METHOD AND SYSTEM OF PROVIDING LANDLINE EQUIVALENT LOCATION INFORMATION OVER AN INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20070238448A1
• Filed: 04/07/2007
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kineto Wireless Incorporated (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tao, Patrick, Gallagher, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.200
• 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 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method and apparatus for seamlessly providing the location of user equipment of a first communication network while accessing a second different communication network. The first and second communication networks may include licensed wireless networks, unlicensed wireless networks, or internet protocol (IP) networks, to name a few. Furthermore, some embodiments provide a civic address as the location information for identifying the location of the caller.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a) receiving at a licensed wireless first communication system, a service request from a communicatively coupled second communication system, wherein the second communication system comprises a user equipment for placing the service request through a communicatively coupled access point of the second communication system;

b) identifying at the first communication system, data for retrieving a civic address associated with a location of the access point of the second communication system; and

c) retrieving said civic address from the second communication system using said data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second communication system comprises a wireless communication system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication system is communicatively coupled to the second communication system via a Iu-cs interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data does not comprise a telephone number.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the data comprises a media access control (MAC) address of the access point.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the data comprises an IP address.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating at the first communication system a second set of data for accessing said retrieved civic address.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising passing said second set of data to a service request provider, wherein the service request provider uses said second set of data to retrieve the civic address information from the first communication system.

9. A method comprising:

a) initiating a service request from a user equipment to a recipient, wherein the user equipment is communicatively coupled to an access point of a first communication system, wherein said service request and a first key is sent through the first communication system to a communicatively coupled licensed wireless second communication system;

b) retrieving at the second communication system, a civic address associated with a location of the access point of the first communication system using said first key; and

c) passing from the second communication system to the recipient, a second key for accessing said retrieved civic address.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first communication system is a short-range licensed wireless system that operates independent of the second communication system.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first key does not comprise a telephone number.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first key is used by a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) of the second communication system to query a database of the first communication system storing the civic address.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first key is a media access control (MAC) address of the access point.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first key is an IP address.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the civic address identifies a physical street address.

16. A method comprising:

a) identifying a licensed wireless communication system for receiving a service request through licensed wireless frequencies;

b) receiving a service request at an access point without using the licensed wireless frequencies generated by the licensed wireless communication system; and

c) sending the received service request to said licensed wireless communication system,

wherein sending comprises passing data associated with the service request to the licensed wireless communication system in order for the licensed wireless communication system to identify for a recipient of the service request, a civic address associated with a location of the access point based on the data.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the licensed wireless communication system comprises at least one of a GSM system, a GPRS system, and a UTRAN system.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the licensed wireless communication system comprises a set of circuits for identifying the civic address for the recipient.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the set of circuits comprises a gateway mobile location center (GMLC).

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the data comprises a media access control (MAC) address of the access point.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the data comprises an IP address.

22. A system comprising:

a user equipment for initiating a service request;

a recipient for receiving the service request;

a licensed wireless first communication network; and

a second communication network communicatively coupled to the first communication system for sending the service request to the recipient,

wherein the second communication network comprises an access point communicatively coupled to the user equipment,

wherein the first communication network retrieves a civic address associated with a location of the access point from the second communication network and routes data for accessing the retrieved civic address to the recipient.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the first communication system comprises a set of circuits for identifying the civic address for the recipient.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the set of circuits comprises a gateway mobile location center (GMLC).

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the first communication system retrieves the civic address using a key.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the key does not comprise a telephone number.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the key is a media access control (MAC) address of the access point.

28. A system comprising:

a) a licensed wireless first communication network for enabling at least one service request with at least one user equipment; and

b) a second communication network comprising;

1) a plurality of access points for receiving service requests without using said licensed wireless frequencies;

2) a network controller for communicatively coupling to the access points to pass the service requests and keys associated with the access points to said first communication network;

wherein the first communication network identifies for a recipient of a service request, a civic address associated with a location of an access point based on an associated key of the access point.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the first communication network comprises a set of circuits for identifying for the recipient of the service request the civic address.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the set of circuits comprises a gateway mobile location center (GMLC).

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the second communication network comprises a database for storing the civic address.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the first communication system identifies the civic address by querying a database of the second communication system storing the civic address.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the key does not comprise a telephone number.

34. The system of claim 28, wherein the key comprises a media access control (MAC) address of the access point.