Over-the-air content management of wireless equipment in confined-coverage wireless networks

• US 10,542,421 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2019
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brisebois, Arthur Richard, Smith, Juan Derrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Miah, Liton
• Application Number:
  US16/297,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20190208409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 319 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

Content of wireless equipment (WE) is managed over-the-air (OTA). Content is germane to feature(s) of the WE and is related to operation thereof. Management of the content is automatically implemented in response to attachment of the WE to a confined-coverage access point (AP). The WE and a network server enable, in part, such management. The confined-coverage AP enables exchange of signaling and data associated with management of the content amongst the WE and the network server. Content includes software (SW); management OTA of SW can include update of an in-use version of a SW application or related SW component(s). SW update signaling can comprise message(s) conveying a WE identifier and in-use version(s) of SW; request(s) for an update instruction; request(s) for at least one file associated with the SW; or message(s) indicative of availability of version(s) of SW newer than the in-use version(s).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a device comprising a processor, classification data associated with a user equipment; and

based on the classification data, facilitating, by the device, a transfer of over-the-air content from a confined-coverage access point device to the user equipment, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer subsequent to a coupling of the user equipment with the confined-coverage access point device, and wherein the over-the-air content has been downloaded to the confined-coverage access point device prior to the coupling.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer in response to receiving, from the user equipment, request data indicative of a request to transfer the over-the-air content.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

validating, by the device, the user equipment, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer in response to the validating.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer of the over-the-air content that is employable to manage an application of the user equipment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer of the over-the-air content that is employable to update an in-use version of an application of the user equipment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer of the over-the-air content that is employable to execute a control application of the user equipment that measures a performance of the user equipment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer of the over-the-air content that is associated with a security feature of the user equipment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer of the over-the-air content that is associated with a hardware feature of the user equipment.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the device, the over-the-air content from a management over-the-air server, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer as part of a management over-the-air communication session.

10. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

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

determining classification data associated with a user equipment, and

based on the classification data, facilitating a transfer of over-the-air content from a confined-coverage access point device to the user equipment, wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer subsequent to determining that the user equipment has coupled to the confined-coverage access point device, and wherein the over-the-air content has been downloaded to the confined-coverage access point device prior to a coupling of the user equipment with the confined-coverage access point device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the classification data comprises information indicative of a subscriber segment associated with the user equipment.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the classification data comprises information indicative of a telecommunication carrier network identity associated with the user equipment.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the classification data comprises information indicative of a frequency of a connection of the user equipment with the confined-coverage access point device.

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

determining version record data indicative of a version of an application of the user equipment; and

in response to determining that the version record data satisfies an update criterion, downloading the over-the-air content to the confined-coverage access point device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the version is a first version and wherein the determining that the version record data satisfies the update criterion comprises verifying that a second version of the application that is newer than the first version is available.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the over-the-air content has been downloaded to the confined-coverage access point device from a management over-the-air server, and wherein the facilitating the transfer comprises facilitating the transfer as part of a management over-the-air communication session.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein address data indicative of a logical address of a data store of the confined-coverage access point device that retains the over-the-air content is provided to the user equipment during the management over-the-air communication session.

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

determining category data associated with a user equipment, and

based on the category data, directing, to the user equipment, over-the-air content stored within a data store of a confined-coverage access point device, wherein the directing comprises directing the over-the-air content in response to a coupling of the user equipment with the confined-coverage access point device, and wherein the over-the-air content has been stored within the data store prior to the coupling.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the category data comprises information indicative of a subscriber segment associated with the user equipment.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the category data comprises information indicative of a telecommunication carrier network identity associated with the user equipment.