Importance

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Abstract

A mobile radio communications network includes mobile radio units, radio base stations for communicating with the mobile radio units over a radio-based channel, and a radio switching controller connected to the radio base stations for routing calls to and from various ones of the base stations. Each of the radio base stations, the radio switching controller, and/or other nodes in the mobile radio communications network includes an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch connected to plural function modules. Signaling and traffic communications between the function modules are effected asynchronously to efficiently meet current service bandwidth/data rate demands using the ATM switch and ATM switching protocol. Each function module includes a data processing circuitry that performs ATM cell buffering and other ATM control tasks in addition to other dedicated application tasks for supporting mobile radio communications. Capacity is readily increased by modularly adding function modules to vacant ports on the ATM switch without having to modify existing function modules already connected to the ATM switch. This provides considerable flexibility and scalability to adapt the radio communications network to current needs.

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First Claim