An access point for mobile devices in a packet based network

ES 2 326 258 T3

DESCRIPTION

Access point for mobile devices in a network based on packet transmission.

Field of the invention

The present invention relates generally to data communication and billing in a network based on packet transmission and particularly to an access point for mobile devices in said network.

Background of the invention

The use of mobile devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., in recent years has increased dramatically. Since the emergence of the Internet, more and more users are interested in connecting to other devices, networks and services, for example corporate networks or the Internet, through their mobile devices. The main option has generally been to use a switched line connection through a traditional modem connected to a public telephone network. So when using the mobile device on the street, a modem has been used in a mobile phone. However, a modem used in a switched telephone network suffers from a rather long connection setup time and the billing has to be based on the connection time. Furthermore, switched line connections using a mobile phone suffer from low data transfer speeds.

However, with the introduction of packet-based mobile phone networks like GPRS and UMTS, it will be possible to introduce billing based on the amount of data transferred. These systems also offer higher bandwidth, but require significant investment in infrastructure. Although the bandwidth will increase it will not happen in the vicinity of a cable network. Furthermore, due to the high investments required, the connection costs will initially be very high.

A solution to the problem of connecting mobile devices at a moderate cost and charging for that service has been proposed in US patent US 5,745,884 "System and method for billing data grade network use on a per connection basis" ("System and connection-based data network usage billing procedure ”). The system of US patent US 5,745,884 uses a concept, in which users of mobile devices connect to an access point located in a strategically chosen area such as, for example, the lobby of a hotel, an airport, etc. The access point acts as a public access wireless LAN. The communication is then forwarded by the access point to a tunneling connection to the service of interest. The tunneling connection could be any type of WAN network. In this way, the access point acts as a gateway between the WAN and the wireless LAN. Then, the tunneling protocol enables the collection of information regarding which user was the one who used the connection. This information serves as the basis for further billing, and billing is carried out on a connection basis.

However, the solution of US patent US 5,745,884 is based on a fixed structure, in which the access point is required to have a connection to the service to which the user wants to connect. The solution also lacks possibilities for the access point operator to control the access point data traffic. Also, such a solution is only useful for use in restricted areas and expansion of such a network is not feasible. In addition, billing is restricted to the end parties of the data tunnel.

Furthermore, document W09951055 refers to quality of service (QoS) and describes a procedure in the transmission of data packets between a wireless terminal (MT) and a mobile IP router.

Object of the invention

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved form of connection for mobile devices and a method and a billing system for said service, to at least partially solve the aforementioned problems.

The objective is achieved by an access point according to the appended claims.

Summary of the invention

According to the invention an access point for use in networks based on packet transmission, which includes: communication means with at least one gateway with access to a remote service; a first communication means for wireless communication with mobile devices; second communication means for establishing communication with at least one more access point to form a wireless network between at least said access points; registration means for registering the identity of a mobile device

ES 2 326 258 T3 that originally sent a data packet for all data packets transferred through said access point directly from a mobile device or indirectly through another access point from a mobile device.

An access point is hereby provided that solves the above problems. This access point offers the possibility that different service providers can use the infrastructures of the other service providers. Since the access point has the ability to connect to other access points to form a private wireless network, it is not necessary for each access point to have a direct connection to the remote service. In this way, the access point acts as a router, routing data packets from a mobile device or other access point directly to a gateway or indirectly to a gateway through other access points in the wireless network. of access points.

Also, it is possible to communicate within the private network, that is, a first mobile device connected to a first access point can communicate with a second mobile device connected to a second access point. In this way, it is possible for any individual or company to configure said access point, and then, on the one hand, provide accessibility to users of mobile devices and, on the other hand, charge for this service, regardless of the operator of a specific user, since it can be done Tracking the origin of all transferred data packets and each access point has means to record it.

According to the invention, it is possible to introduce a new access point into a system that has other access points, and then use the capabilities of the other access points to connect to the gateway. In this way, an access point does not necessarily have to have direct access to the gateway in order to establish communication between the mobile communication device and the gateway. This is provided by the second means of communication, which preferably offer wireless communication, for example using a wireless LAN such as, for example, a wireless LAN compatible with the IEEE 802.11b communication standard. In one embodiment communication with other access points is separate from communication with mobile devices. However, in another embodiment communication with other access points and mobile devices is provided by a single communication means, i.e. mobile devices and access points communicate on the same network.

Then, in order to transfer and distribute the costs among the separate access point operators, each access point has means to record which packet was sent to which user. Preferably, this information is then collected and analyzed at a central node. The registered labels are preferably stored on a storage medium to be shipped later in a batch.

In the network where the invention can be applied, there is a gateway, which could be a conventional gateway, that offers access to a remote service. The remote service could be a public network, such as the Internet, a corporate network, a private server, and so on. The gateway is the interface between the internal network, between the access points and the outside.

The identity of a mobile device could be added to the mobile devices and in one embodiment it could simply consist of the information in the header of each packet. The identity of a user could then be the network address of the mobile device, in a network using the IP protocol (Internet Protocol), the identity of a mobile device could be the IP address of the mobile device.

In another embodiment the access point further includes tagging means for adding a tag to a data packet transferred from a mobile device directly to said access point, said tag including the identity of said mobile device. The user of the mobile device is then known to the access point, and is preferably authenticated. When the known user sends a data packet from his mobile device, the access point adds additional information to the packet, i.e. a tag, which makes the packet traceable. The tag provides a safe way to determine which user is sending which packets.

Preferably, the access point has authentication means to authenticate the identity of a mobile device connected to said access point. Said means of authentication provide the authentication that is necessary for proper and secure billing. The authentication means preferably interacts with a central node that is in contact with the access point. The identity of a mobile device could be, for example, as indicated above, the IP address of the device. In this case, when a mobile device obtains its network address from a central node responsible for managing network addresses, information about which user obtained the network address is stored for later use. When obtaining a network address, it is appropriate to perform some type of password authentication, for example, using an encryption device that maintains a secret key known only to the mobile device and the central node.

In another embodiment, the mobile device identity could be interchangeable by the mobile device user to allow more than one user to use the device. In the case of an interchangeable identity, the identity could be stored in a certificate or it could include some type of private key known to the user and the service provider.

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Preferably, the access point has means for establishing a communication path to said gateway. The routing paths can then be determined based on predetermined criteria based on traffic cost, performance, capacity, and which operator the user of the mobile device uses. This information is then preferably described on the label applied to the data packet. This information is then used by other nodes, i.e. access points, before the data packet leaves the private network through the gateway. Preferably, the gateway used also depends on this additional information.

The network made up of the access points could be quite complex, especially when introducing multiple gateways. These intermediate access points, gateways, and infrastructure are most likely operated by different service providers. Also, the performance of the components may differ. For example, one access point might have a direct T1-type connection to a gateway, while another access point has only an ISDN-type connection. Then, in such a network, the access point according to the present invention preferably further includes: means for establishing a plurality of communication routes to a remote service; means for evaluating said communication routes according to predetermined criteria; and means for selecting an optimal route according to said predetermined criteria. Hereby, it is possible to take into account criteria such as performance and cost, which service provider is operating a specific gateway, etc. by determining, at the access point to which the mobile device is connected, the path of a data packet. Also, the optimal route might depend on the identity of the mobile device. In the case in which a service provider charges the end user, and in turn the service provider compensates the owners of the nodes along the communication path from the mobile device to the gateway, It might be useful to direct the communication to the gateways and infrastructure owned by the end-user service provider in order to minimize trade-offs to competitors.

To be able to respond to mobility when a user moves out of range of an access point, the access point preferably has means to carry out a “handover” or a transfer to evaluate the signal strength of the communication with said device connected to perform the “handover” or transfer to another access point or from another access point. In another embodiment, the means to "handover" or transfer are implemented in the mobile device.

Also, according to the invention, an access point for use in a network based on packet transmission, including: means for communicating with at least one gateway with access to a remote service; a first communication means for wireless communication with mobile devices; and second communication means for establishing wireless communication with at least one more access point to form a network between at least said access points; wherein said network of said second communication is separate from the network between said first communication means and said mobile devices.

An access point is hereby provided that offers the possibility of building an ad-hoc network of access points while offering users who connect to the access point a connection to a remote service either directly to a door. link or indirectly through said ad-hoc network of access points. The access point operates as a router that routes packets from the network between the mobile device directly or indirectly connected to the access point to another network, which could be indirectly through the ad-hoc network or directly to a gateway.

Some exemplary embodiments are also described below, for example, a billing procedure in a multi-carrier network that has a plurality of access points that form a private network, and at least one gateway that has access to a remote service, including the steps of: tracking the route of a data packet based on information contained in said data packet recorded along the route of said packet, said information including the identity of a mobile device that originally sent said data packet; and creating a separate billing record at the nodes involved in said traced route.

Hereby, a billing procedure is provided that offers the possibility of billing in said network that is possible to create using the access point according to the invention that solves the above-mentioned problems. Preferably the identity of a mobile device connecting to an access point is authenticated before adding the identity to ensure that the correct user is billed. Also, to compensate all the operators involved in the transfer of a user's data packets, the method preferably distributes the billing record among the nodes involved in the traced route. Any access point or gateway involved in the transfer of the data packet is called a "node". In one embodiment the tag could consist of the header that is added in the mobile device, and the identity of the mobile user could then be the network address in the header of the packet. In another embodiment, a tag could be added at the access point in front of the data packet header added on the mobile device. Then the tag could include even more information, for example information about the content of the data. Also, when adding information in the access point, another identification object other than the network address of the mobile device could be used. The monitoring consists of a preferred embodiment in the following steps: registration of the labels of all packet data transferred through said access point directly or indirectly through another access point from a mobile device; and sending information from each access point to a central node about said labels.

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Preferably, the step of creating a billing record is executed in a central node in said network. Said central node could be a server that is operating within the access point network or on the Internet. In the case where the central node is accessible on the Internet, the communication from the access points has to go through any of the gateways. Since billing information is very sensitive information, the connection between an access point and the central node is preferably tunneled, that is, it is encapsulated at one end and then decapsulated at the other end. The central node could then offer many of the administrative tasks in the network, for example, initiate the sending of the data registered in the access points. Also, the central node could have a load balancing functionality, monitoring of connected mobile devices, etc.

In addition to the information regarding which user sends which packets included in the tags, the access points could also provide information about the source and destination of the data packets whose tags are registered at the access point. Also, the tag could include information about the content of the tagged data packet and the billing record could then be based on the type of contents. Then, it is possible to differentiate the billing depending on the content. For example, browsing a website should be more expensive per packet of data than watching a video or sending an e-mail.

A billing system in a multi-carrier network is also described below as an exemplary embodiment, in which the system has a plurality of access points that form a private network, and at least one gateway having access to a remote service, including: means for tracking the route of a data packet based on the information contained in said data packet recorded along the route of said packet, said information including the identity of a mobile device that originally sent said packet of data. data; and means for creating a separate billing record between the nodes involved in said traced route.

A system is hereby provided that solves the above problems. The advantages of the system correspond to those of the billing method according to the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

For the sake of simplicity, the invention will be described with respect to the embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, among which:

Figure 1 illustrates a network according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a tunneling connection from a mobile device to a remote service;

Figure 3 illustrates a schematic view of a more complex network according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 illustrates the main network; Y

Figure 5 illustrates a "handover" or transfer process.

Description of a preferred embodiment

With reference to figure 1, the environment of the invention will now be described to give a clear idea of ​​the invention. The environment of the invention includes a network that has one or more access points 1 (AP), a gateway 2, mobile devices 3 (MD) and a central node 4. Communication between network components is based on packet transmission and preferably uses the TCP / IP communication protocol, but other protocols are also within the scope of the invention, such as, for example, the IPX communication protocol, etc. The access points 1 form a private network that is partially or completely wireless, hereinafter referred to as the "main network". This main network is connected to other networks through access points 1 that have the possibility of connecting to a gateway 2 that has access to a remote service 5 (shown in figure 2), such as, for example, the Internet or another private network, such as a corporate intranet. This connection is preferably some type of cable connection such as ISDN, T1, etc. Access points that have a 1 'cable connection to a gateway are indicated as AP + in the figures. Gateway 2 has at least gateway functionality, but could also include Network Address Translation (NAT) functionality in one embodiment. According to one aspect, access point 1 could be treated as a foreign agent in a network using the mobile IP protocol and gateway 2 could be treated as an internal agent. Much of the administration and registration of components is managed by the central node 4. The mobile devices 3 are connected to one of the access points 1 with any type of wireless connection, but preferably with a wireless LAN network, for example that is compatible with the IEEE 802.11b communication standard. However, other potential technologies such as Hiperlan 2 or Bluetooth are also possible. The mobile device 3 can be any type of mobile device such as a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an IP phone, although "mobile" does not only refer to lightweight devices that fit in a trouser pocket, since the invention is also applicable to, for example, a desktop personal computer with

ES 2 326 258 T3 possibilities to connect wirelessly to an access point. This could be of interest when, for example, a temporary work environment is set up that has a plurality of desktop computers at some point in a university faculty.

With reference to Figure 2, a communication route using the main network will now be described. A mobile device 3 connects to a first access point 1 (AP) using a wireless LAN. Next, this AP 1 establishes a route to the gateway 2. The tunneling technique is preferably applied to this route to avoid addressing problems. Also, this tunnel could be encrypted and could take advantage of advanced authorization protocols, such as certificates and digital signatures. Since AP 1 does not have a direct cable connection to a gateway 2, the route is established via the main network through another access point 1 'that has a cable connection to a gateway 2. Then to solve the addressing problems the other access point 1 'also uses a tunnel to transfer data to gateway 2.

A more complex network is illustrated in Figure 3. Through this illustration it becomes apparent that there are often a plurality of routing paths for communication from a mobile device 3 to a gateway 2. The routing paths are mainly managed by the central node 4. Next, the access points 1 are given instructions on how to route the packets from a given mobile device 3. The invention provides a convenient way of introducing multi-carrier networks. Therefore, access points 1 and 1 'and gateways 2 and 2' could belong to different operators, and the intermediate network probably belongs to different operators. Therefore, the routing paths, and the gateway used to connect to other networks, such as the Internet, should depend on the preferences of the mobile device user, the operator of the point or points of connection. access, the gateway operator, and the supplier of the cable connections.

Figure 4 illustrates the difference between the main network and the communication between the mobile devices 3 and the access points 1. The communication between the mobile devices 3 and the access points is separated from the main network. The network between the mobile devices 3 and the access point 1 is referred to herein as the access network. Separating traffic into two or more wireless networks means having additional bandwidth and greater flexibility. By way of example, a wireless backbone may use completely different wireless technology and / or different antennas than the access network. However, as described above, the main network uses wireless technology, which could for example be a wireless LAN or a HiperLAN network. However, sometimes parts of the main network could be wired. For example, in a building with several floors of which one is the ground floor, it might be useful to use a cable connection from an access point, located on the ground floor that does not have a direct cable connection to the door gateway, to another access point a few floors up in the building that has a wireless connection to a gateway or a wireless connection to another access point located, for example, outside the building. Preferably, the reach of the access network for a given access point is less than its reach for communication with other access points. In this way, said main network is really an ad-hoc network, in which an access point could be added or eliminated without the need for a configuration in other access points or in some central node to integrate and disintegrate, respectively, a access point.

The mobile device 3 must have at least one communication device that corresponds to that or those of the access points 1, that is, in this embodiment a radio card compatible with the IEEE 802.11 communication standard. b. Also, the mobile device 3 has to support some kind of authentication when connecting to an access point 1. Since most mobile devices 3 are themselves mobile, access points 1 have to support handover. The "handover" or transfer process could for example be based on measuring the power of the signal. Figure 5 illustrates a type of "handover" or transfer. Before the handover takes place, the mobile device receives announcements from both access point 1 and access point 1 '. Next, software, preferably implemented in the mobile device 3, determines the quality and strength of the signal from each access point 1, 1 '. Before handovering, the software determines that access point 1 'offers the best connection, but even after registration, it evaluates the offers from access point 1. Then, when the mobile device 3 moves closer to the access point 1, the evaluation result instead commands the mobile device to communicate with the access point 1. When the mobile device 3 connects to an access point 1, the central node 4 is informed to be able to keep track of the mobile devices connected to the main network.

Next, access point 1 and a connection procedure to an access point 1 in said network will be described. Preferably, the access point 1 has means for automatically configuring itself to operate on the network. Then when someone wants to install said access point 1, they will first connect to central node 4, which is the unit that manages access points 1. The access point is then provided with an identifier, for example an IP number. In one embodiment, the connection includes an authentication means to accept or deny access points that wish to connect. The access point then searches for any adjacent access points to contribute to the core network. Since mobile device users often use an access point to communicate to the Internet to browse a website, the access point preferably has a caching feature that reduces the load on the main network or data traffic. to and from the gateway.

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The means of establishing a communication path to a gateway could take into account the existence of multiple gateways. Then either the access point or the central node could offer the optimal route to a service on the public network. This could also depend on the preferences of the users. This is important when considering connection billing, but also when considering performance issues.

When a user of a mobile device wants to connect to an access point, the identity of the user has to be authenticated first. All user identities that are allowed to use the access point are registered with the central node. One way of authentication is to send a random number from the access point to the mobile device and the central node simultaneously. Then the mobile device and the central node should each be provided with a private key to create a "hash" value or verification code of the random value and then send this to the access point. Then, if they are the same, the mobile device is accepted.

Given that the network has access points and gateways belonging to different operators, one of the purposes of the invention is to solve the billing and compensation to the nodes involved in the route of a data packet. In one embodiment this is resolved when the user is identified by means of a central node. The user is then assigned a network address that is used in communication with the mobile device. In this way, since only one specific network address is assigned to one user at a time, this could be the identifier, which is traced along the routes that data packets follow in the network. In another embodiment, this is solved by adding additional information to the data packets when forwarding them from the access point to which the mobile device is connected. This additional information is called a label. For example, a tag might include the information shown in the following table:

<td>Service ID</td><td>Information regarding the type of information that the data package is manipulating, for example, navigation, e-mail, voice over IP, announcements, control signal, etc.</td>

<td>User ID</td><td>The identification of the user who sends / receives the data packets.</td>

<td>User ID / Site Remote</td><td></td>

<td>Date</td><td></td>

<td>Time</td><td></td>

<td>Bytes</td><td>The number of bytes that have been transferred.</td>

Of course, the label may contain more or less information and is not limited to the elements described above. In another embodiment, the label is written in label format. It is then up to the respective node on the packet path to collect the traffic information.

It is this information on the label that serves as the basis for the billing system and procedure according to the invention, which will now be described in detail. Since a data packet from a mobile device can take several different routes and pass through a variety of carriers, it is important that this information is recorded and analyzed. For example, if a coffee shop owner is interested in setting up an access point in his coffee shop to attract more customers, or at least those customers who are interested in connecting to a remote service, such as a website Internet, the cafeteria owner has to be compensated for data traffic. Since, in this example, the cafeteria owner does not have a cable connection to a gateway using, for example, a telephone operator as the service provider, the cafeteria owner also has costs for using the connection . However, except for a possible increase in revenue from the sale of coffees, the owner of the cafeteria will be interested in obtaining compensation from those who use their access point. However, since your access point could be used, and is likely used by other access points owned by the owners of other nearby stores, they will also use your connection to a gateway. There is another scenario when the cafe owner's cable connection drops. In this scenario, the coffee shop owner can use a connection from another access point to the same gateway or to another gateway, but this time sending the data over the main network first. So we are faced with a complex cost, income and compensation situation. This is solved by the billing system and procedure according to the invention.

Then, according to an embodiment of the invention, each access point has means for registering the labels of the data packets that are sent through them, both those that are sent directly to the access point from the network of access and those that are sent within the main network. Preferential

ES 2 326 258 T3 mind, information is collected corresponding to the access point in which the tag was registered, which is important when distributing the costs among the operators involved in a route of a data packet. This information is collected and preferably stored. In the system there is a central node, which is adapted to receive this information from the access points to redistribute the costs. There are several different models of cost sharing.

The access point can then send the registered labels according to predetermined rules or based on requests from the central node. Such default rules could include a rule that initiates the transfer of the oldest saved data when the data traffic falls below a predefined level.

As described above, the costs may be based on the content of the data, connection time, amount of data communicated, etc., depending on the information contained on the label and the data collected / recorded at the access point. . The billing could be of different levels, in one embodiment the invoices could be sent directly to the end user, and then the costs are distributed among the parties involved. Another form of billing is to let the user pay for the service to which the user connects through the gateway. The invoice for using the intermediate access point (s), gateway and communication is then sent to the service provider.

The central node could also be, except for cash flow and billing management, responsible for determining optimal routes. Optimal routes might depend on the capacity of individual connections within the core network, the availability and performance of cable connections to the gateways, and so on.

The invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment. However, the scope of this invention is not limited by this embodiment, and alternative embodiments of the invention are feasible, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the main network and the access network as described could be integrated into the same network using the same communication means. Also, billing could be based on whether or not a package has been successfully shipped. Such embodiments are to be considered within the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.