System and method for wireless network offloading

• US 8,635,335 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2011
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Partners I LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Gregory G., Raissinia, Alireza, Lavine, James
• Primary Examiner(s): RUDY, ANDREW J
• Application Number:
  US13/134,005
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 705/17, 705/26.1, 705/26.2, 705/26.62, 709/217, 709/223, 709/219, 709/224, 455405-409, 455/422.1, 455/431, 455/432.1, 455/456.3, 370/218, 370/252
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0247 based on conditions of the access network or the infrastructure network central resource management H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0846 between network providers, e.g. operators selecting a network or a communication service H04W40/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/008375 based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/1446 wherein at least one of the networks is unlicensed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information

Abstract

A method comprising communicating a first set of data communications over a wireless cellular connection of a wireless cellular network to or from an end user device, the first set of data communications associated with one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting; identifying an alternative wireless network that can be used to communicate a second set of data communications to or from the end user device; and based on electronically processing an instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network, determining whether to communicate the second set of data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection, wherein the instruction set for offloading comprises at least one rule that takes into account at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

Claims

1. A method for reducing congestion on a wireless cellular network, the method comprising:

communicating a first set of one or more data communications over a wireless cellular connection of the wireless cellular network to or from an end user device, the first set of one or more data communications associated with one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting;

identifying an alternative wireless network that can be used to communicate a second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device, the second set of one or more data communications comprising (i) a subset of data traffic associated with the one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting, or (ii) all of the data traffic associated with the one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting;

based on electronically processing an instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network, determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection, wherein the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network specifies one or more conditions under which to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network, and wherein the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network comprises at least one rule that takes into account at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternative wireless network comprises a WiFi network or an 802.11 network.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recommending, to a user of the end user device, to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network; and

receiving a switch request from the user, the switch request authorizing communication of the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying a first charging rate associated with using the wireless cellular connection or a second charging rate associated with using the alternative wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a user preference; and

determining, based on the user preference, whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling at least a portion of the first set of one or more data communications or at least a portion of the second set of one or more data communications.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the end user device obtaining current performance data characterizing the wireless cellular connection or the alternative wireless network; and

the end user device sending the current performance data to a network element.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the network element using the current performance data to generate historical performance data.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising network element maintaining a database of performance data entries from a plurality of end user devices, the plurality of end user devices including the end user device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the current performance data or the historical performance data includes a time stamp.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the current performance data or the historical performance data includes geo-location data.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising network element characterizing the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising end user device characterizing the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising end user device electronically processing the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising a network element electronically processing the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises a performance state associated with the wireless cellular network.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection comprises determining whether a performance state of the wireless cellular connection exceeds a minimum performance level.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the minimum performance level is based on a service need of the end user device.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises an historical performance of the wireless cellular network.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises or is based on a location of the end user device.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises or is based on a velocity of the end user device.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises or is based on a service category.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises or is based on a particular service used by the end user device.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection comprises comparing a performance state of the alternative wireless network to a performance state of the wireless cellular connection.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying an alternative wireless network is performed by a persistent end user device on the alternative wireless network.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising the end user device obtaining the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network from a network element.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an indication of a performance state of the alternative wireless network to a user of the end user device.

28. The method of claim 19, wherein the historical performance comprises historical outage data.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising a network element sending an incentive offer associated with the alternative wireless network to a user of the end user device.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising the end user device characterizing the alternative wireless network based on historical performance data.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if it is determined to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network, communicating the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network; and

if it is determined to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the wireless cellular connection, communicating the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the wireless cellular connection.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein it is determined to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network, and further comprising:

after communicating the second set of one or more data communications over the alternative wireless network, based on an indication or anticipation that a performance of the wireless cellular network is above a first level or a congestion of the wireless cellular network is below a second level, communicating a third set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the wireless cellular connection, the third set of one or more data communications comprising some or all data traffic to or from the end user device.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection is that the wireless cellular network is a roaming network.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection is that the wireless cellular network is associated with a cost.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises:

a current or historical congestion state of the wireless cellular connection, a current or historical performance level of the wireless cellular connection, or a current or historical performance of a portion of the wireless cellular network that supports the wireless cellular connection.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises:

a time of day, a geographic location of the end user device, or an identifier or geographic location of a portion of the wireless cellular network.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises a historical congestion metric associated with a time of day.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the historical congestion metric associated with a time of day is based at least in part by a location of the end user device or a location of a portion of a wireless cellular network that supports the wireless cellular connection.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternative wireless network comprises a WiMAX network or an 802.16 network.

40. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on a movement of the end user device.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on a rate of movement of the end user device, an amount of time the end user device is or will be in range of one or more access points or one or more base stations of the alternative wireless network, or a combination of these, and wherein it is determined to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the wireless cellular connection when:

(a) the rate of movement of the end user device is above a pre-determined rate, (b) the amount of time the end user device will be in range of the one or more access points or one or more base stations of the alternative network is less than a pre-determined time, or (c) both (a) and (b).

42. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on a threshold condition for preventing switching back and forth between the wireless cellular connection and the alternative wireless network, the threshold condition comprising a first threshold for assisting in deciding when to begin using the alternative wireless network instead of the wireless cellular connection for communicating the second set of one or more data communications, and a second threshold that differs in at least one aspect from the first threshold for deciding when to stop using the alternative wireless network instead of the wireless cellular connection for communicating the second set of one or more data communications.

43. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises an indication of a type of the wireless cellular network.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the type of the wireless cellular network comprises:

2G, 3G or 4G.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the type of the cellular wireless network is a roaming cellular wireless network, and wherein the alternative wireless network comprises a Wi-Fi network, an 802.11 network, a Wi-Max network, or an 802.16 network, and wherein the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network further comprises at least one alternative wireless network-dependent offload rule that considers at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network in determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection, and wherein the at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network comprises:

a quality state associated with an available connection to the alternative wireless network, a performance state associated with the available connection to the alternative wireless network, a congestion state associated with the alternative wireless network, a time of day, a geographic location associated with a portion of the wireless cellular network that supports the wireless cellular connection, or a geographic location associated with the end user device.

46. The method of claim 43, wherein the type of the cellular wireless network is a roaming cellular wireless network, and wherein the alternative wireless network comprises a Wi-Fi network, an 802.11 network, a Wi-Max network, or an 802.16 network, and wherein the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network further comprises at least one alternative wireless network-dependent offload rule that considers at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network in determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection, and wherein the at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network comprises an indication of whether the alternative wireless network is a member of a list of potential alternative wireless networks derived at least in part by an alternative wireless connection history associated with the end user device.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is based at least in part on information provided by a network element that maintains at least a portion of the list of potential alternative wireless networks.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is based at least in part on a user input to the end user device.

49. The method of claim 46, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is an ordered list.

50. The method of claim 1, further comprising an agent on the end user device determining the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein determining the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises determining a performance metric or a congestion metric.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein determining a performance metric or a congestion metric comprises:

monitoring data communicated to or from the end user device, and

characterizing (a) a level of communication performance, (b) a level of network congestion, or (c) both (a) and (b).

53. The method of claim 51, wherein determining a performance metric or a congestion metric comprises the agent sending information to one or more network elements, the one or more network elements comprising a network test server or a network test element, and further comprising:

characterizing, based on the information sent to the one or more network elements, (a) a level of communication performance, (b) a level of network congestion, or (c) both (a) and (b).

54. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises a performance metric or a congestion metric determined by obtaining a report from a network element, wherein the report comprises information about a performance of the wireless cellular connection or a congestion of the wireless cellular connection.

55. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection comprises:

determining, based on the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular network, that it is desirable to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network;

based on determining, based on the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular network, that it is desirable to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network, presenting, to a user of the end user device, an opportunity to switch to the alternative wireless network;

receiving, from the user of the end user device, a response to the opportunity to switch to the alternative wireless network;

determining if the response indicates the user desire to switch to the alternative wireless network; and

if the response indicates a user desire to switch to the alternative wireless network, communicating the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network.

56. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting are associated with a subset of all applications capable of running on the end user device, and wherein the second set of one or more data communications comprises the subset of data traffic associated with the one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting.

57. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on one or more characteristics of an application on the end user device.

58. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on a user preference.

59. The method of claim 1, further comprising a network element or the end user device providing or obtaining information to determine the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

60. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on:

(a) a historical performance of the alternative wireless network, (b) a time of day, (c) a device location, (d) an identifier of or a location of one or more network elements supporting the wireless cellular connection, or (e) a combination of two or more of (a) through (d).

61. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is performed by the end user device.

62. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is further based on at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network comprises:

a current or historical quality state associated with the alternative wireless network, a current or historical performance state associated with the alternative wireless network, a current or historical congestion state associated with the alternative wireless network, a time of day, a location of the end user device, or an identifier or location of a portion of the alternative wireless network.

64. The method of claim 62, wherein the at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network is whether the alternative wireless network is a member of a priority list of potential alternative wireless networks.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is based at least in part on an alternative wireless connection history associated with the end user device.

66. The method of claim 64, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is based at least in part on information provided by a network element that maintains at least a portion of the priority list of potential alternative wireless networks.

67. The method of claim 64, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is based at least in part on a user input to the end user device.

68. The method of claim 64, wherein the list of potential alternative wireless networks is an ordered list.

69. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report comprising an indication of a performance or a congestion of the wireless cellular network.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the report provides information about two or more types of networks.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein the indication is a first indication, and wherein the report further comprises a second indication indicating (a) a time, (b) a geographic location of the end user device, (c) an identifier or geographic location of a portion of the wireless cellular network, or (d) a combination of two or more of (a) through (c).

72. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a first control to the first set of one or more data communications, and applying a second control to the second set of one or more data communications, the first control being different from the second control.

73. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises a time of day.

74. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises an aspect of an element of the wireless cellular network.

75. The method of claim 74, wherein the element comprises:

a base station, an access point, a cell sector, a wireless cellular network type, a channel, a particular portion of the over a wireless cellular network, a particular communication path of the over the wireless cellular network, or a particular set of one or more equipment elements of the wireless cellular network.

76. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises an aspect of the wireless cellular network.

77. The method of claim 76, wherein the aspect of the wireless cellular network comprises:

a base station identifier, an access point identifier, a cell sector identifier, a wireless cellular network type identifier, a channel identifier, an identifier associated with a particular portion of the wireless cellular network, an identifier associated with a particular communication path of the wireless cellular network, or an identifier associated with a particular set of one or more equipment elements of the wireless cellular network.

78. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of one or more data communications comprises the subset of data traffic associated with the one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting, and wherein the subset of data traffic associated with the one or more service activities the end user device is capable of supporting comprises a subset of a plurality of services operating on the end user device.

79. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the end user device obtaining first network performance or congestion data, and

the end user device sending the first network performance or congestion data to a network element.

80. The method of claim 79, wherein the end user device is a first end user device, and further comprising:

the network element storing the first network performance or congestion data;

the network element receiving additional network performance or congestion data from one or more second end user devices; and

the network element maintaining a database for storing a plurality of network performance or congestion data entries from the first end user device and from the one or more second end user devices.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein at least one of the plurality of network performance or congestion data entries is associated with (a) a time stamp, (b) location data, or (c) both (a) and (b).

82. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection comprises a performance measure or congestion measure associated with the wireless cellular connection, and wherein processing the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network comprises determining whether the performance measure or congestion measure satisfies a criterion.

83. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection is based on:

(a) an historical performance or congestion of a portion of the wireless cellular network that supports the wireless cellular connection, (b) a time of day, or (c) a device location.

84. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection comprises determining whether:

(a) a first performance state or congestion state of the alternative wireless network satisfies a first criterion, or (b) a second performance state or congestion state of the wireless cellular connection satisfies a second criterion.

85. The method of claim 1, wherein the end user device is a first end user device, and wherein the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection is based on an observation by a second end user device connected to the wireless cellular connection, wherein the second end user device is configured to monitor the at least one state associated with the wireless cellular connection.

86. The method of claim 1, further comprising a network element providing the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network to the end user device.

87. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, to a user of the end user device, information about the alternative wireless network.

88. The method of claim 1, further comprising the end user device providing one or more reports to a network element, the one or more reports being associated with (a) the wireless cellular network, (b) the alternative wireless network, or (c) both (a) and (b).

89. The method of claim 88, wherein the one or more reports are categorized by one or more network types, the one or more network types comprising 2G, 3G, or 4G.

90. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection is performed by a network server.

91. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions under which to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network comprise:

(a) a performance or quality state associated with the wireless cellular connection is at or is expected to be below a first level, (b) a congestion state associated with the wireless cellular connection is at or is expected to be above a second level, or (c) both (a) and (b).

92. The method of claim 91, wherein (i) the first level is based at least in part on a time of day and an historical record of performance of the wireless cellular connection as a function of the time of day, (ii) the second level is based at least in part on the time of day and an historical record of congestion of the wireless cellular connection as a function of the time of day, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).

93. The method of claim 91, wherein (i) the first level is based at least in part on a current measure of performance of the wireless cellular connection, (ii) the second level is based at least in part on a current measure of congestion of the wireless cellular connection, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).

94. The method of claim 91, wherein (i) the first level is based at least in part on an historical measure of performance of the wireless cellular connection, (ii) the second level is based at least in part on an historical measure of congestion of the wireless cellular connection, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).

95. The method of claim 91, wherein the instruction set for offloading from the wireless cellular network to the alternative wireless network further comprises at least one alternative wireless network-dependent offload rule that takes into account at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network in determining whether to communicate the second set of one or more data communications to or from the end user device over the alternative wireless network or over the wireless cellular connection.

96. The method of claim 95, wherein the at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network comprises:

a quality state associated with an available connection to the alternative wireless network, a performance state associated with the available connection to the alternative wireless network, or a congestion state associated with the alternative wireless network.

97. The method of claim 95, wherein the at least one state associated with the alternative wireless network is whether the alternative wireless network is a member of a priority list of potential alternative wireless networks.