Cellular service with improved service availability

摘要

A cellular communication system in which overload of a base station is averted by offering users the option to communicate using a spectrum outside of the spectrum allocated for cellular communication. Incentives are offered to connect to the base station using the alternative spectrum, which may not support communications at the same rate as could be supported using the spectrum allocated to the base station for cellular communications. Users may be selected to receive an offer to receive incentives based on range to the base station, with users closer to the base station being more likely to receive such an offer. The cellular communications system may be a 3G wireless system and the alternative spectrum may be white space in the digital TV spectrum.

主权项

1. A method of operating a communication system of the type that supports communications with multiple mobile devices within a region, the method comprising:
during a first interval, exchanging communications with each of a first plurality of mobile devices within the region, the communications with the plurality of devices collectively using a first amount of bandwidth within a first spectrum; in a second interval during which the region contains a second plurality of mobile devices, with a control device controlling access to a wireless network, determining that a trigger condition exists; and when it is determined that a trigger condition exists:
exchanging communications with a first portion of the second plurality of mobile devices using the first spectrum; andsending from the control device to a second plurality of mobile devices an indication to use an alternative frequency spectrum and exchanging communications with the second portion of the second plurality of mobile devices using the alternative frequency spectrum, the alternative frequency spectrum being different than the first spectrum.