Patent ID: 8219079

Claim:
A communication system comprising: a base station having a transmitter and receiver configured to communicate with user equipment (UE); a microwave radio system coupled to the base station to form a first wireless communication pathway, the microwave radio system being configured to generate data indicative of an available bandwidth on the first wireless communication pathway; a second communication pathway; a switch coupled to the microwave radio system by a control link and configured to route data for transmission over the first and second pathways; and a processor communicatively coupled to the microwave radio system and configured to evaluate the first communication pathway based on the generated data and to determine a quality parameter of the first communication pathway, the processor communicating with the switch regarding the quality parameter of the first communication pathway to permit the switch to control the data being routed for transmission over the first communication pathway wherein the switch is configured to direct a portion of the data intended for transmission over the first communication pathway to the second communication pathway and thereby reduce, but not eliminate, the amount of data being routed for transmission over the first communication pathway based on the quality parameter received from the microwave radio.