Enhancing wireless telecommunications services on-site

• US 8,588,132 B1
• Filed: 08/10/2007
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Paczkowski, Lyle W., Bluhm, Jay D., Klesper, Stevan, Rice, Mitchell D., Sankanranaraynan, Pallavur, McRoberts, Leo Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): NG, CHRISTINE Y
• Application Number:
  US11/837,039
• Time in Patent Office: 2,293 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/338, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/401
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272

Abstract

Methods and media are provided for offering telecommunications features to wireless devices through the use of a wireless exchange unit. The wireless exchange unit serves as an access point onto a larger wireless telecommunications network through use of a high-speed internet connection. The wireless exchange unit includes an access point base transceiver station (BTS) and an integrated application server. The integrated application server includes a session proxy, a home application server, and a voice application server. The wireless devices can access features such as, among other things, reduced-digit dialing, call rollover, and alternate message notification. For connections between devices local to the wireless exchange unit, the larger telecommunications network resources need not be utilized, therefore reducing congestion and improving performance. If used in conjunction with a network application server on the larger telecommunications network, the enhanced features can be offered to associated wireless devices when the devices are not local to the wireless exchange unit through access at another point of the telecommunications network.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of improving communication between a telecommunications network and a wireless device by utilizing a wireless exchange unit that includes an access-point base transceiver station (“

BTS”

) and an integrated server, the wireless exchange unit operating as an access point to the telecommunications network, the wireless device being capable of wirelessly communicating with the wireless exchange unit, the method comprising;

communicatively coupling the wireless exchange unit to a premise local area network (LAN) thereby integrating one or more functions of the server of the wireless exchange unit with resources of one or more computing devices on the local area network, the premise LAN being disposed within the premises of an enterprise location;

at the access-point BTS, receiving enhanced network connection requests that require TDMA, SIP, or IPPBX compliance from the wireless device that is not TDMA, SIP, or IPPBX compliant;

authenticating the wireless device to the telecommunications network so that that the wireless device can communicate data via said telecommunications network;

establishing a communications session (“

session”

) between the wireless exchange unit and the wireless device;

logically coupling the wireless exchange unit to a node on the telecommunications network via a high-speed internet connection by way of systems of an internet service provider; and

providing the enhanced network connection to the wireless device by way of said logical coupling, the wireless exchange unit enabling provision of the enhanced connection to the wireless device.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection is provided by an application server at the wireless exchange unit.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection couples a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a second wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit utilizing only the wireless exchange unit to the exclusion of other resources of the telecommunications network.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection is provided by an application server on the telecommunications network further connected through the application server at the wireless exchange unit.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection couples a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a second wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit utilizing at least one access point of the telecommunication network other than the exchange unit and the high-speed Internet connection.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection couples a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a voice message application associated with the wireless exchange unit utilizing only the wireless exchange unit and utilizing no additional resources of the telecommunications network.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection transmits an electronic mail notification to an electronic mail address associated with a wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit in the event a connection to the wireless access device is not completed.

8. The media of claim 1, wherein the enhanced network connection forwards a connection request to a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a second wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit in the event the first wireless access device does not complete the connection.

9. The media of claim 1, wherein providing the enhanced network connection forwards a connection request to a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a telecommunications access point in the event the connection to the first wireless access device is not completed.

10. The media of claim 1, wherein logically coupling further includes logically coupling the wireless exchange unit to the internet through a connection via a conventional telecommunications connection in the event the high-speed connection is unavailable.

11. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of communicatively coupling one or more wireless access terminals to a wireless exchange unit that includes an access point base transceiver station (BTS) and an integrated server, wherein the integrated server includes a session proxy, a home application server and a voice application server, the wireless exchange unit operating as an access point to a telecommunications network via a high-speed Internet connection therebetween, the high-speed Internet connection being provided by an Internet service provider, and the one or more wireless access terminals capable of communicating wirelessly with the wireless exchange unit, the method comprising:

communicatively coupling the wireless exchange unit to a premise local area network (LAN) thereby enabling integration of one or more functions of the integrated server of the wireless exchange unit with resources of one or more computing devices on the premise LAN, the premise LAN being disposed within the premises of an enterprise location;

receiving an activity request from a first wireless access terminal, that is not TDMA, SIP, or IPPBX compliant, of the one or more wireless access terminals at a receiving component of the access point BTS;

forwarding the activity request to the session proxy component of the wireless exchange unit;

providing information associated with the first wireless access terminal to an authentication component of the wireless exchange unit in order to authenticate the first wireless access terminal;

authenticating, by the authentication component, the first wireless access terminal based upon the information provided by the session proxy;

the session proxy presenting one or more feature requests to the voice application server for one or more enhanced communication features, wherein the enhanced communication features require TDMA, SIP, or IPPBX compliance;

the voice application server confirming that the first wireless access terminal is authorized to request the one or more enhanced communication features; and

the home application server delivering the one or more requested enhanced communication features to the first wireless access terminal.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein a second requested enhanced communication feature is first provided by an application server on the telecommunications network to the home application server at the wireless exchange unit via the high-speed Internet connection and then the second requested enhanced communication feature is provided by the home application server at the wireless exchange unit to the one or more wireless devices.

13. The media of claim 11, wherein the one or more requested enhanced communication features includes forwarding a connection request to the first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a telecommunications access point via the high-speed Internet connection in the event the first wireless access device does not complete the connection.

14. A method of improving communication between a telecommunications network and one or more wireless devices by utilizing a wireless exchange unit that is not in direct communication with a node on the telecommunications network and includes an access-point base transceiver station (“

BTS”

) and an integrated server, wherein the integrated server further includes an application server and a voice application server, the wireless exchange unit operating as an access point to the telecommunications network, the one or more wireless devices being capable of wirelessly communicating with the wireless exchange unit, the method comprising;

communicatively coupling the wireless exchange unit to a node on the telecommunications network via a high-speed connection to the Internet by way of systems of an internet service provider;

receiving at the wireless exchange unit one or more respective unique identifiers associated with the one or more wireless devices, the respective identifiers indicating that the one or more wireless devices are authorized to wirelessly communicate with the wireless exchange unit;

transmitting from the wireless exchange unit a signal indicating to the one or more wireless devices that the wireless exchange unit is capable of wirelessly communicating with the one or more wireless devices;

receiving a request for a communication feature that requires TDMA, SIP, or IPPBX compliance from a first wireless device, that is not TDMA, SIP, or IPPBX compliant, of the one or more wireless devices;

communicating, internally to the wireless exchange unit, the request for connection features from the voice application server of the wireless exchange unit to a server of the wireless exchange unit capable of providing the connection features from the BTS to the integrated server, wherein the connection features are available only to the one or more wireless devices; and

providing, by the wireless exchange unit using the high-speed connection to the Internet, the communication feature to the first wireless device.

15. The media of claim 14,

wherein one or more additional communication features are provided at least in part by an application server on the telecommunications network.

16. The media of claim 15, wherein the additional communication features include forwarding a connection request to a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a telecommunications access point via the high-speed Internet connection in the event the connection to the first wireless access device is not completed.

17. The media of claim 14, wherein the communication features include connecting a first wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit to a second wireless access device associated with the wireless exchange unit using a service that is not directly compatible with the first or second wireless device.