Recovery of a network

Abstract

A recovery system is provided for a customer-premises equipment configured to access a primary access network. The recovery system comprises one or more unmanned aerial vehicle. In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the recovery system is configured to deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle. The one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to have a first backhauling signal from a secondary network and implement a second signal to the customer-premises equipment to provide a replacement access network. There is also provided a method of recovering an outage of a primary access network implementing the second signal directly to one or more final user device such as a PC, smartphone or tablet.

Description

[0001] Recovery of a network

[0002] Field of the disclosure

[0003] The disclosure relates to the field of networks, and in particular to recovery of a network in an event of an outage.

[0004] Background

[0005] Fixed access networks are used to provide data transmission services to an end user at a fixed location. The fixed access network may provide data transmission via cable, a digital subscriber line, optical fibre, or wirelessly. A fixed network may combine active technologies (such as digital subscriber line technologies (xDSL), passive optical network (xPON), wavelength-division multiplexing (xWDM) and so on) and passive infrastructure (such as fibre and cable), to provide network architectures with a variety of topologies. For example, an architecture may be point to point, point to multi-point, ring, star, spur, and so on.

[0006] In an event that there is an outage or failure of a fixed access network, the end user may experience an interruption to the service. Such an outage may occur in an event that one or more elements of the fixed access network develops a failure. Typically, there are three main segments of a fixed network: access, transport and core. In each, single points of failure may be present, in an active element and / or in a passive element. As an example, active elements of the access segment may include, but not be limited to, a small formfactor pluggable (SFP) port, transceiver or module at the optical line terminal (OLT), optical network terminal (ONT), multi-dwelling unit (MDU) or digital subscriber line access multiplexer (MiniDSLAM) side. Passive elements may include fibres, splitters, cables and splices. Depending on the location of the single point of failure, an outage such as a cut fibre or a damaged SFP may cause a service interruption (or “out of service”) to more than one end user.

[0007] 16968327 A backup may be provided to customers affected by an outage of a fixed network, typically either via a mobile or cellular key backup inside the home gateway (HG) or customer premises equipment (CPE), or by providing a second fixed line.

[0008] For a mobile or cellular backup, a router would typically be able to connect to fibre and to cellular. Cellular signals, for example 5G, may be a high frequency that is good for urban propagation. However, these high frequency signals have a relatively low bandwidth compared to a fixed access network, and so might not provide an end user with a satisfactory replacement for a fixed access network. Higher frequency signals are generally relatively short range and may be reduced by walls. A mobile key backup may be made less effective by user error, such as positioning the key backup in a location with poor mobile coverage or by disconnecting the key backup. A mobile key backup may always be present, but may only be necessary during a very small percentage of time in which the fixed network suffers an outage.

[0009] A second fixed line may build in other technology or may follow a different physical path compared to the main fixed access network, or may be provided by a different operator. In this way, a second fixed line may retain service while the main fixed access network suffers an outage. However, certain outages, particularly on passive infrastructure, may affect more than one operator simultaneously, so a second fixed line may not necessarily retain service in an event of an outage of the main fixed access network. Providing a second fixed line is expensive and, similarly to a mobile key backup, the second fixed line is always present but may only be necessary during a very small percentage of time in which the fixed network suffers an outage.

[0010] Summary of the disclosure

[0011] Against this background, there is provided a recovery system for a customer-premises equipment configured to access a primary access network. The recovery system comprises one or more unmanned aerial vehicle. In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the recovery system is configured to deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle to a target area, wherein the customer-premises equipment is located within the target area. The one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to receive a

[0012] 16968327 first signal from a secondary network and transmit a second signal to the customerpremises equipment to provide a replacement access network.

[0013] Advantageously, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may be closer to the customerpremises equipment (CPE) than a macro cell that might conventionally be used as a backup in the event of a network outage. Having the UAV closer to the CPE enables use of a good frequency range, that in turn enables the replacement access network to provide a good bandwidth. For example, the FR2 (mm) frequency band may be used, which has a large capacity and so enables a large bandwidth. The FR2 frequency band may be attenuated by walls, so is not generally used by macro cellular networks as the signal received inside a home is too weak. However, a closer UAV enables the FR2 band to be received at a sufficiently high strength by the CPE. The UAV is movable, so can be moved to a location that is proximate to the CPE and that enables powerful backhauling to a secondary network. Furthermore, one UAV may be used to recover more than one out of service CPE. The UAV is deployed in an event of an outage, so is active only when required.

[0014] The deployed UAV may be further configured to transmit a signal to the secondary network.

[0015] The one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to have a first backhauling signal from a secondary network and to implement a second signal to the CPE to provide a replacement access network.

[0016] The first backhauling signal may comprise a received signal and a transmitted signal between the UAV and the secondary network. The received signal may be the first signal received by the deployed UAV from the secondary network.

[0017] The primary access network may comprise a primary fixed access network or a primary mobile access network.

[0018] The recovery system may be for more than one customer-premises equipment configured to access the primary access network, wherein in an event of an outage of the primary access network, the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to provide a replacement access network to the more than one customer-premises equipment.

[0019] 16968327 In this way, a UAV may be used to recover more than one out of service CPE.

[0020] The customer-premises equipment may comprise a home gateway.

[0021] The customer-premises equipment may comprise one or more devices connected to the customer-premises equipment.

[0022] The CPE and / or one or more devices connected to the CPE may receive the second signal from the UAV.

[0023] The primary access network may comprise either: a fixed network accessed by the customer-premises equipment via a cable or fibre; or fixed wireless access.

[0024] The recovery system may further comprise a controller configured to deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0025] The controller may be used to deploy one or more unmanned aerial vehicle, and to instruct the UAV to connect to the secondary network and the CPE.

[0026] The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to act as a moving cell repeater, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to connect to a mobile network via an intermediate macro cell and wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to receive the first signal from the intermediate macro cell.

[0027] The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to connect to the secondary network via a backhaul link.

[0028] Advantageously, the UAV may be deployed to a location where powerful backhauling is possible. The UAV may make use of mobile networks, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points of fixed networks, signals from satellites, and so on, for the backhauling, making the recovery system flexible to recover service for a CPE in a broad range of locations.

[0029] 16968327 The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to act as an aerial base station.

[0030] In this way, the CPE may receive a dedicated link from the UAV rather than a shared link. The CPE may retain its SSID when connected to the replacement access network.

[0031] The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to act as an aerial gateway.

[0032] The secondary network may comprise a fixed network.

[0033] In this way, the UAV may backhaul via fixed networks proximate to the out of service CPE. This may allow for more powerful backhauling.

[0034] The secondary network may comprise a mobile network.

[0035] In this way, the UAV may backhaul via a mobile network, such that the UAV may recover service for a CPE in a broad range of locations, but with a stronger signal than conventional mobile backup.

[0036] The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to act as an aerial home gateway and to transmit the second signal to one or more devices of the customer-premises equipment, wherein the secondary network comprises a fixed network.

[0037] The customer-premises equipment may have a first service set identifier, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to provide the replacement access network such that the customer-premises equipment retains the first service set identifier.

[0038] Advantageously, any devices connected to the CPE may reconnect to the replacement access network to the CPE when the CPE is connected to the replacement access network, without any need for a user to change network on the device.

[0039] The secondary network may comprise a fixed network or fixed wireless access, wherein in an event of an outage of the primary access network the recovery system may be configured to: deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle to a target area; identify available WLAN access points in the target area; and

[0040] 16968327 assign an available WLAN access point to the deployed unmanned aerial vehicle; wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to: receive the first signal from the secondary network via the WLAN access point; and transmit the second a signal to the customer-premises equipment to provide a replacement access network.

[0041] In this way, a choice between available WLAN access points for backhauling may be made, avoiding a bottleneck in the backhauling link. The choice may be made based on signal strength, backhauling capacity or other factors. More than one UAV in a target area may be able to provide a replacement access network, by backhauling via different WLAN access points.

[0042] Geographical information of the target area and WLAN access points within the target area that are set up to provide backhauling may be stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0043] The unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to: match its location to the stored geographical information; and access the strongest of the WLAN access points stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0044] The deployed unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to scan available WLAN signals and send a list of available WLAN access points to a controller.

[0045] The deployed UAV may be further configured to receive a list of a sub-group of available WLAN access points from the controller, wherein list is based on an available backhauling capacity and / or signal strength of each WLAN access point.

[0046] The deployed unmanned aerial vehicle may be further configured to carry out a connection performance test of candidate WLAN access points, wherein the connection performance test determines at least one of: a throughput achieved in uplink and downlink; latency; and jitter.

[0047] 16968327 There is also provided: a method for recovering an outage of a fixed network for a customer-premises equipment that is configured to access the primary access network, the method comprising: in an event of an outage of the primary access network, deploying one or more unmanned aerial vehicle; receiving a first signal at the deployed unmanned aerial vehicle from a secondary network; and transmitting a second signal from the unmanned aerial vehicle to the customer-premises equipment to provide a replacement access network.

[0048] The method may recover an outage of a primary access network implementing the second signal directly to one or more user devices. The user device may comprise a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device.

[0049] The unmanned aerial vehicle may be deployed to a target area, wherein the customerpremises equipment is located within the target area.

[0050] The method may further comprise identifying available WLAN access points within the target area and assigning an available WLAN access point to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0051] Geographical information of the target area and WLAN access points within the target area that are set up to provide backhauling may be stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0052] The method may further comprise: matching the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the stored geographical information; and accessing the strongest of the WLAN access points stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0053] The method may further comprise: scanning available WLAN signals within the target area; sending a list of the available WLAN access points and their measured signal strengths to a controller; and receiving at the unmanned aerial vehicle a list of a sub-group of available WLAN access points from the controller, wherein list is based on an available backhauling capacity and / or signal strength of each WLAN access point.

[0054] 16968327 Brief description of the drawings

[0055] A specific embodiment of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0056] Figure 1 shows a schematic illustration of three types of customer-premises equipment connected to a primary access network.

[0057] Figure 2 shows a schematic illustration of a recovery system for customer-premises equipment connected to a primary access network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the recovery system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle acting as a cell repeater.

[0058] Figure 3 shows a schematic illustration of a recovery system for customer-premises equipment connected to a primary access network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the recovery system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle acting as an aerial base station with mobile backhauling.

[0059] Figure 4 shows a schematic illustration of a recovery system for customer-premises equipment connected to a primary access network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the recovery system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle acting as an aerial base station with fixed network backhauling.

[0060] Figure 5 shows a schematic illustration of a recovery system for customer-premises equipment connected to a primary access network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the recovery system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle acting as an aerial gateway with mobile backhauling.

[0061] Figure 6 shows a schematic illustration of a recovery system for customer-premises equipment connected to a primary access network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the recovery system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle acting as an aerial gateway with fixed network backhauling.

[0062] 16968327 Figure 7 shows a schematic illustration of a recovery system for devices of customerpremises equipment connected to a primary access network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the recovery system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle acting as an aerial home gateway with fixed network backhauling.

[0063] Figure 8 illustrates a method of providing a replacement access network to a customerpremises equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] Figure 9 illustrates a method of providing a replacement access network to a customerpremises equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0065] Detailed description

[0066] A customer-premises equipment (CPE), also known as customer-provided-equipment, is configured to access a primary access network. The CPE comprises any terminal and equipment located at the premises of an end-user. The CPE may, for example, comprise a home gateway or internet access gateway, a router, a network switch, a home networking adapter, a set-top box or other active equipment, and / or passive equipment such as a telephone or an xDSL splitter. The primary access network may comprise any network used to provide data transmission services to an end user at a fixed location. The fixed access network may provide data transmission via cable, a digital subscriber line, optical fibre, or wirelessly. The fixed access network may refer to any or all of access, transport and core segments of the fixed access network.

[0067] A recovery system is provided for the CPE. The recovery system comprises one or more unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In an event of an outage of the primary access network, recovery system is configured to deploy the one or more UAV. The one or more deployed UAV is configured to receive a signal from a secondary network and transmit a signal to the customer to provide a replacement access network.

[0068] The deployed UAV may be deployed to a location that is closer to the CPE than a distance between the CPE and a macro cell or small cell cellular network.

[0069] 16968327 The deployed UAV may be deployed to a location that is within a certain range of the secondary network, such that the deployed UAV receives a signal from the secondary network. The deployed UAV may be deployed to a location that is within a certain range of the CPE, such that the transmitted signal from the UAV is strong enough to provide a replacement access network.

[0070] The replacement access network may be configured to provide a bandwidth that is within a certain percentage of a bandwidth that would be available using the primary access network in the absence of an outage. In certain embodiments, the replacement access network may be configured to provide a bandwidth of between 75% and 100% of the bandwidth provided by the primary access network. In a particular example, the replacement access network may be configured to provide a bandwidth of 80% of the bandwidth provided by the primary access network. In an example, for a customer line having a speed of 1 Gbps when connected to the primary access network, the replacement access network may be configured to provide a bandwidth of up to 800 Mbps.

[0071] The UAV may act as a small cell, such that the UAV comprises a radio access node.

[0072] In certain embodiments, the CPE may connect to the primary access network via fibre, such as via fibre to the home (FTTH). The primary access network may comprise a primary fixed access network. In certain examples, the CPE may be without mobile backup. In other examples, the CPE may have mobile backup. As an example, a cut or damaged fibre between the optical line terminal and the CPE may result in an out of service for the CPE and possibly other CPEs connected to the same optical line terminal. A router of a CPE having mobile backup may be able to connect to both fibre and cellular networks.

[0073] In certain embodiments, the CPE may connect to the primary access network via fixed wireless access, such that the CPE is able to access broadband internet via radio frequencies. The primary access network may comprise a primary mobile access network.

[0074] The recovery system may further comprise a controller or orchestrator configured to deploy the one or more UAV. The controller or orchestrator may be further configured to connect the UAV to the secondary network and instruct the UAV to transmit the signal to the CPE.

[0075] 16968327 With reference to Figure 1 , examples of three types of CPEs are illustrated, with the connections between the CPE and the primary access network. In this example, and in other subsequent examples, connection to a primary fixed access network via fibre is illustrated as being a connection to an element such as an optical line terminal. However, it will be understood that other connections to a primary fixed access network via a carrier (for example fibre or cable) are possible and may be used instead of a connection to an optical line terminal. A first type of CPE 110, hereafter referred to as CPE with mobile backup, may be configured to connect to the primary fixed access network via fibre. The CPE with mobile backup 110 may be configured to connect to an element of the primary fixed access network 140 such as an optical line terminal. The optical line terminal 140 may connect to other segments 150 of the fixed network. The CPE with mobile backup may be further configured to connect to a cellular network. A second type of CPE 120, hereafter referred to as CPE without mobile backup, may be configured to connect to the primary fixed access network via fibre. The CPE without mobile backup may be configured to connect to the optical line terminal 140. A third type of CPE 130, hereafter referred to as a CPE FWA, may be connected to a macro cell 160 via fixed wireless access. The primary access network may comprise a primary mobile access network, such that the CPE FWA may be configured to connect to a primary mobile access network.

[0076] One of each type of CPE is illustrated in Figure 1. However, more than one CPE may be connected to the same primary access network. The more than one CPE connected to the same primary access network may comprise more than one of the same type of CPE and / or more than one type of CPE. An outage of the primary access network may result in an out of service for more than one CPE connected to the primary access network.

[0077] Figures 2 to 7 illustrate one deployed UAV providing a replacement access network to one or more CPEs. One UAV may be deployed to provide a replacement access network to one or more CPE. However, more than one UAV may be deployed to provide a replacement access network to more than one CPE. Each deployed UAV may provide a replacement access network as illustrated in any of Figures 2 to 7, or by other means.

[0078] A given deployed UAV may be configured to provide a replacement access network to one or more CPE affected by the outage of the primary access network. For simplicity, in Figures 2 to 7, each UAV is illustrated as providing a replacement access network to only one CPE per type, and CPEs of different types are shown to illustrate the replacement

[0079] 16968327 access network. However, a given deployed UAV may be configured to provide a replacement access network to more than one CPE of a given type affected by the outage of the primary access network, wherein the more than one CPE is within a certain distance of the deployed UAV such that the transmitted signal is received by the CPE (or device connected to the CPE). A deployed UAV may provide a replacement access network to one type of CPE, or to more than one type of CPE.

[0080] Figures 2 to 7 illustrate several examples of deployed UAVs, as will now be described.

[0081] In certain embodiments, the UAV of the recovery system may act as a moving cell repeater. A moving cell repeater may provide a signal that may be accessed by any CPE in the range of the signal. The link provided by the moving cell repeater may be a shared link, rather than a dedicated link to a particular CPE.

[0082] With reference to Figure 2, a recovery system 200 is illustrated for a CPE with mobile backup 110 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network (such as an optical line terminal), and / or a CPE FWA 130 configured to connect wirelessly to a primary mobile access network (illustrated by cell 160). An example of an outage is illustrated between the CPE with mobile backup 110 and the element 140 of the primary fixed access network by a cross 240. An example of an outage of the CPE FWA 130 is illustrated by cross 250.

[0083] The recovery system 200 comprises a UAV 210 configured to connect to a mobile network 220 via an intermediate macro cell 230. The UAV 210 may be configured to act as a repeater, such that the UAV receives a signal from the intermediate macro cell 230 and retransmits the signal. The retransmitted signal may be received by a CPE.

[0084] The UAV may receive the signal from the intermediate macro cell 230 at a first frequency 211, and may retransmit the signal at a second frequency 212. In a particular example, the first frequency 211 may be in Frequency Range 1 (FR1), i.e. sub 6GHz, and the second frequency 212 may be in Frequency Range 2 (FR2), i.e. above 6GHz.a signal in FR2 may be a mm wave.

[0085] The re-transmitted signal from the UAV may boost or restore WLAN provided by the CPE in an event of an outage of the primary access network. For example, the CPE with mobile

[0086] 16968327 backup 110 may, in an event of an outage of the primary fixed access network, be configured to connect to a cellular network such that the CPE 110 provides WLAN in the absence of the UAV. The retransmitted signal from the UAV may boost the WLAN of the CPE 110. The CPE FWA 130 may receive only the retransmitted signal from the UAV in an event of an outage of the primary mobile access network.

[0087] In other embodiments, the UAV of the recovery system may provide a dedicated link to a CPE. A dedicated link between the UAV and a CPE is optionally not be shared between more than one CPE, and / or may be restricted by security such as a password. Via the dedicated link, the recovery network may provide the same service set identifier or network identifier to the CPE as the primary access network. The CPE may have a first service set identifier when connected to the primary access network, and the CPE may retain the first service set identifier when connected to the replacement access network. In an event that the CPE changes connection from the primary access network to the dedicated link the end-user optionally does not need to take any action to reconnect devices.

[0088] In certain embodiments, the UAV of the recovery system may be configured to connect to the secondary network via a backhaul link. The secondary network may, for example, comprise a mobile network (wherein the backhaul link is via cellular) or another fixed network (wherein the backhaul is via WLAN). In an event that the secondary network comprises a fixed network, the WLAN service set identifiers (SSIDs) of a CPE or home gateway of the secondary network may be exploited as backhauling for the UAV. The secondary fixed network may comprise a WLAN network in the vicinity of the CPE, such as a neighbour.

[0089] The UAV of the recovery system may act as an aerial base station, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. A UAV acting as an aerial base station may be configured to have a backhaul link to the secondary network. The secondary network may be a mobile network or a fixed network. The recovery system may recover or boost WLAN of a CPE with mobile backup, or recover WLAN for a CPE FWA.

[0090] With reference to Figure 3, a recovery system 300 is illustrated comprising a UAV 310 wherein the secondary network is provided by a mobile network 320. The UAV 310 is configured to act as an aerial base station. A backhaul 311 is provided by the mobile network 320. The recovery system 300 may be for a CPE with mobile backup 110

[0091] 16968327 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network (such as an optical line terminal), and / or a CPE FWA 130 configured to connect wirelessly to the primary mobile access network (illustrated by cell 160). An example of an outage is illustrated by a cross 330, wherein the outage is between the CPE with mobile backup 110 and the element 140 of the primary fixed access network. An example of an outage of the CPE FWA 130 is illustrated by cross 340.

[0092] In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the UAV 310 is configured to transmit a signal at a transmission frequency 312 to the CPE with mobile backup 110 and / or the CPE FWA 130. In certain examples, the transmission frequency may be in the X band. In other examples, the transmission frequency may be in Frequency Range 2, or in another range.

[0093] With reference to Figure 4, a recovery system 400 is illustrated comprising a UAV 410, wherein the secondary network comprises a secondary fixed network 420. The UAV 410 is configured to act as an aerial base station. A backhaul 411 is provided by the secondary fixed network 420. The recovery system 400 may be for a CPE with mobile backup 110 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network (such as an optical line terminal), and / or a CPE FWA 130 configured to connect wirelessly to the primary mobile access network (illustrated by cell 160). An example of an outage is illustrated between the CPE with mobile backup 110 and the element 140 of the primary fixed access network by a cross 430. An example of an outage of the CPE FWA 130 is illustrated by cross 440.

[0094] In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the UAV 410 is configured to transmit a signal at a transmission frequency 412 to the CPE with mobile backup 110 and / or the CPE FWA 130. In certain examples, the transmission frequency may be in the X band. In other examples, the transmission frequency may be in Frequency Range 2, or in another range.

[0095] The secondary fixed network 420 may comprise any fixed network that is not affected by the outage to the primary access network. For example, the secondary fixed network 420 may comprise a WLAN network in the vicinity of the CPE, such as a WLAN network of a neighbour, wherein the WLAN network is provided by a fixed network. The secondary fixed

[0096] 16968327 network 420 may be provided by a different operator to the primary access network and / or may follow a different physical path to the primary access network.

[0097] In certain embodiments, the UAV of the recovery system may act as an aerial gateway, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. A UAV acting as an aerial gateway may be configured to have a backhaul link to the secondary network. The secondary network may be a mobile network or a fixed network. The recovery system may recover or boost WLAN of a CPE with mobile backup, recover WLAN for a CPE without mobile back-up, or recover WLAN for a CPE FWA.

[0098] The CPE may require adaptation to manage traffic towards a new wide-area network (WAN) exploiting wireless protocols, wherein the new WAN is provided by the UAV. The hardware of the CPE may be adapted such that the CPE is a user equipment that is able to connect to another SSID and exploit that WLAN network as a WAN interface continuing to provide the service to the connected devices of the CPE. Otherwise, a hardware module may be added configured to manage a new wireless protocol in a WAN interface as connection towards the UAV. For example, the new wireless protocol may be ZigBee (TM) or Z-wave (TM).

[0099] With reference to Figure 5, a recovery system 500 is illustrated comprising a UAV 510 wherein the secondary network is provided by a mobile network 520. The UAV 510 is configured to act as an aerial gateway. A backhaul 511 is provided by the mobile network 520. The recovery system 500 may be for a CPE with mobile backup 110 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network (such as an optical line terminal), and / or a CPE without mobile backup 120 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network, and / or a CPE FWA 130 configured to connect wirelessly to the primary mobile access network (illustrated by cell 160). An example of an outage is illustrated by a cross 530, illustrating an outage between the element 140 of the primary fixed access network and the CPE with mobile backup 110 and the CPE without mobile backup 120. An example of an outage of the CPE FWA 130 is illustrated by cross 540.

[0100] In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the UAV 510 is configured to transmit a signal at a transmission frequency 512 to the CPE with mobile backup 110 and / or the CPE without mobile backup and / or the CPE FWA 130. In certain examples, the

[0101] 16968327 transmission frequency may be in the X band. In other examples, the transmission frequency may be in Frequency Range 2, or in another range.

[0102] With reference to Figure 6, a recovery system 600 is illustrated comprising a UAV 610, wherein the secondary network comprises a secondary fixed network 620. The UAV 610 is configured to act as an aerial gateway. A backhaul 611 is provided by the secondary fixed network 620. The recovery system 600 may be for a CPE with mobile backup 110 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network (such as an optical line terminal), and / or a CPE without mobile backup 120 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network, and / or a CPE FWA 130 configured to connect wirelessly to the primary mobile access network (illustrated by cell 160). An example of an outage is illustrated by a cross 630, illustrating an outage between the element 140 of the primary fixed access network and the CPE with mobile backup 110 and the CPE without mobile backup 120. An example of an outage of the CPE FWA 130 is illustrated by cross 640.

[0103] In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the UAV 610 is configured to transmit a signal at a transmission frequency 612 to the CPE with mobile backup 110 and / or the CPE FWA 130. In certain examples, the transmission frequency may be in the X band. In other examples, the transmission frequency may be in Frequency Range 2, or in another range.

[0104] The secondary fixed network 620 may comprise any fixed network that is not affected by the outage to the primary access network. For example, the secondary fixed network 620 may comprise a WLAN network in the vicinity of the CPE, such as a WLAN network of a neighbour, wherein the WLAN network is provided by a fixed network. The secondary fixed network 620 may be provided by a different operator to the primary access network and / or may follow a different physical path to the primary access network.

[0105] In certain embodiments, the UAV of the recovery system may act as an aerial home gateway, as illustrated in Figures 7, wherein the recovery system is configured to provide a replacement access network to one or more device of a CPE. The one or more device of a CPE (wherein the CPE may, for example, comprise a home gateway) may comprise a mobile device, a laptop or desktop computer, a set-top box, or other device. A UAV acting as an aerial home gateway may be configured to have a backhaul link to the secondary

[0106] 16968327 network. The secondary network may be a mobile network or a fixed network. The recovery system may recover or boost WLAN of a device of a CPE with mobile backup, recover WLAN for a device of a CPE without mobile back-up, or recover WLAN for a device of a CPE FWA. In other words, in an event of an outage the one or more device of the CPE may connect to the UAV rather than to the CPE.

[0107] With reference to Figure 7, a recovery system 700 is illustrated comprising a UAV 710, wherein the secondary network comprises a secondary fixed network 720. The UAV 710 is configured to act as an aerial home gateway. A backhaul 711 is provided by the secondary fixed network 720. The recovery system 700 may be for one or more device 730 of a CPE with mobile backup 110 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network (such as an optical line terminal), and / or one or more device 740 of a CPE without mobile backup 120 configured to connect via fibre or cable to an element 140 of the primary fixed access network, and / or one or more device 750 of a CPE FWA 130 configured to connect wirelessly to the primary mobile access network (illustrated by cell 160). An example of an outage is illustrated by a cross 760, illustrating an outage between the element 140 of the primary fixed access network and the CPE with mobile backup 110 and the CPE without mobile backup 120. An example of an outage of the CPE FWA 130 is illustrated by cross 770.

[0108] In an event of an outage of the primary access network, the UAV 710 is configured manage a communication directly with final user devices using, for example, WLAN protocol under CPE 110 and / or CPE 120 and / or CPE 130. The final devices may, for example, comprise a personal computer, smartphone or tablet.

[0109] The secondary fixed network 720 may comprise any fixed network that is not affected by the outage to the primary access network. For example, the secondary fixed network 720 may comprise a WLAN network in the vicinity of the CPE, such as a WLAN network of a neighbour, wherein the WLAN network is provided by a fixed network. The secondary fixed network 720 may be provided by a different operator to the primary access network and / or may follow a different physical path to the primary access network.

[0110] The one or more UAV of the recovery system is described above as acting as either a moving cell repeater, an aerial base station, an aerial gateway or an aerial home gateway.

[0111] 16968327 However, it will be understood that the UAV may act as or comprise any device configured to receive and transmit a signal.

[0112] The backhauling described above includes backhauling provided by a mobile network (such as an existing capacity of the macro network) or a fixed network. The backhauling may be provided by other means, such as via satellites.

[0113] In certain embodiments, wherein backhauling is via a fixed network, an agreement with customers with a fixed access network may be required, permitting the WLAN SSIDs of those customers to be used as backhauling for the UAV. In certain embodiments, such as where the UAV acts as an aerial gateway, the CPE may require adaptation to manage traffic towards a new wide-area network (WAN) exploiting wireless protocols, wherein the new WAN is provided by the UAV. The hardware of the CPE may be adapted such that the CPE is a user equipment that is able to connect to another SSID and exploit that WLAN network as a WAN interface continuing to provide the service to the connected devices of the CPE. Otherwise, a hardware module may be added configured to manage a new wireless protocol in a WAN interface as connection towards the UAV. The new hardware module may be added inside the current CPE.

[0114] With reference to Figure 8, a method of providing a replacement access network to a customer-premises equipment (CPE) is provided, wherein the CPE is configured to access a primary access network. In an event of an outage of the primary access network at step 810, one or more unmanned aerial vehicle is deployed at step 820. The one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle receives a signal from a secondary network at step 830, and at step 840 transmits a signal to the CPE to provide a replacement access network.

[0115] Step 820 of deploying one or more UAV may comprise deploying the UAV to a target area, wherein the CPE is located within the target area.

[0116] The method may use any recovery system described in the foregoing.

[0117] In certain embodiments of the recovery system and method described above, one or more UAV is configured to backhaul to a secondary network. The backhaul may be provided by a macro network or a satellite, for example. More than one UAV may backhaul via the same macro network or satellite. In certain scenarios, a capacity of the backhaul may be a

[0118] 16968327 limiting factor of the capacity of the one or more UAVs providing the replacement access network. The backhaul may, instead, be provided via WLAN from any fixed or FWA connection that can be received by the UAV. For example, the backhaul may be provided via WLAN from internet connections of consumer customers, wherein the customers are not affected by the outage of the primary access network. For example, the customers may be connected to other fixed access networks via other providers or via a different physical path. A given UAV may backhaul via WLAN from a fixed or FWA connection. Different UAVs may backhaul via WLAN from different fixed or FWA connections.

[0119] A deployed UAV may be within range of a certain group of WLAN access points (WLAN connections). A sub-group of those WLAN access points (or connections) may be available for backhauling (i.e. have been set up such that they are able to carry the backhauling of the UAV). The remaining WLAN access points of the group are optionally not set up to carry backhauling.

[0120] The deployed UAV, an operator, controller or orchestrator may be configured to identify which of the group of WLAN access points is available for backhauling. The operator, controller or orchestrator may provide information to the deployed UAV as to the available WLAN access points in a target flying area. In an event that more than one UAV is deployed to an area, the same WLAN access point may be assigned to more than one UAV. In an event that assigning the same WLAN access point to more than one UAV is not suitable (for example, if this would introduce a bandwidth limitation that is lower than desired) and there is more than one available WLAN access point, a different WLAN access point may be assigned to each UAV.

[0121] With reference to Figure 9, a method of providing a replacement access network to a customer-premises equipment (CPE) is provided, wherein the CPE is configured to access a primary access network and wherein the secondary network is provided by one or more WLAN access points of fixed or FWA connections. In an event of an outage of the primary access network at step 910, one or more unmanned aerial vehicle is deployed at step 920. Each UAV is deployed to a target flying area. At step 930, available WLAN access points are identified within the target flying area of each UAV. An available WLAN access point is within the target flying area and is set up to carry backhauling of the UAV. At step 940, a WLAN access point is assigned to each deployed UAV. It is noted that steps 930 and 940 may occur after, concurrently to or prior to step 920. The one or more deployed unmanned

[0122] 16968327 aerial vehicle receives a signal from a secondary network via the WLAN access point at step 950, and at step 960 transmits a signal to the CPE to provide a replacement access network. Each WLAN access point may be identified via a WLAN identifier (ID).

[0123] Step 930 of identifying available WLAN access points may comprise deploying the UAV to a target area, wherein the CPE is located within the target area. Geographical information of the target area and the WLAN access points within the target area that are set up to provide backhauling may be stored on the UAV. The UAV may be configured to match its location (for example its GPS coordinates) to the stored geographical information. The UAV may be configured to access the strongest WLAN signal from the WLAN access points stored on the UAV.

[0124] Step 930 of identifying available WLAN access points may comprise deploying the UAV to a target area, wherein the CPE is located within the target area. The UAV may be configured to scan available WLAN signals, and send a list of the available WLAN access points and their measured signal strengths to an orchestrator or controller. The list may be sent via an existing radio network. The UAV may then receive a list of a sub-group of the available WLAN access points that the UAV may try connect to, wherein the sub-group of the available WLAN access points is based on properties of each WLAN access point such as its available backhauling capacity and / or its signal strength.

[0125] The step of identifying available WLAN access points may comprise a combination of previous two approaches described, wherein geographical information of the target area UAV and the WLAN access points within the target area that are set up to provide backhauling may be stored on the UAV, and the UAV is configured to scan the available WLAN access points and send a list of the available access points to a controller or orchestrator and receive a list of a sub-group of the available WLAN access points that the UAV may try connect to.

[0126] The step 930 of identifying available WLAN access points may further comprise a connection performance test of candidate WLAN connections, wherein the UAV may be configured to test a throughput achieved in uplink and downlink, and / or latency and / or jitter.

[0127] In certain embodiments, a method of providing a replacement access network to a customer-premises equipment (CPE) may be provided, wherein the CPE is configured to

[0128] 16968327 access a primary access network and wherein the secondary network is provided by one or more WLAN access points of fixed or FWA connections, or by a cellular network

[0129] (macro). The method may be similar to that illustrated in Figure 9. In an event of an outage of the primary access network, one or more unmanned aerial vehicle is deployed at step. Each UAV is deployed to a target flying area. Available WLAN access points and available macro networks are identified within the target flying area of each UAV. An available WLAN access point or macro network is in range of the UAV and / or within the target flying area and is set up to carry backhauling of the UAV. A WLAN access point or macro network is assigned to each deployed UAV. The one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle receives a signal from a secondary network via the WLAN access point or macro network and transmits a signal to the CPE to provide a replacement access network. Each WLAN access point may be identified via a WLAN identifier (ID).

[0130] 16968327

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A recovery system for a customer-premises equipment configured to access a primary access network, and wherein: the recovery system comprises one or more unmanned aerial vehicle; and in an event of an outage of the primary access network, the recovery system is configured to deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle to a target area, wherein the customer-premises equipment is located within the target area and wherein the one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to: receive a first signal from a secondary network; and transmit a second signal to the customer-premises equipment to provide a replacement access network.

2. The recovery system of claim 1 for more than one customer-premises equipment configured to access the primary access network, wherein in an event of an outage of the primary access network the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to provide a replacement access network to the more than one customer-premises equipment.

3. The recovery system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the customer-premises equipment comprises a home gateway.

4. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the customer-premises equipment comprises one or more devices connected to the customer-premises equipment.

5. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the primary access network comprises either: a fixed network accessed by the customer-premises equipment via a cable or fibre; or fixed wireless access.

6. The recovery system of any preceding claim, further comprising a controller configured to deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle.169683277. The recovery system of claim 6, wherein the controller is used to deploy one or more unmanned aerial vehicle, and to instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to connect to the secondary network and the customer-premises equipment.

8. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to act as a moving cell repeater, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to connect to a mobile network via an intermediate macro cell and wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to receive the first signal from the intermediate macro cell.

9. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to connect to the secondary network via a backhaul link.

10. The recovery system of claim 9, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to act as either: an aerial base station; or an aerial gateway; and wherein the secondary network comprises either: a fixed network; or a mobile network.11 . The recovery system of claim 9, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to act as an aerial home gateway and to transmit the second signal to manage communication directly with one or more devices of the customer-premises equipment using WLAN protocol, wherein the secondary network comprises a fixed network.

12. The recovery system of any preceding claim wherein the customer-premises equipment has a first service set identifier, and wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to provide the replacement access network such that the customerpremises equipment retains the first service set identifier.

13. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the secondary network comprises a fixed network or fixed wireless access and wherein in an event of an outage of the primary access network the recovery system is configured to:16968327deploy the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle to a target area; identify available WLAN access points in the target area; and assign an available WLAN access point to the deployed unmanned aerial vehicle; wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to: receive the first signal from the secondary network via the WLAN access point; and transmit the second a signal to the customer-premises equipment to provide a replacement access network.

14. The recovery system of claim 13, wherein geographical information of the target area and WLAN access points within the target area that are set up to provide backhauling are stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein optionally the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to: match its location to the stored geographical information; and access the strongest of the WLAN access points stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

15. The recovery system of any of claim 13 or 14 wherein the deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to scan available WLAN signals and send a list of available WLAN access points to a controller, wherein optionally the deployed UAV is further configured to receive a list of a sub-group of available WLAN access points from the controller, wherein list is based on an available backhauling capacity and / or signal strength of each WLAN access point.

16. The recovery system of any of claims 13 to 15 wherein the deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to carry out a connection performance test of candidate WLAN access points, wherein the connection performance test determines at least one of: a throughput achieved in uplink and downlink; latency; and jitter.1696832717. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is further configured to transmit a signal to the secondary network.

18. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more deployed unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to have a first backhauling signal from a secondary network and to implement a second signal to the CPE to provide a replacement access network.

19. The recovery system of any preceding claim wherein the primary access network comprises a primary fixed access network or a primary mobile access network.

20. The recovery system of any preceding claim, wherein the customer-premises equipment and / or one or more devices connected to the customer-premises equipment receive the second signal from the one or more unmanned aerial vehicle.

21. A method for recovering an outage of a fixed network for a customer-premises equipment that is configured to access the primary access network, the method comprising: in an event of an outage of the primary access network, deploying one or more unmanned aerial vehicle to a target area, wherein the customer-premises equipment is located within the target area; receiving a first signal at the deployed unmanned aerial vehicle from a secondary network; and transmitting a second signal from the unmanned aerial vehicle to the customer-premises equipment to provide a replacement access network.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the method recovers an outage of a primary access network by implementing the second signal directly to one or more user devices.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the user device comprises a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device.1696832724. The method of any of claims 21 to 23 further comprising identifying available WLAN access points within the target area and assigning an available WLAN access point to the unmanned aerial vehicle.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein geographical information of the target area and WLAN access points within the target area that are set up to provide backhauling is stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising: matching the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the stored geographical information; and accessing the strongest of the WLAN access points stored on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

27. The method of any of claims 24 to 26 further comprising: scanning available WLAN signals within the target area; sending a list of the available WLAN access points and their measured signal strengths to a controller; and receiving at the unmanned aerial vehicle a list of a sub-group of available WLAN access points from the controller, wherein list is based on an available backhauling capacity and / or signal strength of each WLAN access point.16968327

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