SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING CLOSED SUBSCRIBER GROUPS IN A PACKET-BASED WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20100110945A1
• Filed: 03/18/2009
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Dalsgaard, Lars, Koskela, Jarkko Tuomo
• Granted Patent: US 8,982,749 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0069 Cell search, i.e. determining cell identity [cell-ID] design of multiplexing codes H04J13/00; processing access restriction or access information H04W48/16; discovery of network devices for network data management H04W8/005; sounding signals for channel estimation H04L25/0226; structure of reference signals in multicarrier modulation systems H04L27/2613; frame, time or carrier synchronisation in multicarrier modulation systems H04L27/2655
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing radio frequency transceiver user equipment in a packet based radio frequency signaling communication system are disclosed. User equipment is provided with closed subscriber group “CSG” capability including permanent storage for a CSG whitelist, the whitelist including identifiers of CSGs the user equipment is a member of. Base stations transmit signals including identifiers corresponding to CSGs the base station supports. The base station or cell selection process performed by the user equipment includes selecting cells that are part of the CSG whitelist. In additional embodiments, the user equipment includes user alterable storage for a user controlled CSG whitelist. The user alterable storage may further be partitioned into permanent and temporary portions. In an exemplary method, the user controls the cell selection process using the CSG whitelist information stored in the user equipment. Methods for managing the CSG whitelist are described.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing a list of closed subscriber groups, the stored list indicating a membership in the stored closed subscriber groups;

receiving a user command to search available network elements based on the stored list of closed subscriber groups;

indicating to the user the results of searching available network elements based on the stored list of closed subscriber groups; and

selecting a network element corresponding to the closed subscriber group indicated by a further user command.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a radio signal including a closed subscriber group identifier from a plurality of network elements;

determining that none of the received closed subscriber group identifiers corresponds to one of the closed subscriber groups on the stored list;

indicating to a user that one or more of the network elements is available for connection;

receiving a user command to add the closed subscriber group identifier corresponding to one of the network elements to the stored list; and

storing the closed subscriber group identifier on the list of closed subscriber groups.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the list of closed subscriber groups further comprises storing a system configurable list and storing a user configurable list.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

following the receiving of the radio signals, registering with a network associated with one or more network elements transmitting the radio signals; and

storing the closed subscriber group identifier corresponding to one or more network elements of the network on the list of closed subscriber groups.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a command to remove the closed subscriber group from the stored list of closed subscriber groups; and

removing the closed subscriber group from the stored list.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a user interface operable to add closed subscriber groups to the stored list of closed subscriber groups and to select a network element corresponding to a closed subscriber group.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

showing on a user interface a plurality of network elements available within reception range;

receiving a command to add a closed subscriber group corresponding to one or more of the available network elements to the stored list of closed subscriber groups; and

storing the closed subscriber group to the stored list of closed subscriber groups.

8. The method of claim 3, further comprising providing a user interface configured to selectively store a closed subscriber group identifier to user configurable list, responsive to a user command.

18. The method of claim 3, wherein storing the user configurable list further comprises at least a storing selected from one of storing closed subscriber groups as permanent entries and storing closed subscriber groups as temporary entries on the user configurable list.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

a closed subscriber group storage handler configured to store closed subscriber group information;

a system alterable memory portion coupled to the closed subscriber group storage handler, configured to store closed subscriber group identifiers received from a system resource; and

a user alterable memory portion coupled to the closed subscriber group storage handler, configured to store closed subscriber group identifiers received from a user.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the user alterable memory portion further comprises non-volatile memory.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the system alterable memory portion further comprises non-volatile memory.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the system alterable memory portion further comprises a subscriber identity module (“

SIM”

) card.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the closed subscriber group storage handler is configured to receive commands to remove closed subscriber groups from the lists stored in the user equipment and further configured to delete the respective closed subscriber groups from the stored lists responsive to the commands.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus further comprises a radio frequency transceiver configured to receive closed subscriber group identifier signals and further configured to compare the received identifier signals to the lists of closed subscriber groups stored in the user equipment, and further operable to select a network element that transmits an identifier located on one of the stored lists and to receive signals from that selected network element.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the closed subscriber group storage handler is configured to receive a command to delete the selected one of the closed subscriber groups corresponding to a selected network element from one of the stored lists of closed subscriber groups;

and

wherein the apparatus deselects the selected network element in response to the deletion of the closed subscriber group identifier from the stored list.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the closed subscriber group storage handler is operable to receive a list of closed subscriber groups from a system resource and is further operable to store the received list of closed subscriber groups in the system alterable memory portion.

19. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the user alterable memory portion further comprises a permanent entry portion configured to store closed subscriber groups permanently and a temporary entry portion configured to store closed subscriber groups temporarily.

17. A computer readable storage medium containing stored instructions that, when executed by a programmable processor, perform:

storing a list of closed subscriber groups, the stored list indicating a membership in the stored closed subscriber groups;

receiving a user command to search available network elements based on the stored list of closed subscriber groups;

indicating to the user the results of searching available network elements based on the stored list of closed subscriber groups; and

selecting a network element corresponding to the closed subscriber group indicated by a further user command.

20. A system, comprising:

a first radio transceiver, further comprising;

a closed subscriber group storage handler configured to store closed subscriber group information;

a system alterable memory portion coupled to the closed subscriber group storage handler, configured to store closed subscriber group identifiers received from a system resource; and

a user alterable memory portion coupled to the closed subscriber group storage handler, configured to store closed subscriber group identifiers received from a user; and

a second radio transceiver configured to communicate closed subscriber group signals with the first radio transceiver over an air interface using radio frequency signaling.