Mobile transport solution for offloading to an alternate network
First Claim
1. A gateway comprising:
- a first interface that is configured to communicate packets to a packet data network (PDN) for a user equipment;
a second interface that is configured to communicate packets with a radio base station over a backhaul network to communicate with the user equipment;
an offload interface that is configured to communicate offloaded packets with the radio base station over an offload network to communicate with the user equipment, thereby bypassing the backhaul network coupled to the radio base station and the gateway;
an offload eligibility determination module that is configured to determine whether a packet, received from the PDN via the first interface for the user equipment, is eligible to be sent to the radio base station via the offload network based on information included in the packet; and
a processing module that is configured to add routing information to the packet to cause the packet to be routed over the offload network to the radio base station via the offload interface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure relates to a system and method for offloading selected data to an alternate communication network. The offloading provides another route for selected packet traffic that can relieve the burden on a mobile operator'"'"'s network, such as the backhaul and core networks. As the proliferation of data rich content and increasingly more capable mobile devices has continued, the amount of data communicated over mobile operator'"'"'s networks has exponentially increased. Upgrading the existing network that was designed for voice calls is not desirable or practical for many mobile operators. This disclosure provides systems and methods for offloading data to the Internet or another IP network to relieve congestion on the mobile operator'"'"'s network.
149 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A gateway comprising:
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a first interface that is configured to communicate packets to a packet data network (PDN) for a user equipment; a second interface that is configured to communicate packets with a radio base station over a backhaul network to communicate with the user equipment; an offload interface that is configured to communicate offloaded packets with the radio base station over an offload network to communicate with the user equipment, thereby bypassing the backhaul network coupled to the radio base station and the gateway; an offload eligibility determination module that is configured to determine whether a packet, received from the PDN via the first interface for the user equipment, is eligible to be sent to the radio base station via the offload network based on information included in the packet; and a processing module that is configured to add routing information to the packet to cause the packet to be routed over the offload network to the radio base station via the offload interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18, 19)
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7. A method comprising:
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receiving a packet at a gateway from a packet data network (PDN); inspecting the packet at an offload eligibility determination module in the gateway by comparing rules based on policy at the gateway with information included in the packet; upon determining that the packet is offload eligible, modifying the packet at a processing module in the gateway to cause the packet to be routed over an offload network to a radio base station via an offload interface of the gateway; and upon determining that the packet is not offload eligible, sending the packet to the radio base station over a backhaul network. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method comprising:
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receiving, at a radio base station, a packet from a user equipment; determining, at the radio base station, a tunnel endpoint IP address of the packet received from the user equipment; inspecting, at the radio base station, the packet to make a determination of whether the packet is eligible to be routed to a gateway via an offload network, bypassing a backhaul network coupled to the radio base station and the gateway; upon determining that the packet is offload eligible, sending, by the radio base station, the packet to the gateway via the offload network; and upon determining that the packet is not offload eligible, sending the packet to the gateway over the backhaul network. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 20)
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Specification