Access control enhancements for delivery of video and other services

• US 6,970,461 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2000
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International License Exchange of America, LLC (Equitable IP Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Unitt, Brian, Grant, Michael, Cable, Julian, Pino, Lou
• Primary Examiner(s): MARCELO, MELVIN C
• Application Number:
  US09/725,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20040240466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,826 Days
• Field of Search: 370/390, 370/392, 725 27- 29, 725/86
• US Class Current: 370/390
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/788 Autonomous allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/806 Broadcast or multicast traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 User-type aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A method of providing secure multicast over a local access network by means of a network access unit having a channel request vetting function and a permitted channel list. Channel requests from a subscriber are vetted with respect to the permitted channel list and forwarded only if permitted. The permitted list may be dynamically updated under headend control to allow users to subscribe to, and unsubscribe from, services upon request.

Claims

1. A network access unit for restricting user access to multicast signals transmitted on a local access network and comprising:

a port for receiving a request from a user to join a multicast channel;

a multicast channel request vetting unit for vetting the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted multicast channels for that user;

a transmitter for selectively forwarding the request responsive to the vetting when the list comprises the requested multicast channel;

wherein the local access network is a shared medium access network.

2. A network access unit according to claim 1 additionally comprising:

a receiver arranged to receive control signals from a network head end for updating the permitted list.

3. A network access unit according to claim 1 additionally in which a time is associated with at least one multicast channel in the predetermined list of multicast channels and in which the multicast channel vetting unit vets a request for the at least one multicast channel with respect to the time.

4. A network access unit according to claim 1 arranged to receive signals over an optical medium.

5. A customer premises equipment comprising a network access unit according to claim 1.

6. An optical access network comprising a network access unit according to claim 1.

7. A method of restricting user access to multicast signals transmitted on a local access network comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to join a multicast channel from a user at a first port;

vetting the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted multicast channels for the user; and

selectively forwarding the request responsive to the vetting when the list comprises the requested multicast channel,

wherein the local access network is a shared medium access network.

8. A method according to claim 7 additionally comprising the steps of:

receiving a control signal from a network head end;

updating the permitted list responsive to the control signal.

9. A method according to claim 7 where additionally comprising the steps of:

associating a time with at least one multicast channel in the predetermined list of channels; and

vetting the request with respect to the time.

10. A method according to claim 7 in which the channel request is carried in an IGMP message.

11. A method of providing a secure multicast service over a shared medium access network, the method comprising:

using an IGMP vetting function in customer premises equipment.

12. A method according to claim 11 comprising using a network receive address filter in said customer premises.

13. A program for a computer on a machine readable medium arranged to:

receive a request to join a multicast channel over a shared access medium network from a user at a first port;

vet the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted multicast channels for the user;

selectively forward the request responsive to the vetting when the list comprises the requested multicast channel.