Patent ID: 6687503
Filing Date: 2004-02-03
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
A method of wireless connection of a cellular communications network comprising one or more cells, each cell having a central control node and one or more remote subscriber nodes, to a wide area network, comprising the steps of:connecting at least one remote subscriber node to the wide area network via a wired connection; collecting backhaul data traffic to be transmitted to the wide area network from each network cell at the respective central control node in each cell; allocating the backhaul data traffic within a cell a traffic priority higher than traffic priorities assigned to other data traffic within the cell; queuing the backhaul data traffic in at least one traffic queue together with the other data traffic to be transmitted within the cell; scheduling one or more time slots in which the backhaul traffic will be transmitted to the at least one remote subscriber node connected to the wide area network based on the allocated traffic priorities, wherein the backhaul data traffic is scheduled for transmission prior to the other data traffic; transmitting the backhaul data traffic from each central control node to the at least one remote subscriber node over a wireless backhaul channel during the one or more time slots; and transmitting the backhaul data traffic from the at least one remote subscriber node to the wide area networks.