Method and apparatus for delivering IPP2T (IP-push-to-talk) wireless LAN mobile radio service

• US 20030053434A1
• Filed: 07/26/2002
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rice, Christopher W., Murray, John F., Miller, Robert Raymond II, Chow, Albert T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,738,407 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/08 Trunked mobile radio systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A wireless subscriber terminal (ST) for use with IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) service using a wireless local area network (WLAN) operating in a plurality of modes, including a mobile terminal having an ability to communicate over the air to a wireless Access Point (AP), the mobile terminal further programmable to use conventional WLAN protocols, and a method for operating the wireless terminal are described.

Claims

1. A wireless subscriber terminal (ST) for use with IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) service using a wireless local area network (WLAN) operating in a plurality of modes, comprising a mobile terminal having an ability to communicate over the air to a wireless Access Point (AP), said mobile terminal further programmable to use conventional WLAN protocols.

2. The wireless ST according to claim 1, wherein said conventional protocols include Voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP).

3. The wireless ST according to claim 2, wherein said VoIP protocol support includes Session Initiation Protocols (SIP) and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP).

4. The wireless ST according to claim 1, wherein said wireless ST operates with a software PBX or network switch.

5. The wireless ST according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of operating modes comprises:

a IPP2T ST mode;

voice over IP (VoIP) terminal service mode; and

a combination mode, wherein said IPP2T service mode is a default mode which can be preempted by a VoIP service call.

6. A method of selecting a combination IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) and voice over IP (VoIP) service mode of a wireless multi-mode subscriber terminal (ST) comprising the steps of:

selecting IPP2T from a ST;

interacting with an access point (AP) to initiate IPP2T service;

completing initialization;

placing said ST into listen mode;

initializing a push-to-talk (PTT) service by a subscriber;

speaking into said ST by said subscriber;

digitizing speech of said subscriber by said ST;

forwarding said digitized speech by said ST to said AP;

releasing said ST from said IPP2T service mode;

determining by said ST if said subscriber has terminated service; and

generating a call detail record (CDR) for a wireless local area network (WLAN) mobile radio service (WLMRS) controller (WLMRSC).

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said PTT service is initiated by voice activation.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein said PTT service is initiated by depressing a PTT button by said subscriber.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein said PTT service is initiated by depressing a “

soft”

key on a PTT ST emulator.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein said voice-activated PTT service can be muted by depressing one of a key and button in order to prevent inadvertent transmissions.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein said voice-activated PTT service has an associated “

on the air”

indicator which indicates that the ST is sending packets to the network and that the network is forwarding them to the other users in the WLMRS user group.

12. An Internet protocol (IP) push-to-talk (IPP2T) apparatus for use with IPP2T service, said IPP2T service using a wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) comprising:

a device emulating a push-to-talk radio, said device capable of operating in a plurality of modes and said device having an ability to communicate over an air interface to said WLAN; and

said device further being programmable to use conventional WLAN protocols.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said operating modes include IPP2T only, Voice over IP (VoIP) only, IPP2T and VoIP, and registration.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein communication with said WLAN is to a plurality of APs and one of said plurality of APs receives said communication and handles said particular communication based on one of a channel quality metric and radio resource availability.

15. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said emulating device receives and outputs a multicast stream comprising all current transmitting subscribers'"'"' speech within a currently active group of which a particular subscriber using said emulating device is a member.

16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said emulating device supports multicasting.

17. A method of operating an emulated push-to-talk device comprising the steps of:

scrolling through multicast channels, said multicast channels corresponding to available Internet protocol (IP) push-to-talk (IPP2T) user groups;

selecting an available IPP2T user group; and

joining said selected user group by one of depressing a push-to-talk key and voice activation to add a subscriber'"'"'s voice to a conversation of said selected user group.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein only one user is permitted to talk at a given time by an IPP2T system such that said conversation does not become chaotic and remains orderly.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein membership in an IPP2T user group is dynamic.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein members may join an IPP2T user group at any time via a registration process via a wireless Local Area network (WLAN) Mobile Radio Service (WLMRS) controller (WLMRSC) and via a broadband access transport network (BANT).

21. The method according to claim 17, wherein members may leave an IPP2T user group at any time via a de-registration process via a wireless Local Area network (WLAN) Mobile Radio Service (WLMRS) controller (WLMRSC) and via a broadband access network terminal (BANT).

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein each BANT may be a host for more than one IPP2T user group.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein a plurality of WLMRSC are employed in an IPP2T network and said plurality of WLMRSCs are capable of communicating with each other via TCP/IP in order to support IPP2T subscriber roaming, member authentication, registration, de-registration and subscriber database and profile management processes.

24. The method according to claim 17, wherein at an application level a multicast address may support multiple data streams.

25. An access point (AP) for supporting IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) service using a wireless local area network (WLAN) serving a plurality of subscriber terminals (STs), wherein said AP is in communication with said plurality of STs over an air interface and said AP supports a protocol for quality of service (QoS) enabled WLANs.

26. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports IPP2T service launch, Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony and wherein information exchanged includes voice, data and multimedia information.

27. The AP according to claim 26, wherein said AP supports information exchange between additional APs, a broadband access network terminal (BANT) and a WLAN mobile radio service (WLMRS) controller (WLMRSC) via WLAN air interface (AI) and a service provider IP network.

28. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports signaling and control information exchanged between said additional APs, said BANT and said WLMRSC via a WLAN and said service provider IP network.

29. The AP according to claim 28, wherein said AP supports mobility for terminal, personal and services management.

30. The AP according to claim 29, wherein said AP supports authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services and associated network control and signaling exchange.

31. The AP according to claim 30, wherein said AP supports calls and features applications via conventional IP network protocols including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP).

32. The AP according to claim 31, wherein said AP supports RF and radio management processes related to IPP2T services.

33. The AP according to claim 32, wherein said AP supports operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&

P) processes related to IPP2T services.

34. The AP according to claim 33, wherein said AP supports security management processes including subscriber authentication, data encryption for privacy when necessary for the IPP2T services.

35. The AP according to claim 34, wherein said AP supports wired LAN network interface and interworking for information exchange associated with IPP2T service.

36. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports multicasting.

37. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports multicasting routing functions related to said IPP2T service.

38. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports mobility and personal and service management.

39. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports sending and receiving multicast applications associated with User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).

40. The AP according to claim 25, wherein said AP supports related Network Interface Card (NIC) and drivers that filter IPP2T-related link layer and network IP layer multicast addresses.

41. A Broadband Access Network Terminal (BANT) for supporting IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) service using a wireless local area network (WLAN) serving a plurality of subscriber terminals (STs), wherein said BANT is in communication with a plurality of access points (APs) using a LAN and said BANT supports a centralized contention and reservation request protocol for quality of service (QoS) driven WLANs.

42. The BANT according to claim 41, which supports a quality of service (QoS) driven WLANS.

43. The BANT according to claim 42, wherein said BANT supports generic broadband wired and wireless access systems including digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, fiber, fixed broadband, wireless and free-space optical transmission systems operating under IP with link layer processes that support either Frame Relay or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).

44. The BANT according to claim 43, wherein said BANT supports IPP2T service launch, Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony and data mode of services.

45. The BANT according to claim 44, wherein said BANT supports information (i.e., voice, data and IPP2T) exchange between said APs and a WLAN mobile radio service (WLMRS) controller (WLMRSC) via said LAN and a service provider IP network.

46. The BANT according to claim 45, wherein said information exchanged includes voice, data and multimedia information.

47. The BANT according to claim 46, wherein said BANT supports signaling and control information exchanged between said APs and said WLMRSC via said LAN and said service provider IP network.

48. The BANT according to claim 47, wherein said BANT supports mobility for terminal, personal and services management.

49. The BANT according to claim 48, wherein said BANT supports media stream mixing and multicasting of information associated with IPP2T services.

50. The BANT according to claim 49, wherein said media stream mixing includes a digital speech coding process and a digital speech decoding process.

51. The BANT according to claim 50, wherein said BANT supports authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services and associated network control and signaling exchange.

52. The BANT according to claim 51, wherein said BANT supports calls and feature applications via conventional IP network protocols including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP).

53. The BANT according to claim 52, wherein said BANT supports RF and radio management processes related to IPP2T services.

54. The BANT according to claim 53, wherein said BANT supports operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&

P) processes related to IPP2T services.

55. The BANT according to claim 54, wherein said BANT supports security management processes including subscriber authentication, data encryption for privacy when necessary for the IPP2T services.

56. The BANT according to claim 55, wherein said BANT supports wired LAN network interface and inter-working for information exchange associated to IPP2T service.

57. The BANT according to claim 56, wherein said BANT supports inter-working functions with additional BANTs and said WLMRSC for IPP2T associated services, user data and signaling command control information exchange.

58. The BANT according to claim 41, wherein said BANT supports multicasting.

59. The BANT according to claim 41, wherein said BANT supports multicasting routing functions related to said IPP2T service.

60. The BANT according to claim 41, wherein said BANT supports mobility and personal and services management.

61. The BANT according to claim 41, wherein said BANT supports sending and receiving multicast applications associated with User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).

62. The BANT according to claim 41, wherein said BANT supports related Network Interface Card (NIC) and drivers that filter IPP2T-related link layer and network IP layer multicast addresses.

63. The BANT according to claim 41, wherein said BANT supports a firewall that permits IP multicast traffic.

64. A wireless local area network (WLAN) mobile radio service (WLMRS) controller (WLMRSC) for supporting IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) service serving a plurality of subscriber terminal (STs), wherein said WLMRSC is a server-based intelligent network service manager.

65. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC inter-works with subtending broadband access network terminals (BANTs) to support network-centric IPP2T services.

66. The WLMRSC according to claim 65, wherein said WLMRSC provides network management processes necessary to initiate IPP2T and the key network functions associated with the IPP2T services.

67. The WLMRSC according to claim 66, wherein said WLMRSC supports system and subscriber database management related to subscriber profile, IPP2T multicast team assignments, mobility, calls and features applications.

68. The WLMRSC according to claim 67, wherein said WLMRSC supports IPP2T service launch and initiation.

69. The WLMRSC according to claim 68, wherein said WLMRSC supports signaling and control information exchanged between access points (APs) and said BANTs via a service provider IP network.

70. The WLMRSC according to claim 69, wherein said WLMRSC supports mobility for personal and services management.

71. The WLMRSC according to claim 70, wherein said WLMRSC support authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services and associated network control and signaling exchange.

72. The WLMRSC according to claim 71, wherein said WLMRSC supports calls and features applications via conventional IP network protocols including session initiation protocol (SIP) and media gateway control protocol (MGCP).

73. The WLMRSC according to claim 72, wherein said WLMRSC supports RF and radio management processes with said BANTs related to IPP2T services.

74. The WLMRSC according to claim 73, wherein said WLMRSC supports operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&

P) processes with said BANTs and said APs related to IPP2T services.

75. The WLMRSC according to claim 74, wherein said WLMRSC supports security management processes including subscriber authentication, data encryption for privacy when necessary for the IPP2T services.

76. The WLMRSC according to claim 75, wherein said WLMRSC supports interworking functions with said BANTs and the WLMRSC for IPP2T-associated services, user data and signaling command and control information exchange.

77. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC supports multicasting.

78. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC supports multicasting routing functions related to said IPP2T service.

79. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC supports mobility and personal and services management.

80. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC supports sending and receiving multicast applications associated with User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), Internet ControlMessage Protocol (ICMP) and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).

81. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC supports related Network Interface Card (NIC) and drivers that filter IPP2T-related link layer and network IP layer multicast addresses.

82. The WLMRSC according to claim 64, wherein said WLMRSC supports a firewall that permits IP multicast traffic.