Management of IDs for closed subscriber group (CSG) base stations

• US 8,811,947 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2010
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Venkatachalam, Muthaiah, Yang, Xiangying
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US12/882,924
• Publication Number:
  US 20110070867A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 455/411, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

Embodiments of systems and methods for initiating network entry are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method to initiate wireless communication by an advanced mobile station (AMS), comprising:

locating a closed subscriber group (CSG) white list in the AMS, the CSG white list comprising a list of one or more common identifiers each representing a corresponding set of base stations, each of the one or more common identifiers comprising common most significant bits (MSBs) of base station identifications (BSIDs) for its corresponding set of base stations;

locating a femto advanced base station (ABS);

receiving an identifying parameter of the femto ABS;

decoding the identifying parameter to derive a common identifier representing a plurality of femto ABSs;

determining if the common identifier representing the plurality of femto ABSs is on the CSG white list; and

determining if the AMS is a subscriber to the femto ABS.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the AMS with the femto ABS.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying parameter is a base station identifier (BSID).

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising decoding the MSBs of the BSID.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing network entry with the femto ABS if the AMS is a subscriber to a CSG provided by the femto ABS.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising scanning for another femto ABS without performing network entry with the femto ABS.

7. A method to determine whether to perform network entry to a cell, comprising:

receiving a list of common identifiers, wherein each common identifier represents a corresponding plurality of base stations and comprises common most significant bits (MSBs) of base station identifiers (BSIDs) for its corresponding plurality of base stations;

locating a base station in the cell;

receiving a BSID from the base station;

decoding the BSID to derive a common identifier representing a plurality of base stations;

determining if the common identifier is on the list of common identifiers;

transmitting a first unicast message to the base station, wherein the unicast message requests a network service provider (NSP) list;

receiving the NSP list from the base station; and

determining whether to perform network entry through the base station.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the NSP list is received in a broadcast message from the base station.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the base station is an enhanced node B (eNB) and the list of common identifiers is received by a user equipment (UE).

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the base station provides access to the network through a closed subscriber group (CSG).

11. A system for initiating network entry, comprising:

an antenna;

a radio frequency (RF) interface configured to receive an identifying parameter from a femto advanced base station (ABS); and

processing circuitry configured to;

locate a closed subscriber group (CSG) white list comprising a plurality of common identifiers each representing a corresponding set of base stations, each of the one or more common identifiers comprising common most significant bits (MSBs) of base station identifications (BSIDs) for its corresponding set of base stations;

decode the identifying parameter to derive a common identifier representing a plurality of femto ABSs;

determine if the common identifier representing the plurality of femto ABSs is on the CSG white list; and

determine if the system is a subscriber to the femto ABS.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the RF interface is further configured to transmit a first unicast message to the femto ABS, wherein the first unicast message requests a network service provider (NSP) list from the femto ABS.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the RF interface is further configured to receive the NSP list through a second unicast message from the femto ABS.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first unicast message is a range request (RNG-REQ) message and the second unicast message is a range response (RNG-RSP) message.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry uses the NSP list and the first common identifier to determine whether to perform network entry through the femto ABS.

16. A method for providing network entry to a closed subscriber group (CSG) femto advanced base station (ABS) comprising transmitting an identifying parameter to an advanced mobile station (AMS), wherein the identifying parameter comprises a common identifier to represent a plurality of femto ABS, and receiving a request from the AMS to initiate network entry if the common identifier is located on a CSG white list in the AMS, the CSG white list comprising a list of one or more common identifiers each representing a corresponding set of base stations, each of the one or more common identifiers comprising common most significant bits (MSBs) of base station identification (BSIDs) for its corresponding set of base stations.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving a unicast message from the AMS, wherein the unicast message requests a network service provider (NSP) list.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting the NSP list to the AMS.