Optimizing services in extreme environments for bundled services in a fixed broadband wireless installation

• US 8,886,780 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2010
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Kamdar, Kamlesh S., Kamel, Raafat Edward, Aguirre, Sergio, Kotecha, Lalit Ratilal
• Primary Examiner(s): BARQADLE, YASIN M
• Application Number:
  US12/851,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20120034912A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 709220-232, 455423-425, 455/426.2, 455/427, 370/232, 370/235
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/20 Adaptations for transmission via a GHz frequency band, e.g. via satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A device monitors temperature readings from a sensor associated with an outdoor broadband unit. When the temperature readings increase above a stored threshold value, the device sends, to a device at a core network, an alert signal that invokes, at the core network, an emergency profile associated with the outdoor broadband unit. When the temperature readings decrease below the stored threshold value, the device sends, to the device at the core network, a normal signal that invokes, at the core network, a default profile associated with the outdoor broadband unit.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying, by a router for an outdoor broadband unit, a high-temperature reading from a sensor associated with the outdoor broadband unit;

restricting, by the router and based on identifying the high temperature reading, non-critical traffic from a customer premises network to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem in the outdoor broadband unit;

sending, by the router and via the LTE modem, an alert signal indicating a high-temperature at the outdoor broadband unit, wherein the alert signal invokes, at an evolved packet core network, an emergency profile to drop, at the evolved packet core network, non-critical downlink traffic directed to the outdoor broadband unit; and

receiving, by the router and via the LTE modem, only critical broadband signals from the evolved packet core network based on the emergency profile.

2. The method of claim 1, where the non-critical traffic includes any broadband traffic that is not classified as conversational voice or conversational video.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the long term evolution (LTE) module

receives the critical broadband signals from a base station, and

forwards the critical broadband signals to the router via a wired connection.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

combining the critical broadband signals with satellite television signals in a single Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA)-compliant channel outside a customer premises.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the router, a normal-temperature reading from the sensor associated with the outdoor broadband unit;

restoring, by the router, the non-critical traffic from the customer premises network to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem in response to the normal-temperature reading; and

sending, by the router and via the LTE modem, a normal signal indicating a normal temperature at the outdoor broadband unit, wherein the normal signal invokes, at the evolved packet core network, a default profile to forward downlink traffic from the evolved packet core network to the LTE modem.

6. The method of claim 1, where identifying the high-temperature reading from a sensor associated with an outdoor broadband unit includes one or more of:

comparing an individual temperature signal, received from the sensor, to a stored threshold,

identifying a particular consecutive sequence of individual temperature signals, received from the sensor, as being above the stored threshold, or

comparing an average of a particular number of temperature signals, received from the sensor, to the stored threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, where the critical broadband signals include one of:

a Long Term Evolution (LTE) signal,

a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) signal,

a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) signal,

a Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) signal,

a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) signal,

a Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000) signal,

a High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) signal, or

a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) signal.

8. The method of claim 1, where the emergency profile causes the evolved packet core network to block delivery of downlink broadband traffic that is not classified as conversational voice or conversational video and causes the router to block delivery of uplink broadband traffic that is not classified as conversational voice or conversational video.

9. A device, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

monitor temperature readings from a sensor associated with an outdoor broadband unit;

restrict, when the temperature readings increase above a stored threshold value, non-critical uplink traffic from a customer premises network to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem in the outdoor broadband unit;

send, to a device at an evolved packet core network and when the temperature readings increase above a stored threshold value, an alert signal, wherein the alert signal invokes, at the evolved packet core network, an emergency profile to drop, at the evolved packet core network, non-critical downlink traffic directed to the outdoor broadband unit;

receive, via the LTE modem, only critical broadband signals from the evolved packet core network based on the emergency profile; and

send, to the device at the evolved packet core network and when the temperature readings decrease below the stored threshold value, a normal signal, wherein the normal signal invokes, at the evolved packet core network, a default profile associated with downlink traffic directed to the outdoor broadband unit.

10. The device of claim 9, where the processor is further to:

restore, when the temperature readings decrease below the stored threshold value, the non-critical uplink traffic from the customer premises network to the LTE modem for the outdoor broadband unit.

11. The device of claim 10, where the non-critical uplink traffic includes broadband traffic that is not classified as conversational voice or conversational video.

12. The device of claim 9, where the device is a broadband home router included within the outdoor broadband unit.

13. The device of claim 12, where the outdoor broadband unit includes a mounting bracket mounted to an extension arm configured to transfer heat from the broadband home router, and where the mounting bracket and the extension arm each include a material with a thermal conductivity rating of at least one-hundred and twenty Watts/meter*degrees Kelvin.

14. The device of claim 9, where the processor is further to:

receive broadband signals from the LTE modem within the outdoor broadband unit and combine the broadband signals with satellite television signals in a single Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA)-compliant channel outside a customer premises.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a computational device to:

monitor temperature readings from a sensor associated with an outdoor broadband unit;

restrict when the temperature readings increase above a stored threshold value, non-critical uplink traffic from a customer premises network to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem in the outdoor broadband unit;

send, to a device at an evolved packet core network and when the temperature readings increase above a stored threshold value, an alert signal, wherein the alert signal invokes, at the evolved packet core network, an emergency profile to drop, at the evolved packet core network, non-critical downlink traffic directed to the outdoor broadband unit;

receive, via the LTE modem, only critical broadband signals from the evolved packet core network based on the emergency profile; and

send, to the device at the evolved packet core network and when the temperature readings decrease below the stored threshold value, a normal signal, wherein the normal signal invokes, at the evolved packet core network, a default profile associated with downlink traffic directed to the outdoor broadband unit.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising instructions to:

restore, when the temperature readings decrease below the stored threshold value, the non-critical uplink traffic from the customer premises network to the LTE modem for the outdoor broadband unit.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the device at the evolved packet core network device is a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) device of an evolved packet core (EPC) network.

18. An outdoor broadband unit, comprising:

a broadband home router configured to;

identify a high-temperature reading from a sensor associated with the outdoor broadband unit,

restrict, when the high-temperature reading is identified, non-critical uplink traffic from a customer premises network to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem in the outdoor broadband unit;

send, to a device at an evolved packet core network and when the high-temperature reading is identified, an alert signal, wherein the alert signal invokes, at an evolved packet core network, an emergency profile to cause the evolved packet core network to drop, at the evolved packet core network, non-critical downlink traffic directed to the outdoor broadband unit, and

receive, via the LTE modem, only critical broadband signals from the evolved packet core network based on the emergency profile; and

a mounting bracket mounted to an extension arm and configured to transfer heat from the broadband home router.

19. The outdoor broadband unit of claim 18, where the broadband home router is further configured to:

identify a normal temperature reading from the sensor associated with the outdoor broadband unit;

restore the non-critical uplink traffic for the outdoor broadband unit in response to the normal temperature reading; and

send a normal signal indicating a normal temperature at the outdoor broadband unit, wherein the normal signal invokes, at the evolved packet core network, a default profile associated with the outdoor broadband unit.