PROACTIVE LATENCY-BASED END-TO-END TECHNOLOGY SURVEY AND FALLBACK FOR MOBILE TELEPHONY

• US 20110319071A1
• Filed: 06/25/2010
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brisebois, Arthur Richard, Mansfield, William G., Beppler, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,151 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service

Abstract

A system and methodology that facilitates dynamically determining an end-to-end response of a network prior to the selection of a technology for an application, is provided. Moreover, a user equipment (UE) can perform a proactive latency-based end-to-end technology survey to select appropriate technologies for different applications based in part on application requirements, UE and network infrastructure capabilities, network load, concurrent uses, or other factors as determined by the service provider. The results of the survey can be compared with pre-established criteria, as broadcast by the network operator, to determine a network that can be utilized to support an application at a particular location, or to determine whether fallback to another technology provides better quality and/or efficiency can be performed.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates dynamic selection of a communication technology that supports improved service quality, comprising:

at least one processor, within a user equipment (UE), that is configured to execute at least the following computer executable components stored on at least one non-transitory computer readable medium;

a testing component that performs a proactive end-to-end technology survey over at least one communication technology to determine a real-time network condition; and

a network selection component that identifies whether the at least one communication technology supports at least one of a voice or data call based in part on the real-time network condition.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a scheduling component that identifies a time at which the testing component initiates the proactive end-to-end technology survey.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein, the proactive end-to-end technology survey is initiated at least one of periodically, prior to establishing the at least one of the voice or data call, or at a time set by a network operator.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the testing component transmits a ping signal to a ping client within at least one of a core network node or a disparate UE.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the network selection component compares measurements based on an echo of the ping signal with a set of parameters defined by a network operator to select a technology for communication.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a network utilization component that employs the selected technology to establish the at least one of the voice or data call.

7. The system of claim 5, further comprising, a database that stores the set of parameters defined by the network operator.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the database receives at least a portion of the set of parameters via a broadcast message transmit to the UE by the network operator.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the UE returns a result of the proactive end-to-end technology survey to a core network node to facilitate network management.

10. A method for dynamically selecting a network for communication with a user equipment (UE), comprising:

employing at least one processor, within the UE, to execute computer executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory computer readable medium to perform the following acts;

proactively surveying end-to-end technology over at least one communication network;

calculating a set of measurements based on the surveying; and

comparing the set of measurements with a set of parameters to identify the network for UE communication.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the surveying includes transmitting a ping signal to at least one of a core network node or a disparate UE.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmitting includes transmitting a first ping signal to establish a bearer and transmitting a second ping signal to measure a real-time condition of the at least one communication network.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the surveying includes proactively surveying the end-to-end technology at least one of periodically, at a time specified by a network operator or prior to establishing a communication session with the UE.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the calculating includes determining a real-time network condition including at least one of Round Trip Time (RTT), jitter, packet loss, noise level, bandwidth, traffic, or congestion associated with the at least one communication network.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising, receiving the set of parameters via a broadcast message from a network operator.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising, transmitting results of the surveying to a core network node.

17. A system that dynamically identifies a network for communication with a user equipment (UE), comprising:

means for processing;

means for storing computer executable instructions that, in response to execution by the means for processing, implement;

means for assessing at least one real-time end-to-end network condition of one or more communication networks available to the UE; and

means for selecting the network that is employed for communication associated with the UE based on an analysis of the at least one real-time end-to-end network condition.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein, in response to execution by the means for processing, the computer executable instructions further implement, means for initiating a loopback measurement over the one or more communication networks to facilitate assessment of the at least one real-time end-to-end network condition.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein, in response to execution by the means for processing, the computer executable instructions further implement, means for employing the selected network for establishing at least one of a voice or data call with the UE.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein, in response to execution by the means for processing, the computer executable instructions further implement, means for storing a set of parameters received from a network operator via a broadcast message, the set of parameters facilitate the analysis of the at least one real-time end-to-end network condition.