Telecommunication method supporting multiple air interfaces

• US 20040116153A1
• Filed: 11/04/2003
• Published: 06/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaminski, Stephen, Bakker, Hajo, Haberland, Bernd
• Granted Patent: US 7,433,707 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/552.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The invention relates to a telecommunication method comprising the steps of: receiving of a required quality of service parameter set from a core network by a radio network controller, selecting a sub-set of air interfaces from a set of air interfaces, the sub-set containing air interfaces, which support the required quality of service parameter set, providing the sub-set to a node of a radio access network having the set of air interfaces, selecting an air interface from the sub-set by the node for providing the required quality of service to a user equipment.

Claims

1. A telecommunication method comprising the steps of:

receiving of a required quality of service parameter set from a core network by a radio network controller,

selecting a sub-set of air interfaces from a set of air interfaces, the sub-set containing air interfaces, which support the required quality of service parameter set,

providing the sub-set to a node of a radio access network having the set of air interfaces,

selecting an air interface from the sub-set by the node for providing the required quality of service to a user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving of a monitoring list by the radio network controller, the monitoring list containing the set of air interfaces by means of which the node can actually establish a telecommunication link with the user equipment.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving of data being indicative of at least one of the air interfaces of the set of air interfaces, the at least one interface having no more free data transmission capacity,

eliminating the at least one air interface from the sub-set.

4. The method of claim 1, whereby the selection of the air interface is performed by the node based on load balancing and/or actual availability of the air interfaces.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

establishing a first telecommunication link by means of the selected one of the set of air interfaces and sending of data frames having a first data frame format of the selected air interface,

mapping of the first data frame format to a second data frame format of an alternative one of the set of air interfaces,

replacing of the selected air interface by the alternative interface and sending of the mapped data frames having the second air interface format via a second telecommunication link which has been established by means of the alternative air interface.

6. The method of claim 5, the selected air interface being an UMTS air interface and the first air interface format being HSDPA, the alternative air interface being WLAN and the second air interface format being WLAN frames.

7. A computer program product, such as a digital storage medium, comprising computer program means for performing the steps of:

inputting of a required quality of service parameter set which has been received from a core network by a radio network controller,

selecting a sub-set of air interfaces from a set of air interfaces, the sub-set containing air-interfaces which support the required quality of service parameter set,

outputting the sub-set for providing the sub-set to a node of a radio access network having the set of air interfaces for selection of an air interface from the sub-set by the node for providing the required quality of service to a user equipment.

8. A radio network controller of a radio access network comprising:

means for receiving of a required quality of service parameter set from a core network,

means for selecting a sub-set of air interfaces from a set of air interfaces, the sub-set containing air interfaces which support the required quality of service,

means for providing the sub-set to a node of the radio access network having the set of air interfaces.

10. A telecommunication system comprising a radio network controller of claim 8 and a node of claim 9, the node being coupled to the radio network controller.

9. A node of a radio access network having a set of air interfaces, the node comprising:

means for receiving a sub-set of air interfaces from a radio network controller of the radio access network,

means for selecting of an air interface from the sub-set for providing the required quality of service to a user equipment, the means for selecting of the air interface being adapted to perform the selection based on load balancing and/or current availability of the air interfaces of the sub-set.