Wireless end-user device with wireless data attribution to multiple personas

• US 9,565,707 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2014
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Partners I LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Gregory G., Raissinia, Alireza, Green, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy, Andrew Joseph
• Application Number:
  US14/578,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20150201417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 370/229, 370/252, 370/313, 370/328, 370/329
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1457 using an account
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8033 location-dependent, e.g. business or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels

Abstract

A wireless end-user device has wireless wide-area network (WWAN) and wireless local-area network (WLAN) modems. One or more processors attribute data communications for at least one of the modems to respective personas, including a first persona for usage of the device that is personal to the user and a second persona for usage of the device that is on behalf of an enterprise. The device transmits information to a network element that reflects the attribution of the data communications. The information is adapted for use in allocating a first amount of wireless data consumption to one of the personas.

Claims

1. A wireless end-user device, comprising:

a plurality of wireless modems to communicate data related to one or more Internet access activities, the plurality of modems including

a wireless wide area network (WWAN) modem to communicate data related to one or more Internet access activities between the device and at least one WWAN, when configured for and connected to the WWAN, and

a wireless local area network (WLAN) modem to communicate data related to one or more Internet access activities between the device and at least one WLAN, when configured for and connected to the WLAN;

one or more processors configured to, for data communications associated with at least one of the wireless modems and related to one or more Internet access activities,

attribute the data communications to a respective one of at least two persona, the at least two persona including a first persona representing usage of the wireless end-user device that is personal to the user and a second persona representing usage of the wireless end-user device that is on behalf of an enterprise, and

transmit information to a network element, the information reflecting the attribution of data communications and adapted for use in allocating an amount of wireless data consumption by the wireless end-user device to one of the first and second personas.

2. The wireless end-user device of claim 1, further comprising a non-transitory memory to store policy information specifying a list of Internet destinations associated with the second persona, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to attribute the data communications to the second persona when the data communications are exchanged with an Internet destination that is on the list.

3. The wireless end-user device of claim 1,

further comprising a non-transitory memory to store a policy specifying at least one of (a) an association between the first persona and one or more first applications installed on the device, the execution of which is to be associated with the first persona, and (b) an association between the second persona and one or more second applications installed on the device, the execution of which is to be associated with the second persona,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to attribute the data communications to a respective one of the at least two persona based at least in part on the policy.

4. The wireless end-user device of claim 1,

further comprising a non-transitory memory to store policy information specifying a list of applications associated with the second persona,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to attribute the data communications exchanged by the wireless end-user device, when related to one or more Internet access activities on behalf of an application in the list, to the second persona.

5. The wireless end-user device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

establish, using at least one of the modems, a private tunnel between the wireless end-user device and a selected proxy; and

enforce a first condition where first data communications attributed to the second persona are exchanged by the at least one of the modems exclusively via the private tunnel.

6. The wireless end-user device of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

identify second data communications as attributed to the first persona and not the second persona; and

enforce a second condition where the second data communications are exchanged by the at least one of the modems exclusively outside of the private tunnel.

7. The wireless end-user device of claim 6, wherein the private tunnel forms at least a portion of a virtual private network (VPN).

8. The wireless end-user device of claim 6, wherein the wireless end-user device comprises a first secure partition and a second partition, the one or more processors configured to enforce the first and second conditions such that the first data communications cannot be exchanged with the second partition and the second data communications cannot be exchanged with the first secure partition.

9. The wireless end-user device of claim 8, wherein each of the first secure partition and the second partition is embodied using respective device hardware.

10. The wireless end-user device of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are configured to establish the first and second conditions based on a policy, and wherein the wireless end-user device is configurable to receive at least a portion of the policy information from a network destination.

11. The wireless end-user device of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

detect a network type in use for the data communications; and

condition enforcement of the first condition upon the detected network type.

12. The wireless end-user device of claim 1, the one or more processors configured to cause the wireless end-user device to calculate a first count of the data consumption attributable to only one of the first persona and the second persona, the information transmitted to the network element dependent on the first count.