Abstract: A novel and improved system and method for assembling a single data stream from multiple instances of that data stream is described. Data transmitted from a cellular telephone subscriber unit is received by a set of base transceiver stations. Each base transceiver station performs various error detection procedures on segments of the data referred to as frames. These error detection procedures may include CRC check sum verification, Yamamoto metric calculation, re-encoded signal error rate calculation, or a combination thereof. The results of these error detection procedures are placed into a frame quality metric. The frame, frame quality metric, a time stamp and an address are placed into a packet that is transmitted from each base transceiver station to a base station controller which matches packets attempting to transmit the same information using the time stamp and selects one frame from the packets for further processing based on the associated frame quality metric.

Abstract: In a communication system which conforms to the IS-99 standard, a concatenated code is used to provide for error free file transfer over the air. The concatenated code comprises Reed-Solomon coding, CRC block coding, and convolutional coding. The file is partitioned into data frames and Reed-Solomon encoding is performed on the data frames. CRC block encoding is then performed on the Reed-Solomon encoded data. The CRC encoded data is convolutionally encoded. The CRC block encoding and convolutional encoding are performed in accordance with the IS-99 standard. The additional Reed-Solomon encoding step provides improved error correction capability while maintaining compatibility with the IS-99 standard. At the receiver, Reed-Solomon decoding is performed if the number of erasures in a code word is less than or equal to (n−k) or the symbol errors in a code word is less than or equal to (n−k)/2. Otherwise, a request for retransmission is sent.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to facilitate service negotiation by a digital telecommunications system that allows a low activity communication to be transmitted by the system over vocoded channels. In one embodiment, once the telecommunication system is noticed that a low activity signal needs to be transmitted, each telecommunication system vocoder involved in the transmission automatically locks into full rate, and where applicable, adjusts the transmission power to reduce frame error rate. Further, the telecommunications system may include any number of wireless links. The invention includes a noticing apparatus coupled to a sensor that receives a low activity communication device attachment and notices the digital telecommunications system that a low activity communication is being initiated or discontinued.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for providing an Alert With Information Message signal between a mobile switching center and a base station in a cellular communication system. The invention recognizes that current provisions of the IS-634 standard lack support for certain required functionality on the interface between a mobile switching center and a base station, or the A-Interface. An Alert With Information Message signal is introduced on the A-Interface to support the required functionality. Introduction of the Alert With Information Message provides support for reliable call processing on the A-Interface for the call waiting procedure and the hard handoff procedure.

Abstract: In a mobile communication system having a first communication device for communicating with a plurality of second communication devices, a method for performing handoff within the mobile communication system includes transmitting from at least one of the second communication devices to the first communication device a handoff list of second communication devices to which the first communication device is permitted to handoff. A channel assignment message is transmitted from each of the second communications devices in the handoff list. The handoff list includes base stations controlled by a single controller that determines which of the second communication devices transmits the channel assignment message. The base stations on the handoff list have pilot signals and the energy levels of the pilot signals are measured by the first communication device.

Abstract: A novel and improved method for implementing a high-transmission-rate over-the-air interface is described. A transmit system provides an in-phase channel set and a quadrature-phase channel set. The in-phase channel set is used to provide a complete set of orthogonal medium rate control and traffic channels. The quadrature-phase channel set is used to provide a high-rate supplemental channel and an extended set of medium rate channels that are orthogonal to each other and the original medium rate channels. The high-rate supplemental channel is generated over a set of medium rate channels using a short channel code. The medium rate channel are generated using a set of long channel codes.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus for providing an Alert With Information Message signal between a mobile switching center and a base station in a cellular communication system. The invention recognizes that current provisions of the IS-634 standard lack support for certain required functionality on the interface between a mobile switching center and a base station, or the A-Interface. An Alert With Information Message signal is introduced on the A-Interface to support the required functionality. Introduction of the Alert With Information Message provides support for reliable call processing on the A-Interface for the call waiting procedure and the hard handoff procedure.

Abstract: In the present invention, the slave base station attains synchronization with the reference base station through messages transmitted from and received by a mobile station in the soft handoff region between the reference base station and the slave base station. First, the round trip delay between the mobile station and the reference base station is measured by the reference base station. Once the mobile station acquires the signal from the slave base station, it measures and reports the difference between the amount of time it takes a signal to travel from the reference base station to it and the amount of time it takes a signal to travel from the slave base station to it. The last measurement necessary is a measurement by the slave base station of the time difference between the time it received the reverse link signal from the mobile and station the time it transmitted a signal to the mobile station.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for variable rate communication incorporating coherent signal processing and combining is described. Within the receive system, vectors of in-phase and quadrature-phase Walsh correlator output values are generated for each Rake finger over each Walsh symbol period. In-phase and quadrature-phase reference values are generated for each of the Rake fingers by combining the in-phase and quadrature-phase correlator outputs of the most likely Walsh symbols over a series of Walsh symbol periods. The output energies are calculated as the sum of squared in-phase and quadrature-phase values. The vectors of in-phase and quadrature-phases values are then projected on the in-phase and quadrature-phase reference values and weighted by the reference amplitude. The reference amplitude is the square root of the sum of squared in-phase and quadrature-phase values.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for preventing unnecessary retransmissions from being sent from a terminal such as, for example, an internet host computer, on a slow link. A slow link TCP optimizer receives data packets from a host computer and determines, based on an estimated round trip time, whether a data packet is a new data packet, a valid retransmitted data packet or an unnecessary retransmitted data packet. New data packets and valid retransmitted data packets are forwarded over the slow link to a remote terminal. Unnecessary retransmitted data packets are discarded. The estimating a round trip time is determined as the time it takes for a data packet to travel from the present invention to the remote terminal and for an acknowledgment of receipt to travel from the remote terminal back to the present invention. The estimated round trip time includes throughput latency that results from a slow link.

Abstract: A method for assigning optimal packet lengths in a variable rate communication system capable of data transmission at one of a plurality of data rates. The packet lengths for the data rates are selected such that the maximum throughput rate is achieved while conforming to a fairness criteria. The fairness criteria can be achieved by restricting the packet length assigned to each data rate to a range of value, or L.sub.i.sup.min .ltoreq.L.sub.i .ltoreq.L.sub.i.sup.max. The packet lengths for all data rates are first initialized to the maximum packet lengths for those data rates. Then, for each data rate, a determination is made whether another packet length assignment would result in improved throughput rate. If the answer is yes, the packet length for this data rate is reassigned and the throughput rate with the updated packet length assignments is recomputed. The process is repeated for each data rate until all data rates have been considered.

Abstract: At the mobile station the measured pilot energy of each pilot in the candidate set is iteratively compared against a threshold generated in accordance with the sum of the energies of the pilots in the active set. If the strongest pilot in the candidate set satisfies this threshold condition, it is added to the revised active set. A second iterative process is performed to determine whether a pilot should be deleted from the revised active set. The mobile station determines whether a change to the current active set is desirable by measuring the energies of the pilots in the active set and the candidate set, and dynamically adjusting the necessary thresholds based on its own estimation of the communication environment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling transmission power in a mobile communication system, which provides for a closed-loop power control method. A mobile station provides information on the quality of the signal received from the base station, and the base station responds by adjusting the power allocated to that user in a shared base station signal. The transmission power is adjusted initially by a large increment and then ramped down at an increasingly decreasing rate. The mobile station also provides information to the base station as to its relative velocity and the base station adjusts its transmission power in accordance with this velocity information.

Abstract: A method and apparatus which permits handoffs while the mobile station is in the system access state. This is achieved by providing for channel assignment messages to be sent over the paging channel of a plurality of base stations, which increases the probability of one of the messages getting through. In addition, this assures the mobile station will be able handoff to a different base station and have a traffic channel allocated to it on the new base station without delay. In addition, a method and apparatus which permits the mobile station to be directly assigned into a soft handoff state upon traffic channel assignment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing inter-system hard handoff between communication systems or inter-frequency hard handoff within a CDMA communication system is disclosed. The purpose of this invention is to reduce the probability of dropped calls during inter-system hard handoff. In the event that a hard handoff attempt is unsuccessful, the mobile station will return to the original system with information which the communication system of the present invention uses to assist in the performance of future handoff attempts. Alternatively, with no handoff attempt made, the mobile station monitors the destination system then returns to the original system with information used to assist in subsequent handoff attempts. The information returned from monitoring a CDMA system consists of results of a search for one or more pilots given at offsets in a specific list provided to the mobile station by the base station or a set of offsets based upon a predetermined search algorithm.

Abstract: Independently controlling the transmitted power of each subchannel by a subchannel control loop is described. A transmitting station generates a channel made up of a sum of subchannels wherein each subchannel or group of subchannels is amplified with a unique gain value that is varied in accordance with subchannel power control messages from the receiving station. The receiving station generates each subchannel power control message subsequent to monitoring and calculating metrics based on that received subchannel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the transmit power of a high rate code division multiple access (CDMA) link is described. The channel condition to a subscriber unit is evaluated and the configuration of a high rate link in soft handoff is based on the channel condition. If a fading channel is detected the supplemental channels of the high rate link are transmitted from multiple base stations. If a non-fading channel is detected the supplemental channels of the high rate link are transmitted from a single base station. Parameters monitored to determine the channel condition include the pilot strength, pilot code offset and error rate.

Abstract: A novel and improved method and apparatus for coherently processing a CDMA signal without the use of pilot or other synchronization information is described. By utilizing a coherent receive processing system, a reverse link signal can be properly processed when received at a lower power level than that associated with noncoherent only processing. This reduces the transmit power necessary for successful communication, and this reduction in necessary transmit power reduces the degree to which a set of subscriber units communicating with the same base station interfere with one another. In turn, this increases the overall system capacity of a CDMA wireless telecommunication system incorporating the invention.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing improved power control in a closed-loop communication system. A base station monitors a quality of a feedback link between it and a mobile station under a variety of methods. When a quality of the feedback link becomes unacceptable, the base station and the mobile station enter into an alternative mode of operation, adjusting from a fast power control feedback mode (with a high bandwidth feedback channel and low power control delay), to a slow power control feedback mode (with a low bandwidth feedback channel or a long power control delay). The mobile station adjusts a rate or content of power control messages it feeds back to the base station under a variety of methods. Under this alternative mode, the mobile station increases a power of its feedback signals. Additionally, if the mobile station is in a soft handoff condition, it similarly increases a power of its feedback signals.

Abstract: A novel and improved method for implementing a high-transmission-rate over-the-air interface is described. A transmit system provides an in-phase channel set and a quadrature-phase channel set. The in-phase channel set is used to provide a complete set of orthogonal medium rate control and traffic channels. The quadrature-phase channel set is used to provide a high-rate supplemental channel and an extended set of medium rate channels that are orthogonal to each other and the original medium rate channels. The high-rate supplemental channel is generated over a set of medium rate channels using a short channel code. The medium rate channel are generated using a set of long channel codes.