Method and system for monitoring the health of wireless telecommunication networks

• US 20050237942A1
• Filed: 11/22/2004
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Lankford, Gerald Winton, Pattersen, Ian M., Lazaridis, Mihal, Little, Herbert A., Hind, Hugh, Lewis, Allan D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,616,665 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1671 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring the health of a wireless telecommunication network. Network health is monitored without placing an administrative burden on the carrier network itself; instead, this burden is placed on components that lie outside the carrier network and pass communications through it. The data service provider infrastructure sends a request to a mobile device, asking that it return data regarding its location. The carrier networks handling the request insert location information into the packet that is sent to the mobile device, but this information is not sent to the data service provider infrastructure itself. The mobile device harvests this location information from the packets it receives and inserts it in a response packet that finds its way back to the data service provider infrastructure. The data service provider infrastructure is able to collate this location data and to analyze it, determining the carrier network'"'"'s health.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring the health of a wireless telecommunication network, comprising:

a mobile device;

a data service provider infrastructure; and

a carrier network having a wireless connection to said mobile device and a connection to said data service provider infrastructure;

said data service provider infrastructure being operable to;

generate a digital packet including a request for location information; and

transmit said request packet to said mobile device via said carrier network;

said carrier network being operable to;

receive said request packet from said data service provider infrastructure;

attach location information for said mobile device, to said request packet; and

transmit said request packet including said location information, to said mobile device; and

said mobile device being operable to;

receive said request packet;

extract said location information from said request packet;

insert said location information into a field of an acknowledgement packet that said carrier network will pass to said data service provider infrastructure; and

return said acknowledgement packet to said data service provider infrastructure, via said carrier network;

said carrier network also being operable to;

receive said acknowledgement packet from said mobile device; and

pass said acknowledgement packet to said data service provider infrastructure;

wherein said data service provider infrastructure may use said location information to analysis the health of said telecommunication network.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mobile device is further operable to determine whether said location information has been requested by said server.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said location data includes identification of said base station.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrier network further comprises a wireless base station for communicating with said mobile device via a wireless connection.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said data service provider prevents storage of location data and end user equipment identifiers together.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wireless device is operable to insert said location information into a field of said acknowledgement packet that said carrier network interprets as data intended for said data service provider infrastructure.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said request and acknowledgement packets are standard packets, used in the course of regular communication, and modified.

8. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said data service provider infrastructure is operable to generate a digital packet having a single bit to indicate that location information is required.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said single bit is in a location whereby said single bit will be disregarded by said older equipment to be detectable by first equipment id said wireless telecommunication network and disregarded by second equipment in said wireless communication network.

10. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said mobile device is operable to selectively disregard said single bit, such that, when disregarded, said mobile device blocks the return of location data.

11. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said server includes a data processor for extracting said location information.

12. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said server includes a database for storing data.

13. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said database stores differential timing data regarding the time difference between the issuance of a given request packet and the receipt of a corresponding acknowledgement packet.

14. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said data service provider infrastructure comprises a server.

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said data service provider infrastructure comprises a server connected to said carrier network via an Internet and a gateway.

16. A method of monitoring the health of a wireless telecommunication network, said telecommunication network including at least one mobile device, a data service provider infrastructure and a carrier network facilitating communication between said mobile device and said data service provider infrastructure, said method comprising the steps of:

at said data service provider infrastructure;

generating a digital packet including a request for location information; and

transmitting said request packet to said mobile device via said carrier network;

at said carrier network;

receiving said request packet from said data service provider infrastructure;

attaching location information for said mobile device, to said request packet; and

transmitting said request packet including said location information, to said mobile device; and

at said mobile device;

receiving said request packet;

extracting said location information from said request packet;

inserting said location information into a field of an acknowledgement packet that said carrier network will pass to said data service provider infrastructure; and

returning said acknowledgement packet to said data service provider infrastructure, via said carrier network;

said location information thereafter available at said data service provider to analyze the health of said telecommunication network.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said request and acknowledgement packets comprise standard packets, and modified.

18. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the step at said mobile device of determining whether said location information has been requested by said data service provider infrastructure.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein said step of determining comprises the step of determining whether a single bit has been set in said request message.

20. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

at said data service provider infrastructure;

receiving said acknowledgement packet;

extracting said location information; and

analyzing said location information.

21. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein said location information comprises data selected from the group consisting of:

NPC, Country code, network code, location area, routing area, base, area, channel and TrafNum.

22. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein said data service provider infrastructure is operable to generate a digital packet using a single bit to indicate that location information is required.

23. A server comprising:

means for generating a digital packet requesting location information;

means for transmitting said request packet to a mobile device via a carrier network;

means for receiving an acknowledgement packet from said mobile device; and

means for extracting location information inserted into said acknowledgement packet by said mobile device.

24. A mobile device comprising:

means for receiving a request packet, initiated by a data service provider infrastructure;

means for extracting location information from said request packet, said location information having been added to said request packet by a carrier network;

means for inserting said location information into a field of an acknowledgement packet that said carrier network will pass to said data service provider infrastructure; and

means for returning said acknowledgement packet to said data service provider infrastructure, via said carrier network.