Personal base station system with wireless video capability

• US 8,850,470 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gnuschke, Jerald J., Holmes, David W., White, Christopher A., Smith, David K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ingvoldstad, Bennett
• Application Number:
  US10/990,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20050130586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,606 Days
• Field of Search: 725 74- 85
• US Class Current: 725/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/14 Arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4182 for identification purposes, e.g. storing user identification data, preferences, personal settings or data restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code in combination with an additional device, e.g. dongle or smart card G06F21/123
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

A personal base station (PBS) having wireless video capability. The PBS authenticates a mobile device within range for cellular services, and authenticates the user for a level of service for cable television. The PBS operates in accordance with a dual-purpose subscriber identity system (SIS) includes a subscriber mobile identity component (SMIC) and a video security component (VSC) such that the cellular and television services can be authenticated. Mobile devices incorporating the disclosed innovations, as well as the PBS, can access video content from a cable television provider through any available broadband link, regardless of the mobile device'"'"'s physical location.

Claims

1. A base station device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

initiating communication with a wireless device in response to a first determination that the wireless device is within a defined range;

authenticating the wireless device with regard to the base station device based on subscription information associated with an operator identity and received from the wireless device, comprising reinitiating the authenticating of the wireless device with regard to the base station device according to a predetermined number of attempts in response to an unsuccessful attempt to authenticate the wireless device with regard to the base station device;

in response to a second determination that the wireless device is successfully authenticated with regard to the base station device, authenticating the wireless device with regard to multimedia content based on other subscription information associated with a multimedia service account of the operator identity and a level of service defined in the multimedia service account;

controlling distribution, to the wireless device, of the multimedia content based on the level of service defined in the multimedia service account, wherein the level of service is received from the wireless device and enables a third determination of at least a portion of the multimedia content to be rendered by the wireless device; and

forwarding a decrypted version of the multimedia content, which is received from another device, to the wireless device in accordance with an encryption key associated with the other subscription information.

2. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

processing a voice signal received by the base station device; and

processing a video signal received by the base station device.

3. The base station device of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise initiating communication of the video signal to the wireless device via a wireless network.

4. The base station device of claim 2, wherein the forwarding the decrypted version of the multimedia content further comprises forwarding a version of the video signal to facilitate presentation of the video signal via the wireless device.

5. The base station device of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the decrypted version of the video signal based at least in part on a video processing specification associated with the wireless device.

6. The base station device of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise communicating the voice signal and audio content associated with the video signal.

7. The base station device of claim 2, wherein the video signal comprises the multimedia content.

8. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the multimedia content via a network device of a broadband network.

9. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise associating the base station device with a subscriber identity and defining a level of telephony service for the subscriber identity.

10. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores subscriber identity information and video security information, and wherein the subscriber identity information and the video security information comprise at least part of the other subscription information.

11. The base station device of claim 10, wherein the memory comprises a universal integrated circuit card.

12. The base station device of claim 10, wherein the subscriber identity information and the video security information are updateable by downloading respective updates of the subscriber identity information and the video security information to the memory.

13. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the multimedia content is accompanied by digital rights information to facilitate regulation of sharing of the multimedia content with another wireless device.

14. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise authenticating a subscriber identity for pay-per-view service and activating a billing process associated with the pay-per-view service.

15. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining a connection speed between the base station device and the wireless device.

16. The base station device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise adjusting a bit rate for transmission of the multimedia content based at least in part on a fourth determination that the connection speed is lower than a defined connection speed.

17. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting the multimedia content to the wireless device via a cellular network device in response to the wireless device being determined to be out of communication range of the base station device, and

transmitting the multimedia content to the wireless device via the base station device in response to the wireless device being determined to be in communication range of the base station device.

18. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the base station device is incorporated into a device comprising a television interface and a cable television modem.

19. The base station device of claim 1, wherein the initiating the communication with the wireless device comprises initiating wired communications and wireless communications with the wireless device.

20. A base station device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

communicating a voice signal and a video signal via a network device of a digital network;

authenticating a wireless device for communication with the base station device based on information associated with an operator identity and received from the wireless device, comprising reinitiating the authenticating of the wireless device for the communication with the base station device according to a defined number of attempts in response to an unsuccessful attempt to authenticate the wireless device for the communication with the base station device;

in response to successfully authenticating the wireless device for the communication with the base station device, authenticating the wireless device for receipt of a multimedia service at the wireless device, based on video subscription information to facilitate rendering of multimedia content associated with the multimedia service, wherein the multimedia service comprises the voice signal and the video signal;

managing distribution of the multimedia content associated with the multimedia service based on a digital rights information permission associated with the multimedia content and a personal subscription level received from the wireless device; and

forwarding a decrypted version of the multimedia content, which is received from another device, to the wireless device in accordance with an encryption key associated with the video subscription information.

21. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise providing authentication of the wireless device to a service provider device.

22. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the video subscription information is associated with a subscription of video content carried in the video signal.

23. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores subscriber information related to access to the personal subscription level.

24. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores subscriber authentication data related to communications with the wireless device.

25. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the memory further stores subscriber identity information and video security information that are updateable by downloading respective updates of the subscriber identity information and the video security information to the memory.

26. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the base station device is configured to communicate according to a Global System for Mobile communications protocol.

27. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise receiving at least a portion of the multimedia content based at least in part on a video content processing capability of the wireless device.

28. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the video signal contains television content.

29. The base station device of claim 20, wherein the authenticating the wireless device for the receipt of the multimedia service comprises authenticating the wireless device for the playback of the multimedia service based on a first permission in response to the wireless device being determined to be in communicable range of the base station device and authenticating the wireless device for the playback of the multimedia service based on a second permission in response to the wireless device being determined to be out of communicable range of the base station device, and wherein the wireless device communicates via a cellular network device.

30. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving a video signal via a network device of a digital network;

communicating multimedia data transmitted via the network device of the digital network;

providing wired and wireless communications of the multimedia data;

authenticating a mobile device associated with an operator identity with regard to the system based on a personal subscription level associated with the operator identity, wherein the personal subscription level is received from the mobile device, wherein the personal subscription level includes different sets of permissions based on a range of the mobile device from a base station device, and wherein the authenticating of the mobile device with regard to the system is initiated in response to a determination that the mobile device is within the range, and the authenticating of the mobile device with regard to the system is reinitiated according to a number of attempts in response to an unsuccessful attempt to authenticate the mobile device with regard to the system;

in response to determining that the mobile device is successfully authenticated with regard to the system, authenticating the mobile device for receipt of the multimedia data based on video subscription information; and

forwarding a decrypted version of the multimedia data, received from another device, to the mobile device in accordance with an encryption key associated with the video subscription information.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise at least one of:

controlling a level of telephony service associated with the mobile device;

or

facilitating access to the multimedia data based on a level of video service.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the operations further comprise communicating the level of the telephony service via the network device of the digital network to facilitate reception of the multimedia data by the mobile device.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the operations further comprise communicating the level of the telephony service to the base station device and a cable television service provider device to facilitate reception of the multimedia data at the mobile device.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise facilitating a download of the video signal to the mobile device in response to the mobile device being determined to be associated with a defined location, and wherein the video signal is associated with a subscribed level of service associated with a television service provider identity.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the multimedia data to the mobile device via a cellular network device in response to the mobile device being determined to be out of communicable range of the base station device.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise managing distribution of the content associated with the multimedia data using digital rights information.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise activating a billing process associated with pay-per-view content.

38. A method, comprising:

initiating, by a system comprising a processor, communication with a wireless device in response to a first determination that the wireless device is within a defined range;

authenticating, by the system, the wireless device with regard to the system based on subscription information associated with an operator identity and received from the wireless device, comprising reinitiating the authenticating of the wireless device with regard to the system according to a predetermined number of attempts in response to an unsuccessful attempt to authenticate the wireless device with regard to the system;

in response to a second determination that the wireless device is successfully authenticated with regard to the system, authenticating, by the system, the wireless device with regard to multimedia content based on other subscription information associated with a multimedia service account of the operator identity and a level of service defined in the multimedia service account;

controlling, by the system, distribution of the multimedia content to the wireless device based on the level of service defined in the multimedia service account, wherein the level of service is received from the wireless device and enables a third determination of at least a portion of the multimedia content to be rendered by the wireless device; and

forwarding, by the system, a decrypted version of the multimedia content that is received from another device to the wireless device in accordance with an encryption key associated with the other subscription information.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising initiating, by the system, communication of a video signal to the wireless device via a wireless network device.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising receiving, by the system, the multimedia content via a network device of a broadband network.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising associating, by the system, a base station device with a subscriber identity and defining a level of telephony service for the subscriber identity.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising processing, by the system, a voice signal received by a base station device and a video signal received by the base station device.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising determining, by the system, a connection speed between a base station device and the wireless device.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising adjusting, by the system, a bit rate for transmission of the multimedia content based at least in part on a fourth determination that the connection speed is lower than a defined minimum connection speed.

45. The method of claim 38, further comprising transmitting, by the system, the multimedia content to the wireless device via a cellular network device in response to the wireless device being determined to be out of communication range of a base station device.

46. The method of claim 38, further comprising transmitting, by the system, the multimedia content to the wireless device via a base station device in response to the wireless device being determined to be in communication range of the base station device.

47. The method of claim 38, further comprising storing, by the system, subscriber identity information and video security information, wherein the subscriber identity information and the video security information comprise at least part of the other subscription information.

48. A computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a device comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

initiating communication with a wireless device in response to a first determination that the wireless device is within a determined range;

authenticating the wireless device with regard to the device based on subscription information associated with an operator identity and received from the wireless device, comprising reinitiating the authenticating of the wireless device with regard to the device according to a specified number of attempts in response to an unsuccessful attempt to authenticate the wireless device with regard to the device;

in response to a second determination that the wireless device is successfully authenticated with regard to the device, authenticating the wireless device with regard to multimedia content based on other subscription information associated with a multimedia service account of the operator identity and a level of service defined in the multimedia service account;

controlling distribution of the multimedia content to the wireless device based on the level of service defined in the multimedia service account, wherein the level of service is received from the wireless device and enables a third determination of at least a portion of the multimedia content to be rendered by the wireless device; and

forwarding a decrypted version of the multimedia content that is received from another device to the wireless device in accordance with an encryption key associated with the other subscription information.

49. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise initiating communication of a video signal to the wireless device via a wireless network device.

50. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the multimedia content via a network device of a broadband network.

51. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise associating a base station device with a subscriber identity and defining a level of telephony service for the subscriber identity.

52. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise processing a voice signal received by a base station device and a video signal received by the base station device.

53. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise determining a connection speed between a base station device and the wireless device.

54. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53, wherein the operations further comprise adjusting a bit rate for transmission of the multimedia content based at least in part on a fourth determination that the connection speed is lower than a threshold speed.

55. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the multimedia content to the wireless device via a cellular network device in response to the wireless device being determined to be out of communication range of a base station device.

56. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the multimedia content to the wireless device via a base station device in response to the wireless device being determined to be in communication range of the base station device.

57. The computer-readable storage device of claim 48, wherein the operations further comprise storing subscriber identity information and video security information, wherein the subscriber identity information and the video security information comprise at least part of the other subscription information.