Patent Publication Number: US-2022231749-A1

Title: Grid of beams (gob) adaptation in a wireless communications circuit, particularly for a wireless communications system (wcs)

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/857,164, filed Apr. 23, 2020, the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The disclosure relates generally to a wireless communications apparatus(es), such as a remote unit(s), a remote radio head(s), or a mobile device(s), particularly in a wireless communications system (WCS), such as a distributed communications system (DCS), a small cell radio access network (RAN), or a distributed antenna system (DAS), configured to support radio frequency (RF) beamforming. 
     Wireless customers are increasingly demanding wireless communications services, such as cellular communications services and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) services. Thus, small cells, and more recently Wi-Fi services, are being deployed indoors. At the same time, some wireless customers use their wireless communications devices in areas that are poorly serviced by conventional cellular networks, such as inside certain buildings or areas where there is little cellular coverage. One response to the intersection of these two concerns has been the use of DCSs as WCSs, such as a small cell RAN or DAS. DCSs include a central unit or node that is configured to transmit or distribute communications signals to remote units typically over physical medium, such as electrical conductors or optical fiber. The remote units are configured to receive and distribute such communications signals to client devices within the antenna range of the remote unit. DCSs can be particularly useful when deployed inside buildings or other indoor environments where the wireless communications devices may not otherwise be able to effectively receive RF signals from a source. 
     In this regard,  FIG. 1  illustrates a DCS  100  that is configured to distribute communications services to remote coverage areas  102 ( 1 )- 102 (N), where ‘N’ is the number of remote coverage areas. The DCS  100  in  FIG. 1  is provided in the form of a wireless DCS, such as a DAS  104  in this example. The DAS  104  can be configured to support a variety of communications services that can include cellular communications services, wireless communications services, such as RF identification (RFID) tracking, Wi-Fi, local area network (LAN), and wireless LAN (WLAN), wireless solutions (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Global Positioning System (GPS) signal-based, and others) for location-based services, and combinations thereof, as examples. The remote coverage areas  102 ( 1 )- 102 (N) are created by and centered on remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) connected to a central unit  108  (e.g., a head-end controller, a central unit, or a head-end unit). The central unit  108  may be communicatively coupled to a source transceiver  110 , such as for example, a base transceiver station (BTS) or a baseband unit (BBU). In this example, the central unit  108  receives downlink communications signals  112 D from the source transceiver  110  to be distributed to the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N). The downlink communications signals  112 D can include data communications signals and/or communications signaling signals, as examples. The central unit  108  is configured with filtering circuits and/or other signal processing circuits that are configured to support a specific number of communications services in a particular frequency bandwidth (i.e., frequency communications bands). The downlink communications signals  112 D are communicated by the central unit  108  over a communications link  114  over their frequency to the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N). 
     With continuing reference to  FIG. 1 , the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) are configured to receive the downlink communications signals  112 D from the central unit  108  over the communications link  114 . The downlink communications signals  112 D are configured to be distributed to the respective remote coverage areas  102 ( 1 )- 102 (N) of the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N). The remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) are also configured with filters and other signal processing circuits that are configured to support all or a subset of the specific communications services (i.e., frequency communications bands) supported by the central unit  108 . In a non-limiting example, the communications link  114  may be a wired communications link, a wireless communications link, or an optical fiber-based communications link. The remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) may include RF transmitter/receiver circuits  116 ( 1 )- 116 (N) and antennas  118 ( 1 )- 118 (N), respectively. The antennas  118 ( 1 )- 118 (N) are operably connected to the RF transmitter/receiver circuits  116 ( 1 )- 116 (N) to wirelessly distribute the communications services to user equipment (UE)  120  within the respective remote coverage areas  102 ( 1 )- 102 (N). The remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) are also configured to receive uplink communications signals  112 U from the UE  120  in the respective remote coverage areas  102 ( 1 )- 102 (N) to be distributed to the source transceiver  110 . 
     Conventionally, the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) may be configured to communicate the downlink communications signals  112 D and the uplink communications signals  112 U with the UE  120  based on a third-generation (3G) wireless communication technology, such as wideband code-division multiple access (WCDMA), and/or a fourth-generation (4G) wireless communication technology, such as long-term evolution (LTE). As wireless communication technology continues to evolve, a new fifth-generation (5G) new-radio (NR) (5G-NR) wireless communication technology has emerged as a next generation wireless communication technology having the potential of achieving significant improvement in data throughput, coverage range, signal efficiency, and access latency over the existing 3G and 4G wireless communication technologies. As such, it may be necessary to upgrade or reconfigure the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) to communicate the downlink communications signals  112 D and the uplink communications signals  112 U with the UE  120  based on the 5G-NR wireless communication technologies. 
     The 5G-NR wireless communication technology may be implemented based on a millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum that is typically higher than 6 GHz, which makes the downlink communications signals  112 D and the uplink communications signals  112 U more susceptible to propagation loss. As such, RF beamforming has become a core ingredient of the 5G-NR wireless communication technology to help mitigate signal propagation loss in the mmWave spectrum. In this regard, the antennas  118 ( 1 )- 118 (N) may be replaced by an equal number of antenna arrays (not shown) each including multiple antennas (e.g., 4×4, 8×8, 16×16, etc.). Accordingly, the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) may be configured to communicate the downlink communications signals  112 D and the uplink communications signals  112 U by forming and steering RF beams  122 ( 1 )- 122 (N) toward the UE  120 . By forming and steering the RF beams  122 ( 1 )- 122 (N) toward the UE  120 , the remote units  106 ( 1 )- 106 (N) may communicate the downlink communications signals  112 D and the uplink communications signals  112 U with higher equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), thus helping to mitigate the propagation loss in the mmWave spectrum. 
     No admission is made that any reference cited herein constitutes prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of any cited documents. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments disclosed herein include grid of beams (GoB) adaptation in a wireless communications circuit, particularly for a wireless communications system (WCS). The wireless communications circuit may be provided in the WCS to provide radio frequency (RF) coverage in a wireless communications cell (e.g., an indoor small cell). In this regard, an antenna array is provided in the wireless communications circuit to radiate the GoB, which includes a number of RF beams corresponding to an RF communications signal(s), in the wireless communications cell. In examples discussed herein, the wireless communications circuit can be configured to detect a coverage condition change (e.g., user density, building layout, throughput requirement, etc.) in the wireless communications cell and modify the GoB accordingly. By adapting the GoB to the coverage condition change, it may be possible to reduce processing overhead and improve resource usage, data throughput, and system adaptability of the wireless communications circuit, thus helping to optimize RF coverage in the wireless communications cell. 
     One exemplary embodiment of the disclosure relates to a wireless communications circuit. The wireless communications circuit includes an antenna array comprising a plurality of radiating elements configured to radiate a GoB comprising a plurality of RF beams corresponding to an RF communications signal in a wireless communications cell. The wireless communications circuit also includes a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to receive an indication signal indicative of a coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. The control circuit is also configured to cause the antenna array to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. 
     An additional exemplary embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method for adapting a GoB in a wireless communications circuit. The method includes radiating a GoB comprising a plurality of RF beams corresponding to an RF communications signal in a wireless communications cell. The method also includes receiving an indication signal indicative of a coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. The method also includes modifying the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. 
     An additional exemplary embodiment of the disclosure relates to a WCS. The WCS includes a central unit. The WCS also includes a plurality of remote units coupled to the central unit via a plurality of communications mediums. The plurality of remote units is configured to receive a plurality of downlink digital communications signals from the central unit via the plurality of communications mediums, respectively. The plurality of remote units is also configured to convert the plurality of downlink digital communications signals into a plurality of downlink RF communications signals, respectively. The plurality of remote units is also configured to distribute the plurality of downlink RF communications signals, respectively. The plurality of remote units is also configured to receive a plurality of uplink RF communications signals, respectively. The plurality of remote units is also configured to convert the plurality of uplink RF communications signals into a plurality of uplink digital communications signals, respectively. The plurality of remote units is configured to provide the plurality of uplink digital communications signals to the central unit via the plurality of communications mediums, respectively. At least one remote unit among the plurality of remote units includes an antenna array comprising a plurality of radiating elements configured to radiate a GoB comprising a plurality of RF beams corresponding to an RF communications signal among the plurality of downlink RF communications signals in a wireless communications cell. The at least one remote unit also includes a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to receive an indication signal indicative of a coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. The control circuit is also configured to cause the antenna array to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. 
     Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described in the written description and claims hereof, as well as the appended drawings. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary, and are intended to provide an overview or framework to understand the nature and character of the claims. 
     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiment(s), and together with the description to explain principles and operation of the various embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wireless communications system (WCS), such as a distributed communications system (DCS), configured to distribute communications services to remote coverage areas; 
         FIGS. 2A-2C  are graphic diagrams providing exemplary illustration of a number of fundamental aspects related to radio frequency (RF) beamforming; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wireless communications circuit provided in a WCS and configured to modify a grid of beams (GoB) radiated in a wireless communications cell in response to a coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell; 
         FIGS. 4A-4C  are graphic diagrams providing exemplary illustrations of how the wireless communications circuit of  FIG. 3  modifies the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of an exemplary process that can be employed by the wireless communications circuit of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary WCS provided in the form of an optical fiber-based WDS that is configured to include the wireless communications circuit of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary building infrastructure with a deployed DCS, such as the optical fiber-based WDS in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary mobile telecommunications environment that includes an exemplary radio access network (RAN) that includes a mobile network operator (MNO) macrocell employing a radio node, a shared spectrum cell employing a radio node, an exemplary small cell RAN employing a multi-operator radio node located within an enterprise environment, wherein any of the radio nodes can be configured to incorporate the wireless communications circuit of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary distributed communications system that supports 4G and 5G communications services, and wherein any of the radio nodes can be configured to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram of a representation of an exemplary computer system that can be included in or interface with any of the components in the wireless communications circuit of  FIG. 3 , wherein the exemplary computer system is configured to execute instructions from an exemplary computer-readable medium to modify the GoB in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments disclosed herein include grid of beams (GoB) adaptation in a wireless communications circuit, particularly for a wireless communications system (WCS). The wireless communications circuit may be provided in the WCS to provide radio frequency (RF) coverage in a wireless communications cell (e.g., an indoor small cell). In this regard, an antenna array is provided in the wireless communications circuit to radiate the GoB, which includes a number of RF beams corresponding to an RF communications signal(s), in the wireless communications cell. In examples discussed herein, the wireless communications circuit can be configured to detect a coverage condition change (e.g., user density, building layout, throughput requirement, etc.) in the wireless communications cell and modify the GoB accordingly. By adapting the GoB to the coverage condition change, it may be possible to reduce processing overhead and improve resource usage, data throughput, and system adaptability of the wireless communications circuit, thus helping to optimize RF coverage in the wireless communications cell. 
     Before discussing a wireless communications circuit of the present disclosure configured to adapt a GoB to improve coverage, reduce complexity and latency, and conserve energy, starting at  FIG. 3 , a brief overview is first provided with reference to  FIGS. 2A-2C  to help explain some fundamental aspects related to RF beamforming. 
       FIGS. 2A-2C  are graphic diagrams providing exemplary illustrations of a number of fundamental aspects related to RF beamforming. In general, beamforming refers to a technique that uses multiple antennas to simultaneously radiate an RF signal in an RF spectrum, such as a millimeterwave (mmWave) spectrum. The multiple antennas, also called “antenna elements,” that are typically organized into an antenna array (e.g., 4×4, 8×8, 16×16, etc.) and separated from each other by at least one-half (½) wavelength. The RF signal is pre-processed based on a beam weight set, which includes multiple beam weights corresponding to the multiple antennas, respectively, to generate multiple weighted RF signals. The multiple weighted RF signals are then coupled to specific antennas in the antenna array for simultaneous radiation in the RF spectrum. As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , by pre-processing the RF signal based on multiple beam weight sets, it may be possible to form multiple RF beams  200  pointing to multiple directions radiating from antenna elements in an antenna array, respectively. 
     Each beam weight in a given beam weight set is a complex weight consisting of a respective phase term and a respective amplitude term. The phase terms in the complex beam weight can be determined to cause the multiple simultaneously radiated RF signals to constructively combine in one direction to form the RF beams  200 , while destructively averaging out in other directions. In this regard, the phase term can determine how the RF beams  200  is formed and which direction the RF beams  200  is pointing to. On the other hand, the amplitude terms in the complex beam weight may determine how many of the antennas in the antenna array are utilized to simultaneously radiate the RF signals. Notably, when more antennas are utilized to simultaneously radiate the RF signals, the RF beams  200  will become more concentrated to have a narrower beamwidth and a higher beamformed antenna gain. In contrast, when fewer antennas are utilized to simultaneously radiate the RF signals, the RF beams  200  will become more spreaded to have a wider beamwidth and a lesser beamformed antenna gain. In this regard, the amplitude term can determine the beamwidth of the RF beams  200 . In a non-limiting example, a beamwidth refers to a spatial spread of a main lobe containing majority of the radiated power of an RF beam. 
       FIG. 2B  is a graphic diagram of an exemplary spherical coordinate system  202  that helps explain how the complex beam weight can be determined. The spherical coordinate system  202  includes an x-axis (X)  204 , a y-axis (Y)  206 , and a z-axis (Z)  208 . The x-axis  204  and the y-axis  206  collectively define an x-y plane  210 , the y-axis  206  and the z-axis  208  collectively define a y-z plane  212 , and the x-axis  204  and the z-axis  208  collectively define an x-z plane  214 . Depending how the multiple antennas are arranged in the antenna array, a beam weight w n  may be determined based on equations (Eq. 1-Eq. 4) below. 
     The equation (Eq. 1) below illustrates how a beam weight w n  may be determined when the multiple antennas in the antenna array are arranged linearly along the y-axis  206 . 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     In the equation (Eq. 1) above, ‘N’ represents a total number of the antennas in the antenna array and θ represents a zenith angle. The equation (Eq. 2) below illustrates how the a beam weight w m,n  may be determined when the multiple antennas in the antenna array are arranged in an M×N matrix in the x-y plane  210  in  FIG. 2B . 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     In the equation (Eq. 2) above, ‘M’ and ‘N’ represent the number of rows and the number of columns of M×N matrix, respectively, and ϕ represents an azimuth angle. The equation (Eq. 3) below illustrates how the a beam weight w m,n  may be determined when the multiple antennas in the antenna array are arranged in an M×N matrix in the y-z plane  212  in  FIG. 2B . 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     The equation (Eq. 4) below illustrates how the a beam weight w m,n  may be determined when the multiple antennas in the antenna array are arranged in an M×N matrix in the x-z plane  214  in  FIG. 2B . 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     Although it may be possible for the antennas in the antenna array to form the multiple RF beams  200  in  FIG. 2A  in the multiple directions, an actual number of the RF beams  200  is typically limited by a standard-defined parameter known as the synchronization signal block (SSB), which is further discussed next in  FIG. 2C . In this regard,  FIG. 2C  is a graphic diagram providing an exemplary illustration on how the SSB limits the actual number the RF beams  200  that may be formed by the antennas in the antenna array. 
     In conventional wireless systems, such as the third-generation (3G) and the fourth-generation (4G) wireless systems, a basestation is typically configured to radiate a cell-wide reference signal omnidirectionally to enable cell discovery and coverage measurement by an user equipment (UE). However, a fifth-generation new-radio (5G-NR) wireless system does not provide the cell-wide reference signal. Instead, as shown in  FIG. 2C , a 5G-NR gNB  216  is configured to radiate a number of reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) in different directions of a 5G-NR coverage cell. The reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) are associated with a number of SSBs  220 ( 1 )- 220 (N), respectively. Each of SSBs  220 ( 1 )- 220 (N) may include primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and 5G-NR physical broadcast channel (PBCH). 
     In this regard, a 5G-NR UE in the 5G-NR coverage cell can sweep through the reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) to identify a candidate reference beam(s) associated with a strongest reference signal received power (RSRP). Further, the 5G-NR UE may decode a candidate SSB(s) associated with the identified candidate reference beam(s) to acquire such information as physical cell identification (PCI) and PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS). Based on the candidate reference beam(s) reported by the 5G-NR UE, the 5G-NR gNB  216  may pinpoint location of the 5G-NR UE and steer a data-bearing RF beam toward the 5G-NR UE to enable data communication with the 5G-NR UE. 
     The SSBs  220 ( 1 )- 220 (N) may be organized into an SSB burst set  222  to be repeated periodically in a number of SSB burst periods  224 . The SSB burst set  222  may be five-millisecond (5 ms) in duration and the SSB burst periods  224  may repeat every twenty milliseconds (20 ms). The beamforming standard, as presently defined by the third-generation partnership project (3GPP), allows a maximum of 64 SSBs to be scheduled in the SSB burst set  222 . Accordingly, the 5G-NR gNB  216  can radiate  64  reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) in each of the SSB burst periods  224 . 
     Understandably, the 5G-NR gNB  216  will be able to maximize coverage in the 5G-NR coverage cell by radiating the maximum number (e.g., 64) of the reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) in each of the SSB burst periods  224 . However, radiating the maximum number of the reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) can introduce significant overhead in terms of computational complexity and processing delay. As such, it may be desirable to maximize coverage in the 5G-NR coverage cell by radiating as lesser number of the reference beams  218 ( 1 )- 218 (N) as possible. 
     Furthermore, the 5G-NR gNB  216  may be configured to operate in an indoor environment (e.g., an office building, an indoor stadium, etc.) of an indoor communications system. The 5G-NR gNB  216  may initially be installed and configured based on a deployment plan developed based on some generic assumptions of the coverage condition, such as office layout, user density, throughput requirement, and so on. However, the coverage condition may have changed, either suddenly or gradually, since the 5G-NR gNB  216  was installed, which may have invalidated some of the initial assumptions. As such, it may also be desirable to dynamically reconfigure the 5G-NR gNB  216  in response to the change in the coverage condition. 
     In this regard,  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wireless communications circuit  300  provided in a WCS  302  and configured to modify a GoB  304  radiated in a wireless communications cell  306  in response to a coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . In a non-limiting example, the coverage condition change refers to a change in configuration and/or operating status (e.g., user density, building layout, throughput requirement, etc.) in the WCS  302  relative to a previously known status. The wireless communications circuit  300 , which can be configured to function as a remote node (RN) or a remote unit (RU) in the WCS  302 , includes an antenna array  308 . The antenna array  308  includes a plurality of radiating elements  310 ( 1 , 1 )- 310 (M,N), which can be any type of antennas, as an example. The radiating elements  310 ( 1 , 1 )- 310 (M,N) are configured to radiate a plurality of RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) that collectively form the GoB  304  to provide RF coverage in the wireless communications cell  306 . 
     The wireless communications circuit  300  may be initially deployed in the WCS  302  based on an initial configuration plan of the wireless communications cell  306 . For example,  FIG. 4A  is a schematic diagram providing an exemplary illustration of the initial configuration plan, which may have assumed that there is no obstacle in the wireless communications cell  306 . Accordingly, the wireless communications circuit  300  may be been configured to radiate the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) with an identical beamwidth. However, the initial configuration plan may have not taken into consideration specific environmental and/or usage condications of the wireless communications cell  306 . For example,  FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram providing an exemplary illustration of the initial configuration plan, which has not accounted for a wall  400  in the radiation paths of the RF beams  312 ( 1 ) and  312 (K). As a result, the RF beams  312 ( 1 ) and  312 (K) may have been formed with excessive beamforming antenna gain, thus causing a waste of energy in the wireless communications cell  306 . In this regard, the coverage condition in the wireless communications cell  306  is said to have changed with respect to the initial configuration plan. 
     The wireless communications circuit  300  can be configured to dynamically modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . In a non-limiting example,  FIG. 4C  is a schematic diagram providing an exemplary illustration of the wireless communications circuit  300 , which can combine the narrower RF beams  312 ( 1 ) and  312 (K) in  FIG. 4B  to form a wider RF beam  312 W with a wider beamwidth in  FIG. 4C . The wider RF beam  312 W will have a reduced beamforming antenna gain compared to the narrower RF beams  312 ( 1 ) and  312 (K), thus helping to reduce energy waste in the wireless communications cell  306 . Alternative to combining the narrower RF beams  312 ( 1 ) and  312 (K) into the wider RF beam  312 W, the wireless communications circuit  300  may also change the beamwidth of the narrower RF beam  312 ( 1 ) and terminate the narrower RF beam  312 (K). 
     Notably, the scenario illustrated in  FIGS. 4A-4C  is merely one of the many possibilities that can cause the coverage condition change. In another non-limiting example, the wireless communications circuit  300  may have been deployed based on an initial estimate of user density that has either increased or decreased over time, thus demanding the wireless communications circuit  300  to modify the GoB  304  to increase or decrease signal bandwidth and/or data throughput in the wireless communications cell  306 . 
     In this regard, the wireless communications circuit  300  can be configured to dynamically modify the GoB  304  in response to any type of the coverage condition change. In a non-limiting example, the wireless communications circuit  300  includes a control circuit  314 , which can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), as an example. The control circuit  314  may be configured to receive an indication signal  316  indicative of the coverage condition change and cause the antenna array  308  to modify the GoB  304  in response to receiving the indication signal  316 . By dynamically modifying the GoB  304  based on the coverage condition change, it may be possible to reduce processing and improve resource usage, data throughput, and system adaptability of the wireless communications circuit  300 , thus helping to optimize RF coverage in the wireless communications cell  306 . 
     The control circuit  314  is configured to generate a plurality of beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  corresponding to the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K), respectively. Each of the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  includes a plurality of beam weights w (1,1) -w (M,N)  that corresponds to the radiating elements  310 ( 1 , 1 )- 310 (M,N) in the antenna array  308 . As explained earlier in  FIGS. 2A-2B , each of the beam weights W (1,1) -W (M,N)  in each of the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  is a complex weight (A, θ, ϕ) consisting of a respective amplitude term A and a respective phase term (θ, ϕ). The phase terms (θ, ϕ) in the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  can collectively cause each of the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) to be formed in a respective direction. The amplitude terms A in each of the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  can determine how many of the radiating elements  310 ( 1 , 1 )- 310 (M,N) are used to form each of the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) and thus a respective beamwidth of each of the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K). In this regard, the control circuit  314  may cause the antenna array  308  to modify the GoB  304  by modifying at least one selected beam weight set W s1 -W sK  in response to the coverage condition change. 
     The wireless communications circuit  300  can include a beamformer circuit  318 , which can be implemented by a system-on-chip (SoC), as an example. The beamformer circuit  318  is configured to receive the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  from the control circuit  314 . The beamformer circuit  318  can be configured to receive and process an RF communications signal  320  based on the beam weights w (1,1) -w (M,N)  in each of the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  to generate a plurality of weighted RF communications signals  322 ( 1 , 1 )- 322 (M,N). The radiating elements  310 ( 1 , 1 )- 310 (M,N) in the antenna array  308  are configured to radiate the weighted RF communications signals  322 ( 1 , 1 )- 322 (M,N) simultaneously to form a respective RF beam among the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) that corresponds to a respective beam weight set among the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK . In this regard, the beamformer circuit  318  is configured to generate a total of ‘K’ sets of the weighted RF communications signals  322 ( 1 , 1 )- 322 (M,N) for forming and/or modifying the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K), respectively. 
     The wireless communications circuit  300  may be configured to include a signal processing circuit  324 , which can be an FPGA, as an example, configured to provide the RF communications signal  320  to the beamformer circuit  318 . The signal processing circuit  324  may be provided in a separate circuit from the control circuit  314  or integrated with the control circuit  314  in a same circuit. The signal processing circuit  324  may be coupled to a central unit  326  via a communications medium  328  (e.g., an optical fiber-based communications medium). Notably, the central unit  326  can be provided in a different location (e.g., different room, floor, or building) from the location of the wireless communications circuit  300 . In this regard, the central unit  326  and the wireless communications circuit  300  correspond to different entities in the WCS  302 . 
     The signal processing circuit  324  is configured to receive a downlink digital communications signal  330 D from the central unit  326  and generate the RF communications signal  320  based on the downlink digital communications signal  330 D. The signal processing circuit  324  is also configured to receive an uplink RF communications signal  332  via the antenna array  308 . The signal processing circuit  324  is configured to generate an uplink digital communications signal  330 U based on the uplink RF communications signal  332  and provide the uplink digital communications signal  330 U to the central unit  326  via the communications medium  328 . 
     The signal processing circuit  324  and the central unit  326  may be configured to carry out different networking functions. For example, the signal processing circuit  324  can be configured to implement such lower layer networking protocols as physical (PHY), medium access control (MAC), and radio link control (RLC) protocols. The central unit  326 , on the other hand, may be configured to implement such higher layer networking protocols as packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio resource management (RRM), above layer-3 (L3+) protocols such as transport control protocol (TCP) and internet protocol (IP), and self-organizing network (SON) protocols. 
     In one embodiment, the signal processing circuit  324  may be configured to determine the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306  based on one or more coverage indication parameters and generate the indication signal  316  accordingly. In a non-limiting example, the coverage indication parameters can include a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement(s) reported by a UE(s) in the wireless communications cell  306  (e.g., along with the uplink RF communications signal  332 ), a UE count in the wireless communications cell  306 , a resource usage indicator (e.g., resource block (RB) usage), and/or a UE timing advance indication. The RSRP measurement(s) may help determine whether a selected RF beam(s) among the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) has excessive beamforming antenna gain. The UE count and/or the resource usage indicator may help determine how efficiently the resources are used in the wireless communications cell  306  and whether more resources are required to increase throughput in the wireless communications cell  306 . The UE timing advance indicator may help determine a distance(s) between a UE(s) in the wireless communications cell  306  and the antenna array  308 . The signal processing circuit  324  may be configured to retrieve some or all of the coverage indication parameters (e.g., the UE count, the resource usage indicator, and/or the UE timing advance indicator) from the central unit  326 . 
     In another embodiment, the central unit  326  may be configured to determine the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306  based on the coverage indication parameters, as described above, and generate the indication signal  316  accordingly. The central unit  326  may be configured to execute an adaptive GoB optimization algorithm to determine the coverage condition change and generate the indication signal  316  indicative of the coverage condition change. The central unit  326  may be further configured to provide beamforming instructions to the control circuit  314  to cause the control circuit  324  to modify the selected the beam weight sets W s1 -W sK  in response to the coverage condition change. The central unit  326  may be configured to retrieve some or all of the coverage indication parameters from the signal processing circuit  324 . 
     In another embodiment, both the signal processing circuit  324  and the central unit  326  may be configured to generate and provide the indication signal  316  to the control circuit  314 . For example, the signal processing circuit  324  can generate the indication signal  316  based on a shorter-term (e.g., a minute or an hour) coverage condition change in a particular wireless communications cell, while the central unit  326  is configured to generate the indication signal  316  based on a longer-term (e.g., a day or a week) coverage condition change in one or more wireless communications cells. In this regard, the control circuit  314  may be configured to determine how the GoB  304  is modified based on the indication signal  316  received from the signal processing circuit  324  and/or the indication signal  316  received from the central unit  326 . It should be appreciated that the control circuit  314  may be configured to receive the indication signal  316  from other entities (e.g., a neighboring wireless communications circuit in the WCS  302 ) as well. 
     The wireless communications circuit  300  may be configured to adapt the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306  based on a process. In this regard,  FIG. 5  is a flowchart of an exemplary process  500  that can be employed by the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . 
     With reference to the process  500 , the antenna array  308  is configured to radiate the GoB  304 , which includes the RF beams  312 ( 1 )- 312 (K) corresponding to the RF communications signal  320 , in the wireless communications cell  306  (block  502 ). The control circuit  314  receives the indication signal  316  indicative of the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306  (block  504 ). Accordingly, the control circuit  314  is configured to cause the antenna array  308  to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306  (block  506 ). 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram an exemplary WCS  600  provided in the form of an optical fiber-based WDS  600  that can include a plurality of remote units, which can incorporate the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . The WCS  600  includes an optical fiber for distributing communications services for multiple frequency bands. The WCS  600  in this example is comprised of three (3) main components. A plurality of radio interfaces provided in the form of radio interface modules (RIMs)  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) are provided in a central unit  604  to receive and process a plurality of downlink digital communications signals  606 D( 1 )- 606 D(R) prior to optical conversion into downlink optical fiber-based communications signals. The downlink digital communications signals  606 D( 1 )- 606 D(R) may be received from a base station or a baseband unit as an example. The RIMs  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) provide both downlink and uplink interfaces for signal processing. The notations “1-R” and “1-M” indicate that any number of the referenced component, 1-R and 1-M, respectively, may be provided. The central unit  604  is configured to accept the RIMS  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) as modular components that can easily be installed and removed or replaced in the central unit  604 . In one example, the central unit  604  is configured to support up to twelve (12) RIMs  602 ( 1 )- 602 ( 12 ). Each of the RIMS  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) can be designed to support a particular type of radio source or range of radio sources (i.e., frequencies) to provide flexibility in configuring the central unit  604  and the WCS  600  to support the desired radio sources. 
     For example, one RIM  602  may be configured to support the Personalized Communications System (PCS) radio band. Another RIM  602  may be configured to support the 800 megahertz (MHz) radio band. In this example, by inclusion of the RIMS  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M), the central unit  604  could be configured to support and distribute communications signals on both PCS and Long-Term Evolution (LTE)  700  radio bands, as an example. The RIMs  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) may be provided in the central unit  604  that support any frequency bands desired, including, but not limited to, the US Cellular band, PCS band, Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) band, 700 MHz band, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)  900 , GSM  1800 , and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The RIMS  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) may also be provided in the central unit  604  that support any wireless technologies desired, including but not limited to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA200, 1×RTT, Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), UMTS, High-speed Packet Access (HSPA), GSM, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), LTE, iDEN, and Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD). 
     The RIMs  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) may be provided in the central unit  604  that support any frequencies desired, including but not limited to US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (824-849 MHz on uplink and 869-894 MHz on downlink), US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (1850-1915 MHz on uplink and 1930-1995 MHz on downlink), US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (1710-1755 MHz on uplink and 2110-2155 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (698-716 MHz and 776-787 MHz on uplink and 728-746 MHz on downlink), EU R &amp; TTE frequencies (880-915 MHz on uplink and 925-960 MHz on downlink), EU R &amp; TTE frequencies (1710-1785 MHz on uplink and 1805-1880 MHz on downlink), EU R &amp; TTE frequencies (1920-1980 MHz on uplink and 2110-2170 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (806-824 MHz on uplink and 851-869 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (896-901 MHz on uplink and 929-941 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (793-805 MHz on uplink and 763-775 MHz on downlink), and US FCC frequencies (2495-2690 MHz on uplink and downlink). 
     With continuing reference to  FIG. 6 , the downlink digital communications signals  606 D( 1 )- 606 D(R) are provided to a plurality of optical interfaces provided in the form of optical interface modules (OIMs)  608 ( 1 )- 608 (N) in this embodiment to convert the downlink digital communications signals  606 D( 1 )- 606 D(R) into a plurality of downlink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 D( 1 )- 610 D(R). The notation “1-N” indicates that any number of the referenced component 1-N may be provided. The OIMs  608 ( 1 )- 608 (N) may be configured to provide a plurality of optical interface components (OICs) that contain optical-to-electrical (O/E) and electrical-to-optical (E/O) converters, as will be described in more detail below. The OIMs  608 ( 1 )- 608 (N) support the radio bands that can be provided by the RIMs  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M), including the examples previously described above. 
     The OIMs  608 ( 1 )- 608 (N) each include E/O converters to convert the downlink digital communications signals  606 D( 1 )- 606 D(R) into the downlink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 D( 1 )- 610 D(R). The downlink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 D( 1 )- 610 D(R) are communicated over a downlink optical fiber-based communications medium  612 D to a plurality of remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S). At least one selected remote unit among the remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) can be configured to function as the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3 . The notation “1-S” indicates that any number of the referenced component 1-S may be provided. Remote unit O/E converters provided in the remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) convert the downlink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 D( 1 )- 610 D(R) back into the downlink digital communications signals  606 D( 1 )- 606 D(R), which are the converted into a plurality of downlink RF communications signals and provided to antennas  616 ( 1 )- 616 (S) in the remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) to client devices in the reception range of the antennas  616 ( 1 )- 616 (S). 
     The remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) receive a plurality of uplink RF communications signals from the client devices through the antennas  616 ( 1 )- 616 (S). The remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) convert the uplink RF communications signals  618 U( 1 )- 618 U(S) into a plurality of uplink digital communications signals  618 U( 1 )- 618 U(S). Remote unit E/O converters are also provided in the remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) to convert the uplink digital communications signals  618 U( 1 )- 618 U(S) into a plurality of uplink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 U( 1 )- 610 U(S). The remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) communicate the uplink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 U( 1 )- 610 U(S) over an uplink optical fiber-based communications medium  612 U to the OIMs  608 ( 1 )- 608 (N) in the central unit  604 . The OIMs  608 ( 1 )- 608 (N) include O/E converters that convert the received uplink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 U( 1 )- 610 U(S) into a plurality of uplink digital communications signals  620 U( 1 )- 620 U(S), which are processed by the RIMs  602 ( 1 )- 602 (M) and provided as the uplink digital communications signals  620 U( 1 )- 620 U(S). The central unit  604  may provide the uplink digital communications signals  620 U( 1 )- 620 U(S) to a base station or other communications system. 
     Note that the downlink optical fiber-based communications medium  612 D and the uplink optical fiber-based communications medium  612 U connected to each of the remote units  614 ( 1 )- 614 (S) may be a common optical fiber-based communications medium, wherein for example, wave division multiplexing (WDM) is employed to provide the downlink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 D( 1 )- 610 D(R) and the uplink optical fiber-based communications signals  610 U( 1 )- 610 U(S) on the same optical fiber-based communications medium. 
     The WCS  600  in  FIG. 6  can be provided in an indoor environment as illustrated in  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a partial schematic cut-away diagram of an exemplary building infrastructure  700  incorporating the WCS  600  of  FIG. 6 . The building infrastructure  700  in this embodiment includes a first (ground) floor  702 ( 1 ), a second floor  702 ( 2 ), and a third floor  702 ( 3 ). The floors  702 ( 1 )- 702 ( 3 ) are serviced by a central unit  704  to provide antenna coverage areas  706  in the building infrastructure  700 . The central unit  704  is communicatively coupled to a base station  708  to receive downlink communications signals  710 D from the base station  708 . The central unit  704  is communicatively coupled to a plurality of remote units  712  to distribute the downlink communications signals  710 D to the remote units  712  and to receive uplink communications signals  710 U from the remote units  712 , as previously discussed above. In a non-limiting example, any of the remote units  712  can be configured to incorporate the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . The downlink communications signals  710 D and the uplink communications signals  710 U communicated between the central unit  704  and the remote units  712  are carried over a riser cable  714 . The riser cable  714  may be routed through interconnect units (ICUs)  716 ( 1 )- 716 ( 3 ) dedicated to each of the floors  702 ( 1 )- 702 ( 3 ) that route the downlink communications signals  710 D and the uplink communications signals  710 U to the remote units  712  and also provide power to the remote units  712  via array cables  718 . 
     The WCS  600  of  FIG. 6 , which includes the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 , can also be interfaced with different types of radio nodes of service providers and/or supporting service providers, including macrocell systems, small cell systems, and remote radio heads (RRH) systems, as examples. For example,  FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary mobile telecommunications environment  800  (also referred to as “environment  800 ”) that includes radio nodes and cells that may support shared spectrum, such as unlicensed spectrum, and can be interfaced to shared spectrum distributed communications systems (DCSs)  801  supporting coordination of distribution of shared spectrum from multiple service providers to remote units to be distributed to subscriber devices. The shared spectrum DCSs  801  can include the WCS  600  of  FIG. 6  as an example. 
     The environment  800  includes exemplary macrocell RANs  802 ( 1 )- 802 (M) (“macrocells  802 ( 1 )- 802 (M)”) and an exemplary small cell RAN  804  located within an enterprise environment  806  and configured to service mobile communications between a user mobile communications device  808 ( 1 )- 808 (N) to a mobile network operator (MNO)  810 . A serving RAN for a user mobile communications device  808 ( 1 )- 808 (N) is a RAN or cell in the RAN in which the user mobile communications devices  808 ( 1 )- 808 (N) have an established communications session with the exchange of mobile communications signals for mobile communications. Thus, a serving RAN may also be referred to herein as a serving cell. For example, the user mobile communications devices  808 ( 3 )- 808 (N) in  FIG. 8  are being serviced by the small cell RAN  804 , whereas user mobile communications devices  808 ( 1 ) and  808 ( 2 ) are being serviced by the macrocell  802 . The macrocell  802  is an MNO macrocell in this example. However, a shared spectrum RAN  803  (also referred to as “shared spectrum cell  803 ”) includes a macrocell in this example and supports communications on frequencies that are not solely licensed to a particular MNO and thus may service user mobile communications devices  808 ( 1 )- 808 (N) independent of a particular MNO. For example, the shared spectrum cell  803  may be operated by a third party that is not an MNO and wherein the shared spectrum cell  803  supports CBRS. Also, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the MNO macrocell  802 , the shared spectrum cell  803 , and/or the small cell RAN  804  can interface with a shared spectrum DCS  801  supporting coordination of distribution of shared spectrum from multiple service providers to remote units to be distributed to subscriber devices. The MNO macrocell  802 , the shared spectrum cell  803 , and the small cell RAN  804  may be neighboring radio access systems to each other, meaning that some or all can be in proximity to each other such that a user mobile communications device  808 ( 3 )- 808 (N) may be able to be in communications range of two or more of the MNO macrocell  802 , the shared spectrum cell  803 , and the small cell RAN  804  depending on the location of user mobile communications devices  808 ( 3 )- 808 (N). 
     In  FIG. 8 , the mobile telecommunications environment  800  in this example is arranged as an LTE (Long Term Evolution) system as described by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as an evolution of the GSM/UMTS standards (Global System for Mobile communication/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). It is emphasized, however, that the aspects described herein may also be applicable to other network types and protocols. The mobile telecommunications environment  800  includes the enterprise  806  in which the small cell RAN  804  is implemented. The small cell RAN  804  includes a plurality of small cell radio nodes  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C). Each small cell radio node  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C) has a radio coverage area (graphically depicted in the drawings as a hexagonal shape) that is commonly termed a “small cell.” A small cell may also be referred to as a femtocell or, using terminology defined by 3GPP, as a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB). In the description that follows, the term “cell” typically means the combination of a radio node and its radio coverage area unless otherwise indicated. In a non-limiting example, each of the small cell radio nodes  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C) can be configured to incorporate the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3  to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . 
     In  FIG. 8 , the small cell RAN  804  includes one or more services nodes (represented as a single services node  814 ) that manage and control the small cell radio nodes  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C). In alternative implementations, the management and control functionality may be incorporated into a radio node, distributed among nodes, or implemented remotely (i.e., using infrastructure external to the small cell RAN  804 ). The small cell radio nodes  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C) are coupled to the services node  814  over a direct or local area network (LAN) connection  816  as an example, typically using secure IPsec tunnels. The small cell radio nodes  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C) can include multi-operator radio nodes. The services node  814  aggregates voice and data traffic from the small cell radio nodes  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C) and provides connectivity over an IPsec tunnel to a security gateway (SeGW)  818  in a network  820  (e.g, evolved packet core (EPC) network in a 4G network, or 5G Core in a 5G network) of the MNO  810 . The network  820  is typically configured to communicate with a public switched telephone network (PSTN)  822  to carry circuit-switched traffic, as well as for communicating with an external packet-switched network such as the Internet  824 . 
     The environment  800  also generally includes a node (e.g., eNodeB or gNodeB) base station, or “macrocell”  802 . The radio coverage area of the macrocell  802  is typically much larger than that of a small cell where the extent of coverage often depends on the base station configuration and surrounding geography. Thus, a given user mobile communications device  808 ( 3 )- 808 (N) may achieve connectivity to the network  820  (e.g, EPC network in a 4G network, or 5G Core in a 5G network) through either a macrocell  802  or small cell radio node  812 ( 1 )- 812 (C) in the small cell RAN  804  in the environment  800 . 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram of another exemplary DCS  900  that supports 4G and 5G communications services, and wherein any of the radio nodes can be configured to provide feedbackless interference estimation and suppression, according to any of the embodiments herein. The DCS  900  supports both legacy 4G LTE, 4G/5G non-standalone (NSA), and 5G communications systems. As shown in  FIG. 9 , a centralized services node  902 , such as the central unit  326  in  FIG. 3 , is provided that is configured to interface with a core network to exchange communications data and distribute the communications data as radio signals to remote units. In this example, the centralized services node  902  is configured to support distributed communications services to a millimeter wave (mmW) radio node  904 . The functions of the centralized services node  902  can be virtualized through an ×2 interface  906  to another services node  908 . The centralized services node  902  can also include one or more internal radio nodes that are configured to be interfaced with a distribution node  910  to distribute communications signals for the radio nodes to an open RAN (O-RAN) remote unit  912  that is configured to be communicatively coupled through an O-RAN interface  914 . 
     The centralized services node  902  can also be interfaced through an ×2 interface  916  to a baseband unit (BBU)  918  that can provide a digital signal source to the centralized services node  902 . The BBU  918  is configured to provide a signal source to the centralized services node  902  to provide radio source signals  920  to the O-RAN remote unit  912  as well as to a distributed router unit (DRU)  922  as part of a digital DAS. The DRU  922  is configured to split and distribute the radio source signals  920  to different types of remote units, including a lower power remote unit (LPR)  924 , a radio antenna unit (dRAU)  926 , a mid-power remote unit (dMRU)  928 , and a high power remote unit (dHRU)  930 . The BBU  918  is also configured to interface with a third party central unit  932  and/or an analog source  934  through an RF/digital converter  936 . 
     Any of the circuits in the wireless communications circuit  300  of  FIG. 3  (e.g., the control circuit  314 ) can include a computer system  1000 , such as shown in  FIG. 10 , to modify the GoB  304  in response to the coverage condition change in the wireless communications cell  306 . With reference to  FIG. 10 , the computer system  1000  includes a set of instructions for causing the multi-operator radio node component(s) to provide its designed functionality, and their circuits discussed above. The multi-operator radio node component(s) may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The multi-operator radio node component(s) may operate in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. While only a single device is illustrated, the term “device” shall also be taken to include any collection of devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The multi-operator radio node component(s) may be a circuit or circuits included in an electronic board card, such as a printed circuit board (PCB) as an example, a server, a personal computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computing pad, a mobile device, or any other device, and may represent, for example, a server, edge computer, or a user&#39;s computer. The exemplary computer system  1000  in this embodiment includes a processing circuit or processor  1002 , a main memory  1004  (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), and a static memory  1006  (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), which may communicate with each other via a data bus  1008 . Alternatively, the processing circuit  1002  may be connected to the main memory  1004  and/or static memory  1006  directly or via some other connectivity means. The processing circuit  1002  may be a controller, and the main memory  1004  or static memory  1006  may be any type of memory. 
     The processing circuit  1002  represents one or more general-purpose processing circuits such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processing circuit  1002  may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing circuit  1002  is configured to execute processing logic in instructions  1016  for performing the operations and steps discussed herein. 
     The computer system  1000  may further include a network interface device  1010 . The computer system  1000  also may or may not include an input  1012  to receive input and selections to be communicated to the computer system  1000  when executing instructions. The computer system  1000  also may or may not include an output  1014 , including but not limited to a display, a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), and/or a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse). 
     The computer system  1000  may or may not include a data storage device that includes instructions  1016  stored in a computer-readable medium  1018 . The instructions  1016  may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  1004  and/or within the processing circuit  1002  during execution thereof by the computer system  1000 , the main memory  1004  and the processing circuit  1002  also constituting computer-readable medium. The instructions  1016  may further be transmitted or received over a network  1020  via the network interface device  1010 . 
     While the computer-readable medium  1018  is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the processing circuit and that cause the processing circuit to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the embodiments disclosed herein. The term “computer-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic medium, and carrier wave signals. 
     Note that as an example, any “ports,” “combiners,” “splitters,” and other “circuits” mentioned in this description may be implemented using Field Programmable Logic Array(s) (FPGA(s)) and/or a digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)), and therefore, may be embedded within the FPGA or be performed by computational processes. 
     The embodiments disclosed herein include various steps. The steps of the embodiments disclosed herein may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. 
     The embodiments disclosed herein may be provided as a computer program product, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium (or computer-readable medium) having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the embodiments disclosed herein. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage medium, optical storage medium, flash memory devices, etc.). 
     The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A controller may be a processor. A processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. 
     The embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware and in instructions that are stored in hardware, and may reside, for example, in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a remote station. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a remote station, base station, or server. 
     Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended that any particular order be inferred. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Since modifications combinations, sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.