Provisioning private access points for wireless networking

• US 20080065752A1
• Filed: 12/15/2006
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Airvana Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pajjuri, Ambika, Ch'ng, Shi Baw
• Granted Patent: US 8,688,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/105 PBS [Private Base Station] network H04W84/12 - H04W84/16 take precedence

Abstract

In general, in one aspect, instructions are received from a user for management of a network device, the instructions are adjusted for compatibility with requirements of a network provider other than the user, and the adjusted instructions are implemented on the network device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving instructions from a user for management of a network device,

adjusting the instructions for compatibility with requirements of a network provider other than the user, and

implementing the adjusted instructions on the network device.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the network device is at least partially under the control of the user.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the instructions are received from a portable electronic device.

4. The method of claim 3 in which the portable electronic device is a mobile telephone.

5. The method of claim 3 in which the portable electronic device is an access terminal connected to a radio access network.

6. The method of claim 5 in which the portable electronic device is connected to the radio access network through the network device.

7. The method of claim 1 in which receiving the instructions comprises receiving a text message from the user.

8. The method of claim 7 in which the text message comprises an SMS message.

9. The method of claim 7 in which the text message system comprises an instant message

10. The method of claim 7 in which receiving the instructions also comprises identifying device management instructions within the text message.

11. The method of claim 7 in which receiving the instructions also comprises authenticating the user by processing caller ID information associated with the text message.

12. The method of claim 1 in which receiving the instructions comprises:

authenticating the user as a user authorized to provide instructions.

13. The method of claim 1 in which receiving the instructions comprises:

receiving a text message from the user, and

authenticating the user that sent the text message as a user authorized to provide instructions.

14. The method of claim 13 in which authenticating the user comprises

identifying caller ID information associated with the text message,

transmitting the caller ID information to an authorization and accounting server,

associating a user account with the caller ID information and

confirming that the user account is associated with the network device.

15. The method of claim 1 in which receiving the instructions comprises:

receiving a text message from the user, and

identifying one or more of several network devices associated with the user.

16. The method of claim 15 in which identifying the one or more network devices comprises:

locating within the text message an identification of a network device.

17. The method of claim 15 in which identifying the one or more network devices comprises:

locating within the text message an instruction to configure all networking devices associated with the user.

18. The method of claim 15 in which identifying the one or more network devices comprises:

identifying a set of network devices associated with the user and having a particular geographic location.

19. The method of claim 1 in which adjusting the device management instruction comprises:

identifying within the instructions a list of access terminals,

associating each access terminal on the list with a device identification, and

generating an instruction that encodes the device identification.

20. The method of claim 19 in which associating the access terminals with device identifications comprises:

transmitting the list of access terminals to an authorization and accounting server, and

receiving from the authorization and accounting server a list of access terminal device identifications.

21. The method of claim 19 in which the list of access terminals comprises a telephone number.

22. The method of claim 1 in which adjusting the device management instructions comprises

converting the device management instructions into a format usable to set device configuration parameters.

23. The method of claim 1 in which adjusting the device management instructions comprises:

identifying within the instructions an identification of an access terminal,

determining a geographic location of the access terminal,

determining whether the access terminal is near the network device, and

if the access terminal is near the network device generating an instruction that instructs the network device to provide access to the access terminal.

24. The method of claim 1 in which adjusting the device management instructions comprises:

identifying within the instructions an identification of an access terminal,

determining whether a technology used by the access terminal is compatible with the network device,

if the technology is not compatible, disregarding the device management instruction, and

if the technology is compatible, generating an instruction that instructs the network device to provide access to the access terminal.

25. The method of claim 1 in which adjusting the device management instructions comprises:

identifying within the instructions an identification of an access terminal,

determining whether the access terminal is authorized to receive services offered by a network operator,

if the access terminal is not authorized, disregarding the device management instruction, and

if the technology is compatible, generating an instruction that instructs the network device to provide access to the access terminal.

26. The method of claim 14 in which

confirming that the user account is associated with the network device comprises associating the user account with a specific network device, and

implementing the adjusted instructions comprises transmitting the instructions to the specific network device.

27. The method of claim 1 in which implementing the adjusted instructions comprises:

transmitting an authentication signal to the network device,

receiving an acknowledgment from the network device,

transmitting control parameters to the network device, and

instructing the network device to implement controls according to the parameters.

28. The method of claim 1 in which implementing the adjusted instructions comprises

transmitting a connection request to the network device, and

transmitting a list of access terminals to the network device.

29. The method of claim 28 in which implementing the adjusted instructions also comprises:

determining that an acknowledgment was not received from the network device,

causing the network device to be reset, and

upon determining that the device has been reset,

transmitting configuration instruction to the network device.

30. The method of claim 29 in which causing the network device to be reset comprises:

transmitting a failure indication to a text messaging server, and

causing the text messaging server to transmit an instruction to the user to reset the network device.

31. The method of claim 29 in which determining that the device has been reset comprises receiving a transmission from the network device.

32. The method of claim 29 in which the configuration instructions include the list of access terminals.

33. The method of claim 1 in which the network device is an access point of a radio access network.

34. The method of claim 33 in which the radio access network uses an EvDO protocol.

35. The method of claim 33 in which the radio access network uses an UMTS protocol.

36. A method comprising:

receiving a text message including an identification of an access terminal,

associating the access terminal with a device identification,

generating an instruction that encodes the device identifications, and

transmitting the instruction to cause the network device to provide access to the access terminal.

37. A radio access network management system comprising:

an access point, and

a network configuration server configured to

receive a text message from a user comprising instruction for management of the access point,

adjust the instructions for compatibility with requirements of a network provider other than the user, and

implement the adjusted instructions on the access point.

38. The system of claim 37 also comprising an access terminal configured to transmit the text message using a radio access network managed by the system.

39. The system of claim 37 also comprising an access terminal configured to transmit the text message using the access point.

40. The system of claim 38 in which the access terminal comprises a mobile telephone.

41. The system of claim 37 also comprising a text message application server.

42. The system of claim 41 in which the text message application server is a component of an SMS system.

43. The system of claim 41 in which the text message application server comprises an instant messaging system client.

44. The system of claim 37 in which the network configuration server is also configured to authenticate the user as a user authorized to provide instructions by processing caller ID information associated with the text message.

45. The system of claim 44 in which the network configuration server is configured to authenticate the user by:

identifying caller ID information associated with the text message,

transmitting the caller ID information to an authorization and accounting server,

associating a user account with the caller ID information, and

confirming that the user account is associated with the access point.

46. The system of claim 37 in which the network configuration server is configured to adjust the instructions by:

identifying within the text message a list of access terminals,

associating each access terminal on the list with a device identification, and

generating an instruction that encodes the device identifications.

47. The system of claim 46 also comprising an authorization and accounting server and in which the network configuration server is configured to associated the access terminals with device identifications by:

transmitting the list of access terminals to the authorization and accounting server, and receiving from the authorization and accounting server a list of access terminal device identifications.

48. The system of claim 37 in which the network configuration server is configured to implement the adjusted instructions on the access point by:

transmitting an authentication signal to the network device,

receiving an acknowledgment from the network device,

transmitting control parameters to the network device, and

instructing the network device to implement controls according to the parameters.

49. The system of claim 37 in which the network configuration server is configured to implement the adjusted instructions on the access point by:

transmitting a connection request to the network device, and

transmitting a list of access terminals to the network device.

52. The medium of claim 44 in which the instructions cause the network configuration server to authenticate the user by:

identifying caller ID information associated with the text message,

transmitting the caller ID information to an authorization and accounting server,

associating a user account with the caller ID information, and

confirming that the user account is associated with the access point.

50. A computer readable medium encoding instructions to cause a network configuration server of a radio access network to:

receive a text message from a user comprising instructions for management of an access point,

adjust the instructions for compatibility with requirements of a network provider other than the user, and

implement the adjusted instructions on the access point.

51. The medium of claim 50 in which the instructions also cause the network configuration server to authenticate the user as a user authorized to provide instructions by processing caller ID information associated with the text message.

53. The medium of claim 50 in which the instructions cause the network configuration server to adjust the instructions by:

identifying within the text message a list of access terminals,

associating each access terminal on the list with a device identification, and

generating an instruction that encodes the device identification.

54. The medium of claim 53 in which the instructions cause the network configuration server to associate the access terminals with device identifications by:

transmitting the list of access terminals to an authorization and accounting server, and receiving from the authorization and accounting server a list of access terminal device identifications.

55. The medium of claim 50 in which the instructions cause the network configuration server to implement the adjusted instructions on the access point by:

transmitting an authentication signal to the network device,

receiving an acknowledgment from the network device,

transmitting control parameters to the network device, and

instructing the network device to implement controls according to the parameters.

56. The medium of claim 50 in which the instructions cause the network configuration server to implement the adjusted instructions on the access point by:

transmitting a connection request to the network device, and

transmitting a list of access terminals to the network device.

57. A computer readable medium encoding instructions to cause an access terminal of a radio access network to:

receive input from a user indicating an instruction for management of an access point of the radio access network;

convert the instruction into a text message; and

transmit the text message to a network configuration server.