| 摘要 |
The present invention provides a system and method for using the brief time intervals between cellular telephone calls on a primary cellular network to transmit and receive data over a second data-only network. The invention uses the built-in capability of the primary network to monitor and track each call and to identify the relatively short-duration intervals between each call to pinpoint when a short burst of data from the second network can be transmitted without interfering with primary network calls. The data network includes a separate telephone exchange. Selected base stations of the primary cellular network are shared with the data-only network. Land lines or other connections link the data network exchange with the shared base stations. Preferably, the data network is accessible via a public packet data network. Data calls on the second network are directed to the shared base stations and inserted into the brief intervals between primary network calls. The data calls provide discontinuous, "virtual" connections between the users of the data network. A particular advantage of the invention is that it allows the cellular base stations, transceivers, and allocated frequencies to be shared between a primary and a secondary cellular telephone network, without interfering with or reducing the capacity of the primary network. The invention works with analog or digital primary cellular networks, including those using multiple access methods such as TDMA. A method of carrying out the invention is also disclosed.
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