Femtocell and femtocell subscriber authentication method

• US 10,327,140 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2017
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Li, Yingtao, Yu, Rongdao
• Primary Examiner(s): Schwartz, Joshua L
• Application Number:
  US15/583,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20170238180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 370388, 455433, 4554351-4353, 455444
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

A femtocell subscriber includes: receiving, by a femtocell, an access request sent by an access terminal, where the access request carries IMSI information of the access terminal; determining, by the femtocell, whether an international mobile subscriber identity IMSI of the access terminal is in a CSG subscriber list of the femtocell; if the access terminal is in the closed subscriber group CSG subscriber list, allowing the access terminal to access the femtocell; or if the IMSI of the access terminal is not in the CSG subscriber list of the femtocell, obtaining, by the femtocell from a server, a mobile phone number corresponding to the IMSI; if the mobile phone number of the access terminal is not in the CSG subscriber list of the femtocell, requesting, by the femtocell, a management terminal to determine whether to allow the access terminal to access the femtocell.

Claims

1. A femtocell subscriber authentication method, comprising:

receiving, by a femtocell, an access request sent by an access terminal, wherein the access request carries an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the access terminal;

determining, by the femtocell, whether the IMSI of the access terminal is in a closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell;

when the IMSI of the access terminal is in the closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell, allowing the access terminal to access the femtocell;

when the IMSI of the access terminal is not in the closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell, obtaining, by the femtocell from a server, a mobile phone number of the access terminal corresponding to the IMSI;

when the mobile phone number of the access terminal is not in the closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell, sending, by the femtocell, a request to a management terminal to determine whether to allow the access terminal to access the femtocell, wherein the request includes the mobile phone number of the access terminal;

receiving, by the femtocell, a determining result, of the management terminal, of whether to allow access of the access terminal, and determining, according to the determining result, whether to accept the access request of the access terminal, wherein the determining result is based on whether the mobile phone number of the access terminal is in a contact list or a call record of the management terminal, and the determining result is further based on whether a quantity of call records of the access terminal exceeds a preset value, wherein when the quantity of call records of the access terminal exceeds the preset value, the determining result is that the management terminal allows the access terminal to access the femtocell, and when the quantity of call records of the access terminal does not exceed the preset value, the determining result is that the management terminal does not allow the access terminal to access the femtocell;

when the determining result is that the management terminal allows the access terminal to access the femtocell, sending, to the access terminal, a first response message indicating that access of the access terminal is allowed; and

when the determining result is that the management terminal does not allow the access terminal to access the femtocell, sending, to the access terminal, a second response message indicating that access of the access terminal is rejected.

2. The femtocell subscriber authentication method according to claim 1, wherein:

the server comprises a home subscriber server (HSS) or a home location register (HLR); and

obtaining, by the femtocell from a server, a mobile phone number of the access terminal corresponding to the IMSI comprises;

requesting, by the femtocell, subscription information of the access terminal from the HSS or the HLR, and

receiving, by the femtocell, the subscription information of the access terminal from the HSS or the HLR, and obtaining, by parsing the subscription information, the mobile phone number of the access terminal corresponding to the IMSI.

3. The femtocell subscriber authentication method according to claim 1, wherein the first response message is an access allow notification, the method further comprising:

when the determining result is that the management terminal allows the access terminal to access the femtocell, adding the access terminal to the closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell.

4. A femtocell subscriber authentication method, comprising:

receiving, by a management terminal, a determining request of a femtocell, wherein the determining request is for requesting the management terminal to determine whether to allow an access terminal to access the femtocell, and the determining request carries an identifier ID of the access terminal or a mobile phone number of the access terminal;

determining, by the management terminal, whether the mobile phone number of the access terminal is in a contact list or a call record of the management terminal;

when the mobile phone number of the access terminal is not in the contact list or the call record of the management terminal, sending, to the femtocell, a first determining result that the access terminal is not allowed to access the femtocell;

when the mobile phone number of the access terminal is in the contact list of the management terminal, sending, to the femtocell, a second determining result that the access terminal is allowed to access the femtocell;

when the mobile phone number of the access terminal is in the call record of the management terminal, determining, by the management terminal, whether a quantity of call records or a call duration of the access terminal exceeds a preset value;

when the quantity of call records or the call duration of the access terminal exceeds the preset value, sending, to the femtocell, a third determining result that the access terminal is allowed to access the femtocell; and

when the quantity of call records or the call duration of the access terminal does not exceed the preset value, sending, to the femtocell, a fourth determining result that the access terminal is not allowed to access the femtocell.

5. A femtocell, comprising:

a receiving device, configured to receive an access request sent by an access terminal, wherein the access request carries an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the access terminal;

a sending device, configured to send information to a terminal or another base station;

a storage device, configured to store a closed subscriber group subscriber list; and

a processor, configured to;

determine whether the IMSI of the access terminal is in the closed subscriber group subscriber list stored in the storage device;

when the IMSI of the access terminal is in the closed subscriber group subscriber list, allow the access terminal to access the femtocell;

when the IMSI of the access terminal is not in the closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell, obtain, from a server by using the sending device and the receiving device, a mobile phone number of the access terminal corresponding to the IMSI;

when the mobile phone number of the access terminal is not in the closed subscriber group subscriber list of the femtocell, send a request to a management terminal by using the sending device, to request the management terminal to determine whether to allow the access terminal to access the femtocell, wherein the request includes the mobile phone number of the access terminal;

analyze a determining result of the management terminal that is received by the receiving device, and determine, according to the determining result, whether to allow the access terminal to access the femtocell, wherein the determining result is based on whether the mobile phone number of the access terminal is in a contact list or a call record of the management terminal, and the determining result is further based on whether a quantity of call records of the access terminal exceeds a preset value, wherein when the quantity of call records of the access terminal exceeds the preset value, the determining result is that the management terminal allows the access terminal to access the femtocell, and when the quantity of call records of the access terminal does not exceed the preset value, the determining result is that the management terminal does not allow the access terminal to access the femtocell;

when the determining result is that the management terminal allows the access terminal to access the femtocell, control the sending device to send, to the access terminal, a first response message indicating that access of the access terminal is allowed; and

when the determining result is that the management terminal does not allow the access terminal to access the femtocell, control the sending device to send, to the access terminal, a second response message indicating that access of the access terminal is rejected.

6. The femtocell according to claim 5, wherein:

the server comprises a home subscriber server (HSS) or a home location register (HLR); and

the processor is further configured to

request subscription information of the access terminal from the HSS or the HLR;

receive the subscription information of the access terminal from the HSS or the HLR; and

obtain, by parsing the subscription information, the mobile phone number of the access terminal that corresponds to the IMSI.