APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SELECTIVE DATA NETWORK ACCESS

• US 20170164378A1
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Published: 06/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gunasekara, Don
• Granted Patent: US 9,986,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/3835 Designing moulds, e.g. using CAD-CAM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5025 by proactively reacting to service quality change, e.g. by reconfiguration after service quality degradation or upgrade
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/105 Manufacture of mono- or stereophonic headphone components
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/025 In the ear hearing aids [ITE] hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/77 Design aspects, e.g. CAD, of hearing aid tips, moulds or housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/15 Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• 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

Wireless data network access architecture and methods enabling location-specific and/or user-specific provision of services or resources. In one embodiment, an end-user device makes a request for service within a wireless LAN (WLAN). A wireless access point (WAP) controller/policy server determines whether the user device meets criteria for a first user status or a second user status, and assigns the appropriate status to an identifier of the end-user device. When the user device is assigned the first user status, the user device is provided network access according to e.g., a first permissible bandwidth allocation. Otherwise, the user device is provided network access according to a second, different bandwidth allocation. The first and second user status may be assigned based on a location of the user device within e.g., a venue, a class of end-user device, end user application, an access pass associated with the user device, or yet other criteria.

Claims

1. A controller apparatus comprising:

a processor apparatus configured to execute at least one computer program;

a storage apparatus configured to store data, the data comprising a user status that is at least one of (i) a first user status associated with a first permissible bandwidth consumption, and/or (ii) a second user status associated with a second permissible bandwidth consumption, said second permissible consumption being less than said first permissible consumption;

a first data interface in data communication with the processor apparatus and configured for signal communication with a local area wireless network;

a second interface data communication with the processor apparatus and configured for signal communication with a network entity of managed content delivery network (CDN); and

a computer-readable storage apparatus having at least one computer program comprising a plurality of non-transitory computer readable instructions which are configured to, when executed by said processor apparatus, cause said apparatus to;

receive a first connection request from a first user device via said first interface;

determine that said first user device has been associated with said first user status;

assign said first permissible bandwidth to said first user device when said first user device is associated with said first user status;

provide access to said CDN via said second interface for said first user device consistent with said first permissible bandwidth consumption;

receive a second connection request from a second user device via said first interface;

determine that said second user device has been associated with said second user status;

assign said second permissible bandwidth consumption to said second user device when said second user device is associated with said second user status; and

provide access to said CDN via said second interface for said second user device consistent with said second permissible bandwidth consumption.

2. The controller apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first user status and said second user status are assigned, respectively, based on respective ones of a location within a venue of each of said first user device and said second user device, said respective ones of the location being one of a higher priority area and a lower priority area.

3. The controller apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

said first and second user requests respectively comprise first and second media access control (MAC) values associated with the first and second user devices, and the first and second user statuses are respectively assigned based at least on the first and second MAC values; and

the controller apparatus is further configured to determine the respective ones of the locations of the first and second user devices based at least on MAC data relating to respective wireless access points (WAPs) associated with the first and second user devices.

4. The controller apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

said first user device is in signal communication with a first wireless access point located in said higher priority area and said second user device is in signal communication with a second wireless access point located in said lower priority area;

said first user status is associated with said first wireless access point and said second user status is associated with said second wireless access point;

6. The controller apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first user status and said second user status are assigned, respectively, based on a class of end-user application of each of said first user device and said second user device, said class of end user application being one of a higher bandwidth consumption application class and a lower bandwidth consumption application class.

7. The controller apparatus of claim 6, wherein said first user device comprises a first application of said high bandwidth consumption application class comprising a multi-media application having at least audio and video content, and said second user device comprises a second application of said lower bandwidth consumption application class comprising an audio-only application.

8. The controller apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first user status and said second user status are assigned based on a temporally-limited access pass associated with the respective user, the temporally-limited access pass providing the assigned user status for only a limited period of time and within a given venue.

9. The controller apparatus of claim 8, wherein the access pass comprises a permissible bandwidth consumption associated with the access pass having an elevated bandwidth consumption in an uplink direction only.

10. The controller apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said first permissible bandwidth consumption comprises one or more of low latency and high throughput; and

said second permissible bandwidth consumption comprises one or more of higher latency and lower throughput than said first permissible bandwidth.

11. The controller apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first permissible bandwidth consumption comprises an isochronous data transmission, and

said second permissible bandwidth consumption comprises asynchronous data transmission.

5. said first wireless access point has a first media access control (MAC) address detectable by said controller apparatus and said second wireless access point has a second MAC address detectable by said controller apparatus;

and

said first user status is associated with said first MAC address and said second user status is associated with said second MAC address.

12. A method of providing wireless local area network (WLAN)-based services to a plurality of users within a prescribed location, the method comprising:

receiving a first request from a user device of first user of the plurality at the WLAN, the first request comprising data explicitly identifying the user device and requesting access to a content distribution and delivery network via the wireless local-area network;

utilizing the data explicitly identifying the user device to access a network entity to determine a privilege of the user device within the WLAN;

obtaining data indicative of the privilege from the network entity;

utilizing the data indicative of the privilege to selectively implement at least one WLAN access policy with respect to the user device; and

applying a second policy to others of the plurality of users.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the WLAN comprises a wireless access point (WAP), the receiving the first request comprises receiving the first request at the WAP, and the method further comprises forwarding at least a portion of the first message to the network entity via a managed content delivery network (CDN) infrastructure.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the network entity comprises an entity in data communication with a database of user-specific data both (i) associating the user device with the first user, and (ii) identifying the privilege.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the data explicitly identifying the user device comprises a media access control (MAC) address, and the utilizing the data to access a network entity to determine a privilege of the user device within the WLAN comprises accessing the database.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the utilizing the data indicative of the privilege to selectively implement at least one WLAN access policy with respect to the user device comprises:

providing the data indicative of the privilege to a controller in data communication with the WAP; and

utilizing the provided data within at least one of the WAP and the controller to correlate the privilege with the at least one WLAN access policy.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the data explicitly identifying the user device comprises a media access control (MAC) address, and the selectively implementing the at least one WLAN access policy comprises:

subsequently identifying a plurality of data associated with the user device of the first user based at least on the MAC address; and

handling said identified plurality of data according to the at least one WLAN access policy.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the handling said identified plurality of data according to the at least one WLAN access policy comprises providing the plurality of data head-of-the-line privilege to available data communications bandwidth of the WLAN.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the handling said identified plurality of data according to the at least one WLAN access policy comprises reserving a prescribed portion of available data communications bandwidth of the WLAN for use by the user device.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the WLAN comprises a plurality of wireless access points (WAPs), and the method further comprises:

determining one of the plurality of WAPs with which the user device has associated; and

utilizing the data indicative of the privilege and a location associated with the determined one of the plurality of WAPS to selectively implement the at least one WLAN access policy for the location only.

21. A method of providing enhanced wireless local area network (WLAN)-based services to a plurality of users within a prescribed location, the WLAN comprising a plurality of wireless access points, only a portion of which are enabled for provision of the enhanced WLAN-based services, the method comprising:

receiving a first request from a user device of first user of the plurality at the WLAN, the first request comprising data explicitly identifying the user device and requesting access to a content distribution and delivery network via the wireless local-area network;

utilizing the data identifying the user device to access a network entity to determine a privilege of the user device within the WLAN;

obtaining data indicative of the privilege from the network entity;

obtaining data relating to a one of the plurality of wireless access points with which the user device is associated;

determining that the one wireless access point is enabled for provision of the enhanced WLAN-based services; and

utilizing the data indicative of the privilege, and the determination that the one wireless access point is enabled for provision of the enhanced WLAN-based services, to selectively implement at least one WLAN access policy with respect to the user device so as to provide the enhanced WLAN-based services.

22. A controller apparatus comprising:

a processor apparatus configured to execute at least one computer program;

a storage device in data communication with the processor apparatus;

a first data interface in data communication with the processor apparatus and configured for signal communication with a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point;

a second interface data communication with the processor apparatus and configured for signal communication with a network entity of managed content delivery network (CDN); and

a computer-readable storage apparatus having at least one computer program comprising a plurality of non-transitory computer readable instructions which are configured to, when executed by said processor apparatus, cause said apparatus to;

receive a first service request from a first user device via said first interface, the first service request comprising a device-specific identifier of the first user device;

utilize at least a portion of the first service request to authenticate, within the CDN, the first user device as having a privilege associated with the WLAN;

receive data indicative of the privilege from the CDN and store the data in the storage device; and

subsequently utilize the stored data to cause the access point to recognize subsequent service requests from the first user device, and implement one or more policies for data access according to the privilege.

23. The controller of claim 22, wherein the device-specific identifier comprises a MAC address, and the one or more policies comprises increased upstream data bandwidth for the first user device.

24. The controller of claim 22, wherein the device-specific identifier comprises a MAC address, use of said MAC address obviating the WLAN or CDN from having to evaluate data contained within a payload of the subsequent service requests for determination of policy.