Patent ID: 8194597

Claim:
A system, comprising: an Ethernet network configured to receive data packets containing coded baseband downlink signals from a base station interface card (BSI) and to transmit data packets containing coded baseband uplink signals to the BSI; at least one radio distributor/aggregator (RDA) configured to receive the downlink packets from the Ethernet network and to transmit the uplink packets thereto; a plurality of remote radio heads (RRHs), each of which is connected to at least one RDA for receiving downlink packets therefrom and transmitting uplink packets thereto; in each RRH, a network interface configured to remove headers from the downlink packets and forward the baseband signals contained in the downlink packets to radio equipment for radio transmission, and to packetize baseband signals obtained from uplink signals received over the air by the radio equipment, thereby to provide at least some of the uplink packets; and in each RRH, radio equipment configured to convert the downlink baseband signals to radio frequency format in conformance with the protocols of a cellular telephone network and to transmit them over the air, and to receive uplink signals conforming to said protocols over the air and convert them to baseband uplink signals.