Transmitting a communication from a wireless access point indicating hidden networks

• US 20070026856A1
• Filed: 07/29/2005
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Moore, Timothy, Krantz, Anton, Alam, Mohammad, Niikkonen, Ari
• Granted Patent: US 8,116,287 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/426.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A wireless access point may be configured to advertise, to mobile user devices, multiple wireless networks available through the wireless access point. For example, service set identifiers (SSIDs) may be specified within an information element (IE) of a communication such as, for example, an 802.11 beacon, broadcasted to mobile user devices. Such an IE may utilize the capability provided by IEEE 802.11 itself to use additional and flexible numbers of information elements within a beacon. Accordingly, networks that would otherwise remain hidden due to limitations of known wireless access points are made visible to mobile user devices. Configuring a wireless access point to advertise multiple available wireless networks, for example, by firmware upgrades, may serve as a viable and cost-effective interim solution and/or alternative to replacing a wireless access point with a wireless access point configured to implement virtual wireless access points.

Claims

1. A communication protocol for communicating between a wireless access point of a communications network and one or more mobile user devices, the protocol comprising an act of:

(A) transmitting, from the wireless access point to the one or more mobile user devices, a first communication specifying a plurality of wireless networks available to the one or more user devices through the wireless access point.

2. The communication protocol of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises transmitting the first communication as a beacon communication in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard.

3. The communication protocol of claim 2, wherein the act (A) comprises transmitting a plurality of information elements within the beacon communication, a first of the plurality of information elements specifying at least one of the plurality of available wireless networks and a second of the plurality of information elements specifying at least one other of the plurality of information elements.

4. The communication protocol of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises transmitting the first communication irrespective of whether a communication has been previously received from any of the one or more mobile user devices.

5. The communication protocol of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises transmitting a plurality of service set identifiers within the communication, each service set identifier specifying a wireless network available to the one or more user devices through the wireless access point.

6. The communication protocol of claim 1, further comprising acts of:

(B) receiving the first communication at a first of the one or more mobile user devices; and

(C) communicating the plurality of available wireless networks to a user of the first user device.

7. The communication protocol of claim 1, further comprising acts of:

(B) receiving the first communication at a first of the one or more mobile user devices; and

(C) establishing a network connection between the first mobile user device and the wireless access point.

8. The communication protocol of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises transmitting, within the communication, an indication of whether at least one of the specified wireless networks provides wireless provisioning information.

9. The communication protocol of claim 8, wherein the act (A) comprises transmitting, within the communication, an indication of whether the at least one specified wireless network provides security in accordance with a wireless security technology.

12. The communication protocol of claim 11, wherein the act (A) comprises receiving a plurality of information elements within the beacon communication, a first of the plurality of information elements specifying at least one of the plurality of available wireless networks and a second of the plurality of information elements specifying at least one other of the plurality of available wireless networks.

10. A communication protocol for communicating between a wireless access point of a communications network and a first mobile user device, the protocol comprising an act of:

(A) receiving, at the first mobile user device, a first communication transmitted from the wireless access point to one or more mobile user devices including the first communication device, the first communication specifying a plurality of wireless networks available to the one or more user devices through the wireless access point.

11. The communication protocol of claim 10, wherein the act (A) comprises receiving the first communication as a beacon communication in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard.

13. The communication protocol of claim 10, wherein the act (A) comprises receiving the first communication irrespective of whether a communication has been previously transmitted from the first mobile user device to the wireless access point.

14. The communication protocol of claim 10, wherein the act (A) comprises receiving a plurality of service set identifiers within the communication, each service set identifier specifying a wireless network available to the one or more user devices through the wireless access point.

15. The communication protocol of claim 10, further comprising an act of:

(B) communicating the plurality of available wireless networks to a user of the first user device.

16. The communication protocol of claim 10, further comprising an act of:

(B) establishing a network connection between the first mobile user device and the wireless access point.

17. The communication protocol of claim 10, wherein the act (A) comprises receiving, within the communication, an indication of whether at least one of the specified wireless networks provides wireless provisioning information.

18. The communication protocol of claim 17, wherein the act (A) comprises receiving, within the communication, an indication of whether the at least one specified wireless network provides security in accordance with a wireless security technology.

19. A system for communicating on a communications network, the system comprising:

a wireless access point operative to transmit a first communication to one or more mobile user devices, the first communication specifying a plurality of wireless networks available to the one or more user devices through the wireless access point.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a first of the one or more mobile user devices, comprising a network interface component to receive the first communication at a first of the one or more mobile user devices, and comprising a wireless service component to control communicating the plurality of available wireless networks to a user of the first user device.