Localized forwarding
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- maintaining information about mobile terminals communicating in a network, the network including a gateway in communication with radio access networks (RANs) and capable of wireless communication with a plurality of mobile terminals, the mobile terminals including a first mobile terminal and a second mobile terminal, wherein the information about the mobile terminals includes location information of the first and second mobile terminals;
receiving, by the gateway from a policy server, rules specifying conditions under which a packet flow can be confined to two mobile terminals and an evolved Node B (eNodeB) to be coupled to the two mobile terminals;
determining, at the gateway, based at least in part on the location information of the first and second mobile terminals, whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same evolved Node B (eNodeB) in a first radio access network (RAN);
in response to a determination that the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same eNodeB, sending control information, pursuant to the rules, to the eNodeB to cause the packet flow between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal to be routed locally through the eNodeB without passing through the gateway to cause the packet flow to be confined to the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal, and the eNodeB; and
wherein the location information of the first and second mobile terminals includes enhanced cell global identifiers (ECGIs) and wherein the determining whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through the same eNodeB includes determining whether an ECGI value assigned to the first mobile terminal is identical to an ECGI value assigned to the second mobile terminal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for call localization are provided. The call localization can be provided in a radio access network by detecting a call flow between mobile node such as user equipment (UE) served by the same radio access network device. For example, a gateway can detect a call localization opportunity and the call can be localized with an evolved nodeB (eNB). The method provides for efficient routing, reporting of billing information, lawful monitoring, and mobility if one or both user equipment leave the common eNB.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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maintaining information about mobile terminals communicating in a network, the network including a gateway in communication with radio access networks (RANs) and capable of wireless communication with a plurality of mobile terminals, the mobile terminals including a first mobile terminal and a second mobile terminal, wherein the information about the mobile terminals includes location information of the first and second mobile terminals; receiving, by the gateway from a policy server, rules specifying conditions under which a packet flow can be confined to two mobile terminals and an evolved Node B (eNodeB) to be coupled to the two mobile terminals; determining, at the gateway, based at least in part on the location information of the first and second mobile terminals, whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same evolved Node B (eNodeB) in a first radio access network (RAN); in response to a determination that the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same eNodeB, sending control information, pursuant to the rules, to the eNodeB to cause the packet flow between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal to be routed locally through the eNodeB without passing through the gateway to cause the packet flow to be confined to the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal, and the eNodeB; and wherein the location information of the first and second mobile terminals includes enhanced cell global identifiers (ECGIs) and wherein the determining whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through the same eNodeB includes determining whether an ECGI value assigned to the first mobile terminal is identical to an ECGI value assigned to the second mobile terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A gateway in communication with radio access networks (RANs) and capable of wireless communication with a plurality of mobile terminals, the gateway comprising:
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a memory capable of storing data; and a processor configured for using the data such that the gateway can; maintain information about the plurality of mobile terminals including location information of the first and second mobile terminals, the plurality of mobile terminals including a first mobile terminal and a second mobile terminal; receive, from a policy server, rules specifying conditions under which a packet flow can be confined to two mobile terminals and an evolved Node B (eNodeB) to be coupled to the two terminals; determine, based at least in part on the location information of the first and second mobile terminals, whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same evolved Node B (eNodeB) in a first radio access network (RAN); in response to a determination that the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same eNodeB, send control information, pursuant to the rules, to the eNodeB to cause the packet flow between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal to be routed locally through the eNodeB without passing through the gateway to cause the packet flow to be confined to the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal, and the eNodeB; and wherein the location information of the first and second mobile terminals includes enhanced cell global identifiers (ECGIs) and wherein the determining whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through the same eNodeB includes determining whether an ECGI value assigned to the first mobile terminal is identical to an ECGI value assigned to the second mobile terminal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer program product residing on a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors in an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method, the method comprising:
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maintaining information about mobile terminals communicating in a network, the network including a gateway in communication with radio access networks (RANs) capable of wireless communication with a plurality of mobile terminals, the mobile terminals including a first mobile terminal and a second mobile terminal, wherein the information about the mobile terminals includes location information of the first and second mobile terminals; receiving, by the gateway from a policy server, rules specifying conditions under which a packet flow can be confined to two mobile terminals and an evolved Node B (eNodeB) to be coupled to the two mobile terminals; determining, at the gateway, based at least in part on the location information of the first and second mobile terminals, whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same evolved Node B (eNodeB) in a first radio access network (RAN); in response to a determination that the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through a same eNodeB, sending control information, pursuant to the rules, to the eNodeB to cause the packet flow between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal to be routed locally through the eNodeB without passing through the gateway to cause the packet flow to be confined to the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal, and the eNodeB; and wherein the location information of the first and second mobile terminals includes enhanced cell global identifiers (ECGIs) and wherein the determining whether the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are communicating in a packet flow through the same eNodeB includes determining whether an ECGI value assigned to the first mobile terminal is identical to an ECGI value assigned to the second mobile terminal.
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Specification