Patent ID: 8054844

Claim:
A communication system in a network of a structure including a plurality of shielded regions where electric waves are shielded, the communication system comprising: a wireless communication device configured to perform communication between terminals located in the same shielded region; a power line communication device connected to the wireless communication device and configured to provide power line communication to perform communication between terminals located in different shielded regions; and an optical network device connected to the power line communication device and configured to provide optical communication, wherein the wireless communication device comprises: at least one wireless communication repeater configured to directly route and to transmit a signal from a first terminal to a second terminal if the first and second terminals are located in the same shielded region, or to convert the signal from the first terminal into a first upstream signal and to transmit the first upstream signal to the power line communication device if the first and second terminals are located in the different shielded regions, respectively, and wherein the power line communication device comprises: at least one power line communication repeater configured to receive the first upstream signal to transmit the first upstream signal to another power line communication repeater in which the second terminal is located, or to convert the first upstream signal into a second upstream signal and to transmit the second upstream signal to the optical network device, according to a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.