SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVELY PROVISIONING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES BETWEEN AN ACCESS POINT AND A TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK USING A SUBSCRIBER IDENTIFIER

• US 20100014507A1
• Filed: 07/17/2008
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Hassan, Omar, Linkola, Janne P., Caldwell, Christopher E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,885,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/084 using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A method and system for reducing network load by selectively provisioning services between an access point and a carrier network is disclosed. The access point supports telecommunications services over an IP network. The access point includes a network connection and a telephone connector capable of connecting to a standard landline telephone. The access point also includes at least one detection component that detects whether a landline telephone is plugged in to the telephone connector. The access point is configured to provision a telecommunications services through the IP network when it detects that an identification module is present.

Claims

1. A wireless local area network (WLAN) access point configured for facilitating IP-based communications with a telecommunications system, the system comprising:

an antenna;

a WLAN radio connected to the antenna and configured to provide WLAN connectivity;

a network connection component configured to communicate with an IP-based network and connected to transmit and receive data received from WLAN radio;

a telephone connector component configured to accept a wired connection with a landline telephone;

an identification module socket configured to accept an identification module, wherein the identification module includes a tamper-resistant memory and wherein the tamper-resistant memory has stored therein a subscriber identifier, and wherein the subscriber identity is neither a Medium Access Control (MAC) address nor an electronic serial number (ESN);

a detection component connected to the telephone connector component and configured to detect if an identification module is present in the identification module socket; and

a connection manager configured to provision telecommunications services between the telephone connector component and the IP-based network if the detection component detects that the identification module socket contains an identification module, wherein provisioning comprises registering with a cellular telephone carrier network, providing user-specific information to the cellular telephone carrier network, wherein at least some of the user-specific information is provided through out-of-band communications, and receiving a resource allocation from the cellular telephone carrier network.

2. The WLAN access point of claim 1, wherein the identification module socket is a SIM card socket configured to accept a SIM card.

3. The WLAN access point of claim 1, wherein the detection component comprises a mechanical or electromechanical switch to detect if the identification module is present.

4. The WLAN access point of claim 1, wherein the detection component uses electrical characteristics of the identification module socket to detect the identification module, the electrical characteristics comprising one or more of the following:

resistance, capacitance, or inductance.

5. The WLAN access point of claim 1, wherein the detection component is configured to generate an interrupt signal when the identification module is detected and wherein the connection manager is configured to provision the telecommunications services in response to the interrupt signal.

6. The WLAN access point of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications services are UMA services.

7. A method of provisioning telecommunications services through an access point, the access point being suitable for use as an access point to an IP-based wireless telecommunications network to interface with a landline telephone, the method comprising:

automatically determining if an identification module is inserted into an identification module slot in the access point, wherein the identifier module and the access point are configured to permit an end user to physically and manually insert at least a portion of the identifier module in the access point; and

if the access point includes the identification module, then automatically provisioning a communications connection between the landline telephone and the IP-based network.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identification module includes a tamper-resistant memory, wherein the tamper-resistant memory has stored therein a subscriber identifier, and wherein provisioning comprises providing the subscriber identifier to the telecommunications network.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein provisioning comprises registering with a carrier network to carry out voice communications and receiving a resource allocation from the carrier network.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein determining comprises using mechanical characteristics to detect the identification module.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein determining comprises using electrical characteristics to detect the identification module.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

if an identification module is determined not to be present, waiting a predetermined time period; and

repeating determining after the predetermined time period has passed.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

generating an interrupt signal if an identification module is inserted into the slot; and

provisioning the telecommunications services in response to the interrupt signal.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein determining is executed during an initialization process of the access point.

15. A system for managing use of an access point configured for facilitating IP-based communications in a telecommunications system, the system comprising:

a telephone connector component configured to accept a connection with a landline telephone device;

a network connection component configured to communicate with an IP-based network;

an identifier detection component configured to detect if a subscriber identifier has been provided by a subscriber to the access point; and

a connection manager configured to provision a telecommunications services between the telephone connector component and the IP-based network if the identifier detection component detects that the subscriber identifier has been provided and the subscriber identifier indicates that the telecommunications services is permitted.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising an identification module acceptor configured to accept an identification module having the subscriber identifier.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising multiple telephone connector components, each telephone connector component having an associated identification detection component, wherein the individual identifier detection components are configured to independently detect if a subscriber identifier has been provided and the connection manager is configured to independently provision telecommunications services between the IP-based network and individual ones of the multiple telephone connector components.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising an identification module slot configured to accept an identification module having a subscriber identifier, wherein the identifier detection component uses the impedance of the identification module slot to detect if the identification module is present.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising a radio component configured to provide telecommunications services using a licensed frequency band.

20. The system of claim 15, further comprising a radio component configured to provide telecommunications services using an unlicensed frequency band.

21. A system for managing use of an access point configured for facilitating IP-based communications in a telecommunications system, the system comprising:

a network connection component for connecting to an IP-based network;

a telephone connection component for connecting to a landline telephone;

a means for determining if a subscriber identifier has been provided;

a means for provisioning telecommunications services between the telephone connector and the IP-based network if the subscriber identifier has been provided.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

an identification module means configured to accept an identification module, wherein the identification module includes a tamper-resistant memory and wherein the tamper-resistant memory has stored therein the subscriber identifier,

wherein the means for determining uses electrical characteristics of the telephone connector component to detect the identification module, the electrical characteristics comprising one or more of the following;

resistance, capacitance, or inductance.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

an identification module means configured to accept an identification module, wherein the identification module includes a tamper-resistant memory and wherein the tamper-resistant memory has stored therein the subscriber identifier.

24. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

a means for determining billing information for the telecommunications services based at least in part on the subscriber identifier.

25. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

a means for receiving a street address associated with the subscriber identifier,

wherein the means for provisioning is configured to provision the telecommunications services only if the street address is received.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for determining is configured to generate an interrupt signal when the subscriber identifier has been provided and wherein the means for provisioning is configured to provision the telecommunications services in response to the interrupt signal.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for determining is configured to periodically attempt to determine if the subscriber identifier has been provided.

28. The system of claim 21, further comprising a radio component configured to provide telecommunications services using a licensed frequency band.

29. The system of claim 21, further comprising a radio component configured to provide telecommunications services using an unlicensed frequency band.

30. A method for provisioning voice communications between an access point and a telecommunications system, the method comprising:

receiving a registration signal from the access point, wherein the signal includes a subscriber identifier received from a user-provided memory device that stores the subscriber identifier in tamper-resistant memory;

comparing the subscriber identifier to a range of values;

finding a street address associated with the subscriber identifier; and

selectively provisioning a telecommunications services between the access point and the telecommunications network, based at least in part on the comparison and on whether the street address was found.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein provisioning a telecommunications services comprises provisioning the telecommunications services if the value of the subscriber identifier is within the range of values and rejecting the telecommunications services if the value of the subscriber identifier is not within the range of values.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising determining call billing information based at least in part on the subscriber identifier.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

receiving connection type data from the access point, the connection type data including information to indicate service, equipment, or radio capabilities of the access device; and

determining call billing information based on the subscriber identifier and the connection type data.