Patent ID: 6898431

Claim:
A method for allocating channels in a sectored cell of a cellular communication system having a plurality of cells comprising: a. dividing the cell into a plurality of sectors; b. subdividing channels allocated to the cell into frequency subgroups; c. providing a transceiver array for each sector, wherein each said transceiver array includes a plurality of primary transceivers for channels allocated to the corresponding sector and one or more redundant transceivers for channels allocated to other sectors of the cell; d. placing the primary transceivers in each sector in active mode while said redundant transceivers are placed in a standby mode; e. allocating channels in each sector to users in that sector; f. determining the loading of each sector of the cell; g. when the loading in a first sector reaches a predetermined threshold, reassigning an unused channel from a second sector to the first sector; h. placing the primary transceiver in the second cell corresponding to the reassigned channel in a standby mode; and i. placing the redundant transceiver in the first sector corresponding to the reassigned channel in a an active mode.