SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTHENTICATING LOCAL CPE

• US 20150128216A1
• Filed: 11/01/2013
• Published: 05/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charter Communications Operating LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Charter Communications Operating LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: ROLLS, JAMES A. IV
• Granted Patent: US 9,628,457 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/105 PBS [Private Base Station] network H04W84/12 - H04W84/16 take precedence

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus and other mechanisms for authenticating wireless customer premises equipment (CPE) at a service location by transmitting an authentication trigger signal via a first communication mechanism associated with the service location toward CPE associated with the service location; monitoring a second communication mechanism associated with the service location to detect therefrom any received authentication trigger response signals; and authenticating only CPE associated with a received authentication trigger response signal, wherein at least one of the first and second communication mechanisms comprises a local infrastructure element.

Claims

1. A method of authenticating wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), comprising:

transmitting an authentication trigger signal via a first communication mechanism associated with a service location toward CPE associated with the service location;

monitoring a second communication mechanism to detect an authentication trigger response signal; and

authenticating only CPE associated with a received authentication trigger response signal;

wherein at least one of said first and second communication mechanisms comprises a local infrastructure element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said local infrastructure element comprises customer premises electrical wiring.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said local infrastructure element comprises customer premises cable-television wiring.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said local infrastructure element comprises one of customer premises telephone wiring and customer premises computer network cabling.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said local infrastructure element comprises a sound transmissive infrastructure element.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said local infrastructure element comprises an optical transmissive infrastructure element.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said authentication trigger signal is transmitted to each CPE associated with the service location.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising adapting CPE access according to CPE authentication.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein adapting CPE access comprises adapting non-authenticated CPE access to any of a service provider network, a specific service provided via said service provider network and a group of services provided via said service provider network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said adapting non-authenticated CPE access comprises any of terminating access, limiting access and degrading access.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising invoking a responsible party action comprising any of a warning, a penalty and a servers upgrade opportunity.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of transmitting, monitoring and authenticating are repeated at predefined intervals.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of transmitting, monitoring and authenticating are performed in response to an authentication profile.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said authentication profile provides one or more parameters adapted to modify authentication protocol operation or frequency of execution.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said parameters comprise one or more of temporal parameters, session parameters, CPE activity parameters and subscriber parameters.

16. A network element comprising a processor configured for authenticating wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), the processor configured for:

transmitting an authentication trigger signal via a first communication mechanism associated with a service location toward CPE associated with the service location;

monitoring a second communication mechanism to detect an authentication trigger response signal; and

authenticating only CPE associated with a received authentication trigger response signal;

wherein at least one of said first and second communication mechanisms comprises a local infrastructure element.

17. The network element of claim 16, wherein said network element comprises a wireless router at said service location, said processor being configured to authenticate wireless CPE according to at least one of an authentication schedule and a command received from an authentication manager.

18. The network element of claim 17, wherein said processor is further configured to update an authentication database.

19. A tangible and non-transient computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer to provide a method of authenticating wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), the method comprising:

transmitting an authentication trigger signal via a first communication mechanism associated with a service location toward CPE associated with the service location;

monitoring a second communication mechanism to detect an authentication trigger response signal; and

authenticating only CPE associated with a received authentication trigger response signal;

wherein at least one of said first and second communication mechanisms comprises a local infrastructure element.

20. A computer program product wherein computer instructions, when executed by a processor, adapt the operation of the content distribution network element to a method of authenticating wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), the method comprising:

transmitting an authentication trigger signal via a first communication mechanism associated with a service location toward CPE associated with the service location;

monitoring a second communication mechanism to detect an authentication trigger response signal; and

authenticating only CPE associated with a received authentication trigger response signal;

wherein at least one of said first and second communication mechanisms comprises a local infrastructure element.