Femtocell integration into the macro network
First Claim
1. For a communication system comprising (i) a first communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a core network and (ii) a second communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a network controller for communicatively coupling the plurality of second communication network access areas to the core network, a method comprising:
- at the network controller, receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) through an access point of a particular access area of the second communication network, the message comprising a first area identifier for identifying an access area of the communication system last visited by the UE;
at the network controller, adding a second area identifier to the message, wherein the second area identifier is for identifying the plurality of second communication network access areas as a single access area to the core network;
from the network controller, sending the message comprising the second area identifier to the core network before communicatively coupling said UE to the core network;
at the network controller, receiving a response to the message from the core network, the response comprising the second area identifier; and
from the network controller, passing the response comprising the second area identifier to the access point of the particular access area, the access point communicatively coupling said UE to the network controller and replacing the second area identifier in the response with a third area identifier identifying the particular access area of the access point before sending the response to the UE.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments of the invention provide a communication system that includes a first communication network, a second communication network, and a core network. The second communication network includes a network controller and a group of two or more access areas that are communicatively coupled to the core network by the network controller. Some embodiments service the second network access areas by providing access area identifiers to each access area while communicating with the first network or core network using a single are identifier assigned to the network controller. Some embodiments provide access control by sending a series of invalid messages to a user equipment (UE) that is not authorized to access services of the second network to reject the UE. Some embodiments reject the UE by sending a message to ban a UE from an access area with a particular access area identifier.
396 Citations
25 Claims
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1. For a communication system comprising (i) a first communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a core network and (ii) a second communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a network controller for communicatively coupling the plurality of second communication network access areas to the core network, a method comprising:
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at the network controller, receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) through an access point of a particular access area of the second communication network, the message comprising a first area identifier for identifying an access area of the communication system last visited by the UE; at the network controller, adding a second area identifier to the message, wherein the second area identifier is for identifying the plurality of second communication network access areas as a single access area to the core network; from the network controller, sending the message comprising the second area identifier to the core network before communicatively coupling said UE to the core network; at the network controller, receiving a response to the message from the core network, the response comprising the second area identifier; and from the network controller, passing the response comprising the second area identifier to the access point of the particular access area, the access point communicatively coupling said UE to the network controller and replacing the second area identifier in the response with a third area identifier identifying the particular access area of the access point before sending the response to the UE. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. For a communication system comprising (i) a first communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a core network and (ii) a second communication network comprising a plurality of access points for establishing a plurality of access areas of the second communication network and a network controller for communicatively coupling the plurality of access areas of the second communication network to the core network, a method comprising:
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at a particular access point, receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) in a second communication network access area associated with the particular access point, the message comprising a first area identifier for identifying an access area of the first communication network; at the particular access point, adding a second area identifier to the message; passing the message comprising the second area identifier from the particular access point to the core network through the network controller; at the particular access point, receiving a response to the message from the core network through the network controller, the response comprising the second area identifier; at the particular access point, replacing the second area identifier in the response with a third area identifier identifying the second communication network access area associated with the particular access point; and transmitting the response comprising the third area identifier from the particular access point to the UE. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. In a communication system comprising (i) a first communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a core network and (ii) a second communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a network controller for communicatively coupling the plurality of second communication network access areas to the core network, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
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determining a first area identifier for the second communication network based on a set of area identifiers associated with a set of first communication network access areas, wherein the first area identifier is for identifying the plurality of second communication network access areas as a single access area to the core network; receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) through an access point of a particular access area of the second communication network, the message comprising a second area identifier for identifying an access area last visited by the UE; adding the first area identifier to the message; forwarding the message comprising the first area identifier to the core network before coupling said UE to the core network through the second communication network; and receiving a response to the message from the core network comprising the first area identifier. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. In a communication system comprising (i) a first communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a core network and (ii) a second communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a network controller for communicatively coupling the plurality of second communication network access areas to the core network, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor of the network controller, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
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receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) through an access point of a particular access area of the second communication network, the message comprising a first area identifier for identifying an access area of the communication system last visited by the UE; adding a second area identifier to the message, wherein the second area identifier is for identifying the plurality of second communication network access areas as a single access area to the core network; sending the message comprising the second area identifier to the core network before communicatively coupling said UE to the core network; receiving a response to the message from the core network, the response comprising the second area identifier; and passing the response comprising the second area identifier to the access point of the particular access area, the access point communicatively coupling said UE to the network controller and replacing the second area identifier with a third area identifier identifying the particular access area of the access point before sending the response to the UE. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. In a communication system comprising (i) a first communication network comprising a plurality of access areas and a core network and (ii) a second communication network comprising a plurality of access points for establishing a plurality of access areas of the second communication network and a network controller for communicatively coupling the plurality of access areas of the second communication network to the core network, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor of a particular access point in the second communication network, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
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receiving a message from a user equipment (UE) in a second communication network access area associated with the particular access point, the message comprising a first area identifier for identifying an access area of the first communication network; adding a second area identifier to the message; passing the message comprising the second area identifier to the network controller for sending to the core network through the network controller; receiving a response to the message from the core network through the network controller, the response comprising the second area identifier; replacing the second area identifier in the response with a third area identifier identifying the second communication network access area associated with the particular access point; and transmitting the response comprising the third area identifier to the UE. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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Specification