Blossom/wilt for dynamic reallocation in a distributed fiber system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Briefly, the present invention is a technique for handling changes in demand over short periods of time in a is wireless communication system.
An optical fiber or other available broadband distribution network is used to distribute signals between Centrally located base transceiver station (BTS) equipment and remotely located transceiver equipment referred to herein as "cable microcell integrators" (CMI).
The CMIs are deployed in a configuration such as one per cell (or cell sector) to provide radio frequency coverage in a pattern which approximates the eventual expected required deployment of base stations when the system is at full capacity.
With this scenario, a single radio carrier preferably carries the channelized radio frequency (RF) signals as a simulcast for a number of different CMIs.
The same active traffic channels may therefore be broadcast to multiple CMIs and hence to multiple coverage areas during time periods of low demand.
In this mode, multiple adjacent CMIs are configured to communicate with the mobile subscriber units using the same RF channel.
A group of CMIs arranged in this manner are referred to as a "simulcast cluster.
" Simulcast clusters may also be defined by assigning other signal characteristics in common.
For example, in CDMA systems, simulcast clusters are defined by assigning a common carrier frequency, common pseudonoise (PN) code, and common PN code phase offset.
In comparison to traditional networks wherein the full capacity of an RF channel is not fully utilized, the coverage area of an RF channel may therefore be extended via the simulcast to provide a significant improvement in network efficiency.
In order to accommodate changes in traffic demand, such as may occur during a rush hour, a second RF channel is activated within the RF coverage area of at least one CMI.
This second RF channel is provided by deploying an auxiliary CMI or auxiliary transceiver within the original CMI.
The power level of this second RF channel is brought up gradually so that the system may rely upon the soft handoff features built into the subscriber units