NETWORK IDENTITY AND TIMEZONE (NITZ) FUNCTIONALITY FOR NON-3GPP DEVICES

• US 20080032736A1
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bari, Farooq, Bonner, Thomas W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,664,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/552.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/162 at the data link layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/00 Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices

Abstract

A system that provisions a multimode mobile or converged device with local time information and network provider identification when the multimode mobile device is operating within the purview of a wireless local area network (WLAN). The system includes components that receive protocol data and that extract network provider identification from the received protocol data as well as utilizing the received protocol data to ascertain the local time.

Claims

1. A system that provisions a multimode mobile device with a local time and a network identification, comprising:

a first component that receives a first protocol data and employs the first protocol data to extract the network identification; and

a second component that obtains a second protocol data and utilizes the second protocol data to ascertain the local time.

2. The system of claim 1, the first protocol data and the second protocol data disseminated from a wireless access point.

3. The system of claim 1, the first and second protocol data propagated from a protocol server.

4. The system of claim 1, the first protocol data is a network identifier, the network identifier includes a service set identification (SSID) that uniquely identifies at least one of a basic service set (BSS) and an extended service set (ESS).

5. The system of claim 4, the service set identification (SSID) is employed by an extractor component included in the first component to compare the service set identification (SSID) with a lookup table included within the first component, the lookup table pre-provisioned by a protocol server.

6. The system of claim 1, the second protocol data generated by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service.

7. The system of claim 6, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service executes on at least one of a wireless access point, a protocol server, and a wireless router.

8. The system of claim 1, the second protocol data generated by a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service.

9. The system of claim 8, the Network Time Protocol (NTP) service executes on at least one of a wireless access point, a protocol server, and a wireless router.

10. The system of claim 1, the second protocol data generated by a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service.

11. The system of claim 10, the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service executes on at least one of a wireless access point, a protocol server, a wireless router, and a multimode device.

12. The system of claim 1, the second component utilizes a location indication incorporated in the second protocol data to obtain time zone information.

13. The system of claim 12, the second component generates the local time based on the time zone indication.

14. The system of claim 1, the second protocol data generated by an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) service.

15. The system of claim 14, the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) service executes on at least one of a wireless access point, a protocol server, a wireless router, and a multimode device.

16. A method for ascertaining and displaying time zone information and a local time, comprising:

obtaining a protocol data from a setup server and a multimode device;

extracting a location information from the protocol data;

employing the location information to ascertain a time zone; and

generating the local time based on the time zone.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising displaying the generated local time on an interface associated with a multimode mobile device.

18. The method of claim 16, the protocol data from the setup server and the multimode device provided by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service.

19. The method of claim 16, the protocol data from the setup server and the multimode device provided by a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service.

20. The method of claim 16, the protocol data from the setup server and the multimode device provided by a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service.

21. The method of claim 16, the protocol data from the setup server and the multimode device provided by an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) service.

22. A method for determining and displaying a network name, comprising obtaining a network identifier from a wireless access point;

extracting from the network identifier a network name;

utilizing a pre-provisioned database and the network name to ascertain a humanly readable network name; and

displaying the humanly readable network name.