SERVICE CONTINUITY DURING LOCAL BREAKOUT IN A FEMTOCELL

• US 20100128677A1
• Filed: 11/20/2009
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dowlatkhah, Sangar, Huber, Kurt, Faryar, Alireza, Liu, Cheng P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,817,699 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/03 Protocol definition or specification protocol conformance testing H04L1/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0226 based on location or mobility handoff or reselection H04W36/00; mobile application services making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0231 based on communication conditions dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition based on channel quality criteria H04W72/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0967 Quality of Service [QoS] parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/00 Synchronisation arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/53 based on regulatory allocation policies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 : using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/12 : Access point controller devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A system and methodology that facilitates service continuity when a user equipment (UE), employing local breakout mechanisms at a femto access point (FAP) for a communication session, moves out of the femto coverage area is provided. In particular, a network change detection component can be employed to detect when the UE, attached to the FAP, changes its connection from the femto network to the macro network. Further, an active communication session can exist between the UE and a device/service/application on a local Area network (LAN) connected to a FAP, and/or the Internet, which utilizes local breakout at the FAP. When the UE moves out of the femto network, a context management component can be employed to seamlessly resume the communication session, via the macro network.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates communication session continuity between devices and networks during communication in a femtocell, comprising:

a continuity component that provides communication session continuity to a user equipment (UE), attached to a femto access point (FAP), when the UE detaches from the FAP,

wherein the FAP employs one or more local breakout mechanisms when the UE is attached to the FAP, which facilitate routing of a communication session directly at the FAP, without directing the communication session through a macro network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein, the continuity component facilitates seamlessly resuming the communication session between the UE and at least one of a device, application or service of a Local Area Network (LAN) connected to the FAP, or the Internet, when the UE switches between macro and femto networks.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a network change detection component that determines when the UE changes connection from a femto network to the macro network.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a context management component that determines a context state associated with the communication session of the UE.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising, a database that stores the context state of the communication session, which can be employed by a macro network entity to resume the communication session over the macro network.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a data session management component that maintains a data communication session associated with the UE, when the UE moves from a femto network to the macro network.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a streaming session management component that facilitates session continuity for streaming data when the UE moves from a femto network to the macro network, the streaming session management component seamlessly transfers the streaming data between a plurality of devices in the femto network, by employing local breakout.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising, an interactive session management component that ensures seamless session continuity for an interactive communication session over the macro network, when the UE moves to the macro network.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a messaging session management component that at least one of seamlessly transfers a messaging session between devices in a femto network by employing local breakout at the FAP, or facilitates messaging session continuity, when a device associated with the messaging session moves outside a femto coverage area.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising, an application management component facilitates communication between an operation support system and the UE, the application management component ensures that the operation support system resumes communication with the UE via the macro network, when the UE moves to the macro network.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a synchronization component that manages synchronization of data between the UE and at least of a device, application or service on a LAN that is connected to the FAP, or a website on the Internet, without employing macro network resources.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a circuit switched (CS) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) management component that facilitates converting an active CS call at least one of to or from the UE to a VoIP call, without customer interaction, to release CS resources in a femto network.

13. A method that facilitates service continuity during local breakout mechanisms at a femto access point (FAP), comprising:

determining that a user equipment (UE) is moving from a first network to a second network;

identifying an active communication session between the UE and at least one of a device, application, service on a Local Area Network (LAN) that is connected to the FAP, or the Internet; and

maintaining seamless continuity of the active communication session by at least transferring the active communication session through the second network, when the UE moves to the second network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifying includes identifying at least one of a data session, an interactive session, a streaming session, or a messaging session between the UE and at least one of a disparate UE attached to the FAP, the device, application, service on the LAN, or the Internet.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising, determining status information associated with the active communication session.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising, storing the status information in a database accessible to the second network.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising, resuming the active communication session over the second network based in part on at least the status information.

18. A system that facilitates seamless communication with a user equipment (UE), when switching between a femtocell and a macro cell, during local breakout at a femto access point (FAP), comprising:

means for determining status information associated with an active communication session between the UE and at least one of a disparate UE attached to the FAP, a device, application, service on a Local Area Network (LAN) connected to the FAP, or the Internet; and

means for seamlessly resuming the active communication session when the UE moves between the femtocell and the macro cell by employing the determined status information.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising, means for routing the active communication session directly via the FAP, without transferring the active communication session through a macro network, when the UE is attached to the FAP.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising, means for determining when the UE switches between the femtocell and the macro cell.