Method And Apparatus For Delivering IPP2T (IP-Push-to-Talk) Wireless LAN Mobile Radio Service

• US 20080043691A1
• Filed: 09/19/2007
• Published: 02/21/2008
• 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, Miller, Robert, Murray, John, Chow, Albert
• Granted Patent: US 7,948,923 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 (PP2T) 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 method of operating an emulated push-to-talk device comprising:

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.

2. The method according to claim 1, 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.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein membership in an IPP2T user group is dynamic.

4. The method according to claim 1, 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).

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein each BANT may be a host for more than one IPP2T user group.

6. The method according to claim 4, 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.

7. The method according to claim 1, 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).

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein at an application level a multicast address may support multiple data streams.