Methods and systems for enabling end-user equipment at an end-user premise to effect communications having certain origins when an ability of the end-user equipment to communicate via a communication link connecting the end-user equipment to a communications network is disrupted

• US 8,913,488 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BCE Incorporated
• Original Assignee: BCE Incorporated
• Inventors: Arsenault, Jonathan Allan, Clark, David William, Wolf, Eric John, Murray, Sean MacLean
• Primary Examiner(s): RIYAMI, ABDULLAH A
• Application Number:
  US13/141,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20120008492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,184 Days
• Field of Search: 370/225, 370/252, 370/310, 370/328, 370/329, 370/330, 370/338, 370/401, 370/400, 455/404.2, 455/456
• US Class Current: 370/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment

Abstract

A method for effecting communications, such as telephone calls, accesses to data network sites, alarm system communications, and/or other communications, having certain origins over a communications network. The method comprises: receiving a request for a communication originated by first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise when an ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted; determining, based on an origin of the communication, that the communication is to be effected over the communications network; and causing information pertaining to the communication to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communications network via a wireless communication link established between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network. Also provided are apparatus and computer-readable media containing a program element executable by a computing system to perform such a method.

Claims

1. A method for effecting communications over a communications network, said method comprising:

receiving a request for a communication originated by first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise when an ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted;

determining, based on an origin of the communication that is specified by an identifier of a piece of equipment of the first end-user equipment from which the communication originates, that the communication is to be effected over the communications network; and

causing information pertaining to the communication to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communications network via a wireless communication link established between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising determining that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, said determining comprising verifying the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, said verifying comprising:

performing a verification of a state of the first communication link based on a signal conveyable via the first communication link; and

determining that the first communication link is disrupted based on a result of the verification.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, said determining that the first communication link is disrupted based on a result of the verification comprising determining that the signal is not received within a period of time or does not satisfy a quality-of-service condition.

6. The method as claimed in claim 3, said verifying comprising:

performing a verification of a state of a software or hardware component of the first end-user equipment; and

determining that the software or hardware component of the first end-user equipment is disrupted based on a result of the verification.

7. The method as claimed in claim 2, said determining comprising receiving information indicative of a disruption of the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, the information indicative of a disruption of the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link comprising information indicative of a disruption of the first communication link.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, said determining comprising determining that the origin of the communication corresponds to a predetermined origin.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, said determining that the origin of the communication corresponds to the predetermined origin comprising accessing a database and concluding that the origin of the communication corresponds to an origin specified in the database.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, said determining comprising receiving an indication that the origin of the communication is such that the communication is to be effected over the communications network.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, the identifier comprising at least one of an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the piece of equipment and a hardware identifier of the piece of equipment.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, the hardware identifier comprising at least one of a Media Access Control (MAC) address and an Ethernet hardware address.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, the origin of the communication being specified by a time at which the communication is originated.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising establishing the wireless communication link between the first end-user equipment and the second end-user equipment upon the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link being determined to be disrupted.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, said establishing comprising causing a first one of the first end-user equipment and the second end-user equipment to wirelessly transmit certain information to a second one of the first end-user equipment and the second end-user equipment to establish the wireless communication link.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, the certain information comprising an identifier of the second end-user equipment.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, the identifier of the second end-user equipment comprising at least one of a hardware identifier and an IP address.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, the hardware identifier comprising at least one of a MAC address and an Ethernet hardware address.

20. The method as claimed in claim 17, the certain information comprising access information for the second end-user equipment.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, the access information for the second end-user equipment comprising at least one of a password and a wireless network key.

22. The method as claimed in claim 20, the certain information comprising access information for the first end-user equipment.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, each of the access information for the first end-user equipment and the access information for the second end-user equipment comprising at least one of a password and a wireless network key.

24. The method as claimed in claim 15, the first-end user equipment comprising a communication apparatus connected to the first communication link and to an end-user device at the first end-user premise, said method being performed by the communication apparatus.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, said establishing comprising wirelessly transmitting certain information to the second end-user equipment to establish the wireless communication link between the communication apparatus and the second end-user equipment.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25, the second end-user equipment comprising a communication apparatus connected to the second communication link and to an end-user device at the second end-user premise, said wirelessly transmitting comprising wirelessly transmitting the certain information to the communication apparatus of the second end-user equipment to establish the wireless communication link between the communication apparatus of the first end-user equipment and the communication apparatus of the second end-user equipment.

27. The method as claimed in claim 25, the second end-user equipment comprising a communication apparatus connected to the second communication link and to an end-user device at the second end-user premise, said wirelessly transmitting comprising wirelessly transmitting the certain information to the end-user device at the second end-user premise to establish the wireless communication link between the communication apparatus of the first end-user equipment and the end-user device at the second end-user premise.

28. The method as claimed in claim 24, said establishing comprising causing the end-user device at the first end-user premise to wirelessly transmit certain information to the second end-user equipment to establish the wireless communication link between the end-user device at the first end-user premise and the second end-user equipment.

29. The method as claimed in claim 1, the information pertaining to the communication comprising information allowing a physical location of the first end-user premise to be identified.

30. The method as claimed in claim 29, the information allowing the physical location of the first end-user premise to be identified comprising location information indicative of the physical location of the first end-user premise.

31. The method as claimed in claim 29, the information allowing the physical location of the first end-user premise to be identified comprising the identifier of the piece of equipment of the first end-user equipment, the identifier being associated in a database with location information indicative of the physical location of the first end-user premise.

32. The method as claimed in claim 1, the communication being an alarm system communication.

33. The method as claimed in claim 1, the communication being a telephone call and the information pertaining to the telephone call including voice information provided during the telephone call.

34. The method as claimed in claim 1, the communication being an outgoing communication, said method comprising causing information pertaining to an incoming communication originated by communication equipment connected to the communications network to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communication equipment via the wireless communication link and the second communication link.

35. The method as claimed in claim 34, the incoming communication being an incoming telephone call and the information pertaining to the incoming telephone call including voice information provided during the incoming telephone call.

44. The method as claimed in claim 1, an identity of the second end-user equipment being determined prior to determining that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted.

36. Apparatus for effecting communications over a communications network, said apparatus comprising:

a processing entity configured to;

receive a request for a communication originated by first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise when an ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted; and

determine, based on an origin of the communication that is specified by an identifier of a piece of equipment of the first end-user equipment from which the communication originates, that the communication is to be effected over the communications network; and

a routing entity configured to cause information pertaining to the communication to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communications network via a wireless communication link established between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network.

45. The apparatus as claimed in claim 36, an identity of the second end-user equipment being determined prior to determining that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted.

37. Non-transitory computer-readable media containing a program element executable by a computing system to perform a method for effecting communications over a communications network, said program element comprising:

program code for causing the computing system to receive a request for a communication originated by first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise when an ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted;

program code for causing the computing system to determine, based on an origin of the communication that is specified by an identifier of a piece of equipment of the first end-user equipment from which the communication originates, that the communication is to be effected over the communications network; and

program code for causing the computing system to cause information pertaining to the communication to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communications network via a wireless communication link established between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network.

46. The non-transitory computer-readable media as claimed in claim 37, an identity of the second end-user equipment being determined prior to determining that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted.

38. A method for effecting an alarm system communication originated by an alarm system at a first end-user premise, the first end-user premise including first end-user equipment connected to a communications network via a first communication link, said method comprising:

determining that an ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted;

based on an origin of the alarm system communication that is specified by an identifier of a piece of equipment at the first end-user premise from which the alarm system communication originates, establishing a wireless communication link between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise upon the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link being determined to be disrupted; and

causing information pertaining to the alarm system communication to be transmitted to communication equipment associated with an alarm monitoring central via the wireless communication link and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network.

39. The method as claimed in claim 38, the information comprising an indication of an event detected by a detector of the alarm system at the first end-user premise.

40. The method as claimed in claim 38, the information pertaining to the alarm system communication comprising information allowing a physical location of the first end-user premise to be identified.

41. The method as claimed in claim 40, the information allowing the physical location of the first end-user premise to be identified comprising location information indicative of the physical location of the first end-user premise.

42. The method as claimed in claim 40, the information allowing the physical location of the first end-user premise to be identified comprising an identifier of a piece of equipment of the first end-user equipment, the identifier being associated in a database with location information indicative of the physical location of the first end-user premise.

43. The method as claimed in claim 38, comprising causing information pertaining to an incoming telephone call originated by the communication equipment associated with the alarm monitoring central to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communication equipment associated with the alarm monitoring central via the wireless communication link and the second communication link, the information pertaining to the incoming telephone call including voice information provided during the incoming telephone call.