WO2001091481A1

WO2001091481A1 - Control of gsm based radio cellular architectures integrated within transcoder and rate adaption units

Info

Publication number: WO2001091481A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/014383
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Owens
Original assignee: Airnet Communications Corporation
Priority date: 2000-05-24
Filing date: 2000-05-24
Publication date: 2001-11-29
Also published as: AU2000252889A1

Abstract

A novel and improved efficiency Base Station Subsystem (Fig. 3) is disclosed which reduces the complexity, workload and cost of a Base Station Controller (110), while improving the overall performance and reliability of a GSM-based wireless telecommunication system. In a GSM-based network the reduced BSS (180) of the present invention eliminates all switching functions from the Base Station Controller (110), thereby dramatically improving the reliability of the BSS (180) while reducing the complexity and cost. The reduced BSS (180) of the present invention also requires that all switching and inter-BTS handoff functions be performed in the Mobile Switching Center (120) element of the NSS (30). Furthermore, the reduced BSS (180) disclosed integrates a Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit (TRAU) (130) with a central processing unit for performing all remaining BSC-related tasks, resulting in a BSS (180) of significantly reduced complexity, higher reliability, and lower cost than typical GSM-based Base Station Subsystems, without violating GSM infrastructure or requiring any proprietary interfaces.

Description

CONTROL OF GSM BASED RADIO CELLULAR ARCHITECTURES INTEGRATED WITHIN TRANSCODER AND RATE ADAPTION UNITS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to wireless telecommunication

systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to improved method and

apparatus for providing wireless telecommunications service in a system employing

a Base Station Subsystem (BSS) including a Base Transceiver System (BTS); a

Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS); and a Network Management Subsystem

(NMS).

Background

Throughout its history, wireless, or cellular communications networks have

benefitted from the increased availability and affordability of low cost

microelectronic hardware. Advances in microelectronics have permitted the rapid

expansion of a variety of wireless telecommunications networks. The existence of

multiple wireless networks led to the development of standard wireless protocols.

One such protocol was developed by the Groupe Special Mobile, and designated

the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system. Currently, three

GSM variants exist-GSM-900, GSM-1 800 (formerly DCS-1 800), and GSM 1 900

(formerly PCS-1 900) . The GSM specifications were developed by an international

effort and have been adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards

Institute (ETSI). A wireless telephone system configured in a manner consistent with the use

of the GSM standards is shown in Fig. 1 . A GSM Network 1 0 comprises three

primary subsystems: a Base Station Subsystem (BSS) 20, a Network and

Switching Subsystem (NSS) 30, and a Network Management Subsystem (NMS)

40. The tasks performed by the GSM network are divided between the subsystems

such that in general, the BSS 20 is responsible for maintaining transmission and

reception along the radio path, and the NSS is responsible for managing landline

connections. Accordingly, the GSM network 1 0 communicates with multiple

Mobile Stations (MS) 50 through the BSS 20, and the NSS 30 communicates with

the landline network 60. The landline network is typically a Public Switched

Telephone Network (PSTN) or an Integrated Digital Service Network (ISDN), but it

may also be a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), or a Packet Switched Data

Network (PSDN) . The Interface between GSM NSS 30 and BSS 20 is referred to

as the GSM "A Interface" 70. Both the BSS 20 and the NSS 30 communicate with

the NMS 40 through the Network Management Interface 80.

Fig. 2 illlustrates the GSM NSS 30 of Fig. 1 along with a more detailed view

of a typical prior art BSS 20. The primary elements of any BSS are the multiple

Base Transceiver Stations 1 00 and the Base Station Controller (BSC) 1 1 0. In Fig.

2, various arrangements of the multiple BTSs 1 00a...1 00n are shown. For

example, BTS 1 00a is connected in series to BTS 1 00a_{l 7} while BTS 1 00b is shown

as a standalone unit. The arrangement of the multiple BTSs 1 00a...1 00n disclosed

in Fig, 2 is intended only to illustrate the flexibility of the design of a GSM Network BSS, and is not intended to imply control of a BTS by any other BTS. Each BTS

provides coverage for multiple mobile units in a specific geographic area, called a

cell. Each BTS 1 00a...1 00n is controlled by the Base Station Controller (BSC) 1 10,

which is typically a small switching system with call processing features and

computational capacity. Its main functions are to manage the radio channels and to

manage the handover of calls as a Mobile Station (MS) moves between cells. The

BSC 1 1 0 manages handoff processing and signal processing resource allocation

within the BTSs 1 00a...1 00n so that multiple mobile units 50 can conduct

telephone calls simultaneously. The BSC 1 1 0 includes a switching matrix 1 35 and

a central processing unit 1 50, including software which performs tasks such as call

processing, handover, channel management, and measurement. The BSC 1 1 0 uses

its switching matrix 1 35 to connect a landline circuit to a transmission path for a

radio channel. The central processing unit of the typical BSC 1 1 0 directs the

switching matrix 1 35 of the BSC 1 1 0, allowing the BSC 1 10 to control all

handovers between all BTSs 1 00a...1 00n under its control. The typical BSC 1 1 0

may thus manage a number of BTSs 100a...1 00n, with the exact number of BTS

dependfng upon the expected traffic capacity. The BSC 1 1 0 and BTS 100

communicate with one another over an interface known in GSM terminology as the

Abis Interface 1 1 5. Although the Abis Interface 1 1 5 and the A Interface 70 can

each co-exist on the same trunks as voice traffic, for clarity the control signaling is

shown in Fig. 2 as hashed lines.

The NSS 30 serves as the interface between the GSM Network 1 0 and the landline networks 60. The NSS 30 includes an element responsible for the switching

facilities adapted for mobile telephony called a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 1 20.

The BSS 20 is also considered here to include a Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit

(TRAU) 1 30 which is responsible for coordinating speech encoding and decoding and

sample rate adaption, although the TRAU 1 30 is sometimes considered to be part of

the NSS 30. Communication between the BSS 20 and MSC 1 20 occurs over the A

Interface 70, which is specified by the GSM standard.

The MSC 1 20 switches or connects telephone calls between the BSS 20 and

wireline based networks 60. GSM MSC 1 20 includes a switching matrix 1 25 and a

CPU 1 60 to control telephone switching, billing, subscriber unit tracking, subscriber

unit authorization, and some handoff control functionality. Since the MSC 1 20

typically controls multiple Base Station Subsystems 20, it can be appreciated that

both the switching matrix 1 25 and CPU 1 60 of the MSC are of greater complexity

and scale than the corresponding BSC components, i.e. the switching matrix 1 35,

and central processing unit (CPU) 1 50 of the BSC.

In order to support continuing connections of users of the Mobile Stations 50

as they move within the GSM Network 1 0, such users need to change their point

of access, through a different one of the multiple BTSs 1 00a...1 00n. In the

standard GSM system 1 0, it is the job of the BSC 1 1 0 to perform this task, called

handover. The handover process performed in the BSC 1 1 0 makes use of

information collected during the measurement process for supporting a handover

decision. The measurement process typically includes measuring data indicating the receive power levels from the Mobile Stations 50. These reports typically occur

at a rate of twice per second for each active or transmitting Mobile Station 50 in

the system. In a standard measurement process, the data is collected from the

Mobile Stations 50 in the BTSs 1 00a...1 00n and then forwarded over the Abis

interface 1 1 5 for use by the BSC 1 10.

When the measurement process indicates that a handover to a new cell is

needed, the handover process in the BSC 1 10 switches a terrestrial connection

from the MSC 1 20 to a different radio channel.

The BSC 1 1 0 thus must also manage the radio channels via a channel

management process. This process keeps track of which radio channels are

available in which of the multiple BTSs 1 00a...1 00n and the mapping of channels

in the A Interface 70 to channels in the Abis Interface 1 1 5.

This architecture works well for its intended purpose, and, indeed GSM has

become the most popular digital cellular system in the world. A number of

difficulties arise as a consequence of the above process allocations, however. For

example, as the number of BTSs 1 00a...100n is increased to service a greater

number of cells, the number of data transfers that the Abis Interface is expected to

support increases. This requirement becomes particularly exacerbated in a situation

where the expected demand for use by the Mobile Stations 50 is relatively high.

For example, in various situations the number of Mobile Stations 50 in a cell may

be so high that the cell needs to be sectorized, or divided into sub-regions called

sectors. In cases of high demand, a BTS may be needed to service each sector of the cell. Frequency assignments and intra-cell handovers must be made in this

situation as though each sector were independent of the adjacent sectors. Thus the

BSC workload increases accordingly.

This capacity problem has been helped somewhat by the development of the

broadband Base Transceiver System, which permits a greater number of radio

channels to be processed efficiently in parallel. Therefore it is possible for a cellular

service provider to deploy many more channels in a cell than was previously

possible, thereby reducing the total number of required BTS installations, and

enabling a greater number of users to be served for a given cost.

However, the use of a broadband BTS also increases the amount of data

which must pass between the BTS and the BSC, in order to process the greater

number of handovers which are made possible by the increased channel capacity of

the broadband BTS. For example, measurement reports can be expected to be sent

approximately twice per second from the Mobile Station to the BTS. The BTS in

turn, must collect these reports and forward them to the BSC for processing. This

in turn taxes the ability of the BSC to manage a given number of BTSs.

Thus it can be seen that while increasing the available number of radio

channels allows a greater number of Mobile Stations to be serviced in a particular

cell, it also greatly increases the work load of the BSC 1 1 0. Indeed, whereas

initially, i.e. at installation, a single BSC 1 1 0 may have been able to serve multiple

cells, it may eventually become necessary to provide a single BSC 1 10 to serve

each cell. At the same time, due to consumer demands for highly reliable and fault

tolerant telecommunications networks, the BSS components, particularly the BSC

1 10, are typically designed using redundant and often oversized equipment, thereby

dramatically increasing the cost of the BSC 1 1 0.

Therefore it is clear that several disadvantages exist in the typical prior art

GSM Networks. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the efficiency of GSM

Base Station Subsystems, as well as to reduce the complexity and cost of the BSS

components. At the same time, there is a need to maintain or improve the

reliability and fault tolerance of GSM Base Station Subsystems.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Objects of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved efficiency Base

Station Subsystem in a GSM mobile telecommunications network.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the switching load in a

Base Station Controller.

It is yet another object of the present invention to reduce the complexity and

redundancy of components in a Base Station Subsystem, particularly in a Base

Station Controller.

Summary of the Invention

Briefly, the present invention is a reduced Base Station Subsystem, wherein

switching and computational requirements of a Base Station Controller are reduced or eliminated. This is accomplished by removing the switching matrix from the

Base Station Controller, thereby forcing the Mobile Switching Center to perform

switching operations. This represents an advantage over prior art Base Station

Controllers, as it dramatically reduces the workload and complexity of the Base

Station Controller. This reduction in complexity of the reduced Base Station

Controller element of the present invention improves the reliability of the reduced

BSC while lowering the cost. The MSC, with its greater switching capacity,

performs the same operations more reliably.

When coupled with efficient BTS signal processing schemes, such as that

described in a co-pending U.S. patent application Serial No. 08/768,21 3 entitled

"Radio Channel Management Functionality Distribution in Wireless Communication

System" filed by Patrick L. Reilly on December 1 7, 1 996 and assigned to AirNet

Communications Corporation, the assignee of the present application, maximum

efficiency in BTS - BSC message traffic is achieved. This permits a single BSC to

control a greater number of Base Transceiver Stations. The reduced Base Station

Subsystem of the present invention extends that improvement in efficiency, thereby

permitting a Mobile Switching Center to control more Base Station Controllers, and

by extension, control more Base Station Subsystems.

Furthermore, the reduced Base Station Subsystem of the present invention

integrates into the Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit the computational features

typically performed by the central processing unit in the Base Station Controller.

This has the benefit of improving the reliability of the BSC while reducing the physical size, or footprint of the Base Station Subsystem components. In fact,

whereas typical prior art BSS components must be housed in four separate

cabinets, the reduced Base Station Subsystem of the present invention may be

housed in as few as two cabinets.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the reduced Base Station

Subsystem of the present invention integrates into the Mobile Switching Center

both the Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit functionality and the computational

features typically performed by the central processing unit in the Base Station

Controller. This embodiment significantly improves the reliability of the GSM-based

system where it is employed, while simultaneously reducing complexity and cost of

the system. Such an embodiment of the present invention will reduce the footprint

of the system further, from an installation typically requiring five separate hardware

installations to a system requiring only two separate hardware configurations to

accomplish the same functionality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to

those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the

drawings, in which:

Fig. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the reduced Base Station Subsystem in

accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the reduced Base Station Subsystem

in accordance with the principles of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention achieves the aforementioned desired objects by

providing a reduced Base Station Subsystem method and apparatus comprising an

integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and Base Station Controller including

a central processing unit for the efficient processing of message traffic between a

Mobile Switching Center and multiple Base Transceiver Stations. Furthermore, the

present invention provides the MSC with the ability to conduct all handover and

switching operations for each BSC it controls.

Fig. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the reduced Base Station Subsystem,

indicated generally at 1 80, of the present invention in conjunction with a Network

and Switching Subsystem 30, capable of managing radio frequency (RF)

communication between a plurality of mobile stations (MS) 50 and a landline

network 60 in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the NSS 30 communicates message and control

data with the landline network 60 through a MSC 1 20 that comprises at least one

switching matrix 1 25 and a central processing unit 1 60. The MSC in turn

communicates the switched message and control data with the reduced BSS 1 80.

Reduced BSS 1 80 includes several modules, including TRAU-C 200, which

integrates a Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit with the CPU 21 0 performing all

functionality of the Base Station Controller of the prior art. In a preferred

embodiment of the present invention, a second TRAU-C 220 operates in parallel

with TRAU-C 200. Multiple TRAU-Cs can be arranged in either an Active/Active configuration or an Active/Standby configuration. In Active/Active configuration,

all TRAU-Cs are simultaneously loadsharing the call traffic. Should any of the

TRAU-Cs fail, the remaining operational TRAU-Cs will assume the task of

processing the call traffic of the failed TRAU-C. Implementing Active/Active

configuration in the embodiment of Fig. 3, TRAU-C 200 and TRAU-C 220 are both

designated Active and share call traffic. If either TRAU-C 200 or TRAU-C 220

fails, the remaining TRAU-C will process the call traffic. The NMS 40 accomplishes

the task of coordinating and directing call processing between the failed TRAU-C

units and the remaining Active TRAU-C units.

In Active/Standby mode, a single TRAU-C or an identified plurality of TRAU-Cs

is designated as Active. All TRAU-Cs designated as Active perform call processing

and control, while the remaining TRAU-Cs, designated Standby, remain idle. In the

case of failure of one or any number of the Active TRAU-Cs, the NMS will

coordinate redesignation Standby TRAU-C units to Active, and will coordinate

transfer of call traffic control to the Standby TRAU-C units. In the present

embodiment as disclosed in Fig. 3, TRAU-C 200 is designated Active, and

processes all call traffic, while TRAU-C 220 is designated Standby and remains idle.

Upon the failure of Active TRAU-C 200, NMS 40 designates TRAU-C 220 Active,

and coordinates transfer of call traffic to TRAU-C 220.

As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art, there are a

variety of approaches to the management of in-progress call traffic upon failure of

an Active TRAU-C or of a plurality of Active TRAU-Cs. In one example, referring to the embodiment of Fig. 3, both TRAU-C 200 and TRAU-C 220 have knowledge of

all calls, and each is able to assume control of all calls immediately upon failure of

the other. In a second approach, upon the failure of TRAU-C 200, TRAU-C 220

acquires knowledge of the circuits controlled exclusively by the failed TRAU-C 200,

and will request idling of those circuits via reset circuit to the MSC 1 20. This will

force the disconnection of existing calls controlled by the failed TRAU-C 200. Calls

in-progress on TRAU-C 200 are cleared upon expiration of call timers in the MSC

1 20. In a third strategy for managing TRAU-C failure, upon the failure of TRAU-C

200, the remaining TRAU-C 220 invokes a global reset procedure whereby the

MSC 1 20 releases all calls, erases all call references, and idles all circuits. Each

example recited above for management of failure of one or more TRAU-C units will

vary the reliability, frequency of network interruption, and complexity of the

system, thereby providing benefits in terms of flexibility of system design to

accommodate differing priority of the affected variables.

The primary TRAU-C 200, secondary TRAU-C 220, and any additional TRAU-

C elements in other embodiments communicate with MSC 1 20 through the A

Interface 70. Operating the reduced Base Station Subsystem of the present

invention with only one TRAU-C will provide all of the benefits of the improved

method and apparatus of the present invention. A secondary TRAU-C is not

intended to add any functionality, only increased reliability.

TRAU-C 200 of the present invention communicates message and control data

with the multiple Base Transceiver Stations 100a...1 00n in the same manner as the Base Station Controller of the prior art. However, TRAU-C 200 does not perform

circuit switching, as that function is performed by the MSC 1 20 in the wireless

communication system of the present invention. Particularly, since TRAU-C 200

lacks a switching matrix, handovers between different Base Transceiver Stations

within BSS 1 80 require a change of terrestrial or landline circuits at the MSC 1 20.

Handovers within a cell served by a single BTS are still permitted, as only radio

channel alteration is required, a function that can be performed by the affected BTS

and managed by the controlling TRAU-C 200 or 220. According to the principles

of the present invention, inter-BTS handoffs are conducted by the MSC 1 20, using

the GSM inter-BSC handover protocol. Since the processing and switching

capabilities in the MSC 1 20 are typically significantly greater than the same

capabilities in conventional Base Station Controllers, using the MSC 1 20 to conduct

inter-BTS handovers is an improvement in wireless signal processing.

Communications and operations conducted between the mobile stations 50

and the multiple BTSs 1 00a...1 00n are unaffected by the implementation of the

reduced BSS of the present invention. However, MSC 1 20 circuit pools are

affected by the reduced BSS of the present invention in that the pool must be

partitioned on a per-cell basis. Calls originating in or terminating in a cell must

utilize only those circuits partitioned for that cell by the MSC 1 20.

Turning now to Fig. 4, another embodiment of the reduced BSS of the present

invention is disclosed, wherein the integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit

and BSC controller is incorporated in a Mobile Switching Center, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the GSM-based system. In this embodiment, the NSS 30

communicates message and control data with the landline network 60 through a

MSC 300. The MSC 300 in turn communicates the switched message and control

data with the reduced BSS 31 0 of the current embodiment. MSC 300 comprises

at least one switching matrix 325, a central processing unit 360, and a TRAU-C

330.

In the present embodiment of Fig. 4, MSC 300 includes at least one TRAU-C

330 and preferably multiple TRAU-C units, including e.g. TRAU-C 340. Both

TRAU-C 330 and TRAU-C 340 are configured as TRAU-C 200 and TRAU-C 220

have been represented in Fig. 3. TRAU-C 330 and TRAU-C 340 provide parallel

TRAU-C processing, providing all of the options for call management in the event of

failure of a TRAU-C as described with respect to the TRAU-C units 200 and 220 of

Fig. 3.

MSC 300 of the current embodiment communicates message and control

data with the multiple Base Transceiver Stations 1 00a ...1 00n in the same manner

as the Base Station Controller of the prior art, employing the Abis Interface 1 1 5.

Particularly, MSC 300 performs all circuit switching performed by prior art Base

Station Controllers. Since TRAU-C units 330 and 340 lack any switching matrix,

handovers between different Base Transceiver Stations within reduced BSS 31 0

require a change of terrestrial or landline circuits at the MSC 300. As with all other

embodiments of the present invention, handovers within a cell served by a single

BTS are still permitted, as only radio channel alteration is required, a function that can be performed by the affected BTS and managed by the controlling MSC 300.

According to the principles of the present invention, inter-BTS handoffs are

conducted by the MSC 300, using the GSM inter-BSC handover protocol. Since

the processing and switching capabilities in the MSC 300 are significantly greater

than the same capabilities in conventional Base Station Controllers, using the MSC

300 to conduct inter-BTS handovers is an improvement in wireless signal

processing.

Communications and operations conducted between the mobile stations 50

and the multiple BTSs 1 00a...100n are unaffected by the implementation of the

reduced BSS 31 0 of the present invention. However, as with the previous

embodiment disclosed in Fig. 3, MSC 300 circuit pools are affected by the reduced

BSS 31 0 of the present invention in that the pool must be partitioned on a per-cell

basis. Calls originating in or terminating in a cell must utilize only those circuits

partitioned for that cell by the MSC 300.

Thus it has been demonstrated that by employing the principles of the

present invention, a reduced Base Station Subsystem is disclosed wherein control

of GSM-based radio cellular architecture is achieved, integrated within Transcoder

and Rate Adaption Units.

While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary

embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various

modifications to the described embodiments of the invention without departing

from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1 . In a wireless communication system comprising a Network and Switching

Subsystem, a Base Station Subsystem and a Network Management

Subsystem, a system for providing wireless communication with a plurality

of Mobile Stations comprising:

integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller means for

coordinating communication to an external network;

a plurality of Base Transceiver System means; each for coordinating

communication with at least one of said plurality of Mobile Stations located within

a cell associated with said Base Transceiver System means; and

Mobile Switching Center means, connected to said external network,

for performing all inter-Base Transceiver Station handover functions for said Mobile

Stations.

2. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 , wherein:

said wireless communication system is a GSM-based system.

3. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a second integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller means for coordinating communication to an external network.

4. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

said controller is a microprocessor.

5. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

said integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller

means further comprises at least a first microprocessor for controlling Base Station

Controller functions and at least a second microprocessor for controlling Transcoder

and Rate Adaption Unit functions.

6. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

said integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller

means is co-located with one of said plurality of Base Transceiver System means.

7. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

said integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller

means is co-located with said Mobile Switching Center means.

8. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

said Mobile Switching Center means and said Base Station Subsystem

are co-located.

9. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

all intra-BTS handover functions are performed by said plurality of

Base Transceiver Stations.

1 0. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 8 wherein:

all intra-BTS handover functions are managed by at least one said

integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller means.

1 1 . The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations is a repeater.

1 2. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 1 wherein:

said repeater is a translating repeater.

1 3. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 1 wherein:

said repeater is an in-band translating repeater.

1 4. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 1 wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations interacts

with one of a repeater and a translating repeater.

1 5. In a wireless communication system comprising a Network and Switching

Subsystem, a Base Station Subsystem and a Network Management

Subsystem, a method for providing wireless communication with a plurality

of Mobile Stations comprising:

coordinating in a plurality of Base Transceiver Stations all

communications with said plurality of Mobile Stations;

performing all interactions with an external network and all inter-Base

Transceiver Station handoff functions in a Mobile Switching Center; and

controlling all Base Transceiver Station communications with at least

one integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller.

1 6. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, further comprising: performing all intra-Base Transceiver Station handoff functions in said

plurality of Base Transceiver Stations.

1 7. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, further comprising:

managing all said intra-Base Transceiver Station handoff functions in

said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations from said at least one integrated

Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller.

1 8. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

said wireless communication system is a GSM-based system.

1 9. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, further comprising:

providing a second integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and

controller for controlling all Base Transceiver Station communications.

20. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations is a repeater.

21 . The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations is a translating

repeater.

22. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations is an inband

translating repeater.

23. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations interacts with

one of a repeater and a translating repeater.

24. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

said controller is a microprocessor.

25. The method for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations in accordance with claim 1 5, wherein:

splitting the functions of said integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller by employing at least a first microprocessor to perform all Base

Station Controller functions and at least a second microprocessor to perform all

Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit functions.

26. In a wireless communication system comprising a Network and Switching

Subsystem, a Base Station Subsystem and a Network Management

Subsystem, a system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of

Mobile Stations comprising:

a plurality of Base Transceiver System means; each for coordinating

a cell associated with said Base Transceiver System means; and

Mobile Switching Center means connected to an external network, for

performing all inter-Base Transceiver Station handover functions for said Mobile

Stations, said Mobile Switching Center means including integrated Transcoder and

Rate Adaption Unit and controller means for coordinating communication to said

external network.

27. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26, wherein:

said wireless communication system is a GSM-based system.

28. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile Stations according to claim 26, further comprising:

a second integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller

means for coordinating communication to an external network.

29. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26, further wherein:

said controller is a microprocessor.

30. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein:

said integrated Transcoder and Rate Adaption Unit and controller means

further comprises at least a first microprocessor for controlling Base Station

and Rate Adaption Unit functions.

31 . The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein:

said Mobile Switching Center means is co-located with one of said

plurality of Base Transceiver System means.

32. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein: said Mobile Switching Center means and said Base Station Subsystem

are co-located.

33. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein:

all intra-BTS handover functions are performed by said plurality of Base

Transceiver Stations.

34. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein:

all intra-BTS handover functions are managed by said Mobile

Switching Center means.

35. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations is a repeater.

36. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 35 wherein:

said repeater is a translating repeater.

37. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile Stations according to claim 35 wherein:

said repeater is an in-band translating repeater.

38. The system for providing wireless communication with a plurality of Mobile

Stations according to claim 26 wherein:

at least one of said plurality of Base Transceiver Stations interacts

with one of a repeater and a translating repeater.