Directional wireless drop systems for broadband networks and related methods
Directional wireless drop systems are provided. These systems include a tap unit that is connected to a communications line of the broadband network; a cable modem unit connected to the tap unit; a plurality of wireless routers connected to the cable modem unit; and a directional antenna unit that is connected to at least a first of the wireless routers. Each wireless router is associated with a respective one of a plurality of subscriber premises that are served by the directional wireless drop system and is configured to communicate with at least one device that is located at the respective one of plurality of subscriber premises.
1. A wireless drop system for a broadband network, comprising:
a tap unit that is connected to a communications line of the broadband network;
at least one cable modem unit that is located in an enclosure that is outside of a subscriber premise, the at least one cable modem unit connected to the tap unit, the at least one cable modem unit configured to demodulate received DOCSIS signals and to output packets in Ethernet format in response thereto;
a plurality of wireless routers that are located in the enclosure and coupled to the at least one cable modem unit; and
an antenna unit that is connected to at least a first of the wireless routers,
wherein the first of the wireless routers is associated with the subscriber premise and is configured to communicate with at least one device that is located at the subscriber premise via a wireless connection in a WiFi frequency band.
2. The wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein the first of the wireless routers is configured to transmit content of a specific television channel selected by a user at the subscriber premise to the subscriber premise.
3. The wireless drop system of claim 2 , wherein the first of the wireless routers is further configured to transmit content of both the specific television channel selected by the user and content of the television channel that was selected by the user immediately prior to selecting the specific television channel.
4. The directional wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein the first of the wireless routers is configured to communicate directly with a plurality of end user devices in the subscriber premise.
5. The directional wireless drop system of claim 4 , wherein the antenna is a phased array antenna.
6. The directional wireless drop system of claim 5 , wherein the phased array antenna is configured to adaptively adjust its gain pattern based on locations of the end user devices.
7. The directional wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein a wireless booster is located in the subscriber premise, and wherein the first of the wireless routers is configured to communicate with the wireless booster, and the wireless booster is configured to communicate with one or more end user devices in the subscriber premise.
8. The directional wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless routers operate pursuant to the IEEE 802 protocols.
9. The wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one cable modem unit comprises a plurality of cable modem units, each of which is coupled to a respective one of the wireless routers.
10. The wireless drop system of claim 1 , further comprising a router within the enclosure, wherein the at least one cable modem unit is coupled to the router, and the router is coupled to each of the wireless routers.
11. The wireless drop system of claim 10 , wherein the router is an Ethernet switch.
12. The wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein the directional antenna unit is shared by the plurality of wireless routers.
13. The wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein the antenna unit is a first of a plurality of directional antenna units, and wherein each of the wireless routers is coupled to a respective one of the directional antenna units.
14. The wireless drop system of claim 1 , wherein only a subset of a set of television channels that are included within a subscription for the subscriber premise are simultaneously transmitted to the subscriber premise.
15. A directional wireless drop system for a broadband network, comprising:
a tap unit that is connected to a communications line of the broadband network;
a cable modem unit connected to the tap unit;
a plurality of wireless routers, each of the wireless routers connected to the cable modem unit; and
a directional antenna unit that is connected to at least a first of the wireless routers,
wherein each wireless router is associated with a respective one of a plurality of subscriber premises that are served by the directional wireless drop system and is configured to communicate with at least one device that is located at the respective one of plurality of subscriber premises,
wherein each wireless router is configured to communicate directly with a plurality of end user devices, where each plurality of end user devices are in a respective one of the subscriber premises.
16. The directional wireless drop system of claim 15 , wherein the cable modem unit comprises a high-speed cable modem.
17. The directional wireless drop system of claim 15 , wherein the directional antenna is configured to adaptively adjust its gain pattern based on locations of the end user devices.
18. The directional wireless drop system of claim 15 , wherein a wireless booster is located in each of the subscriber premises, and wherein each wireless router is configured to communicate with a respective one of the wireless boosters.
19. The directional wireless drop system of claim 15 , wherein the wireless routers comprise wireless routers that operate pursuant to the IEEE 802 protocols.