Patent ID: 8483204

Claim:
A wireless communication system comprising: one or more Relay Stations (RSs) adapted to operate in a Time Division Duplexing (TDD) type of wireless communication network, said network comprising at least one Base Station (BS) operative to communicate with said RS and with an IP network, and a plurality of Mobile Subscribers (MSs), wherein said RS comprises: a subscriber terminal operative in conformity with IEEE 802.16e Standard; and said at least one BS operative in conformity with said IEEE 802.16e Standard, and wherein said subscriber terminal and said at least one BS belonging to said one or more RSs are connected to each other, and wherein all communications transmitted from said at least one BS to said one or more RSs are in conformity with said IEEE 802.16e Standard; and wherein said at least one BS comprises at least two MAC entities operative in a single sector, wherein one of said at least two MAC entities is an access MAC entity operative to communicate with MSs located within said sector, whereas a second of said at least two MAC entities is an RS feeding MAC entity operative to communicate with said one or more RSs located in said sector, wherein a timeline of one of said MAC entities is shifted in time with respect to the other MAC entity to allow transmitting preambles associated with each of the access MAC entity and the RS feeding MAC entity, at different times; wherein both a DL period and a UL period associated with each of said at least two MAC entities are divided into a silent part and an active part, so that that the one or more RSs receive the preamble, control + MAP information and DL Data of the RS feeding MAC entity of said at least one BS at a time in which said one or more RSs do not convey transmissions to MSs along to their respective access links; and wherein said one or more RSs receive communications from MSs connected to their respective access links at a time at which said one or more RSs do not convey communications to the RS feeding MAC entity of said at least one BS.