Methods and systems for unlicensed mobile access realization in a media gateway

• US 8,483,173 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genband US LLC (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Genband US LLC (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: He, Yong, Shen, Mansong
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Dang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morlan, Robert M
• Application Number:
  US11/443,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20060268845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,596 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/331, 370/338, 370/340, 370/351, 370/352
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/1446 wherein at least one of the networks is unlicensed

Abstract

A media gateway comprising a plurality of network interface cards, at least one switch matrix, and a server module including at least one unlicensed mobile access module is provided. A method and computer-readable medium for activating an unlicensed mobile access channel for a mobile station in a network is provided. A media gateway receives a request to allocate an unlicensed mobile access termination. The request is received in response to at least one of a discovery registration by the mobile station and a handover request by the mobile station. The mobile station is serviced by at least one of a wireline network and a wireless network interfaced by the media gateway. The media gateway allocates the unlicensed mobile access termination. The termination has an identifier associated therewith. The media gateway receives at least one transmit parameter associated with the mobile station, and completes bearer set-up of the unlicensed mobile access channel according to the at least one transmit parameter.

Claims

1. A media gateway comprising:

a plurality of network interface cards located in the media gateway;

at least one switch matrix located in the media gateway; and

a server module located in the media gateway, connected to the plurality of network interface cards via the at least one switch matrix, and including at least one unlicensed mobile access (UMA) module that terminates UMA radio resource (URR) channels within the media gateway, the media gateway is configured to support an extensible gateway control protocol (EGCP) for UMA call control, wherein the media gateway receives instructions from a media gateway controller via at least one EGCP request, the instructions to reserve resources within the media gateway for terminating a URR channel within the media gateway, wherein the server module is configured to monitor a UMA media stream, notify the MGC if an indication of media stream quality is worse than a predetermined quality threshold, and, in response, receive a URR message from the MGC for effecting a handover procedure, wherein the URR message triggers a mobile station to start the handover procedure.

2. The media gateway of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network interface cards include one or more wireline network interface cards and one or more wireless network interface cards.

3. The media gateway of claim 2, wherein the one or more wireline network interface cards comprise one or more time division multiplex network interface cards.

4. The media gateway of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network interface cards comprise one or more packet network interface cards.

5. The media gateway of claim 4, wherein the one or more packet network interface cards comprise at least one of an Internet protocol network interface card and a asynchronous transfer mode network interface card.

6. The media gateway of claim 1, wherein the at least one switching matrix comprises at least one time division multiplex switch matrix and at least one packet switch matrix.

7. The media gateway of claim 1, wherein the server module comprises a voice server module.

8. The media gateway of claim 1, wherein the unlicensed mobile access module comprises one or more digital signal processors that frame adaptive multi-rate voice data on a real-time transport protocol media stream.

9. A method of activating an unlicensed mobile access channel for a mobile station in a network, comprising:

receiving, by a media gateway that is controlled by a media gateway controller, wherein the media gateway is configured to support an extensible gateway control protocol (EGCP) for UMA call control, an EGCP request from the media gateway controller to reserve resources within the media gateway for terminating an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio resource (URR) channel within the media gateway, wherein the EGCP request is received in response to at least one of a discovery registration by the mobile station and a handover request by the mobile station, wherein the mobile station is serviced by at least one of a wireline network and a wireless network interfaced by the media gateway;

reserving, by the media gateway, the resources within the media gateway for terminating the URR channel within the media gateway, wherein the channel has an identifier associated therewith;

receiving, by the media gateway, at least one transmit parameter associated with the mobile station;

completing bearer set-up of the URR channel according to the at least one transmit parameter;

monitoring a UMA media stream;

notifying the MGC if an indication of media stream quality is worse than a predetermined quality threshold; and

receiving a URR message from the MGC for effecting a handover procedure, wherein the URR message triggers a mobile station to start the handover procedure.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one transmit parameter comprises an unlicensed mobile access transmit descriptor.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the EGCP request includes an unlicensed mobile access receive descriptor.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising transmitting, by the media gateway, a bearer success notification in response to completing bearer set-up.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

notifying the mobile station of completion of the bearer set-up; and

engaging, by the mobile station, in communications on the channel.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising invoking, by the media gateway, a handover procedure that transfers communications of the mobile station from a cellular network to an unlicensed mobile access network, wherein the media gateway interfaces with the cellular network and the unlicensed mobile access network.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising transferring, on the channel, data between the mobile station and the media gateway, wherein the media gateway transfers the data on at least one of a public switched telephone network, a packet network, and a cellular network.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for execution by a processing system, the computer-executable instructions for activating an unlicensed mobile access channel for a mobile station in a network, comprising:

instructions that receive, by a media gateway that is controlled by a media gateway controller, wherein the media gateway is configured to support an extensible gateway control protocol (EGCP) for UMA call control, an EGCP from the media gateway controller to reserve resources within the media gateway for terminating an unlicensed mobile access (UMA) radio resource (URR) channel within the media gateway, wherein the EGCP request is received in response to at least one of a discovery registration by the mobile station and a handover request by the mobile station, and wherein the mobile station is serviced by at least one of a wireline network and a wireless network interfaced by the media gateway;

instructions that reserve, by the media gateway, the resources within the media gateway for terminating the URR channel within the media gateway, wherein the channel has an identifier associated therewith;

instructions that receive, by the media gateway, at least one transmit parameter associated with the mobile station;

instructions that complete bearer set-up of the URR channel according to the at least one transmit parameter;

instructions that monitor, by the media gateway, a UMA media stream;

instructions that notify, by the media gateway, the MGC if an indication of media stream quality is worse than a predetermined quality threshold; and

instructions that receive, by the media gateway, a URR message from the MGC for effecting a handover procedure, wherein the URR message triggers a mobile station to start the handover procedure.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the at least one transmit parameter comprises an unlicensed mobile access transmit descriptor.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the EGCP request includes an unlicensed mobile access receive descriptor.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that invoke, by the media gateway, a handover procedure that transfers communications of the mobile station from a cellular network to an unlicensed mobile access network, wherein the media gateway interfaces with the cellular network and the unlicensed mobile access network.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions that transfer, on the channel, data between the mobile station and the media gateway, wherein the media gateway transfers the data on at least one of a public switched telephone network, a packet network, and a cellular network.