Utilization of crowd-sourced access point data for 5G or other next generation network

• US 10,382,995 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2017
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brisebois, Arthur Richard, Mikan, Jeffrey, Huber, Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilgrami, Asghar H
• Application Number:
  US15/721,335
• Publication Number:
  US 20190104430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/364 Delay profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information

Abstract

Utilization of collected crowd-sourced access point quality and selection data for intelligent network selection can optimize access point device selection. A cloud-based application can be utilized in conjunction with a mobile device to build a database of access point quality and thresholds suitable for real-time and other jitter-sensitive services. In one embodiment, a first mobile device can receive access point data associated with a second mobile device. The access point data associated with the second mobile device can then inform the first mobile device on whether to communicate with the access point device or utilized cellular communication.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a first mobile device comprising a processor, a first signal from an access point device of a wireless network;

based on the first signal, determining, by the first mobile device, that the access point device has not previously sent a second signal to the first mobile device, the second signal being different than the first signal;

in response to the determining, sending, by the first mobile device to a base station device of the wireless network, request data associated with a current threshold of a first signal strength quality of the first signal, wherein the request data comprises first threshold data associated with the current threshold of the first signal strength quality;

in response to the first threshold data matching second threshold data associated with a third signal communicated between a second mobile device and the access point device-receiving, by the first mobile device, the second threshold data associated with a second signal strength quality of the third signal; and

in response to the receiving the second threshold data, refreshing, by the first mobile device, the first threshold data in an access point data structure associated with the first mobile device, resulting in refreshed threshold data; and

based on the refreshed threshold data, sending, by the first mobile device to the access point device, a fourth signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request data comprises service set identifier data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the refreshing comprises updating the access point data structure with the first threshold data and the second threshold data for subsequent use by the first mobile device in selecting the access point device for a later communication.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the refreshing comprises updating the access point data structure with expiration data associated with the current signal strength quality for use in determining a timeframe for selection of the access point device for a later communication.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a third condition associated with the third signal between the second mobile device and the access point device being determined to have been satisfied, receiving, by the first mobile device, a request to collect jitter data.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

in response to the request to collect the jitter data, collecting, by the first mobile device, the jitter data associated with the first signal to determine the second threshold data associated with the first signal strength quality of the first signal.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the first mobile device, the second threshold data to the base station device for subsequent use in selection of the access point device by a third mobile device.

8. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving a first signal from an access point device of a wireless network;

based on the first signal, determining that the access point device has not previously sent a second signal, the second signal being different than the first signal;

in response to the determining, sending, to a base station device of the wireless network, request data associated with a current threshold of a first signal strength quality of the first signal, wherein the request data comprises first threshold data associated with the current threshold of the first signal strength quality;

in response to the first threshold data matching second threshold data associated with a third signal communicated between a second mobile device and the access point device receiving the second threshold data associated with a second signal strength quality of the third signal; and

in response to the receiving the second threshold data, refreshing the first threshold data in an access point data structure associated, resulting in refreshed threshold data; and

based on the refreshed threshold data, sending a fourth signal to the access point device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the request data comprises media access control data associated with a media access control address of the access point device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the refreshing the first threshold data, comprises updating the access point data structure with expiration data associated with the second signal strength quality for use in determining a timeframe to select the access point device for a communication.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to an indication that the second signal strength quality is reduced from a first value to a second value lower than the first value, reducing the timeframe from a first time to a second time less than the first time.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to an indication that the second signal strength quality is increased from a first value to a second value higher than the first value, increasing the timeframe to an increased timeframe greater than the timeframe.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the second signal strength quality is based on jitter data of a jitter associated with the first signal.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the first signal from the access point device comprises media access control address data associated with a media access control address of the access point device.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

facilitating receiving a first signal from an access point device of a wireless network;

based on the first signal, facilitating determining that the access point device has not previously sent a second signal, the second signal being different than the first signal;

in response to the facilitating the determining, facilitating sending, to a base station device of the wireless network, request data associated with a current threshold of a first signal strength quality of the first signal, wherein the request data comprises first threshold data associated with the current threshold of the first signal strength quality;

based on the first threshold data matching second threshold data associated with a third signal communicated between a mobile device and the access point device, facilitating receiving the second threshold data associated with a second signal strength quality of the third signal; and

in response to the facilitating the receiving the second threshold data, updating the first threshold data in an access point data structure associated, resulting in updated threshold data; and

based on the updated threshold data, facilitating sending a fourth signal to the access point device.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the updating comprises updating expiration data indicative of a length of time of the second signal strength quality.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the updating the first threshold data comprises updating the access point data structure with the expiration data.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to mobile devices, different than the mobile device, being determined to have sent reduced signal strength quality data representative of a reduced signal strength quality from a first value to a second value lower than the first value, reducing a length of time of the signal strength quality as a function of the reduced signal strength quality.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to mobile devices, different than the mobile device, being determined to have sent increased signal strength quality data representative of an increased signal strength quality from a first value to a second value higher than the first value, increasing a length of time of the signal strength quality as a function of the increased signal strength quality.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the first signal comprises access point identification data representative of an identification of the access point device.