Interworking gateway for mobile nodes
First Claim
1. A gateway in a communications network comprising:
- a femto gateway functionality residing in the gateway and for communicating with a plurality of femto cells that acts as a proxy for each femto cell with which the gateway communicates by aggregating communications from the plurality of femto cells and communicating as a proxy with a core network on behalf of the plurality of femto cells; and
a security gateway functionality residing in the gateway that provides a secure connection and tunnels different protocols over a broadband network between each femto cell and the gateway;
the proxy of the femto gateway functionality for communicating with other radio access network equipment to provide for a handoff of a mobile node and for hiding individual femto cells from the network.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided that allow inter-working between communication networks for the delivery of service to mobile nodes. A gateway is provided that communicates with a femto cell to extend service to an area that otherwise does not receive coverage from a service provider. The femto cell is a small scale base station used to provide coverage over a small area (such as a home or business), and connect to a home or enterprise network. The femto cell provides service for a mobile node and a gateway permits communication over a broadband network. The gateway integrates the mobile nodes connecting via a femto cell into the service provider'"'"'s network. The gateway also allows provisioning of services and applications, control of service levels, and provides seamless handoffs to macro base stations and other types of access technologies such as Wi-Fi.
193 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A gateway in a communications network comprising:
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a femto gateway functionality residing in the gateway and for communicating with a plurality of femto cells that acts as a proxy for each femto cell with which the gateway communicates by aggregating communications from the plurality of femto cells and communicating as a proxy with a core network on behalf of the plurality of femto cells; and a security gateway functionality residing in the gateway that provides a secure connection and tunnels different protocols over a broadband network between each femto cell and the gateway; the proxy of the femto gateway functionality for communicating with other radio access network equipment to provide for a handoff of a mobile node and for hiding individual femto cells from the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 16, 19)
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6. A method of providing access to a communications network comprising:
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receiving a communication from a first femto cell to establish connectivity to a gateway; establishing a secure connection from the gateway to the first femto cell using a security gateway functionality in the gateway, wherein the secure connection provides a secure connection and tunnels different protocols over a broadband network between each femto cell and the gateway; aggregating communications from the first and a second femto cell at the gateway and communicating as a proxy with a core network on behalf of the first and second femto cell, so that the first and second femto cell are not directly exposed to the core network; and communicating with other radio access network equipment to provide for a handoff of a mobile node. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 20)
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11. Logic encoded in one or more non-transient media that includes code for execution and when executed by a processor is operable to perform operations comprising:
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receiving a communication from a first femto cell to establish connectivity to a gateway; establishing a secure connection from the gateway to the first femto cell using a security gateway functionality in the gateway, wherein the secure connection provides a secure connection and tunnels different protocols over a broadband network between each femto cell and the gateway; aggregating communications from the first and a second femto cell at the gateway and communicating as a proxy with a core network on behalf of the first and second femto cell, so that the first and second femto cell are not directly exposed to the core network; and communicating with other radio access network equipment to provide for a handoff of a mobile node. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 18)
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Specification