METHOD TO PROVIDE WIRELESS BROADBAND COMMUNICATION TO A HIGH-SPEED MOVABLE VEHICLE

Abstract

A method for providing wireless broadband communication to a high-speed movable vehicle, in particular to a high-speed train (2), is described, said method comprising the steps of: Arranging Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) base stations (6) along a route (1) the vehicle (2) moves along,Arranging Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) hot spots (5) along the route (1) between said WIMAX base stations (6),Upon detection of a vehicle speed (vv) above a predefined speed threshold (vth) establishing a communication (10) to said vehicle (2) using said WLAN hot spots,Upon detection of a vehicle speed (vv) below said speed threshold (vth) establishing a communication to said vehicle (2) over said WIMAX base stations (6). Furthermore a communication network to be used to execute the method mentioned above, plus a computer program product causing a computer to perform said method is described.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 showing a schematic flowchart of a method according to the invention,

FIG. 2 showing a schematic view of the arrangement of WLAN hot spots and WIMAX base stations along a railway.

FIG. 3 showing a schematic view of a backhauling network using WIMAX base stations.

Claims

1. A method for providing wireless broadband communication to a high-speed movable vehicle, in particular to a high-speed train, said method comprising the steps of: Arranging Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access base stations along a route the vehicle moves along,Arranging Wireless Local Area Network hot spots along the route between said WIMAX base stations,Upon detection of a vehicle speed above a predefined speed threshold establishing a communication to said vehicle using said WLAN hot spots,Upon detection of a vehicle speed below said speed threshold establishing a communication to said vehicle over said WIMAX base stations.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein only along sections of the route the vehicle moves with a higher speed than the predefined speed threshold WLAN hot spots are arranged.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein along sections of the route the vehicle moves with a higher speed than the predefined speed threshold, no WIMAX base stations are arranged.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distance between proximate WIMAX base stations is about 5 to 20 km.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the WIMAX base stations are used as backhauling network for WLAN reaching access points.

6. A communication network to be used to execute the method according to one of the previous claims, wherein WIMAX base stations arranged along a route a vehicle moves along,WLAN hot spots arranged between the WIMAX base stations along the route, at least in sections the vehicle is allowed to move faster than a predefined threshold,Means to detect the vehicle speed,Means to decide, if the vehicle speed is above or below said predefined threshold,Means to establish a connection to said vehicle via said WIMAX base stations, if the vehicle speed detected is lower than said predefined threshold,Means to establish a connection to said vehicle via said WLAN hot spots, if the vehicle speed is higher than said threshold.

7. A computer program product stored on a computer usable medium comprising computer readable program means for causing a computer to perform the method of claim 1, when said computer program product is executed on a computer.