Method and apparatus for user equipment registration
First Claim
1. A method of performing a user equipment (UE) registration in a communication system comprising (1) a first communication system comprising a core network and a licensed radio access network and (2) a wireless second communication system comprising an access point that operates using licensed wireless frequencies covering a short-range distance and a network controller communicatively coupled to the access point through a generic Internet Protocol (IP) access network, the network controller for communicatively coupling the access point to the core network of the first communication system, the method comprising:
- intercepting at the access point a non-access stratum (NAS) message sent from the UE towards the core network;
sending from the access point to the network controller a register request message comprising an identification of the UE, said sending the register request message being triggered by the interception of said NAS message, the register request message for the network controller to register the UE with the wireless second communication system; and
forwarding the intercepted NAS message from the access point to the network controller by sending from the access point to the network controller a direct transfer message encapsulating the intercepted NAS message as a NAS protocol data unit (PDU), wherein the intercepted NAS message is for the network controller to forward to the core network of the first communication system.
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Abstract
Some embodiments are implemented in a communication system that includes a first wireless communication system and a second wireless communication system that includes a Femtocell access point (FAP) and a network controller that can communicatively couple the FAP to the first wireless communication system. In some embodiments, the network controller can communicatively couple to the first wireless communication system through a UTRAN Iu interface. In some embodiments, the FAP can communicatively couple to a user equipment using a short-range licensed wireless frequency. Some embodiments provide a method of performing a user equipment (UE) registration. The method establishes a unique connection dedicated to the UE between the FAP and the network controller. The method receives a register request message at the network controller from the FAP through the dedicated connection.
393 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of performing a user equipment (UE) registration in a communication system comprising (1) a first communication system comprising a core network and a licensed radio access network and (2) a wireless second communication system comprising an access point that operates using licensed wireless frequencies covering a short-range distance and a network controller communicatively coupled to the access point through a generic Internet Protocol (IP) access network, the network controller for communicatively coupling the access point to the core network of the first communication system, the method comprising:
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intercepting at the access point a non-access stratum (NAS) message sent from the UE towards the core network; sending from the access point to the network controller a register request message comprising an identification of the UE, said sending the register request message being triggered by the interception of said NAS message, the register request message for the network controller to register the UE with the wireless second communication system; and forwarding the intercepted NAS message from the access point to the network controller by sending from the access point to the network controller a direct transfer message encapsulating the intercepted NAS message as a NAS protocol data unit (PDU), wherein the intercepted NAS message is for the network controller to forward to the core network of the first communication system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program which when executed by at least one processing unit, performs a user equipment (UE) registration in a communication system comprising (1) a first communication system comprising a core network and a licensed radio access network and (2) a wireless second communication system comprising an access point that operates using licensed wireless frequencies covering a short-range distance and a network controller communicatively coupled to the access point through a generic Internet Protocol (IP) access network, the network controller for communicatively coupling the access point to the core network of the first communication system, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
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intercepting at the access point a non-access stratum (NAS) message sent from the UE towards the core network; sending from the access point to the network controller a register request message comprising an identification of the UE, said sending the register request message being triggered by the interception of said NAS message, the register request message for the network controller to register the UE with the wireless second communication system; and forwarding the intercepted NAS message from the access point to the network controller by sending from the access point to the network controller a direct transfer message encapsulating the intercepted NAS message as a NAS protocol data unit (PDU), wherein the intercepted NAS message is for the network controller to forward to the core network of the first communication system. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An access point that operates using licensed wireless frequencies covering a short-range distance, said access point operable in a communication system comprising a first wireless communication system comprising (1) a first communication system comprising a core network and a licensed radio access network and (2) a wireless second communication system comprising the access point and a network controller communicatively coupled to the access point through a generic Internet Protocol (IP) access network, the network controller for communicatively coupling the access point to the core network of the first communication system, the access point comprising:
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a first network interface for intercepting at the access point a non-access stratum (NAS) message sent from a user equipment (UE) towards the core network; and a second network interface for (i) sending from the access point to the network controller a register request message comprising an identification of the UE, wherein the sending of the register request message is triggered by the interception of the NAS message, wherein the register request message is for the network controller to register the UE with the wireless second communication system and (ii) forwarding the intercepted NAS message from the access point to the network controller by sending from the access point to the network controller a direct transfer message encapsulating the intercepted NAS message as a NAS protocol data unit (PDU), wherein the intercepted NAS message is for the network controller to forward to the core network of the first communication system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification