Wireless network service interfaces

• US 10,326,800 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2017
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Gregory G., Lavine, James, Raissinia, Alireza
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy, Andrew Joseph
• Application Number:
  US15/699,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20180167413A1
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1, 726 23, 4554141, 4554221, 4554321, 4554561, 4554562, 709219-226, 705 12, 705 30, 370252, 370259, 370338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5041 characterised by the time relationship between creation and deployment of a service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A uniform wireless network service selection information exchange interface system is provided to facilitate a consistent user experience across multiple wireless networks that may have different service plan activation or service plan purchase processes. Network detection of service usage anomalies based on device-based data usage reports is provided to enable the network to determine whether an end-user device is likely operating in accordance with the established policy, or whether the end-user device may be operating fraudulently.

Claims

1. A wireless network system configured to communicate with an end-user device over an access network, the wireless network system comprising:

one or more interfaces configured to receive a device-based usage report from the end-user device and carrier-based usage information for the end-user device; and

a processor configured to

make a determination, based on the device-based usage report and the carrier-based information, as to whether the end-user device is operating in compliance with a service policy, and

based on the determination indicating that the end-user device is not operating in compliance with the service policy, initiate an action.

2. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, wherein the device-based usage report includes one or more of information to identify a subscriber and information to identify the end-user device, and one or more of a start time, a stop time, a domain name, a remote IP address, a remote port, information to identify an application, information to identify a control policy, information to identify a charging policy, information to identify a filter, information associated with a network busy state, information about a network, an access point name, an access point type, a classification type, a number of bytes sent by the end-user device, and a number of bytes sent to the end-user device.

3. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, wherein the carrier-based usage information includes one or more of information to identify a subscriber and information to identify the end-user device, and one or more of a start time, a stop time, a number of bytes sent by the end-user device, a number of bytes sent to the end-user device, or an access point name.

4. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, wherein the action is to send a fraud alert message to a network element.

5. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, wherein the device-based usage report indicates how many bytes of data associated with a particular device application that the device has sent and/or received during a particular time period.

6. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, the processor further configured to request the device-based usage report from the end-user device.

7. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, wherein initiate an action comprises request flow data record data from a network element, and analyze activity of the end-user device based on the flow data record data.

8. The wireless network system recited in claim 7, wherein, based on analyzing activity of the end-user device based on the flow data record data, the processor makes a second determination as to whether the carrier-based usage information is valid.

9. The wireless network system recited in claim 8, wherein, based on the second determination indicating that the carrier-based usage information is valid, the processor sends a fraud alert message to another element of the wireless network system.

10. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, the processor further configured to, based on the determination indicating that the end-user device is operating in compliance with the policy, generating one or more charging data records with detailed charging codes for data usage based on the device-based usage report.

11. The wireless network system recited in claim 1, wherein make a determination, based on the device-based usage report and the carrier-based information comprises comparing data usage counts from one or more reports, including the device-based usage report, from the end-user device, with data usage counts from the carrier-based usage information.