Patent ID: 7986973

Claim:
A cellular communications base station including: a plurality of antennas each communicating with mobile devices via an antenna beam having a set of adjustable beam parameters including an adjustable downtilt angle and an adjustable azimuth angle, each antenna including: a plurality of radiating elements; a feed network from a feed line to the radiating elements, the feed network including one or more variable phase shifters for adjusting the adjustable downtilt angle; one or more variable elements configured to adjust the adjustable azimuth angle independent of adjustment of the adjustable downtilt angle; one or more actuators configured to adjust the one or more variable phase shifters and variable elements; and an antenna controller configured to receive control signals and control the one or more actuators in accordance with the control signals; the system further including a system controller adapted to provide control signals to the antennas to adjust the adjustable downtilt angles and the adjustable azimuth angles of the antenna beams.