Radio frequency signal boosters for providing indoor coverage of high frequency cellular networks
Radio frequency signal boosters for high frequency cellular communications are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a signal booster system for providing high frequency wireless signal reception of a 5G network inside a building is provided. The signal booster system includes a primary unit configured to communicate with cellular infrastructure (e.g., a base station) of the 5G network through a window of a first room of the building, and an auxiliary unit for extending coverage from the first room to a second room. The auxiliary unit includes a housing located in the first room and having a base station antenna and booster circuitry integrated therewith. The auxiliary unit further includes a mobile station antenna in the second room and connected to the housing by a short cable.
1. A signal booster system for a high frequency cellular network, the signal booster system comprising:
a signal boosting unit comprising:
a base station antenna configured to receive a downlink signal of a frequency band and to transmit an amplified uplink signal of the frequency band, wherein the base station antenna is directional;
booster circuitry configured to amplify an uplink signal of the frequency band to generate the amplified uplink signal, and to amplify the downlink signal to generate an amplified downlink signal of the frequency band, wherein the frequency band is higher than 20 gigahertz (GHz);
a housing in which the base station antenna and the booster circuitry are integrated; and
a mobile station antenna configured to receive the uplink signal and to transmit the amplified downlink signal, wherein the mobile station antenna is configured to connect to the housing by a cable,
wherein the booster circuitry includes a downlink amplification circuit configured to amplify the downlink signal, an uplink amplification circuit configured to amplify the uplink signal, a first time division duplexing (TDD) switch configured to selectively connect the base station antenna to an input of the downlink amplification circuit or to an output of the uplink amplification circuit, and a second TDD switch configured to selectively connect the mobile station antenna to an output of the downlink amplification circuit or to an input of the uplink amplification circuit.
2. The signal booster system of claim 1 , further comprising the cable, wherein the cable has a length of 5 feet or less.
3. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein the base station antenna comprises a parabolic antenna.
4. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile station antenna comprises a sector antenna.
5. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein the frequency band is a 5G frequency band.
6. The signal booster system of claim 5 , wherein the 5G frequency band is n261, n257, n258, or n260.
7. The signal booster system of claim 5 , wherein the booster circuitry amplifies a full bandwidth of the 5G frequency band using a single uplink amplification path and a single downlink amplification path.
8. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile station antenna has a controllable radiation pattern.
9. The signal booster system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of mobile station antennas each having a different radiation pattern, the mobile station antenna selected from the plurality of mobile station antennas.
10. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein the base station antenna has a greater amount of directionality than the mobile station antenna.
11. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein neither the uplink amplification circuit nor the downlink amplification circuit operates with any frequency conversion.
12. The signal booster system of claim 1 , further comprising a primary signal boosting unit configured to wirelessly receive the amplified uplink signal from the base station antenna, and to wirelessly transmit the downlink signal to the base station antenna.
13. The signal booster system of claim 12 , wherein the primary signal boosting unit is fully integrated in a single housing.
14. The signal booster system of claim 12 , installed in a building, wherein the primary signal boosting unit wirelessly communicates with cellular infrastructure through a window of a first room of the building.
15. The signal booster system of claim 14 , wherein the housing of the signal boosting unit is in the first room of the building, and the mobile station antenna of the signal boosting unit is in a second room of the building.
16. The signal booster system of claim 15 , wherein the cable of the signal boosting unit passes under a door between the first room and the second room.
17. The signal booster system of claim 15 , wherein the cable of the signal boosting unit passes through a wall separating the first room and the second room.
18. The signal booster system of claim 1 , wherein the signal boosting unit operates in a daisy chain with at least one other signal boosting unit.