMO configuration interleaved with the first data stream.
29 . The method of claim 28 , wherein when the SNR associated with the first remote unit does not exceed the threshold, determining the first routing configuration comprises:
determining to route the first data stream in the first CA configuration; and
determining to route the second data stream in the second CA configuration.
30 . The method of claim 27 , wherein:
the first remote unit has a first coverage area;
a second remote unit of the plurality of remote units has a second coverage area which includes an overlapping region with the first coverage area; and
the communication condition comprises a distribution of user mobile communications devices within at least one of the first coverage area or the second coverage area.
31 . The method of claim 30 , wherein when a majority of the user mobile communications devices are located within the overlapping region:
determining the first routing configuration comprises:
determining to route the first data stream in the first MIMO configuration and the first CA configuration; and
determining to route the second data stream in the second MIMO configuration and the second CA configuration; and
the method further comprises:
receiving a third data stream;
receiving a fourth data stream;
determining a second routing configuration, comprising:
determining to route the third data stream in a third MIMO configuration interleaved with the first data stream and in a third CA configuration; and
determining to route the fourth data stream in a fourth MIMO configuration interleaved with the second data stream and in a fourth CA configuration; and
routing the third data stream and the fourth data stream to the second remote unit according to the second routing configuration.
32 . The method of claim 30 , wherein when a majority of the user mobile communications devices are located outside the overlapping region and within a threshold distance of the first remote unit or the second remote unit:
the method further comprises:
receiving a third data stream;
receiving a fourth data stream; and
routing the third data stream and the fourth data stream to the first remote unit according to the first routing configuration; and
determining the first routing configuration comprises:
determining to route the first data stream in the first MIMO configuration and the first CA configuration;
determining to route the second data stream in the second MIMO configuration interleaved with the first data stream and in the second CA configuration;
determining to route the third data stream in a third MIMO configuration and a third CA configuration; and
determining to route the fourth data stream in a fourth MIMO configuration interleaved with the third data stream and in a fourth CA configuration.