APPARATUS AND METHOD OF NETWORK SELECTION BASED ON AVAILABLE BANDWIDTH

• US 20140213256A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Meylan, Arnaud, Horn, Gavin Bernard, Faccin, Stefano
• Application Number:
  US13/842,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20140213256A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/436
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0022 for transferring data sessions between adjacent core network technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices are described for network selection by a mobile device that enables a network selection based, at least in part, on a network access policy that indicates use of a radio access technology (RAT) based on one or more network characteristics. The network access policy may be selectively applied based on one or more predetermined conditions, such as a time of day, mobile device location, RAT access cost, roaming status, subscription profile, and/or data usage, for example, In some examples, when the network access policy is applied, the mobile device may be configured to select from among a number of access nodes that may operate using different RATs, such as cellular access node(s) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access node(s). Communications may be established with a selected access node based at least in part on network conditions such as available bandwidth for an access node.

Claims

1. A method of managing network selection at a mobile device, comprising:

determining that more than one radio access technology (RAT) is available for wireless communication with the mobile device;

accessing a network access policy that indicates use of a RAT based on one or more network characteristics;

selectively applying the network access policy based on one or more predetermined criteria;

determining one or more parameters for each of the more than one RAT based on the network access policy; and

establishing communication with the RAT based on the one or more parameters and the network access policy.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the one or more parameters comprises:

estimating an available bandwidth for one or more RAT; and

identifying the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein estimating the available bandwidth comprises at least one of estimating an available radio link bandwidth or determining a backhaul bandwidth.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the backhaul bandwidth comprises at least one of receiving the backhaul bandwidth in a message from another node or estimating the backhaul bandwidth.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein estimating the available bandwidth comprises measuring a link capacity at the mobile device and receiving or estimating parameters related to a network load.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise one or more of:

a current time of day;

a current location of the mobile device;

a cost of accessing one of the more than one RAT;

a roaming status of the mobile device on one or more RAT;

a subscription profile of the mobile device;

a current data usage of the mobile device;

or

an identity of a WLAN or cellular access node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network access policy comprises a first bandwidth-related parameter threshold for a first RAT and a second bandwidth-related parameter threshold for a second RAT.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a first bandwidth-related parameter of the first RAT meets the first bandwidth-related parameter threshold;

determining a second bandwidth-related parameter of the second RAT fails to meet the second bandwidth-related parameter threshold; and

establishing communication with the first RAT.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein estimating the available bandwidth for each RAT further comprises estimating as a function of one or more bandwidth-indicating parameters.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more bandwidth-indicating parameters include one or more of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a resource utilization, an noise rise, a RAT load, a number of codes available, a slot utilization factor, a transmit power available, a number of resource blocks available, or a capacity and utilization of access node backhaul.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein estimating as the function of one or more bandwidth-indicating parameters further comprises:

estimating a quality of a radio link and link capacity;

estimating a fraction of system resources available to the mobile device; and

scaling the link capacity with the fraction of system resources available to the mobile device to generate the available radio link bandwidth for each RAT.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the network access policy further comprises a selection condition, and wherein establishing communication with the RAT is further based on the selection condition.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the selection condition comprises a first RAT selection condition for selecting the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth and a second RAT selection condition for selecting a second RAT.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining the first RAT selection condition is met, and wherein establishing communication with the RAT based on the one or more parameters and the network access policy is further based on the first RAT selection condition being met.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining the second RAT selection condition is met; and

establishing communication with the second RAT based on the second RAT selection condition being met.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first RAT selection condition comprises a first bandwidth-related parameter threshold and the second RAT selection condition comprises a second bandwidth-related parameter threshold.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining the first bandwidth-related parameter of one of the more than one RAT meets the first bandwidth-related parameter threshold thereby achieving the first RAT condition; and

determining the second bandwidth-related parameter of the second RAT does not meet the second bandwidth-related parameter threshold thereby not achieving the second RAT condition.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the selection condition includes a hysteresis value to bias against selecting a new RAT.

19. A computer program product for managing network selection at a mobile device, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising code for;

determining that more than one radio access technology (RAT) is available for wireless communication with the mobile device;

accessing a network access policy that indicates use of a RAT based on one or more network characteristics;

selectively applying the network access policy based on one or more predetermined criteria;

determining one or more parameters for each of the more than one RAT based on the network access policy; and

establishing communication with the RAT based on the one or more parameters and the network access policy.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the code for determining the one or more parameters comprises code for:

estimating an available bandwidth for one or more RAT; and

identifying the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the code for estimating the available bandwidth comprises at least one of code for estimating an available radio link bandwidth or code for determining a backhaul bandwidth.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the code for determining the backhaul bandwidth comprises at least one of code for receiving the backhaul bandwidth in a message from another node or code for estimating the backhaul bandwidth.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the code for estimating the available bandwidth comprises code for measuring a link capacity at the mobile device and receiving or estimating parameters related to a network load.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising code for:

determining a first bandwidth-related parameter of the first RAT meets the first bandwidth-related parameter threshold;

determining a second bandwidth-related parameter of the second RAT fails to meet the second bandwidth-related parameter threshold; and

establishing communication with the first RAT.

25. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise one or more of:

a current time of day;

a current location of the mobile device;

a cost of accessing one of the more than one RAT;

a roaming status of the mobile device on one or more RAT;

a subscription profile of the mobile device;

a current data usage of the mobile device, or

an identity of a WLAN or cellular access node.

26. An apparatus for managing network selection at a mobile device, comprising:

means for determining that more than one radio access technology (RAT) is available for wireless communication with the mobile device;

means for accessing a network access policy that indicates use of a RAT based on one or more network characteristics;

means for selectively applying the network access policy based on one or more predetermined criteria;

means for determining one or more parameters for each of the more than one RAT based on the network access policy; and

means for establishing communication with the RAT based on the one or more parameters and the network access policy.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for determining the one or more parameters comprises:

means for estimating an available bandwidth for one or more RAT; and

means for identifying the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the means for estimating the available bandwidth comprises at least one of means for estimating an available radio link bandwidth or means for determining a backhaul bandwidth.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for determining the backhaul bandwidth comprises at least one of means for receiving the backhaul bandwidth in a message from another node or means for estimating the backhaul bandwidth.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the means for estimating the available bandwidth comprises means for measuring a link capacity at the mobile device and receiving or estimating parameters related to a network load.

31. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise one or more of:

a current time of day;

a current location of the mobile device;

a cost of accessing one of the more than one RAT;

a roaming status of the mobile device on one or more RAT;

a subscription profile of the mobile device;

a current data usage of the mobile device;

or

an identity of a WLAN or cellular access node.

32. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

means for determining a first bandwidth-related parameter of the first RAT meets the first bandwidth-related parameter threshold;

means for determining a second bandwidth-related parameter of the second RAT fails to meet the second bandwidth-related parameter threshold; and

means for establishing communication with the first RAT.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the means for estimating the available bandwidth for each RAT further comprises means for estimating as a function of one or more bandwidth-indicating parameters.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the one or more bandwidth-indicating parameters include one or more of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a resource utilization, an noise rise, a RAT load, a number of codes available, a slot utilization factor, a transmit power available, a number of resource blocks available, or a capacity and utilization of access node backhaul.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the means for estimating as the function of one or more bandwidth-indicating parameters further comprises:

means for estimating a quality of a radio link and link capacity;

means for estimating a fraction of system resources available to the mobile device; and

means for scaling the link capacity with the fraction of system resources available to the mobile device to generate the available bandwidth for each RAT.

36. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the network access policy further comprises a selection condition, and wherein establishing communication with the RAT having the highest estimated available radio link bandwidth is further based on the selection condition.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the selection condition comprises a first RAT selection condition for selecting the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth and a second RAT selection condition for selecting a second RAT.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, further comprising means for determining the first RAT selection condition is met, and wherein the means for establishing communication with the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth is further based on the first RAT selection condition being met.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, further comprising:

means for determining the second RAT selection condition is met; and

means for establishing communication with the second RAT based on the second RAT selection condition being met.

40. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first RAT selection condition comprises a first bandwidth-related parameter threshold and the second RAT selection condition comprises a second bandwidth-related parameter threshold.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising:

means for determining the first bandwidth-related parameter of one of the more than one RAT meets the first bandwidth-related parameter threshold thereby achieving the first RAT condition; and

means for determining the second bandwidth-related parameter of the second RAT does not meet the second bandwidth-related parameter threshold thereby not achieving the second RAT condition.

42. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the selection condition includes a hysteresis value to bias against selecting a new RAT.

43. A device for managing network selection, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in electronic communication with the processor, the memory embodying instructions, the instructions being executable by the processor to;

determine that more than one radio access technology (RAT) is available for wireless communication with the mobile device;

access a network access policy that indicates use of a RAT based on one or more network characteristics;

selectively apply the network access policy based on one or more predetermined criteria;

determine one or more parameters for each of the more than one RAT based on the network access policy; and

establish communication with the RAT based on the one or more parameters and the network access policy.

44. The device of claim 43, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

estimate an available bandwidth for one or more RAT; and

identify the RAT having the highest estimated available bandwidth.

45. The device of claim 44, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to estimate the available bandwidth through at least one of estimating an available radio link bandwidth or determining a backhaul bandwidth.

46. The device of claim 45, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to determine the backhaul bandwidth through at least one receipt of the backhaul bandwidth in a message from another node or estimating the backhaul bandwidth.

47. The device of claim 45, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to measure a link capacity at the mobile device and receive or estimate parameters related to a network load.

48. The device of claim 44, wherein network access policy comprises a first bandwidth-related parameter threshold for a first RAT and a second bandwidth-related parameter threshold for a second RAT.

49. The device of claim 48, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

determine a first bandwidth-related parameter of the first RAT meets the first bandwidth-related parameter threshold;

determine a second bandwidth-related parameter of the second RAT fails to meet the second bandwidth-related parameter threshold; and

establish communication with the first RAT.

50. The device of claim 43, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise one or more of:

a current time of day;

a current location of the mobile device;

a cost of accessing one of the more than one RAT;

a roaming status of the mobile device on one or more RAT;

a subscription profile of the mobile device;

a current data usage of the mobile device;

or

an identity of a WLAN or cellular access node.