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

• US 9,681,485 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Issued: 06/13/2017
• 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): Harper, Kevin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rose, Derrick V
• Application Number:
  US13/138,031
• Publication Number:
  US 20120113800A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,094 Days
• Field of Search: 370252, 455456, 455421
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/16 for telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/18 for wireless local area networks or WLAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/222 wherein jamming detection includes detecting the absence or impossibility of intelligible communication on at least one channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/226 Selection of non-jammed channel for communication spectrum sharing arrangements H04W16/14; selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/88 related to allowing or preventing alarm transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• 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, over a communications network. The method comprises: determining that an ability of first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted; establishing a wireless communication link between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise; and causing information transmitted by or destined for the first end-user equipment to be exchanged over the communications network via the wireless communication link 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 a communication over a communications network, said method comprising:

determining that an ability of first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted;

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 communication to be exchanged between the first end-user equipment and the communications network via the wireless communication link and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, said determining comprising verifying the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, 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.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, 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.

5. A method as claimed in claim 2, 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.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, 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.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, 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.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, 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.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, the certain information comprising an identifier of the second end-user equipment.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, the identifier of the second end-user equipment comprising at least one of a hardware identifier and an IP address.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, the hardware identifier comprising at least one of a MAC address and an Ethernet hardware address.

12. A method as claimed in claim 9, the certain information comprising access information for the second end-user equipment.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, the access information for the second end-user equipment comprising at least one of a password and a wireless network key.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12, the certain information comprising an identifier of the first end-user equipment.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, each of the identifier of the first end-user equipment and the identifier of the second end-user equipment comprising at least one of a hardware identifier and an IP address.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, the hardware identifier comprising at least one of a MAC address and an Ethernet hardware address.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14, the certain information comprising access information for the first end-user equipment.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, 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.

19. A method as claimed in claim 1, 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.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, 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.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20, 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.

22. A method as claimed in claim 20, 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.

23. A method as claimed in claim 19, 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.

24. A method as claimed in claim 19, comprising, prior to said determining, receiving a request for the communication to be effected over the communications network from the end-user device.

25. A method as claimed in claim 1, said method being performed by an apparatus residing in the communications network.

26. A method as claimed in claim 1, the communication being one of a telephone call effected using the first end-user equipment, an access to a data network site effected using the first end-user equipment, and an alarm system communication effected using the first end-user equipment.

29. A 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.

31. A method as claimed in claim 1, an identity of the second end-user equipment being determined prior to the determination that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communication network is disrupted.

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

a processing entity configured to determine that an ability of first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted; and

a routing entity configured to;

establish 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

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

30. Apparatus as claimed in claim 27, the communication being a telephone call and the information pertaining to the telephone call including voice information provided during the telephone call.

32. Apparatus as claimed in claim 27, an identity of the second end-user equipment being determined prior to the determination that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communication network is disrupted.

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

program code for causing the computing system to determine that an ability of first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise 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 establish 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

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 the wireless communication link and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable media as claimed in claim 28, an identity of the second end-user equipment being determined prior to the determination that the ability of the first end-user equipment to communicate via the first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communication network is disrupted.