Centralized detection of mobile access point

IS 2 365 378 T3

DESCRIPTION

Centralized acquisition of mobile hotspots

Background

I. Field

The following disclosure is generally about wireless communications and more specifically about managing remote access for devices in a mixed access point environment.

II. Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communications (eg, voice, data, multimedia services, etc.) to multiple users. Subscriber services allow users to access and use diverse communication content on the service provider's network. As the demand for multimedia and high-speed data services grows rapidly, there is a challenge in implementing robust and efficient communications systems with improved performance.

Traditional fixed line communications systems, such as digital subscriber line (DSL), cable line, switched line connection, or similar network access technologies offered by Internet service providers (ISPs) are alternative communications platforms since times competitors of wireless communications. However, in recent years users have begun to replace fixed line communications with mobile communications. Various advantages of mobile communication systems, such as user mobility, relatively small size of user equipment (UE), and easy access to public switched telephone networks, as well as the Internet, have made such systems very convenient and , well, very popular. As users have become more dependent on mobile systems for communication services traditionally obtained through fixed line systems, the demand for higher bandwidth, service reliability, high quality voice and low prices has increased. .

In addition to the mobile phone networks in place today, a new class of small base stations has emerged. These small base stations are low power and can typically use fixed line communications to connect to a central network of a mobile operator. In addition, these base stations can be distributed for your personal / private use in a home, office, apartment, private recreational facility, etc., to provide wireless indoor and outdoor coverage for mobile units. These personal base stations are generally referred to as access point base stations or, alternatively, Node B's own units (HNBs) or femto cells. Femtocell base stations offer a new paradigm in mobile network connectivity, allowing to direct subscriber control of access to the mobile network and the quality of access. WO 99/40746 describes that as a PCS handset with dual system determination lists, labeled first list and second list. Document WO 2007/111860 describes a method and apparatus for carrying out a call-in-use switching procedure between a third-generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution network (LTE) and a wireless network alternative.

Summary

The present disclosure contemplates centralized as well as distributed access management to various types of access points to mobile networks. In some aspects the network components may generate a system determination list (SDL) list for a user terminal (UT) that is customized to access the UT capabilities and / or the current UT position. The SDL can be used by the UT to determine which access points in the network to stand by, switch communication, or the like. The network components may include a network database that maintains subscriber information and related home femto cell information, or a network operator's home location register (HLR). Alternatively, the information can be obtained over the air (OTA) from the UT or from a base station (BS) served by the UT.

In other aspects of the present disclosure, the management of access points of the network may be managed by means of a UT with femto capabilities and / or access points of the mobile network, to provide a distributed management of the access points. An interface application maintained on a femto cell can facilitate communication between the femto cell and the UT with femto capabilities. After initial power-up and / or acquisition, a startup process can be implemented to establish a connection between the femto cell and the femto UT. The startup process can be used by the femtocell to provision the UT with an SDL that establishes the femtocell as a high priority access point within a particular geographic area (GEO), or GEO of its own. Thus, when the femto UT is within the GEO itself, the UT is more likely to be acquired by the femto cell, to be on hold and / or to switch communication with it. When outside the home GEO, a mobile network can provision the femto UT OTA with a custom SDL suitable for a non-home GEO zone, which sets non-femto cells as higher priority access points.

IS 2 365 378 T3

In some aspects of the present disclosure, a method of operating a network system is provided to facilitate remote access to a mobile network, according to claim 1.

According to further aspects, an apparatus adapted to facilitate remote access to a mobile network is disclosed, according to claim 10.

According to further aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operation in a user terminal for selecting an access point to a mobile network, according to claim 11.

Furthermore, an apparatus configured to select an access point to a mobile network is disclosed, according to claim 18

In at least one further aspect, a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium is disclosed, according to claim 19.

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communications environment in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a sample wireless network comprising base stations (BS) of the femtocell type according to other aspects.

Fig. 3 depicts a block diagram of a sample system for provisioning a user terminal (UT) with a system determination list (SDL) for femtocell acquisition.

Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system that facilitates selective BS acquisition based on UT performance.

Fig. 5 depicts a block diagram of a sample system employing distributed access point management for a UT.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system using a boot configuration to provision a UT in accordance with some aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary environment comprising various interleaved femto cell networks and a macro-access environment.

Fig. 8 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary custom SDL that facilitates the management of specific access points to the GEO in some respects.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system comprising a femto BS communicatively coupled with one or more UTs in some respects.

Fig. 10 depicts a block diagram of a sample system comprising a femto-capable UT communicatively coupled with one or more BSs.

Fig. 11 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary methodology for providing centralized access point management in a mobile environment.

Fig. 12 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary methodology for obtaining UT-specific information to generate a customized SDL according to some aspects.

FIG. 13 depicts a flow chart of a sample methodology for employing a custom SDL to access a mobile network.

Fig. 14 depicts a flow chart of a sample methodology for providing distributed access point management in a mobile environment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow chart of a sample methodology for communicating with a femto cell to generate a custom SDL for a particular UT.

Fig. 16 illustrates a flow chart of a sample methodology for employing a custom SDL to select preferred access points to a mobile network.

FIG. 17 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system providing centralized access point management for mobile networks.

IS 2 365 378 T3

Fig. 18 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system employing a custom SDL to access BS from mobile networks.

Fig. 19 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system providing distributed access point management for mobile networks.

Fig. 20 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system that facilitates distributed management of access points for a mobile network.

Detailed description

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements from start to finish. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it may be apparent that such an aspect (s) can be put into practice without these specific details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in the form of a block diagram to facilitate the description of one or more aspects.

In addition, various aspects of the disclosure are described below. It should be apparent that the teaching herein can take a variety of forms and that any specific structures and / or functions disclosed herein are merely representative. Based on the teachings herein, one skilled in the art should appreciate that one aspect disclosed herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect and that two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus can be implemented and / or a method can be practiced using any number of the aspects discussed herein. In addition, an apparatus and / or a method may be implemented using other structure and / or functionality in addition to or apart from one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example, many of the methods, devices, systems, and apparatus described herein are described in the context of implementing enhanced network access in a mobile environment that comprises disparate types of access points. One skilled in the art should appreciate that similar techniques could be applied to other communication environments.

The development of wireless access points to communication networks has been a solution offered to effect the convergence between traditional wireless communication systems and traditional fixed line communication systems. Convergence, referred to in other cases as fixed-wireless convergence, implies a degree of interoperability between fixed line networks (eg intranet, Internet, etc.) and mobile communication networks (eg cell phone networks). Base stations (BS) provide wireless access to a mobile communications operator's network, such as a circuit-switched voice network (for example, a code division multiple access network [CDMA] 1-X or CDMA 1X ), a combined circuit-switched and packet-switched voice and data network (for example, an Optimized CDMA Evolution Data Network [EV-DO]), or an all-packet voice and data network (for example, a long-term evolution network [LTE], or similar. Examples of an access point BS (referred to as BS herein, alternatively) include a Node B (NB), a Base Transceiver Unit (BTS), a Home Node B (HNB), or simply a BS, of various transmit power / cell sizes, including macrocells, microcells, picocells, femtocells, etc.

The introduction of various types of access point BSs into traditional macro BS networks allows significant flexibility and consumer control with respect to personal access to such networks. Users can often configure end devices to select a nearby access point BS or a macro network BS, depending on which provides better signal. In addition, access point BSs can provide plans with preferential rates compared to macronet, at least in some circumstances, allowing users to reduce usage charges.

However, as typical macrogrids are often deployed with large-scale public use as a core market, intramural reception can often be worse than outdoor reception (for example, due to absorption of signals). radio frequencies by buildings, isolations, landforms, etc.), which makes the mobile device less effective than a fixed line computer in such an environment. However, access point BSs can provide a significant improvement in this environment. For example, femto cell technology provides a user with significant control over personal wireless connectivity, both intramural and outdoor, often bypassing most or all of such connectivity issues. Therefore, femto BSs can further extend the mobility of the UT even in a suboptimal environment for such macro-networks.

Despite the significant advantages of femto BS and other access point deployments, some problems have resulted as a result, due to the added complexity in coupling the femto BS with an operator's macro-networks. For example, the deployment of access points, especially in the case of femto cells, is typically unplanned or semi-planned, which means that these BSs are installed outside of the

ES 2 365 378 T3 network operator control. Thus, the operator has a limited ability to implement the ideal placement of these access points with respect to other such access points or with respect to macro BSs. Furthermore, the spatial formation of wireless signals with respect to other photocells, or even a precise knowledge of the location of the position of such cells, can be severely limited. Additionally, when femto BS deployment is open to consumer purchase and installation, very dense installation of such cells can occur in highly populated urban or commercial areas, leading to wireless resource competition between femto cells and close macrocells. Furthermore, femto BSs can be associated with a closed subscriber group (CSG) and provide network access only to members of the CSG; in such a case, access is not provided, for example, to the general cellular public. Thus, a femto deployment in the middle of a macronetwork integrates restricted access BS (RA) with general access BS (GA).

Many pre-existing UTs are not equipped to distinguish between BS from GA and from RA, especially if such BSs use both cell frequencies and therefore can consume a significant amount of power looking for BS from RA, denying service to a UT, and trying to access them. Furthermore, legacy terminals and legacy wireless network standards require mobile terminals to scan incoming wireless signals to identify optimal signals. When there are only a few nearby BSs that the terminal can distinguish, this is typically a doable process. However, in dense access point deployments, there may be dozens or hundreds of access points in close proximity (for example, within a large apartment building in a city). If a UT's home access point, which has a CSG that includes the UT, is within the dense deployment, distinguishing the home access point from hundreds or thousands of closely located foreign access points can be a significant problem. For example, the UT is likely to use a significant amount of power by being on hold (analyzing pilot and control channels) or signaling outside access points that will deny the UT access to the network.

When the UT is not in an area that includes its own access point (or, for example, when the UT does not have an active subscription with a femto BS), the problem becomes distinguishing the RA BSs from the access BSs General (GA) and ignore the BS of RA. Furthermore, although femto BSs can be deployed at separate frequencies, like macrogrid, in some circumstances femtocells and macrocells share one or more network frequencies and thus are not as easily distinguished. Thus, there is a need to distinguish the femto BS from the BS from the macro-networks. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to limit the RA BS UT signaling when it is unlikely that a home BS will be found. In addition, it may be beneficial to increase a probability of signaling or the search for RA BSs when it is expected to find the home BS and mitigate redundant signaling from foreign femto BSs. Aspects of the present disclosure can provide an improvement for many of the foregoing problems.

To address some of the foregoing and similar problems, the present disclosure contemplates the parameterization of a mobile network for user terminals access to a mixed network of macrocells and femtocells. Parameterization can be used to direct UTs to one or another type of cell, frequency channel or the like, to improve the probability that the UE will discover a preferred cell, where applicable, or that it will ignore non-preferred cells. In some implementations, a femto system identifier (SID) separate from the macronetwork SIDs is reserved for all femtocells. Thus, a femtornet can distinguish a femtocell that transmits the femto SID from the macro BS. In addition, each femtocell in the femtornet is assigned a distinct Network ID or Node ID (NID). In some aspects, for example when reuse of the NID is required, each femto cell may be further assigned a cell ID, which may optionally comprise the modified NID based on additional data, such as the physical address of a subscriber, a mobile station identifier (MSI), or an international MSI (IMSI) or the like. Thus, by including the SID / NID / ID of the cell in a transmitted signal, a femto BS can be distinguished from macro BS, and can be distinguished from other femto BS.

Thus, for example, the aforementioned parameterization can be used to direct the UT with femtocell capabilities towards a nearby femtocell or towards frequency channels used by femtocells based on the femto SID / NID and optionally on the cell ID. Parameterization can identify one or more of your own femtocells as preferred or high priority network access points. If the femto UE detects a wireless signal transmitted by the femto cell itself, the preferred or high priority state may cause the femto UT to acquire such a cell or to switch communication to such a cell if it is already on hold in another cell in the network. If the femto UT is not currently waiting on the femto cell itself, the UT may periodically search for nearby cells to discover the preferred femto cell.

In some aspects of the disclosure, a second parameterization may be provided to UTs without femto, or macro UT capabilities, moving such terminals away from femto cells, or towards a macro cell, or both. If the femto cells share a common frequency carrier or channel with the macro cells, the parameterization can establish that the macro cells are preferred or high priority cells over the femto cells. Such relative priority can cause a macro UT to select a macro cell in preference to a femto cell, or cause the macro UT to periodically search for macro cells when it is on hold on a femto cell. If the femtocells and macrocells are displayed in separate frequency channels, the parameterization may exclude data from the femtocell, causing the macro UT to ignore the signals initiated by the femtocells. At least

In some aspects of the present disclosure, the parameterization may comprise a system determination list (SDL: see below) (eg a preferred roaming list) that sets the priorities of the cells, optionally as a function of a particular geographic area or the access / registration area of ​​a network. Consequently, macro UTs and UTs with femto capabilities can be selectively provisioned to increase the probability that a particular cell type will be acquired, optionally depending on where the UT is located (see below).

According to other additional aspects, directing a UT towards a particular type of cell, or away from it, can be implemented based on a geographical area (GEO) in which the UT is currently located. For example, if a UT with femto capabilities is within a GEO in which its own femto cell is located, network parameterization (eg an SDL) can be provided that directs the femto UT to prefer femto cells. Alternatively, or in addition, the parameterization may specify that the femto cell is a cell of higher relative priority compared to other cells, such as the macro cell. On the other hand, femto cells can be given the lowest priority when the femto UT is in a non-proprietary GEO. Thus, the network would not need to update the parameterization set as the UT moves from GEO to GEO. In either case, the relative priority of the cell can be set as a function of whether the femto UT can expect to find a femto cell of its own, based on the current GEO in which the femto UT is located.

Provisioning a UT with the appropriate parameterization based on the performance of the UT and / or the position of the UT can be implemented in various suitable ways. In at least one aspect, a femto database can be maintained in a mobile network comprising UT-specific information. When a UT attempts to register with a cell, information identifying the UT can be provided to the network. The network can then determine whether the UT is trying to register a femto cell with a macrocell and, in this case, if the femto cell is a home cell where the UT is authorized to access the mobile network, or a foreign cell, at the that such access to the UT is not authorized. If the UT is registering on a macro cell, a parameterization can be sent over the air (OTA) to the UT (for example, from the macro cell or a nearby femto cell), increasing the probability that the UT will search for and acquire a femto cell, optionally conditioned that the UT is within its own GEO. If the UT is registering to a foreign femto cell, a different set of parameters can be provided to the UT, directing the UT to look for other femto cells, look for other frequencies, look for macro cells, or a combination of the above. If the UT is registering on the own femto cell, a third parameterization can be provided to the UT, increasing the probability that the UT will remain in the own femto cell (for example, creating a high threshold above which the UT searches for other cells or switches communication with them).

According to additional aspects, the parameterization can be dynamically implemented based on the information of the UT when the UT is registered in a cell. In such aspects, IT-specific information can be provided to the mobile network, which can generate or update a system determination list (SDL) customized for the UT (eg, a preferred roaming list [PRL] or similar). . The custom SDL may include appropriate parameterization for the UT, depending on whether the UT has femto capabilities and optionally depending on which GEO the UT is currently in. UT-specific information, current GEO information, and proprietary GEO information, with which the SDL is dynamically configured, can be obtained in various suitable ways. In at least one aspect, UT information and home GEO may be obtained from an operator's directory (eg, a home location register [HLR] or such device) maintained by the mobile operator of the Ut. In other respects, the UT may store such information and provide the information with the registration request. In other additional aspects, a user can enter the information (for example, by dialing a service number and including specific information to the UT) manually in the UT, which can be uploaded with the registration or sent by an uplink channel to the network. mobile. Once the network receives the specific information to the UT, the dynamic SDL can be generated and sent to the UT OTA.

As an alternative to the above, the boot procedure can be used to generate a specialized boot SDL when a femto UT is paired with or establishes an initial configuration with its own femto cell. The femto cell can generate a boot SDL and a femto SDL when it boots up and connects to a mobile network. The boot SDL can specify a femto cell identity as well as a boot cell ID and / or a boot frequency channel used to provision the SDL to the femto UT. Furthermore, the femto SDL can specify typical system, network and frequency channels used in ordinary communication between the femto cell and the UT. When the femto UT is paired with the femto cell, the starter and femto SDLs can be sent OTA to the femto UT. The femto UT can use the boot SDL when it first boots up, or when searching from a different mobile system (eg switching between 3rd Generation Partnership Project [3GPP] systems and third 3GPP2 systems) to acquire the femtocell . Once acquired, the femto cell can update the SDL femto in the UT femto, if required. The femto UT can then use the femto SDL to acquire the femto cell, search for other cells, switch communication to the femto cell, or a combination of the above.

According to still other aspects, an application interface can be established in the femto cell that allows the femto cell to communicate with any suitable femto UT. Such communication can be established to

ES 2 365 378 T3 determining if the femto UT is included within a closed subscriber group (CSG) associated with the femto cell and therefore authorized to register with the femto cell. Furthermore, such an interface can be used to provision host femto UTs to temporarily access and register with the femto cell. After establishing a connection to the femto cell via the application interface, a femto UT can analyze the received signals, including signals from macro cells and signals from nearby femto cells, and provide the femto cell with information regarding the surrounding network. The femto cell can then generate a dynamic SDL that includes optimal cell selection parameters based on information from the surrounding network. For example, dynamic SDL can set a relative priority for the macronetwork and the femtocell. Alternatively, or in addition, dynamic SDL can establish nearby femto cells as preferred or non-preferred cells, blacklisting these dynamic SDL. The dynamic SDL can be provided to the femto UT, which can use the SDL in cell selection and communication switching procedures. Using information from the surrounding network, the dynamic cell does not need to generate an exhaustive list of foreign femto cells that must be blacklisted. Instead, only femto cells that are close enough (for example, have strong enough pilot signals) to interfere with femto cell provisioning, can be blacklisted, allowing for a relatively small dynamic SDL. In addition to the above, if changes occur in the surrounding network, the femto cell can update the dynamic SDL and add the updated SDL to a femto UT OTA via the application interconnect. Consequently, the femto UT can be provisioned with up-to-date network information to optimize search and acquisition functions in an evolving network deployment.

The techniques described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), SC-FDMA (Single Carrier FDMA) and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes broadband CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA. The CDMA2000 encompasses the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. A TDMA system can implement radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system can implement radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE (Long Term Evolution) is an upcoming version of UMTS using EUTRA, employing OFDMA on the downlink and SC-FDMA on the uplink. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents of an organization called “Project of Association of 3^toGeneration ”(3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2).

As used in the present disclosure, the terms "component," "system," "module," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, whether it be hardware, software, running software, software. physics, middleware, microcode, and / or any combination thereof. For example, a module can be, without limitation, a process that runs on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, a device, and / or a computer. One or more modules can reside within a process and / or a thread of execution, and a module can be located in an electronic device and / or be distributed between two or more electronic devices. Furthermore, these modules can be executed from various computer-readable media that have various data structures stored on them. The modules can communicate by means of local and / or remote processes, such as according to a signal that has one or more data packets (for example, data of a component that interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system and / or, through a network such as the Internet, with other systems by means of the signal). Furthermore, the components or modules of the systems described herein may be arranged and / or supplemented by additional components / modules / systems to facilitate the achievement of the various aspects, goals, advantages, etc., described with reference to they and are not limited to the precise configurations presented in a given figure, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Furthermore, various aspects in connection with a UT user terminal are described herein. A UT can also be called a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, mobile communication device, mobile device, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal (AT), user agent (UA), device user, user equipment (UE) or similar. A subscriber station can be a mobile phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop Station (WLL), an electronic address book (PDA), a handheld device that has logging capabilities. wireless connection or other processing device connected to a wireless modem or similar mechanism that facilitates wireless communication with a processing device.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, physical logic, middleware, microcode, or any suitable combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or as code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media comprises computer-readable physical media, including computer storage media and media.

ES 2 365 378 T3 physical support communications and communications media, which include any means of software, intermediate support, physical logic, microcode and / or hardware that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another.

As used herein, computer storage media can be any media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such storage media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CDROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, smart cards, and flash memory devices (for example, card unit, pencil, key ...) or any other suitable means that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a computer. The physical carrier communication means may include any suitable device or any data connection that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one entity to another, at least in part, using electrical, mechanical and / or electromechanical hardware. In general, a data connection is also properly called a computer-readable medium. For example, if a program, software, or other data is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), a communication bus structure, Ethernet or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, Radio and microwaves are included in the definition of medium, and any suitable hardware component associated with such medium is included in the definition of hardware communication media. As used herein, a disc includes the compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, in which discs written on disks English discs reproduce data magnetically, while English discs reproduce data optically with laser beams. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

For a hardware implementation, the various illustrative logics, logic blocks, modules, and process unit circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or preformed within one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSP), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPD), Programmable Logic Devices (PLD), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, general purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein or a combination of them. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration. Furthermore, at least one processor may comprise one or more modules operable to carry out one or more of the steps and / or actions described herein.

In addition, various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article manufactured using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. In addition, the steps and / or actions of a procedure or an algorithm described in connection with the aspects disclosed in this document can be directly reflected on physical support, on a software module executed by a processor or in a combination. of the two. Furthermore, in some aspects, the steps and / or actions of a procedure or algorithm may reside as at least one or any combination or set of codes and / or instructions on a device-readable medium, a machine-readable medium. and / or a computer-readable medium, which can be incorporated into a computer program product. The term "manufactured article", as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device or medium.

Furthermore, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean serving as an example, sample, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as "exemplary" should not be construed as necessarily preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, the use of the exemplary word is intended to present concepts concretely. As used in this application and in the appended claims, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or", not an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified, or clear from the context, "X uses A or B" is intended to mean any of the inclusive permutations. That is, if X uses A; X uses B; or X uses both A and B, then "X uses A or B" is satisfied under either of the above. Furthermore, the articles "a" and "an", as used in this application and in the appended claims, should be construed generally to mean "one or more", unless otherwise specified or clear. by the context that should be addressed to a singular form.

As used in this document, the terms "infer" and "inference" generally refer to the process of reasoning or inferring about the states of the system, the environment and / or the user from a set of observations.

ES 2 365 378 T3 captured by means of events and / or data. Inference can be used to identify a specific context or action, or it can generate a probability distribution, for example, in states. The inference can be probabilistic, that is, the calculation of a probability distribution in states of interest based on a consideration of events and / or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and / or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity and regardless of whether the events and data come from. from one or more event and data sources.

With reference to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100 configured to support multiple users in which various embodiments and various disclosed aspects may be implemented. As shown in Fig. 1, system 100 provides communications for multiple cells, such as macro cells 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e, 102f, 102g (alternatively, macro cells 102a-102g), each cell being served by a corresponding access point (AP) 104a , 104b, 104c, 104d, 104e, 104f, 104g (alternatively, AP 104a-104g). Each cell 102a-102g can be further divided into one or more sectors. Various UT 106a, 106b, 106c, 106d, 106e, 106f, 106g, 106h, 106i, 106j, 106k (alternatively, UT 106a106k) are scattered throughout system 100. Each AT 106a-106k can communicate with one or more AP 104a- 104g over a forward link (FL) and / or a return link (RL) at a given time, depending, for example, on whether an AT (106a-106k) is active and whether it is in a soft call transfer . The wireless communication system 100 can provide service to a large geographic area; for example, macrocells 102a-102g can span a few blocks of a neighborhood.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary communication system 200 to enable the deployment of BSs (eg, macro BS, femto BS) within a network environment. System 200 includes multiple BSs, including femto Bs 210, each of which is installed in corresponding scaled-down network environments. Examples of small-scale network environments may include user residences, places of business, indoor / outdoor facilities 230, and so on. The femto BS 210 can be configured to serve the associated UT 220 (for example, included in a CSG associated with the femto BS 210) or, optionally, UT 220 outsiders or visitors (for example, that are not configured for the CSG of femto BS 210). Each femto BS 210 is further coupled to the Internet 240 and a mobile operator core network 250 by means of a DSL routing device (not shown) or, alternatively, to a cable modem, a broadband connection via power cord, a satellite Internet connection, or such a broadband Internet connection (not shown).

To implement wireless services via femto BS 210, an owner of femto BS 210 subscribes to a mobile service, such as 3g mobile services, offered through the mobile operator's core network 250. In addition, the UT 220 may be capable of operating in a macrocellular environment and / or in a small-scale residential network environment, using various techniques described herein. Thus, in at least some aspects disclosed, the femto BS 210 may be backward compatible with any suitable existing UT 220. Furthermore, apart from the mobile macro cell network 250, the UT 220 can be served by a predetermined number of femto BS 210, specifically the femto BS 210 residing within one or more user residences, places of business or intramural facilities 230 / outside and cannot be in a soft call transfer state with the 250 macro network. It should be appreciated that although aspects described herein employ 3GPP terminology, it should be understood that the aspects can also be applied to 3GPP technology (Version 99 [Re199], Re15, Re16, Re17), as well as 3GPP2 technology (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Re10, RevA, RevB) and other known and related technologies.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 300 that provides centralized access point management in a mobile communication environment. A suitable mobile environment may include GA macro access points (eg, macro cells, micro cells, pico cells, or even femto cells configured for a GA in some circumstances), as well as RA femto access points that have limited CSG. Since the system 300 is centralized, access point management can be provided for UTs served by multiple BSs, or for all UTs served by one BS network. As illustrative examples, if system 300 is located in a base station controller (BSC) that manages multiple BSs for a base station subsystem (BSS), system 300 can provide access point management for each BS in the BSS. Also, if the system 300 is located in a mobile switching center (MSC) or in a GPRS server support node (SGSN) for a system employing GPRS (general packet radio transmission system), a management of the communication can be provided. access for all BSs served by the MSC and / or the SGSN. Alternatively, or in addition, system 300 may be located within the operator's core network, allowing access point management to be performed centrally in the core network for all Bs coupled to the core network. In some cases, the system 300 may be deployed on a centralized femto cell network, on an Internet server, or within the operator's core network (for example, on an Internet gateway of such a network) to facilitate access management for each of the femtocells.

System 300 comprises a provisioning module 302 that facilitates the selection of access points for UTs coupled to a mobile network. The provisioning module 302 can generate a system determination list (SDL) (eg, see, infra, Fig. 8) that can be used by a UT to select from multiple available access points to the mobile network. In addition, the provisioning module 302 can be

ES 2 365 378 T3 customized for the UT based, at least, on the femto performance of the UT. Thus, for example, a first type of SDL can be customized for a UT without femto capabilities and a second type of SDL can be customized for a UT with femto capabilities. Furthermore, the second type can be individualized for each UT with femto capabilities to identify the femtocells that allow, for example, a network access to the particular femto UT.

To customize an SDL, the provisioning module 302 may include an SDL module 308 that obtains UE-specific and femtocell-specific data from a UE-femto analyzer 306 of data. A communications processor 304 can be coupled with various external sources to obtain the information. For example, the provisioning module 302 may employ the communications processor 304 to couple with a particular femto cell (for example, via an Internet gateway that communicates with the femto cell over the Internet) to obtain data from the femto cell or data concerning a UT coupled with the femto cell (eg, an MSI, IMSI, electronic serial number [ESN], or similar unique UT ID). Alternatively, or in addition, the communication processor 304 may employ a macro-network (not shown) to couple with the femto UT to obtain such information. In other aspects, the communications processor may be coupled with a femto database (eg, see, infra, Fig. 4) or with a network operator's own location register (HLR), where such register stores the femto UT data.

The data obtained by the communication processor 304 is provided to the UE-femto analyzer 306 to extract the pertinent information. Such information may include an SlD of a serving BS (eg, a femto SID reserved for femto cells, a macro SID), as well as a subset of the NIDs and / or cell IDs of the cells associated with the SID. Furthermore, the extracted information may comprise ID information of a UT trying to register in a mobile network. SDL module 308 can generate a default SDL (for example, a PRL) for UTs coupled with a BS macro, UTs that do not have femto capabilities (determined, at least in part, from UT data) or of the UTs that are not in their own GEO. The default SDL may contain a list of macro SID / NIDs (or other node IDs, such as a subnet ID in an EV-DO system) that the UT can connect to. In some aspects, the SDL may set one or more SID / NIDs as preferred IDs, as discussed in more detail below.

For a custom SDL, the SDL module 308 may provision an SDL with information pertinent to a particular UT or a cell serving the UT. Thus, for example, a SID reserved for femto BS can be included in the custom SDL if the particular UT is a UT with femto capabilities. Using such a custom SDL, UTs can identify that signals including the reserved SID originate from a femto cell. In addition, the custom SDL may include a subset of the NID and / or cell IDs associated with the femto SID. Thus, the UT can ignore signals that do not include the cell NID / ID subset, or simply analyze signals that include the cell NID / iD subset in conjunction with signals that include a different SID (for example, a macro SID). In some aspects, the subset of cell NID / IDs may include one or more cell NID / IDs of self femto cells associated with a femto UT being registered.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the SDL module 308 may set one or more system and / or network IDs as preferred, one or more other system and / or network IDs as non-preferred, indicating no special preference for a system and / or network ID, or a combination of the above. Thus, a UT can select from one or more signals based on signal strength and / or quality, as well as SID / NID preference status. When a custom SDL is provided to a UT with one or more preferred SIDs / NIDs, the UT can continue to search for preferred SIDs / NIDs even though it is currently coupled to a non-preferred cell or a cell that has no preferred status. Also, if the UT acquires the preferred SID / NID, it can set a high threshold above which the UT will search for other BSs. Thus, as a particular example, the UT may ignore neighboring cells when coupled to the preferred cell, unless the signal intensity of the preferred cell falls below a relatively low threshold, or the intensity disparity of the signal between the preferred cell and a neighboring cell rises above a relatively high threshold, which favors the neighboring cell.

According to other additional aspects, an SDL can be configured according to one or more GEOs. Thus, the SIDs / NIDs available within a GEO in which a cell that obtains a registration request resides can be included in the SDL. In some aspects, the SDL may also include neighboring GEOs and associated SIDs / NIDs, in the event that a UT moves out of the current GEO. For a custom SDL for a femto UT, the current GEO can contain macro SID / NID d BS, and one or more femto SID / NID if the current GEO is its own GEO associated with the femto UT. Additionally, femto SID / NIDs can be given a preference status, directing the UT to favor femto cells over other types of network access points, as discussed above. If the current GEO is not its own GEO, then the SDL can be configured to contain no femto SID / NID, allowing the femto UT to ignore wasted signaling to foreign femto cells. Consequently, custom SDL can be used to preserve supplemental signaling for the femto UT, listing SID / NID of femto cells as preferred when it is expected that a femto cell of its own will be found (for example, in the own GEO (s)) and not including SID / NID of femto cells when the home femto cell cannot be expected to be found (for example, outside of home GEOs).

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FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 400 that provides access point management for UTs 404A, 404B, of variable access capacity. The system 400 may comprise a provisioning module 402 that generates an SDL for the UTs based on the performance of the respective UT. Provisioning module 402 may receive a request for registration to communication processor 408 from an access point, such as macro access point 406A or femto access point 406B, which includes ID information for a UT 404A, 404B (for example, MSI, IMSI, ESN, etc.) that is logged. The ID information can be used to obtain subscriber information (416) in various data stores in the network. For example, the UE-femto data analyzer 412 may access a femto database 414 on the network if the UT being registered is a femto UT 404B. The femto database 414 can store subscriber profiles 416 that indicate which subscriber femto UT (404A) are allowed to access a particular femto cell (406B), as well as which femto cells (406B) are proper cells for a particular femto UT. (404A) subscriber. Furthermore, the database 414 may indicate an associated GEO for each femto cell (406B) and one or more own GEOs for each femto UT (404A). Thus, using the ID of the femto Ut 404A being recorded, the provisioning module 402 can identify the femto cells (406B) associated with such IDs and GEOs of such cells. If the femto UT 404A is in a home GEO, the SDL module 422 can generate a custom SDL that identifies the home femto cell and establishes that cell as a preferred cell. If not, the SDL can include SID / NID of macro cells, which direct the UT to search for macro cells or to remain attached to them.

Alternatively, or in addition to the foregoing, the provisioning module 402 may comprise a data interface 418 that can be coupled to the Internet and / or a mobile core network 420. Thus, the data interface 418 may communicate with a femtocell 406B using an Internet gateway (not shown) used by such cell 406B. The data interface can be used to interrogate femto cell 406b and obtain ID information from such cell and / or UTs (404B) coupled to femto cell 406B. In addition, the data interface may communicate with the central macronet 420 to obtain subscriber information from the UT. In some aspects, such information may include subscriber ID information. The subscriber ID information can be used to establish a particular GEO for the femto cell 406B. For example, a physical address (eg, a mailing address), a zip code, and / or similar information can be used to establish the GEO femto. Thus, the femto GEO may be a relatively small area surrounding the femto cell 406B, limiting several additional access points (406A) that are included in the GEO of the femto cell. If the UT being registered is a femto UT (404A) and a GEO of the femto UT (404A) is the same as the GEO of the femto cell 406B, the femto GEO, as well as the SID / NID or the ID of the femto cell 406B can be included in a custom SDL by SDL module 422, which is provided to such UT. If not, an SDL containing the SID / NID / IDs of the BS macro can be generated and provided to the UT, causing the UT to ignore the femtocell signals and look for macrosignals instead.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system 500 that provides distributed access point management for a UT 504. As depicted, the system 500 may comprise one or more femtocells 502 and one or more UTs, including the femto UT 504. The femto cell 502 may comprise an interconnect application 506 configured to provide a wireless exchange of data between the femto UT 504 and a proprietary femto cell 502 associated with such a UT 504. The interconnect application 506 can be used to generate a custom SDL especially for the femto UT 504, similar to that described above, but starting from the femto cell 502 itself instead of a centralized network location. In addition, the interconnect application 506 may employ a frequency channel typically used by the femtocell 502 for wireless communications, or it may use a special provisioning or boot channel to provide the custom SDL (e.g., see, supra, Fig. . 6).

The interconnect application 506 can be used by the own femtocell 502 to carry out autoconfiguration procedures with a central macronetwork 518 via an Internet connection. Thus, for example, femtocell 502 may obtain information pertinent to neighboring cells (not shown) of femtocell 502, including macrocells, as well as other femtocells. In addition, the femto cell 502 may obtain data indicating whether such additional femto cells are femto UT 504 own femto cells or foreign femto cells that provide limited or no access to the femto UT 504.

The interconnect application 506 may comprise an SDL provisioning module 512 that can generate a custom SDL for the femto UT 504. If the femto UT 504 is included in a CSG associated with the femto cell 502, the SDL may be provisioned by specifying that the Femtocells 502, as well as any neighboring femtocells, are preferred cells, that nearby macrocells are of lower priority and that foreign femtocells are non-preferred. If the femto UT 504 is not included in the CSG, the femto cell 502 can check a Subscribing Guest Group (GSG) to determine whether guest access should be provided to the femto UT 504. The guest access may comprise full access (same as for own femtocells) or limited access, which limits bandwidth, mobile resources, and / or an amount of time the host UT can use femtocell 502. For a host SDL, femto cell 502 may establish a preferred cell and neighboring cells (macro or femto) are lower priority cells. Optionally, the host SDL may not provide any special preference for the 502 femtocell and neighboring cells, allowing the host SDL to acquire and access neighboring cells based on signal intensity.

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In some aspects of the present disclosure, the femto UT 504 may employ the interconnect application 506 to provide an SDL to the femto cell 502. Thus, for example, a default SDL obtained from the mobile core network 518 may be forwarded by means of a overhead provisioning function 520 (OTAF) and a BS 522 macro may be forwarded to the interconnect application 506. The provisioning module 512 can then modify the default SDL to generate the custom SDL, presented above, including the SID / NID or the ID of the femto cell 502 as the preferred cell and specifying neighboring cells as non-preferred cells.

The femto UT and femto cell 502 can use normal wireless communication (for example, using a typical working channel of the femto cell 502, as opposed to a boot and provisioning channel, for example) once the custom SDL is generated and that provides it to the femto UT 504. Periodically, the femto cell 502 and the femto UT 504 may communicate with the interconnect application 506 (optionally using a special startup frequency) to update the SDL provisioning in the SDL provisioning module 512. For example, neighbor cell / cell ID changes can be added to an SDL used by the femto UT 504 through periodic use of the interconnect application 506. Thus, system 500 may employ interconnect application 506 and SDL provisioning module 512 to generate, as well as update, a custom SDL to reflect changing network conditions.

According to particular aspects of the present disclosure, a custom SDL can reflect the prevailing conditions of the signals near the femto cell 502. In such aspects, the femto UT 504 can be coupled with the femto cell 502 via the interconnect application 506 for provisioning. of the SDL. During such provisioning, the femto UT 504 may employ a signal analysis module 508 to monitor and analyze neighboring macro and femto BS wireless signals (522). Signal intensity, signal quality, and similar statistics can be obtained using signal analysis module 508. In addition, the signal analysis module 508 may identify the SID / NID or cell ID information transmitted with each signal to identify a BS (522) that transmits the signal. The information can be provided to the femto cell 502 via a report module 510. In such a case, the SDL provisioning module 512 can identify neighboring cells (522) that result in potentially intense interference or that have signals strong enough to cause the femto UT 504 to attempt to acquire or switch to such signals. If the femto UT 504 is even in a CSG or a GSG of the femto cell 502, the SDL provisioning module 512 can blacklist neighboring foreign femto cells to prevent the femto Ut 504 from trying to acquire such cells. During SDL update provisioning, as discussed above, new foreign femto cells, as determined by signal analysis module 508, may also be blacklisted as needed. Consequently, the custom SDL can be provisioned to blacklist only neighboring cells that are likely to interfere with the femto UT 504 or cause it to transfer the call to such cells, providing a relatively small blacklist, instead to blacklist all femtocells that share a common GEO with femtocell 502.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system 600 that facilitates initial startup provisioning for terminal devices that are coupled to a mobile network. System 600 comprises a provisioning module 602 coupled to a femto UT 604 via a BS-UT interface. Such an interface may comprise a wireless transceiver of a femtocell device (not shown) coupled to the provisioning module and a wireless channel employed by such a transceiver. Boot provisioning can be used to generate a custom SDL for the femto UT 604, as described herein, and provide the custom SDL to select and transfer the call to the BSs on the network identified in the SDL.

The provisioning module 602 comprises a boot configuration module 606 that establishes boot provisioning for a femto cell coupled to the provisioning module 602 and for the femto UT 604. The boot configuration module 606 can obtain femto information specific to a processor 610 data that can communicate with a mobile network of the operator (for example, via an Internet connection coupled with a femto cell). The femto information may comprise a SID reserved for use by femto cells. In addition, the femto information may comprise startup and cellular information used by the femto UT 604 for initial setups and for signaling / acquisition of cells and network resources, respectively. The startup information may comprise the SID, as well as a startup NID, used at startup to identify a femto cell, as well as a startup frequency channel used to communicate with the femto cell for startup provisioning. The boot information, <SID, Boot NID, Boot Channel>, can be included in a custom SDL provided to the femto UT 604, either through a femto cell coupled to the provisioning module 602 if communication is already established between such cell and the femto UT 604, or through macro-network provisioning.

Once the femto UT 604 obtains the custom SDL comprising the boot information, listed above, the UT 604 can perform initialization or pairing routines with a femto cell using the boot NID and boot channel. In some aspects, the start-up procedure is carried out with the femto cell emitting at very low power (for example, a fraction of a watt), with the femto UT 604 positioned close to the femto cell (for example, less than 1 meter) . The start channel can be used, in particular aspects, to bypass a CSG used by the femtocell, since it can be assumed that with such a narrow range the femto UT 604 is operated by a femtocell owner. Consequently, in such

In aspects, the femto UT 604 will initially be included in the CSG of the femto cell using the start operations provided by the system 600.

After initial pairing with the femto cell, the provisioning module 602 can generate a custom SDL for mobile communications with the femto cell. The startup SDL can be provided by the femto uT 604, during initial acquisition, to the femto cell, which can forward such SDL to the data processor 610. An SDL configuration femto module 608 can modify the boot SDL to include a specific femto SID / NID and a channel for cellular communications with the femto cell. Such information may be represented as <SIDfemto, NIDfemto, Channelfemto>, indicating a SID / NID / Femto-related Channel of operation. Subsequent interaction between the femto UT 604 and the femto cell can be performed using the femto-related information at normal femto-transmit powers / distances, where the UT 604 is scrutinized using the CSG of the femto cell. In some aspects, the analysis of neighboring cells (eg, as described supra in Fig. 5) can be carried out during the initial provisioning described above. Thus, the femto information may also include blacklisted foreign femto cells that have a threshold signal strength / quality or greater, which could result in the UT 604 acquiring or transferring the call to neighboring foreign femto cells instead of to its own configured femtocell. As described, system 600 can provide an efficient mechanism for distributed access point management employing initial femto-device pairing routines.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an integrated mobile femto-macro environment 700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The mobile environment 700 comprises at least one macro BS 702 that provides wireless GA services for a UT 704. Thus, the UT 704 can communicate communicatively with the macro BS 702 under favorable macro wireless conditions, or when a preferred BS (706A, 706B) is not in sufficient range.

Furthermore, the environment 700 comprises multiple GEO 708A, 708B, 708C, 708D (or 708A-708D) within the coverage of the macro BS 702. Such GEOs comprise at least two own GEO 708A, 708D in which the UT 704 is associated with at least one own femtocell 706A, 706B. For example, the GEO 708A may comprise a residential area in which a subscriber has his own femto cell 706A established at the residence of such subscriber. In addition, the GEO 708D may comprise a commercial or industrial area in which the subscriber has his own second femto cell 706B established in an office building or other place of business. Other GEO 708B, 708C are foreign GEOs, in which the subscriber does not have his own femtocells (706A, 706B).

It should be appreciated that the GEO 708A-708D represented by environment 700 can be defined using various criteria. In one example, GEO 708A-708Ds can be defined using regional network information, such as a location zone ID (LAI) or a macro-network routing zone (RAI) IDE (702). In other examples, GEO 708A-708D can be defined using political / legal geographic boundaries, such as township boundaries, county boundaries, State boundaries, or the like. In still other examples, the GEO 708A-708D can be defined based on subscriber data associated with the own femtocells 706A, 706B. Thus, for example, a mailing address, postal code, or other position / zone identifier (eg, a global positioning system) associated with the respective 706A, 706D own femtocells can be used to define at least the respective 708A own GEOs. , 708D. In some respects, a combination of the preceding examples can be used in the definition of GEO 708A, 708D.

As the UT 704 moves from GEO to GEO, it can inform a serving BS of the identity of a GEO in which the UT 704 is currently located. The serving BS may forward the GEO to a mobile network to update the location of the current position of the UT 704. In addition, the current GEO can be used to generate a custom SDL for the UT 704, as described herein (for example, when giving preference to suitable BS over other BS, depending on the type of the current GEO , own or others). In a centralized access point management architecture, the network can generate and provide the customized SDL to the UT 704, using the macro BS 702 or a femtocell (706A, 706D) coupled with the UT 704. The network may use the current position / location information, for example, to search the UT 704 and deliver such data, as is known in the art. In a distributed access point management architecture, a serving BS (702, 706A, 706B) can generate and provide the custom SDL to the UT 704, optionally after boot provisioning. In such a case, a serving BS (702, 706A, 706D) can update the custom SDL, if necessary, when the UT 704 moves to a new GEO and tries to register for a BS within the new GEO for the first time. Consequently, employing an SDL for access point management can be an adaptive mechanism that takes into account UT mobility and a dynamic network (eg, including new macro and / or femto BS deployments).

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary custom SDL 806 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The SDL 806 can be provided by an access point 802 to the UT 804 using OTA communication, optionally during a boot routine or pairing after the UT 804 boots. The SDL 806 can be referenced by the UT 804 to identify the access points. available access within a particular GEO where UT 804 is currently located. Such current GEO may be broadcast by the access point 802 or determined based on the position location measurement (eg, GPS), and so on.

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As shown, the SDL 806 comprises three different GEOs: GEO 1, GEO 2, and GEO 3. GEO 1 is associated with a UT 804 home femto cell (HFC), as well as one or more macro cells and one or more foreign femto cells ( AFC). Since the self femto cell is contained within GEO 1, such GEO is indicated as a self GEO. Furthermore, each access point is associated with a particular cell ID (eg SID / NID / cell ID), with which the UT 804 can identify particular access points. Each access point is also given a priority. Home cell is given high priority in GEO 1, macro access points are given medium priority, and foreign femto cells within GEO 1 are blacklisted (or optionally given low priority ). Thus, the UT 804 will acquire its own femto cell provided that such cell is identified and raised above a relatively low threshold. If not, a macrocell is selected. If a foreign femto cell is identified, the signal associated with that cell can be ignored.

GEO 2 and 3 are both foreign GEOs, not including a proprietary femto cell associated with the UT 804. In GEO 2, comprising at least one foreign femto cell, all femto cells are given a non-preferred priority and the macrocells are given a high priority. Consequently, the UT 804 will select the macro cell provided that a signal from such a cell is above a relatively low threshold. A foreign femto cell can be accessed if a macro cell cannot be distinguished, optionally to initiate signaling with a mobile network if the foreign femto cell allows such signaling. In some aspects, the UT 804 may attempt to register as a host UT in the foreign femto cell and obtain a specialized SDL in which the femto cell is given a higher priority (eg, medium, or a preferred state). With respect to the GEO 3, which includes only macro cells, the UT 804 can be connected to a macro cell. It should be appreciated that whenever the UT 804 is connected to a non-preferred cell (or if a signal from a preferred cell falls below a relatively low threshold), the UT 804 can periodically search for preferred cells to identify and acquire such cells. Thus, if the UT 804 is connected to a macrocell but moves from GEO 2 to GEO 1, it may end up identifying its own femtocell.

In addition to the above, the SDL 806 can indicate the frequency channels used by various access points. In a multi-carrier environment, where multiple channels are available, the UT 804 can search within and / or between such channels to identify cells, and periodically search for preferred cells when connected to middle or non-preferred cells. As shown, the SDL 806 can provide selective determination of network access points to facilitate the identification of a preferred cell over other cells, depending on a particular GEO the UT 804 is currently in. Consequently, there is a higher probability of obtaining the preferred cells, leading to more efficient mobile communications overall.

FIG. 9 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary system 900 comprising a BS 902 and one or more UT 904 (eg, mobile devices) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The BS 902 can be configured to provide selective access to disparate types of mobile network access points, as described herein. For UT 904s configured to identify and distinguish between such types of access points, the BS 902 can provide a custom SDL containing identifying information of the various access points and the priorities of such access points. When the UT 904s are not configured to identify and / or distinguish between different types of access points, an SDL may be provided containing information that identifies suitable access points to the macro network that allows the UT 904 (s) to ignore the access points. not macro.

The BS 902 (eg access point, ...) may comprise a receiver 910 that receives one or more signals and messages transmitted over the air (OTA) from one or more UT 904 through one or more receiver antennas 906 , and a transmitter 930 that transmits OTA encoded / modulated signals and messages provided by modulator 928 to one or more Ut 904 through one or more transmitting antennas 908. Receiver 910 may receive information from receiving antennas 906 and may further comprise a signal receiver (not shown) that receives uplink data transmitted by UT (s) 904. Additionally, receiver 910 is operatively associated with a demodulator 912 that demodulates the information received. The demodulated symbols are analyzed by a processor 914. The processor 914 is coupled with a memory 916 that stores information regarding the functions provided by the BS 902. In one case, the stored information may comprise rules for obtaining various access point IDs and femto-specific information and for generating a femospecific SDL. for the UT (s) 904. In addition, the stored information may comprise parameter sets configured to set preferred and non-preferred BS (902).

Furthermore, the BS 902 may comprise a provisioning module 918 that employs the capabilities of a UT (904) and customizes an SDL for the UT (904) based on those capabilities. For example, if the UT is a femto-capable device, the provisioning module 918 may employ a signaling interface 920 to communicate with a mobile core network and / or with a specific femto database maintained by such network. The signaling interconnection can obtain subscriber information associated with the UT (904) with femto capabilities and can also obtain, starting from the femto database, its own femtocells associated with such UT. Optionally, when the BS 902 is a femto cell BS, the subscriber information and femto performances for the UT 904s included in a CSG 924 may be stored in memory 916 for internal use by the BS 902. After obtaining the subscriber information and the benefits, a custom SDL can be generated for the femto UT

IS 2 365 378 T3

904 which sets a self femto cell (902) as a preferred cell and which optionally sets macro cells and / or foreign cells as medium or low priority cells and blacklisted cells, respectively. In some aspects, the BS 902 may comprise a data interface 922 for coupling to the Internet, for communicating with other femto BSs, or for coupling to the mobile core network (eg, if the BS 902 is a femto cell BS).

According to one or more additional aspects, the BS 902 may comprise a boot module 926 for initial UT provisioning. Boot module 926 may employ a boot node ID and / or boot frequency channel to communicate with femto UTs for initial provisioning, as described herein. The boot module 926 can be used to establish a UT (904) as part of the CSG 924 during initial provisioning. In such a case, boot module 926 may further provide a lower power transmission parameter for processor 914 to limit boot communication with a relatively short range (eg, less than 1 meter) to mitigate the probability. unauthorized UTs mating with BS 902 during start-up procedures. In addition, the boot module 926 may obtain the nearby wireless conditions from a suitable UT (904) during such initial provisioning to allow the provisioning module 918 to customize an SDL for signals from nearby networks. Thus, for example, nearby foreign femto cells can be blacklisted to prevent a UT (904) included in the CSG from performing a futile communication switch with a foreign femto cell. Consequently, the UT (904) may be more likely to remain coupled with the BS 902, rather than do a handoff to other cells.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram as an exemplary system 1000 comprising a UT (eg, a mobile device) 1002 that can be configured to interface with a BS 1004. The UT 1002 can be configured to wirelessly couple with one or more such BS 1004 (eg, an access point) of a wireless network. Thus, for example, the UT 1002 may receive OTA signals from the BS 1004 on an FL channel and respond with OTA signals and messages on an RL channel, as is known in the art. In addition, the UT 1002 can obtain system determination information from BS 1004 to selectively choose between access points to the wireless network. In some respects, the UT 1002 may provide UT and / or subscriber specific information to facilitate the generation of a custom SDL based on the capabilities of the UT 1002. The custom SDL may, for example, set one or more types of points access points as preferred or non-preferred access points to facilitate such selective access to the network, as described herein.

The UT 1002 includes at least one antenna 1006 (for example, a transmission receiver or a group of such receivers that comprise an input interface) that receives a signal and one or more receivers 1008 that carry out the typical actions (for example , filter, amplify, downconvert, etc.) on the received signal. According to at least some aspects, one or more processors 1012 can selectively analyze portions of signals received from a demodulator 1010 and obtain timing and / or control information pertinent to a selected base station (1004) or a type of base station. In general, antenna 1006 and transmitter 1034, which wirelessly sends modulated symbols provided by modulator 1028, collectively referred to as a transceiver, can be configured to facilitate wireless data exchange with the base station (s) 1004.

Antenna 1006 and receiver (s) 1008 may also be coupled with a demodulator 1010 that can demodulate received symbols and provide them to the processor (s) 1012 for evaluation. It should be appreciated that the processor (s) 1012 may control and / or reference one or more components (1006, 1008, 1010, 1014, 1016, 1018, 1020, 1022, 1024, 1026, 1028) of the UT 1002. Furthermore, the processor (s) 1012 can execute one or more modules, applications, engines or the like (1016, 1018, 1022, 1024, 1026) that comprise information or controls pertinent to the execution of functions of the UT 1002. For example, such functions may include scrutinizing statistics of the signal strength and / or quality of received wireless signals, employing a custom SDL to selectively access particular BS (1004) or BS types, or transferring the call to the same, or similar operations, as described herein.

The UT 1002 may further include a memory 1014 that is operatively coupled to the processor (s) 1012. The memory 1014 may store data to be transmitted, received, and the like, and instructions (1020) suitable for effecting wireless communication with a remote device (1004). Additionally, memory 1014 can store modules, applications, motors, etc. (1016, 1018, 1022, 1024, 1026) executed by the 1012 processor (s), above.

In addition to the above, the processor (s) 1012 and memory 1014 may be coupled to a reselection module 1016 that can perform base station reselection to acquire a network access point (1004) or to identify a network access point (1004). preferred access point (1004) and switch to it. The reselection module 1016 may obtain such an address from a custom SDL obtained from BS 1004 and stored in memory 1014. Reselection may comprise scanning the wireless signals obtained at antenna 1006 and receiver 1008 to identify the cell IDs of such signals and comparing them to the custom SDL cell IDEs.

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To facilitate the generation of a custom SDL, the processor (s) 1012 may provide data identifying the UT 1002 or data associated with a subscriber from a subscriber profile 1020 stored in memory 1014. The subscriber data may be used to establish a GEO of its own for the UT 1002 (for example, based on the address, the postal code of the subscriber or the like). In some aspects, the processor (s) 1012 can interrogate a user via a user interface (UI) of the UT 1002 (not shown) to obtain subscriber data, such as location data that establishes the own GEO, or data that Identify the UT 1002, such as a UT 1002 phone number, serial number, MSI, IMSI, or the like. In addition, the subscriber profile 1020 and / or information obtained from the UI may indicate the femto features of the UT 1002. The preceding data can be forwarded to BS 1004 to generate the custom SDL, as described herein.

In addition to the above, the UT 1002 may comprise an analysis module 1018 for determining signal statistics of the received wireless signals. The signal statistics may comprise information on the strength and / or quality of the signal. Such statistics may also be provided to the BS 1004 along with the initial startup and / or acquisition routines (e.g., startup routines) implemented by the startup module 1026 to configure the UT 1002 for communication with the BS 1002 and / or to blacklist nearby foreign femtocells, stored in a 1024 blacklist module. Statistical information can be sent to BS 1004 via a routing module 1022, which may employ a particular startup channel to communicate with BS 1004 during startup / acquisition routines. Upon completion of the startup / acquisition routines, the UT 1002 may employ the custom SDL to acquire a nearby access point (1004) and attempt to register with a mobile network associated with the access point (1004).

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect to the interaction between various communication components, modules and / or interfaces. It should be appreciated that such systems and components / modules / interfaces may include the components or sub-components specified above, some of the components or sub-components specified, and / or additional components. For example, a system could include femtocells 210 coupled to provisioning module 302, Internet 240, core network 518, and UT 1002 or a different combination of these and other components. Subcomponents could also be implemented as components communicatively coupled to other components instead of being included in parent components. Furthermore, it should be noted that one or more components could be combined into a single component that provides the joint functionality. For example, the signal analysis module 508 may include the routing module 518, or vice versa, to facilitate the analysis of the statistics of the received signals and the reporting of such statistics to a femto cell of its own by means of a single component. The components can also interact with one or more additional components not specifically described herein but known to those of skill in the art.

In addition, as will be appreciated, various portions of the systems disclosed above and the procedures below may include or consist of components, subcomponents, processes, means, methodologies or mechanisms based on intelligence or knowledge or rules (for example, Support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines, classifiers ...). Such components, among others, and in addition to what has already been described herein, can automate certain mechanisms or processes carried out in this way to make portions of the systems and procedures more adaptive as well as more efficient. and smart.

In view of the exemplary systems described supra, methodologies that can be implemented according to the disclosed subject matter will be better appreciated with reference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 11-16. Although for the purposes of simplicity of explanation the methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks, it should be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may be presented in different orders. and / or concurrently with other blocks, differing from what is represented and described in this document. Furthermore, not all of the illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methodologies described hereinbelow. Additionally, it should be further appreciated that the methodologies disclosed hereinbelow and throughout this specification are capable of being stored in a manufactured article to facilitate transportation and transfer of such methodologies to computers. The term manufactured article, as used, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, device in conjunction with a carrier, or storage medium.

FIG. 11 depicts a flow chart of an exemplary methodology 110 for providing centralized access management in a mobile communication environment. At 1102, procedure 1100 can get specific data from the UT. The data may include appropriate identifying information to uniquely determine the UT. Such data may comprise an MSI, an IMSI, an ESN or a similar identifier of a UT. The data can be obtained through direct OTA communication with the UT or through a network access point coupled with the UT. In this case, the data can be accompanied by an access request, used by the UT to access a mobile network.

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At 1104, procedure 1100 may use the UT-specific data to determine UT access presentations. In some aspects, the data may be referenced against a femto database comprising data associated with femto usage or femto subscription plans. The database may comprise a table listing proprietary femtocells for various UTs with femto capabilities, as well as unauthorized UTs for particular femtocells. By accessing the femto database, it can be determined whether the UT is a UT with femto capabilities (for example, if the UT-specific information is included in the database), which of the own femtocells are associated with the UT, and the information that identifies a self GEO associated with each of such self femtocells.

As an alternative to the foregoing, or in addition to it, the UT-specific data can be used to access the location register of an operator associated with the UT. In some such aspects, the femto performance of the UT, as well as the self femto cells and GEOs of such cells, can also be obtained from the self location register. Alternatively, the UT-specific data may be included in a registration request submitted by the UT and obtained directly or indirectly from the UT or a serving cell associated with the UT. For example, a UT user can send the femto ID and / or performance information (including a reference to the femto / self GEO) in a UT UI. Such information can then be received instead of or in addition to accessing the femto database or the operator's own location register.

At 1106, procedure 1100 may generate a custom SDL for the UT based, at least in part, on the access capabilities of the UT. For example, the SDL may include access information for macro cells near the UT if the UT does not have femto capabilities, and include access information for both macro cells and femto cells if the UT has femto capabilities. In addition to the above, the SDL can indicate a relative priority for access point types (eg, femto, macro) based on the location of the UT. Thus, for example, if the UT is currently in its own GEO, the femtocell access information may be given a high priority and the macro access information may be given a low priority. Priority can facilitate an increased likelihood that the UT will access and remain attached to a femto cell. In some aspects, the custom SDL can identify a particular UT's own femto cell, so that such cell can be identified by the UT. The own femto cell can be given the highest priority. In further aspects, also foreign femto cells can be identified and given the lowest priority, or they can be blacklisted in the custom SDL. Consequently, the UT can avoid wasted signaling to foreign femtocells. Once the custom SDL is generated, it can be forwarded to the UT to selectively access various access points on the network based at least on the type of access point.

FIG. 12 depicts a flow chart of an exemplary methodology 1200 for obtaining UT-specific data to generate a custom SDL for a UT. At 1202, procedure 1200 may obtain UT-specific data from a UT, as described herein. At 1204, procedure 1200 may interrogate an HLR for subscriber data associated with the UT. At 1206, a determination is made as to whether the UT is a femto-capable UT, based, at least in part, on the subscriber data. If the UT is not a femto-capable UT, procedure 1200 can proceed to 1208, where a macro SDL is generated that prioritizes the macro access points and provides it to the UT at 1222.

If the UT is determined to be a femto-capable UT, procedure 1200 may proceed to 1210. At 1210, procedure 1200 may optionally interrogate (as indicated by the dashed lines) a femto database for one or more own femtocells and related information pertinent to the UT. Alternatively, the method 1200 may dynamically obtain the femto cell (s) and related information from the network HLR, or UT, rather than accessing a femto database. In either case, procedure 1200 can obtain one or more of its own femtocells and one or more of its own GEOs concerning the Ut at 1212. Furthermore, at 1214, procedure 1200 can obtain a current GEO for the UT, as well as neighboring cells. within such a GEO. At 1216, procedure 1200 can determine whether the UT is within a home cell or a home GEO. If not, procedure 1200 can proceed to 1218, where a custom SDL can be generated in a femto-foreign environment. Such foreign SDL may give foreign femto cells low priority or blacklist such cells and give macro cells a relatively high priority. On the other hand, if the UT is determined to be within the home cell or a home GEO at reference numeral 1216, the procedure 1200 may proceed to 1220, at which a home SDL can be generated for the UT. Self-SDL can identify and give high priority to a self-femto cell associated with the UT. At 1222, procedure 1200 can send the custom SDL, be it macro, foreign femto, or own, to the UT.

Fig. 13 depicts a fancy diagram of an exemplary methodology for accessing a mobile network. At 1302, procedure 1300 may submit an application for registration comprising an ID of a requesting UT. The ID may comprise any suitable information that can be used to distinguish the UT from other UTs of that type. According to some aspects, the registration request may optionally include the UT's access capabilities, such as whether the UT is configured to access a femto cell, information on the ID of its own femto cell (for example, SID / NID / ID of the cell) and the frequency channels used by that cell, as well as a current location or GEO of the UT and an ID of a BS that is currently serving the UT.

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At 1304, procedure 1300 may derive a custom SDL to the UT information presented in reference number 1302. Thus, for example, the custom SDL may include information identifying a home femto cell, foreign femto cells, and / or nearby macro cells within a current GEO occupied by the UT. In other aspects, SDL may provide relative priority for various access points as a function of the type of the access point, as well as frequency channels used by the various access points. Based on relative priority, the UT can select from various received signals to identify a preferred access point. If the preferred access point is not located on a particular frequency channel, the UT can switch channels to continue trying to locate the preferred access point. However, if no such access point can be found, the UT may select a non-preferred cell, or a cell that has not been given any particular preference (or, for example, has been given a medium preference) . However, the UT can periodically scan the received signals and available frequency channels to keep trying to obtain the preferred cell. Such periodic scanning can continue until the preferred cell is found or until a new SDL is provided to the UT (for example, if the UT moves to a new GEO, if the network topology changes, the UT disconnects and is connected, or the like) that does not include a preferred cell.

Fig. 14 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary methodology for providing distributed access management in a mobile communication environment. At 1402, procedure 1400 can obtain a registration request with specific data from the UT, as described herein. At 1404, the procedure 1400 may obtain the femto performance of the requesting UT (eg, from that UT, from a femto database, from an operator's HLR, and so on). At 1406, the method 1400 may obtain data from neighboring cells, from cells within a particular GEO in which the UT is located, or from cells close to the serving cell coupled to the UT. The data of the neighboring cells can be obtained from a network component, or the UT, which can analyze the signals transmitted by the neighboring cells and provide statistics of such signals as analysis of the network environment near the UT. At 1408, procedure 1400 can generate an SDL with UT capabilities and data from neighboring cells. The UT capabilities can be used to customize the SDL to allow selective access point management by the UT, as described herein. In addition, data from neighboring cells can be used by the UT to search for a preferred cell, if any, indicated in the SDL. In at least one aspect, data from neighboring cells can be used to blacklist one or more non-preferred access points within the vicinity of a serving cell, if the serving cell is a preferred access point (e.g. example, a femtocell of its own). Using data from neighboring cells, a relatively small cell blacklist can be maintained, lowering the processing and memory requirements to parse and store, respectively, the custom SDL.

FIG. 15 depicts a flow chart of an exemplary methodology for employing startup routines to couple to a UT and generate a custom SDL for the UT based on the access performance of the UT. At 1502, the method 1500 may establish a link from the core network to a mobile core network. At 1504, procedure 1500 can obtain startup parameters for the initial acquisition of a nearby UT. At 1506, method 1500 can obtain cellular parameters for cellular communication with remote devices. At 1508, procedure 1500 can enter a boot provisioning mode. In 1510, the procedure can establish a link with a nearby UT. Optionally, the link can use a particularly low transmit power, allowing communication only with a UT that is in close proximity. At 1512, procedure 1500 may receive UT data and surrounding network statistics from the UT. At 1514, procedure 1500 can generate a custom SDL for the UT based on UT data and network statistics. In 1516, procedure 1500 can add the UT to a CSG, establishing the UT as an authorized UT. In 1518, procedure 1500 can provide the custom SDL to the UT. At 1520, procedure 1500 can obtain updated network topology parameters from a network. Updated network topology parameters may include additional and / or modified UT data within a surrounding GEO. At 1522, procedure 1500 can modify the custom SDL provided to the UT based on updated network topology parameters. At 1524, procedure 1500 may provide the updated SDL to the UT to facilitate the selection of access points in the updated network environment.

Fig. 16 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary methodology to facilitate the generation of a custom SDL based on UT-specific data and UT-specific access capabilities. In 1602, procedure 1600 may obtain UT data from memory or user input. In 1604, procedure 1600 can get a boot SDL. The boot SDL can be obtained, for example, from a mobile network employing a GA BS associated with the network (for example, a macro BS). At 1606, procedure 1600 may enter a boot start and / or acquisition mode on a boot channel provided by the boot SDL. At 1608, procedure 1600 can be coupled to a startup cell (eg, identified by a startup NID) on the startup channel. At 1610, procedure 1600 may provide UT data to the startup cell. At 1612, method 1600 may analyze wireless signals received from a surrounding network, optionally excluding signals obtained from the starter cell. At 1614, method 1600 can extract signal statistics, such as signal strength, signal quality, and the like, from received wireless signals. At 1616, procedure 1600 can provide the starter cell with the extracted signal statistics. In 1618, procedure 1600 can obtain a custom SDL based on UT data and extracted signal statistics. In 1620, procedure 1600 18

ES 2 365 378 T3 can use the custom SDL to find and acquire a preferred network cell. At 1622, procedure 1600 may register with the preferred cell on a femto frequency channel specified in the custom SDL. At 1624, procedure 1600 can obtain an updated SDL based on a change in network topology information.

Figures 17 and 18 depict exemplary system diagrams 1700, 1800 facilitating and utilizing, respectively, centralized access point management for access points of a mobile network, as described herein. For example, systems 1700, 1800 may reside, at least partially, within a wireless communications network and / or within a transmitter, such as a node, a base station, an access point, a user terminal, a personal computer coupled with a mobile interface card or the like. It is to be appreciated that systems 1700, 1800 are represented as including functional blocks, which may be functional blocks representing functions implemented by a processor, software, or a combination thereof (eg, physical logic).

System 1700 may comprise a first means 1702 for obtaining data concerning the UT. The data may comprise information that distinguishes the UT from other UTs of that type, as well as identifying an operator that provides mobile service to the UT. A second medium 1704 may employ data to obtain the access capabilities of the UT. The benefits can be obtained from a femto database if the UT is identified with a UT with femto benefits. Alternatively, or in addition, the benefits can be obtained from an operator's HLR maintained in the operator's core network. In other aspects of this disclosure, the benefits may be obtained with the data concerning the UT, or derived directly or indirectly from such data (for example, when the data or a key calculated from such data produces the benefits). The system 1700 may further comprise a third means 1706 for generating a custom SDL. The custom SDL may list mobile network access points that can be employed by the UT based, at least in part, on the capabilities of the UT. In some aspects, network access points can be filtered as a function of a current GEO in which the UT is located. In addition, access points can be given a particular order of priority or preference, facilitating selective access to one or more of such access points and / or acquisition thereof. Thus, for example, when the UT is a device with femto capabilities, priority can be given to the femto access points or to a proprietary access point associated with the UT. When the UT does not have femto capabilities, priority can be given to other access points, such as GA macro access points.

System 1800 may comprise first means 1802 for submitting a registration request to a mobile network access point, wherein the registration request comprises an ID of the requesting device. In addition, the system 1800 may comprise a second means 1800 for obtaining a personalized SDL based, at least in part, on the requesting device ID. For example, the SDL may identify and give high priority to a particular access point associated with the requesting device. In addition to the above, the system 1800 may comprise a third means 1806 for employing the custom SDL to search for and / or acquire an access point identified in the SDL. Such means 1806 may employ an access point preference specified in the SDL when searching. Thus, cells having a higher preference can be selected over other cells. When a preferred cell cannot be identified by media 1806, media 1806 may select a less preferred or non-preferred cell for network access. In such a case, however, the means may periodically restart the search to identify the preferred access point. If the preferred access point is identified, the 1800 system can connect to that access point and request the same mobile services. Additionally, when the preferred access point is identified, means 1806 can lower a threshold below which the system 1800 will search for other cells in place of the preferred access point, to increase the probability that the system 1800 will remain coupled with the point. preferential access.

Figures 19 and 20 depict block diagrams of exemplary systems 1900, 2000 facilitating and utilizing, respectively, centralized management of access points of a mobile network, as described herein. For example, systems 1900, 2000 may reside, at least partially, within a wireless communications network and / or within a transmitter, such as a node, a base station, an access point, a user terminal, a personal computer coupled with a mobile interface card or the like. It is to be appreciated that systems 1900, 2000 are represented as including functional blocks, which may be functional blocks representing functions implemented by a processor, software, or a combination thereof (eg, physical logic).

System 1900 comprises a first means 1902 for initiating a boot mode based on boot parameters. Such parameters may specify a frequency channel for wireless communications associated with the boot mode, a boot ID to identify the 1900 system, as well as a transmit power for wireless communications during the transmit mode. In addition, the system 1900 may include a second means 1904 to obtain the access capabilities of the UT by means of wireless data exchange. In addition, the system 1900 may comprise a third means 1906 for generating a customized SDL based on the access performance. The custom SDL can indicate a preference for one or more types of access points based on the capabilities of the UT. In some aspects, a home access point associated with the UT may be identified and listed as a highest priority access point in the SDL to facilitate an increased probability of searching for and acquiring the home access point. According to particular aspects, the

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SDL can also blacklist access points that are determined to be within close proximity of the preferred access point based on the relative signal strength of such close access points. Consequently, SDL can facilitate the reduced probability that the UT will bypass the preferred access point in favor of other such access points.

System 2000 comprises a first means 2002 to obtain a bootable SDL. Boot SDL can be obtained, for example, by OTA provisioning from components of a mobile network. In addition, the system 2000 may comprise a second means 2004 for coupling to a cell via a boot channel specified in the boot SDL. In addition, a system, node and / or cell ID of the cell can be extracted from the boot SDL to facilitate the identification of such a cell. In addition, the system 2000 may comprise a third means 2006 for obtaining and employing a customized SDL in the selection of access points of a mobile network. Custom SDL can indicate typical radio frequency channels used by access points to facilitate search and access. Furthermore, the customized sDl can identify such cells by a cell ID or similar identifier. Therefore, the system 2000 may terminate communication with the cell and initiate the search for a specified cell in the custom SDL and attempt to obtain mobile services from that specified cell. Optionally, the custom SDL can be based on one or more surrounding GEOs in which the System 2000 resides. As System 2000 moves from one GEO to another, the SDL can be referenced to determine which cells should be used to access the network. When specified cells cannot be identified, general purpose cells, such as network macro cells, can be used instead. In such a case, the system 2000 can continue to search for SDL specified cells while coupled to the network via general purpose cells.

What has been described above includes examples of aspects of the claimed subject matter. Of course, it is not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for the purpose of describing the claimed subject matter, but a person of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many additional combinations and permutations of the disclosed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter is intended to encompass all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes", "has" or "having" are used either in the detailed description or in the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "that comprises "as" comprising "is interpreted when used as a transition formula in a claim.