Apparatus, and associated method for controlling service degradation performance of communications in a radio communication system
First Claim
1. In a radio communication system having a fixed network including a plurality of spaced-apart, fixed-site transceivers positioned throughout a geographic area, each fixed-site transceiver defining a coverage area in which communications with a mobile station are permitted pursuant to a service subscription, a combination with the fixed network of apparatus for reducing a desired QoS (quality of service) level of communications between the mobile station and the fixed network to a selected degraded QoS level when continued communications pursuant to at least a first communication service at the desired QoS level is unavailable, said apparatus comprising:
- a service subscription register associated with the mobile station, said service subscription register for storing a service degradation profile including an indication of the desired QoS level and at least a first selected degraded QoS level at which the communications pursuant to the at least the first communication service are to be maintained if the continued communications at the desired QoS level are unable to be maintained; and
a resource availability determiner and service level selector coupled to receive information representative of the at least the first selected degraded QoS level when the communications are unavailable at the desired QoS level, said resource reserver for selectively reserving resources of the radio communication system to assure that the communications are able to continue pursuant to the at least the first degraded QoS level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus, and an associated method, facilitates service degradation in a radio communication system, such as a cellular communication system. A service degradation profile is created and includes values of QoS (quality of service) level values. If communication at levels corresponding to the values of the desired QoS level parameters is unavailable, efforts are made to effectuate, or maintain communication at quality levels corresponding to values of at least first QoS level parameters values. Service degradation thereby occurs pursuant to a selected profile, reducing the need for service renegotiations and reducing the possibility that an abrupt termination of a communication session might occur.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. In a radio communication system having a fixed network including a plurality of spaced-apart, fixed-site transceivers positioned throughout a geographic area, each fixed-site transceiver defining a coverage area in which communications with a mobile station are permitted pursuant to a service subscription, a combination with the fixed network of apparatus for reducing a desired QoS (quality of service) level of communications between the mobile station and the fixed network to a selected degraded QoS level when continued communications pursuant to at least a first communication service at the desired QoS level is unavailable, said apparatus comprising:
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a service subscription register associated with the mobile station, said service subscription register for storing a service degradation profile including an indication of the desired QoS level and at least a first selected degraded QoS level at which the communications pursuant to the at least the first communication service are to be maintained if the continued communications at the desired QoS level are unable to be maintained; and
a resource availability determiner and service level selector coupled to receive information representative of the at least the first selected degraded QoS level when the communications are unavailable at the desired QoS level, said resource reserver for selectively reserving resources of the radio communication system to assure that the communications are able to continue pursuant to the at least the first degraded QoS level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for reducing a desired QoS (quality of service) level of communications between a mobile station and a fixed network of a radio communication system to a selected degraded QoS level when communication pursuant to at least a first communication service at the desired QoS level is unavailable, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing a service degradation profile including an indication of the desired QoS level and at least a first selected degraded QoS level at which the communications pursuant to the at least the first communication service are to be maintained if the communications at the desired QoS level are unable to be maintained;
determining availability of resources for the communication pursuant to the first communication service at the desired QoS level; and
selecting the communication at the first selected degraded QoS level if a determination is made during said step of determining that the communication at the desired QoS level is unavailable.
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20. In a cellular communication system having a network infrastructure installed in a geographic region and mobile stations capable of communication with the network infrastructure pursuant to at least a first communication, when located in the geographic region, a combination with the network infrastructure of a storage device for storing SDP (service degradation profile) data, said storage device comprising:
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a mobile station identifier portion for storing mobile station identification indicia which uniquely identifies various ones of the mobile stations;
an SDP data storage portion having locations indexed together with the mobile station identification indicia stored at said mobile station identifier portion, each location of said SDP data storage portion for storing a service degradation profile including an indication of a desired QoS level and at least a first degraded QoS level at which communications are to be maintained between the network infrastructure and the mobile station to which the location of said SDP data storage portion is indexed together if the communications are unable at a desired QoS level.
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Specification