Methods and apparatus to present network capabilities available via wireless networks

Method and device for providing available network capability via wireless network

The present invention generally relates to network communication, and more specifically relates to a method and apparatus for providing available network capabilities via a wireless network.

Wireless network deployments (such as wireless local area networks (WLAN)) allow wireless terminals to access networks and Internet services when they are in the vicinity of the wireless communication signals of their wireless networks. Different WLANs provide different network capabilities for wireless clients. These network capabilities may include access to a specific subscription service provider (SSP) network, roaming protocols to allow connections from wireless clients associated with different SSPs, and authentication capabilities to achieve secure communication , Support for emergency services, support for specific types of multimedia access (for example, audio and/or video streaming, downloading, etc.) and/or support for other types of network services. If a wireless client connection does not provide a WLAN that is a specific network capability, the wireless client cannot use this capability when it is associated with that WLAN.

Although exemplary methods and devices including software and other components running on hardware are disclosed below, it should be noted that these methods and devices are only illustrative and should not be regarded as limiting. For example, it is expected that any one or all of these hardware and software components can be uniquely implemented in hardware, uniquely implemented in software, uniquely implemented in firmware, or a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. In any combination. Accordingly, although exemplary methods and devices are described below, those skilled in the art will easily understand that the provided examples are not the only way to implement these methods and devices.

Wireless terminals can use the exemplary methods and devices described herein to discover and provide available network capabilities via wireless networks. Network capabilities are also referred to as network services supported by wireless networks in this article. The exemplary methods and apparatus described herein can be used in conjunction with mobile communication devices, mobile computing devices, or any other device capable of wirelessly communicating with a wireless network. These devices (also known as terminals, wireless terminals, or user equipment (UE)) may include mobile smart phones with wireless adapters (for example, a BlackBerry<img file="TW201216742A_D0001.tif" />Smart phone), wireless personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop/notebook/mini-notebook computer, etc. In this article, the combination is called IEEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0002.tif" />(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering) The 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) communication standard (which defines network connection with external networks and other things) describes these exemplary methods and devices. However, these exemplary methods and devices may additionally or or be combined with other wireless communication standards (including other WLAN standards (e.g., any IEEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0003.tif" /> 802.1x standard), personal area network (PAN) standard, wide area network (WAN) standard or cellular communication standard) implementation.

Although the exemplary methods and devices described herein can be implemented in any environment that provides WLAN access for network connection, the exemplary methods and devices can be advantageously implemented in a WLAN access location or environment, where It is expected that one or more users carrying respective wireless terminals will frequently connect to (or connect to) a WLAN and disconnect from the WLAN when they enter and leave the WLAN access locations or environments. A WLAN location or environment is sometimes called a "hot spot" to refer to a location or environment within the communication range of the WLAN signal. Such example WLAN locations or environments include coffee shops, retail stores, educational facilities, office environments, airports, public transportation stations and vehicles, hotels, etc. These WLANs are usually implemented as access networks, which provide access to the Internet and can be associated with or associated with external networks owned and/or operated by subscription-based service providers (or networks supported by WLANs). Support access to it. For example, an external network may be owned and/or operated by an Internet access service provider or a telecommunications carrier/service provider, which provides for a fee (for example, a monthly fee) based on subscription Internet access. In this way, a user/user who subscribes to this service can use wireless network access and/or Internet storage based on this subscription when the user is in the communication vicinity of the WLAN with an appropriate wireless terminal. Take service. In some cases, different WLANs can provide access to different types of network capabilities. For example, some WLANs can provide access to a specific subscription service provider (SSP) network, while others do not. In addition, some WLANs can support roaming protocols to allow connections from wireless terminals associated with different SSPs. Moreover, some WLANs can provide connection authentication capabilities to achieve secure communication, can support specific emergency services, and/or can support specific types of multimedia access (for example, audio and/or video streaming). WLAN can additionally or support other types of network access capabilities.

Known techniques for discovering available network capabilities or network services via WLAN can be time consuming and can adversely affect the power consumption (and therefore battery metering) of mobile devices. In addition, when there is a lack of network capabilities required by a wireless terminal via a WLAN hotspot and/or a user of the wireless terminal expects, a known method for associating the wireless terminal with the WLAN hotspot The user experience of the technology or standard can be frustrating. For example, a known technique for associating a wireless terminal with a WLAN involves the wireless terminal passively or actively scanning to discover one or more WLANs. The wireless terminal then chooses to connect to a WLAN (for example, based on the advertised WLAN network capabilities, such as a service group identifier (SSID), an encryption mode (for example, wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected Access (WPA), etc.), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)) are connected in parallel to the selected WLAN. After connecting to the WLAN, known techniques can then be used to discover the available network capabilities via the WLAN. However, if the network capabilities required by the wireless terminal and/or desired by one of the users of the wireless terminal are not available, the WLAN association will be undesirable and will be used for the processing capabilities and processing capabilities associated with the WLAN. Time will have been consumed.

Different from known techniques for discovering network capabilities, the exemplary methods and devices described herein can be used to perform queries during a network discovery process of discovering available network capabilities via WLAN. In this way, a wireless terminal can obtain information about the network capabilities available through the WLAN to determine whether to continue a connection process to connect the wireless terminal with a WLAN based on the network capability information. According to the exemplary technique described in this article, the wireless terminal can use an access network query protocol (ANQP) to request network capability information from the WLAN. The ANQP supports information retrieval from an ad server that supports a general purpose advertising service (GAS). ANQP and GAS are in IEEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0004.tif" /> Defined in 802.11u. Additionally or alternatively, other query protocols (e.g., IEEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0005.tif" /> Registered Location Query Protocol (RLQP), Hot Spot Query Protocol (HSQP) and Online Sign-off Advertising Protocol (OSAP) as defined in the Wi-Fi Alliance) defined in 802.11af. An exemplary ANQP exchange involves querying another STA (e.g., a wireless terminal) of a requesting station (STA) (e.g., a WLAN access point (AP)) for information such as network capability information. The inquired STA or the receiving STA can respond to the received inquiry with the requested information. The inquired STA or the receiving STA can generate a response when proxying the query to a server in an external network (for example, an SSP network) or without proxying the query to an external network News. For example, an external network connected to a queried WLAN may have specific network capabilities that can be accessed via the WLAN and should be made known to a querying wireless terminal. Although this article describes example methods and devices in conjunction with ANQP and GAS, other query protocols and information exchange services can be used in addition or alternatively.

To facilitate the selection of a candidate for the associated WLAN, a wireless terminal can locally store one or more network capability profiles, each of which can define a set of different network capabilities. In this way, when the wireless terminal receives information indicating the network capabilities available via a WLAN, the wireless terminal can compare the network capabilities with the stored network capability profile. The wireless terminal can identify the network capability profile of the specified network capability or match the minimum network capability requirement of the WLAN when instructing the WLAN to be connected to a suitable candidate. If the wireless terminal finds that the WLAN is suitable for connection, the wireless terminal can continue to connect to the WLAN.

A wireless terminal can use a manual mode (for example, in response to a user selection of one of a plurality of available WLANs) or use an automatic mode to connect to a WLAN. In the illustrated example set forth herein, an automatic mode involves a wireless terminal selecting a WLAN candidate based on a filtering scheme. For example, a ranking level (for example, by a user, the wireless terminal, an SSP, etc.) can be assigned to a network capability profile stored in a wireless terminal, so that the wireless terminal can select the Among the network capability profiles, one of the highest ranked network capability profiles that meets at least the minimum amount of network capability matches. In some exemplary implementations, the automatic mode of connecting to a WLAN can be advantageously used in combination with a wireless terminal that does not provide a display or a user input interface that allows the user to enter the WLAN selection. For example, an 802.11-based wireless Ethernet portable music player can provide a user interface to select streaming music stations, but the user interface is not sophisticated enough to reach other types of users Typed information (for example, WLAN selection). However, when this portable music player has stored therein a network capability profile that matches the minimum amount of network capability available via a WLAN hotspot, the method and device described in this article The portable music player can be connected to the WLAN hotspot.

In some exemplary implementations, the network capability discovery technology described herein can be used for network discovery instead of SSID-based network discovery. For example, a wireless terminal can use the network capability information received from the AP and its stored WLAN profile to determine when it is near a WLAN suitable for association, instead of using the SSID as the primary method for network discovery model.

Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown an example communication network 100 in which the example methods and devices described herein can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the exemplary communication network 100 includes a plurality of WLAN access locations 102a to 102c, and the WLAN access locations have individual access points that provide access to the respective access networks 106a to 106c. 104a to 104c. In the illustrated example, access network A 106a provides access to an external network A 108a and access network B 106b provides access to an external network B 108b. In the illustrated example, each of the external networks A 108a and B 108b may be a data reservation service provider, an Internet reservation service provider, a media (for example, audio/video) reservation service provider , The wireless communication subscription service provider or any combination thereof owns and/or operates a subscription service provider (SSP) network. In the illustrated example, external networks A 108a and B 108b are connected to the Internet 112 and can, for example, provide subscription-based Internet access to wireless terminals. In certain example implementations, roaming agreements between different SSPs can enable external networks A 108a and B 108b to support roaming connections for wireless terminals associated with other SSPs.

Unlike the access networks A 106a and B 106b that are not directly connected to the Internet 112, the access network C 110 is directly connected to the Internet. Therefore, the access network C 106c can be a public network, and the access networks A 106a and B 106b can be private networks.

Although not shown, each of the APs 104a to 104c and the wireless terminal 114 that communicates with the APs 104a to 104c has a (STA), which is connected to an interface or component of a wireless medium, Such as a network adapter or network interface card (NIC).

Each of the access networks 106a to 106c and the external networks 108a to 108b may be associated with and/or provide access to different network capabilities. Such network capabilities may include roaming relationships, network services, multimedia access services, supported authentication and/or security methods, emergency services, etc. These network capabilities can be determined by the respective owners or operators of the networks 106a to 106c, 108a, and 108b based on different factors (such as, for example, subscription plans, expected security levels, business goals, roaming agreements, emergency services supported, Supported multimedia access, available Internet access, etc.) selection. For example, if one of the SSPs associated with the external network A 108a only allows access by users served by the external network A 108a, the external network A 108a may advertise that it does not support roaming connections.

The exemplary methods and devices described herein may also enable the wireless terminal 114 to connect to different APs (for example, APs 104a to 104c) based on different network capability profiles stored in the wireless terminal 114. That is, when the wireless terminal 114 moves to a different one of the WLAN access locations 102a to 102c, even if the wireless terminal 114 has not encountered APs 104a to 104c before or because the wireless terminal 114 and the APs 104a to 104c When a previous connection between APs 104a to 104c has changed the network capabilities available through APs 104a to 104c, the wireless terminal 114 can also dynamically discover the available network capabilities at the WLAN access locations 102a to 102c and connect to AP 104a Any one of to 104c is suitable for AP.

As generally shown in conjunction with the WLAN access location 102a, the wireless terminal 114 can send a network capability request (NETCAP REQUEST) message 116 to the AP 104a and receive an indication that one or more networks are available via the access point 104a. A network capability response (NETCAP RESPONSE) message 118 of the network information 120 of the capability (access to the network A 106a and/or the network capability of the external network A 108a). After the wireless terminal 114 receives one of the SSIDs of the AP 104a or when the wireless terminal 114 does not need to have received the SSID, the wireless terminal 114 and the AP 104a can use the ANQP protocol to exchange the network capability request 116 and the network capability Response 118. In addition, it is not necessary to use operations at or above an Internet Protocol (IP) layer (i.e., a network layer) when discovering available network capabilities through the AP 104a or provide information about the IP layer in other ways. In the case of access, the network capability request 116 and the network capability response 118 can be exchanged at a media access control (MAC) sublayer of the conventional open system interconnection (OSI) reference model.

Compared with the implementation of processing procedures at the MAC sublayer, the discovery of network capabilities using messages exchanged at or above the network layer requires relatively more processing capabilities of a wireless terminal. Compared with fixed-location computing devices powered by alternating current (AC) power, mobile wireless terminals such as mobile smart phones, PDAs, etc. (for example, the wireless terminal 114 in FIG. 1) generally have relatively limited processor cycles and relatively long periods of time. Little electricity is available. The exemplary methods and devices described herein can be advantageously used to configure, design, or otherwise engineer mobile wireless terminals to operate more efficiently (ie, do more with less processor cycles) and therefore Reduce battery power usage. That is, the exemplary methods and devices described herein can be advantageously used to facilitate the design of mobile wireless terminals that consume relatively less power and operate relatively more efficiently. For example, compared with the user interface intensive and operating system (OS) intensive operations (for example, web scanner operations) at the application layer of the OSI reference model, the low-level resource operation requirements at the MAC sub-layer are relatively Less system resources.

Another example advantage of using the MAC sublayer to discover the available network capabilities through the AP is that a network capability discovery process can be based on storage in the wireless terminal 114 without user participation or with minimal user participation. The minimum requirement of the network capability profile is to determine whether an AP is used for associating a suitable candidate. For example, if the AP 104a advertises that it does not support roaming and the wireless terminal 114 will need to connect to the AP 104 under a roaming policy, the wireless terminal 114 can be configured to ignore the existence of the AP 104a because the wireless terminal 114 Network access via AP 104a will be denied. In some exemplary implementations, when the wireless terminal 114 will not be able to connect to the AP 104a without the minimum network capability required by the wireless terminal 114's network capability profile, the wireless terminal 114 It can be configured to not notify the user of the existence of AP 104a during a WLAN discovery process. These exemplary implementations substantially reduce or eliminate user frustration because the user will not need to be busy trying to connect to a specific AP when the wireless terminal 114 does not meet the minimum network capability requirements of the AP.

Although an SSID is used in conjunction with some of the example implementations set forth herein, or an AP may be configured to broadcast a homogeneous extended service group identifier (HESSID). A HESSID includes an SSID associated with a specific AP and a network identification corresponding to a supported external network (for example, an SSP network). For example, if the AP 104a of FIG. 1 is configured to broadcast a HESSID, it will include the SSID of the AP 104a and the network identification corresponding to the external network A 108a.

Other example advantages of the example techniques described in this article stem from the wireless terminal 114 discovering network capabilities every time it encounters an AP. In this way, the wireless terminal 114 does not need to be pre-programmed to know the network capabilities available through different APs. In addition, the network capabilities of different networks (for example, access networks 106a to 106c, 108a and 108b) can be changed at any time, because the wireless terminal can discover (or rediscover) these networks each time Rediscover the changed network capabilities at the time.

FIG. 2 shows a part of the example communication network 100 of FIG. 1 in which the wireless terminal 104 can discover the accessible example network capabilities through the AP 104a. Although not shown, the wireless terminal 104 can discover the available network capabilities via APs 104b and 104c or any other AP using similar or the same technology as described in conjunction with FIG. 2. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the external network A 108a includes an external network capability data storage 202 to store the network capabilities 206a to 206f of the external network A 108a. In the illustrated example, the network capabilities 206a to 206f include one or more roaming policies 206a, network service capabilities 206b, emergency service support 206c, subscription service provider (SSP) identifier 206d, and multimedia access type 206e And authentication method 206f.

In the illustrated example, the one or more roaming policies 206a may be based on the agreement between the SSP(s) of the external network A 108a and one or more other SSPs to allow the wireless terminal to be in a roaming mode It is connected to the access network 106a and to the external network A 108a. The network service 206b can identify one or more network services (for example, Internet connectivity, media streaming, security protocol, no Payment etc.). The emergency service 206c may indicate the type of emergency service supported or provided by the external network A 108a. The SSP ID 206d identifies one or more SSPs that support or provide services via the external network A 108a. A wireless terminal associated with a service subscription via an SSP supporting or providing services via the external network A 108a can be connected to the access network A 106a to access the external network A 108a without requiring a roaming agreement . The multimedia access type 206e indicates the type of multimedia (for example, video, audio, IP TV, etc.) that can be accessed via the external network A 108a. The authentication method 206f may include external network A 108a supports the identifier of one or more authentication methods. An exemplary authentication method is an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) method. Known EAP methods include EAP-WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider), EAP-MD5, EAP-OTP, EAP-GTC, EAP-TLS, EAP-IKEv2, EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA, EAP-FAST, EAP-TTLS and PEAP. Each EAP method can be identified using a corresponding integer format value assigned by an industry standard resource coordinator, such as the Internet Assigned Numbering Agency (IANA) (http://www.iana.org). Other EAP methods can also include vendor-specific methods.

In the illustrated example, the access network A 106a has an access network capability data storage 208 to store the network capabilities of the access network A 106a. Although not shown, the access capabilities stored in the access network capability data storage 208 may be of the same type as the network capabilities 206a to 206f stored in the external network capability data storage 202 or may have any other suitable Type of network capabilities.

In the illustrated example, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) structure can be used to organize the network capabilities 206a to 206f and the network capabilities stored in the access network capabilities data storage 208. In this way, the AP 104a and the wireless terminal 114 can exchange registration requirements and registration information using XML format. Alternatively, the network capabilities 206a to 206f and the network capabilities stored in the access network capability data storage 208 can be organized into several sets of enumerated types, and the AP 104a and the wireless terminal 114 can use a type length value (TLV) Structure format to exchange registration requirements and registration information. For example, the AP 104a can encapsulate one of the network capabilities in the TLV type structure for delivery to the wireless terminal 114 (for example, respond 118 via the network capabilities).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 stores a network capability profile 210 each of which can define a set of different network capabilities. The wireless terminal 114 can use the network capability profile 210 to identify suitable WLAN candidates to which the wireless terminal 114 can be connected. In certain example implementations, a separate ranking may be assigned to each of the network capability profiles 210 so that a WLAN (eg, access network A 106a) has more than one network capability settings When the network capability required by one of the minimum capabilities of the file 210 is selected, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a ranking process. The following describes an exemplary implementation of the network capability profile 210 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capability profile 210 during a network discovery process to determine whether any AP in the wireless communication vicinity of one of the wireless terminals 114 is used for association It is suitable for candidates. As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 can receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (eg, Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a. Although not shown, the wireless terminal 114 can also simultaneously receive other SSID and encryption mode status from other nearby APs. In some exemplary implementations, AP 104a may also assign a GAS support indicator 216 (usually an IEEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0006.tif" /> The beacon or detection response of the 802.11 WLAN is implemented as a network connection component) and is transmitted to the wireless terminal 114, as shown in FIG. 2. The GAS support indicator 216 indicates that the access network A 106a supports GAS. The wireless terminal 114 can use this information to communicate with the AP 104a using the protocol (for example, ANQP message) transmitted on the GAS. If a WLAN does not support GAS, it will not transmit the GAS support indicator 216.

In some example implementations, after receiving the SSID 212 and the encryption mode status 214 (if applicable, and the GAS support indicator 216), the wireless terminal 114 sends a network capability request 116 to the AP 104a to request access via Network capabilities available to Network A 106a. In the illustrated example, network capabilities can be provided by access network A 106a and/or external network A 108a. If the external network A 108a provides certain network capabilities, the access network A 106a can send an external network capability request (EXT-NETCAP REQUEST) 218 in response to receiving the network capability request 116 from the wireless terminal 114 Relay, forward, or otherwise send to the external network A 108a. In response to the external network capability request 218, the external network A 108a sends its network capabilities (for example, one or more of the network capabilities 206a to 206f) to the access network A via an external network capability response 220 106a.

The access network A 106a forms a network capability response 118 to include the network capabilities of the external network A 108a and any network capabilities provided by the access network A 106a. The AP 104a then sends a network capability response 118 to the wireless terminal 114 to inform the wireless terminal 114 of the network capabilities available through the access network A 106a. The wireless terminal 114 can then compare the received network capabilities with the network capabilities indicated in each of the network capabilities profile 210 to indicate that the access network A 106a is used for the association. Any one of the candidate's network capability profile 210 determines whether the minimum network capability requirement is met.

Now turning to FIG. 3, the wireless terminal 114 caches and/or stores an example network capability of a network capability profile (for example, the network capability profile 210 of FIG. 2) that has a different set of network capabilities specified Configuration file data structure 302. In the illustrated example, the wireless terminal 114 also caches discovered networks received from one or more wireless networks (for example, wireless networks associated with APs 104a to 104c) during a wireless network scan. Road capacity 304. In an exemplary implementation, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capability profile data structure 302 and the discovered network capability 304 to base the network capability of the discovered wireless network (for example, the discovered network capability 304 ) And it is desired to select the wireless network to be connected with the use of the network capability used by the wireless terminal 114 (for example, one or more network capabilities specified in the network capability profile data structure 302). In some exemplary implementations, two or more wireless network advertisements equally expect to use the network capabilities of the wireless terminal 114 (for example, based on the network capabilities specified in the network capability profile data structure 302). When capability), the wireless terminal 114 can also use the cached or stored SSID priority list 306 that indicates a priority order of one or more SSIDs to select a wireless network to be connected.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, each network capability profile in the network capability profile data structure 302 is assigned a unique profile ID 308 and includes a rank 310, a minimum capability 312, and an additional capability 314. Turning to the discovered network capabilities 304, during the wireless network scan performed by the wireless terminal 114 to discover available WLANs (for example, the access networks 106a to 106c in FIG. 1) in its vicinity, the wireless terminal 114 Cache the found SSID 316. For each discovered SSID 316, the wireless terminal 114 sends an ANQP query to each discovered WLAN, requesting the network capabilities of their networks. The wireless terminal 114 then caches the received network capabilities 318, as shown in FIG. 3. In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the cached network capability 318 is shown as &lt;X&gt;, &lt;Y&gt;, and &lt;M&gt; for each individual WLAN. Each tag &lt;X&gt;, &lt;Y&gt;, and &lt;M&gt; represents a list of one or more network capabilities or services available through the respective WLAN.

Return to refer to the network capability profile data structure 302. The minimum capability 312 is marked as &lt;X&gt;, &lt;Y&gt;, &lt;M&gt;, &lt;N&gt;, and &lt;O&gt;, each of which indicates that it must go through a WLAN (for example, Figure 1 And the access network 106a of FIG. 2 can obtain one or more network capabilities (for each profile) to regard that WLAN as a suitable candidate for the wireless terminal 114 to be connected. For example, if the available network capabilities discovered through access network A 106a (for example, the network capabilities cached in the discovered network capabilities 304 &lt;Y&gt;) do not meet the minimum network of profile ID 0001 Ability, based on profile ID 0001, access network A 106a will not be regarded as a suitable candidate. However, if the same discovered network capability (for example, network capability &lt;Y&gt;) of accessing network A 106a does meet the minimum network capability of profile ID 0002, then access to network A is based on profile ID 0002 106a will be regarded as a suitable candidate. Therefore, the network capability of a WLAN needs to satisfy at least the minimum network capability of a network capability profile for the other WLAN in order to be regarded as a suitable candidate for connection by the wireless terminal 114.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the additional capabilities 314 designate network capabilities that do not regard a WLAN as a network capability profile necessary for a suitable association candidate. However, the network capabilities specified in the additional capabilities 314 will be the additional desired network capabilities. In some example embodiments, the additional capability 314 may be used to select one of the WLANs that the wireless terminal 114 should associate with when multiple WLANs have been identified as suitable candidates for association. For example, the wireless terminal 114 can discover the access network A 106a and the access network B 106b in FIG. 1 during the same network scan, and the access network A 106a can meet the minimum network of profile ID 0001 Capacity requirements, while accessing network B 106b can meet the minimum network capacity requirements of profile ID 0002. In this example, if compared with the number or percentage of matches between the network capabilities accessible via access network B 106b and the additional capabilities 314 for profile ID 0002, via access network A 106a The accessible network capability matches the network capability specified in the additional capability 314 for profile ID 0001, and the user of the wireless terminal 114 or the wireless terminal 114 can choose to connect to the access network A 106a .

In some example implementations, the WLAN may be selected for association based on the ranking of the network capability profile. In the illustrated example, a ranking value 310 is assigned to the network capability profile to indicate the order of preference when selecting a WLAN from more than one suitable association candidate. The ranking value 310 can be specified by the wireless terminal 114 or by an SSP based on rules or criteria regarding a better wireless connection. Alternatively, the ranking value 310 can be specified by a user of the wireless terminal 114 based on the user's wireless connection preferences. During a network discovery process, when the wireless terminal 114 discovers that more than one WLAN (for example, access networks A 106a, B 106b, and C 106c) is a suitable candidate for association, the wireless terminal 114 may be assigned to The ranking value 310 of the counterparts in the network capability profile matching their WLANs is the ranking of each of the WLANs. For example, if the network capability available through access network A 106a is aligned with the minimum capability 312 of profile ID 0003 and the network capability of access network B 106b is aligned with the minimum capability 312 of profile ID 0005 If yes, both access networks A 106a and B 106b are suitable association candidates, but the wireless terminal 114 chooses to access network A 106a because the network capability of access network A 106a is satisfied The network capability profile (profile ID 0003) has a higher capability ranking.

In the illustrated example, when more than one discovered WLAN reaches the same ranking in the ranking 310, the wireless terminal 114 can use the priority of the SSID listed in the SSID priority table 306 to break a "tie". That is, if two WLANs with different SSIDs meet the minimum capability 312 of the same network capability profile, the wireless terminal 114 can select the WLAN with the highest priority SSID according to the SSID priority list 306.

Turning now to FIG. 4, another example network capability profile data structure 400 is shown, in which an example minimum network capability or service is shown for each network capability profile. In addition, Figure 4 shows that the network capability profile can be defined independently of the network SSID. That is, unlike the traditional network discovery technology that relies on the SSID of a network to determine whether to connect to another network, the wireless terminal 114 can instead rely on the network capabilities of the WLAN other than the SSID of a WLAN to determine the WLAN Whether the line will connect one of the suitable candidates.

The network capability profile data structure 400 can be cached or stored in the wireless terminal 114. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the network capability profile data structure 400 stores a plurality of network capability profiles specifying different sets of network capabilities (for example, the network capability profile 210 in FIG. 2). Each network capability profile has a profile ID 402 and a designated identification WLAN (for example, any one of the access networks 106a to 106c in FIG. 1) can be used for the required network associated with the wireless terminal 114 The minimum capacity of road capacity 404. For example, a network capability profile with profile ID 0001 only requires a WLAN to have a network access identifier (NAI) that is regarded as a suitable association candidate for the wireless terminal 114.<i>MYPROVIDER.COM</i>". In this example, "<i>MYPROVIDER.COM</i>"It can be the NAI of the SSP that provides a subscription service for the wireless terminal 114.

In the illustrated example, each of the network capability profiles is associated with a wildcard (*) in the form of an SSID 406. The SSID wildcard (*) indicates that the SSID of a WLAN can be any symbol. That is, regardless of a specific SSID, if the network capability available via a WLAN meets the network capability specified in the minimum capability 404 for any of the network capability profile data structure 400 , The wireless terminal 114 can detect that the WLAN system is available for association.

In some exemplary implementations, the network capability profile data structure 400 may also have a ranking value (such as the ranking value 310 in FIG. 3) and additional capabilities (such as the additional capability 314 in FIG. 3).

Although not shown, the minimum capability 404 of FIG. 4 (and/or the minimum capability 312 of FIG. 3) can specify a certificate for a specific network service. For example, a roaming certificate can be specified in a network capability profile, indicating that a roaming network service of a wireless network for that specific profile must support a network to one of the SSPs indicated by the roaming certificate. Roaming access for roaming on the road. In these exemplary implementations, if a network capability profile designates a roaming certificate as a minimum capability, the wireless terminal 114 must confirm that a WLAN supports an SSP specified by the roaming certificate of that profile. Roaming access. In addition, if the roaming access corresponding to the roaming certificate is not supported by a specific WLAN, the wireless terminal 114 will not regard that WLAN as a suitable candidate for connection.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an example illustrated by one of the wireless terminal 114 of FIGS. 1 to 4 is shown in block diagram form. In the illustrated example, the wireless terminal 114 includes a processor 502 that can be used to control the overall operation of the wireless terminal 114. The processor 502 may be implemented using a controller, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, dedicated hardware, or any combination thereof.

The wireless terminal 114 also includes a terminal message generator 504 and a terminal data parser 506. The terminal message generator 504 can be used to generate network capability discovery messages (such as the network capability request 116 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). The terminal data parser 506 can be used to retrieve information from a memory (for example, a RAM 510, a cache, etc.). For example, the terminal data parser 506 can retrieve SSID (for example, SSID 112 in FIG. 2), encryption mode status (for example, encryption mode status 214 in FIG. 2), and GAS support indicator (for example, GAS in FIG. 2). The support indicator 216) and the network capabilities cached in the wireless terminal 114 after being received from a WLAN (for example, the access networks 106a to 106c of FIG. 1).

Although the terminal message generator 504 and the terminal data parser 506 are shown in FIG. 5 as being separated from the processor 502 and connected to the processor 502, in some example implementations, the terminal message generator 504 and The terminal data parser 506 may be implemented in the processor 502 and/or in a wireless communication subsystem (for example, a wireless communication subsystem 518). The terminal message generator 504 and the terminal data parser 506 can be implemented using any desired combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software. For example, one or more integrated circuits, discrete semiconductor components, and/or passive electronic components may be used. Therefore, for example, one or more circuits, programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), field programmable logic devices (FPLD), etc. can be used to implement the terminal Machine message generator 504 and terminal machine data parser 506 or parts thereof. Terminal message generation can be implemented using instructions, codes, and/or other software and/or firmware that are stored on a machine-accessible medium and can be executed by, for example, a processor (for example, the exemplary processor 502) 504 and terminal data parser 506 or parts thereof. When reading any one of the attached patents to cover a complete software implementation, at least one of the terminal message generator 504 or the terminal data parser 506 is thus clearly defined as including a tangible medium, Such as a solid state memory, a magnetic memory, a DVD, a CD, etc. As used herein, the term tangible computer-readable medium is clearly defined as including any type of computer-readable storage and excluding propagated signals. Additionally or alternatively, at least one of the terminal message generator 504 or the terminal data parser 506 is thereby clearly defined as including a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a cache or information stored therein for any duration (for example, for extended periods of time, permanently, short-term instances, temporary buffers for information, and / Or cache) any other storage media. As used herein, the term non-transitory computer-readable media is clearly defined as including any type of computer-readable media and excluding propagated signals.

The exemplary wireless terminal 114 shown in FIG. 5 also includes a flash memory 508 that is communicatively coupled to the processor 502, a random access memory (RAM) 510, and an expandable memory interface 512. The flash memory 508 can be used, for example, to store computer-readable instructions and/or data. In certain example implementations, the flash memory 508 can be used to store one or more of the data structures discussed above in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4. The RAM 510 can also be used, for example, to store data and/or instructions.

The wireless terminal 114 has a secure hardware interface 514 to receive a SIM card (or a USIM card or an NFC secure element) from a wireless service provider. A SIM card can be used as an authentication parameter to authenticate the wireless terminal 114 used to establish a connection with one of the WLAN support networks. In some exemplary implementations, a SIM card can also store registration information required for registration in an external network. The wireless terminal 114 also has an external data I/O interface 516. A user can use the external data I/O interface 516 to transmit information to the wireless terminal 114 via a wired medium.

The wireless terminal 114 has a wireless communication subsystem 518 to realize wireless communication with APs (for example, APs 104a to 104c in FIG. 1). Although not shown, the wireless terminal 114 may also have a remote communication subsystem to receive messages from a cellular wireless network and send messages to the cellular wireless network. In the illustrated example set forth herein, the wireless communication subsystem 518 may be based on IEEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0007.tif" /> 802.11 standard configuration. In other exemplary embodiments, a BLUETOOTH can be used<img file="TW201216742A_D0008.tif" />Radio, one ZIGBEE<img file="TW201216742A_D0009.tif" />A device, a wireless USB device, an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio, a near field communication (NFC) device, or a radio frequency identification (RFID) device to implement the wireless communication subsystem 518.

To enable a user to use the wireless terminal 114 and interact with the wireless terminal 114 or interact via the wireless terminal 114, the wireless terminal 114 has a speaker 520, a microphone 522, a display 524, and a user input interface 526. The display 524 can be an LCD display, an electronic paper display, or the like. The user input interface 526 can be an arithmetic keyboard and/or a telephone-type keypad, a multi-directional actuator or scroll wheel with dynamic button pressing capability, a touch panel, and the like. As discussed above, the exemplary methods and devices described herein can also be advantageously used in conjunction with wireless terminals that do not have a user interface, and therefore the speaker 520, microphone 522, display 524, user input interface 526, and / Or any combination thereof. In the illustrated example, the wireless terminal 114 is a battery-powered device and therefore has a battery 528 and a battery interface 530.

Turning now to FIG. 6, the exemplary AP 104a of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown in block diagram form. A substantially similar or identical configuration can be used to implement AP 104b and 104c of FIG. 1. The exemplary AP 104a includes a processor 602 to perform the overall operations of the AP 104a. In addition, AP 104a includes an AP message generator 604 to generate TLV or XML-formatted messages or any other format types of messages (for example, network capability response 118 in FIG. 1 and external network capability request 218 in FIG. 2 and/ Or the message used to send the SSID 212, the encryption mode status 214, and the GAS support indicator 216 in FIG. 2). The AP 104a also includes an AP data parser 606 to extract information from received messages sent by the wireless terminal 114 and/or the external network A 108a (FIGS. 1 and 2). The AP message generator 604 is substantially similar to the terminal message generator 504 of FIG. 5, and the AP data parser 606 is substantially similar to the terminal data parser 506 of FIG. 5. Therefore, any combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software containing instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable medium and/or a non-transitory computer-readable medium can be used in the processor 602 and/or a wireless The AP message generator 604 and the AP data parser 606 are implemented in the communication subsystem (for example, a wireless communication subsystem 612).

The example AP 104a also includes a flash memory 608 and a RAM 610, both of which are coupled to the processor 602. The flash memory 608 can be configured to store network capability information (for example, the access network capability data storage 208 of FIG. 2). The RAM 610 can be used to generate messages for transmission to the wireless terminal 114 and/or to the external network A 108a and/or to store received messages transmitted by the wireless terminal 114 and/or the external network A 108a.

In order to communicate with a wireless terminal (such as the wireless terminal 114), the AP 104a is provided with a wireless communication subsystem 518 (FIG. 5) that may be substantially similar to the wireless terminal 114 or a wireless communication subsystem 612 that is the same. To communicate with a WLAN supporting network or external networks (for example, networks 106a to 106c, 108a, and 108b in FIG. 1), the AP 104a has a network uplink communication interface 614.

Figures 7A to 7C show that the wireless terminal 114 of Figures 1 to 5 can be implemented to discover available network capabilities via one or more WLANs (for example, the access networks 106a to 106c of Figures 1 and 2) A flowchart of an example processing procedure. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another exemplary processing procedure that can be implemented by the wireless terminal 114 of FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 to discover network capabilities via one or more WLANs. FIG. 9 shows that an AP (for example, the AP of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) can be used One or more of 104a to 104c) is a flowchart of an exemplary processing procedure implemented to send network capability information to the wireless terminal 114. The exemplary processing procedures of FIGS. 7A to 7C, FIGS. 8 and 9 can be executed by a processor, a controller, and/or any other suitable processing device. For example, the exemplary processing procedures of FIGS. 7A to 7C, FIGS. 8 and 9 can be stored in a tangible computer-readable medium (such as a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM) and/or a Coded instructions (for example, computer-readable instructions) on random access memory (RAM) are implemented. As used herein, the term tangible computer-readable medium is clearly defined as containing any type of computer-readable storage and excluding propagated signals. Additionally or alternatively, the exemplary processing procedures of FIGS. 7A to 7C, 8 and 9 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (such as a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random access memory (RAM), a cache, or information stored therein for any duration (for example, for extended periods of time, permanently, short-term instances, temporary buffering and/or caching of information) It is implemented by coded instructions (for example, computer-readable instructions) on any other storage medium. As used herein, the term non-transitory computer-readable media is clearly defined as including any type of computer-readable media and excluding propagated signals.

Alternatively, some or all of the exemplary processing procedures in FIGS. 7A to 7C, 8 and 9 may use dedicated integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), and field programmable logic devices ( Any (one or more) combination of FPLD), discrete logic, hardware, firmware, etc. is implemented. Moreover, some or all of the exemplary processing procedures of FIGS. 7A to 7C, FIGS. 8 and 9 may be manually or according to any (one or more) combination of any of the foregoing techniques (for example, firmware , Software, discrete logic and/or any combination of hardware). In addition, although the exemplary processing procedures of FIGS. 7A to 7C, 8 and 9 are described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7A to 7C, 8 and 9, the implementation of FIGS. 7A to 7C, 8 and Figure 9 shows other methods of processing procedures. For example, the execution order of the blocks can be changed, and/or some of the blocks described can be changed, eliminated, subdivided, or combined. In addition, any of the exemplary processing procedures of FIGS. 7A to 7C, 8 and 9 can be executed sequentially and/or in parallel by, for example, processing threads, processors, devices, discrete logic, circuits, etc. individually. One or all.

Turning now to FIG. 7A, during a network discovery process, the illustrated example processing procedure may be executed by the wireless terminal 114. First, the wireless terminal 114 performs a wireless network scan (block 702). For example, if applicable, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a passive network scan in which it waits for one or more access points (for example, one or more of AP 104a to 104c in FIG. 1) to broadcast its SSID (For example, SSID 212 in FIG. 2) and encryption mode status (for example, encryption mode status 214 in FIG. 2). Alternatively, the wireless terminal 114 may perform an active scan, in which the wireless terminal 114 transmits a detection request to actively request the SSID (and encryption mode status and GAS support indicator) of any nearby WLAN.

The wireless terminal 114 determines whether any of its stored SSIDs matches any of the SSIDs received at block 702 (block 704). The stored SSID may be pre-stored by a user or an SSP, or may have been previously stored by the wireless terminal 114 when received during a previous network discovery process. In some exemplary implementations, the wireless network scanning operations of blocks 702 and 704 may be omitted and the wireless terminal 114 may be based on one of its memories (for example, the flash memory 508 in FIG. 5). Or the SSID in RAM 510) proceeds to block 706.

For the WLAN identified as having an SSID matching the SSID stored in the wireless terminal 114, the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN supporting GAS (block 706). For example, during the wireless network scan in block 702, the wireless terminal 114 may receive a GAS support indicator indicating which WLANs support GAS (for example, the GAS support indicator 216 in FIG. 2).

The wireless terminal 114 uses an ANQP exchange to retrieve network capabilities for each WLAN selected at block 706 (block 710). For example, for the WLAN associated with the AP 104a of FIGS. 1 and 2, the wireless terminal 114 sends a network capability request 116 to the AP 104a, and the AP 104a responds with a network capability response 118, as described above in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2 Discussed in Figure 2. The wireless terminal 114 exchanges similar messages with any other WLAN selected at block 706.

The wireless terminal 114 determines whether any of the WLANs has been advertised to exactly match a single network capability profile (for example, the network capability profile 210 of FIG. 2 and/or the network of FIG. 3 and/or FIG. 4 All network capabilities specified in the capability profile (for example, the minimum capability 312 and the additional capability 314 in FIG. 3) (block 712). If the wireless terminal 114 finds a perfect match (block 712), the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN that has been advertised to match the network capability of the network capability profile with the highest ranking relative to other matching profiles (block 714). In certain example implementations, the wireless terminal 114 may be configured to select a WLAN based on the network capability profile with the relatively highest ranking and closest proximity.

If at block 712, the wireless terminal 114 does not find any perfect match, the wireless terminal 114 determines whether any of the WLANs has been advertised to partially match a single network profile (for example, the network of FIG. 2 The network capability (block 716) of the network capability specified in the capability profile 210 and/or the network capability profile 302 of FIG. 3 and/or the network capability 400 of FIG. 4 (FIG. 7B). If the wireless terminal 114 finds a partial match (block 716), the wireless terminal 114 selects at least all of the minimum capabilities that have been advertised to match one or more network capability profiles (for example, minimum capability 312 in FIG. 3 or 404 in FIG. 4) ) The WLAN (block 718) of the network capability. If the wireless terminal 114 selects any WLAN at block 720, the wireless terminal 114 then selects the WLAN that has been advertised matching the network capability with the smallest capability 312 of one of the highest ranked network capability profiles (block 722). In certain example implementations, the wireless terminal 114 may be configured to select a WLAN based on the network capability profile with the highest ranking and closest proximity.

If the wireless terminal 114 does not select any WLAN at block 720 or if the wireless terminal 114 does not find any partial match at block 716, the wireless terminal 114 will provide the available WLAN found at block 702 to a user (Block 724). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 726) or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 722 or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 714 (FIG. 7A), then wireless The terminal 114 connects with the selected WLAN (block 728). In some exemplary implementations, after connecting to the selected WLAN (block 728), the wireless terminal 114 may also be registered at an external network (for example, the external network A 108a in FIGS. 1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 7B, after connecting to the WLAN (block 728) or if the wireless terminal 114 does not receive a user selection of a WLAN at block 726 (for example, within a timeout period), then FIGS. 7A to 7 The example processing procedure of 7C ends.

Returning to FIG. 7A, if at block 704, the wireless terminal 114 does not find that any of its stored SSIDs matches any of the SSIDs received at block 702, then control proceeds to that shown in FIG. 7C Box 730. The wireless terminal 114 provides the available WLAN found at block 702 via a display of the wireless terminal 114 (block 730). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection that the user is willing to try to connect to one or more WLANs (block 732), the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN that supports GAS (block 734). For example, the wireless terminal 114 may determine which WLANs support GAS based on which WLANs have transmitted the GAS support indicator 216 (FIG. 2) (for example, based on the GAS support indicator received at block 702).

The wireless terminal 114 uses an ANQP exchange to retrieve network capabilities for each WLAN selected at block 734 (block 736). For example, for the WLAN associated with the AP 104a of FIGS. 1 and 2, the wireless terminal 114 sends a network capability request 116 to the AP 104a, and the AP 104a responds with a network capability response 118, as described above in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2 Discussed in Figure 2. The wireless terminal 114 exchanges similar messages with any other WLAN selected at block 736.

The wireless terminal 114 provides the network capabilities captured at block 736 for each WLAN via a display of the wireless network 114 (block 738). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 740), the wireless terminal 114 connects to the selected WLAN (block 742). In some exemplary implementations, after connecting to the selected WLAN (block 742), the wireless terminal 114 may also be registered at an external network (for example, the external network A 108a of FIGS. 1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 7C, after association with the selected WLAN (block 742) or if the wireless terminal 114 does not receive one or more user selections of the WLAN at block 732 (for example, within a specific timeout period) ) Or a user selection is not received at block 740 (for example, within a specific timeout period), then the exemplary processing procedure of FIGS. 7A to 7C ends.

Turning now to FIG. 8, the flowchart illustrates another exemplary processing procedure that can be executed by the wireless terminal 114 of FIGS. 1 to 5 to discover available network capabilities via one or more WLANs. First, the wireless terminal 114 performs a wireless network scan (block 802). For example, if applicable, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a passive network scan in which it waits for one or more access points (for example, one or more of AP 104a to 104c in FIG. 1) to broadcast its SSID (For example, SSID 212 in FIG. 2) and encryption mode status (for example, encryption mode status 214 in FIG. 2). Alternatively, the wireless terminal 114 may perform an active scan, in which the wireless terminal 114 transmits a detection request to actively request the SSID (and encryption mode status and GAS support indicator) of any nearby WLAN.

If the wireless terminal 114 determines that one or more WLANs have been discovered (block 804), the wireless terminal 114 retrieves network services for each discovered WLAN (block 806). For example, the wireless terminal 114 may use an ANQP exchange to retrieve network services for each discovered WLAN that supports GAS (for example, the discovered network capability 304 of FIG. 3). The wireless terminal 114 filters the received network services (block 808). For example, the wireless terminal 114 can filter out any WLAN that does not meet the minimum network capabilities specified in the wireless terminal 114 (for example, the minimum capability 312 in FIG. 3 or the 404 in FIG. 4), and may be further based on the minimum network capability specified in the wireless terminal 114. A ranking associated with network capabilities (for example, ranking 310 in FIG. 3) is used to filter the remaining WLANs. In this way, the wireless terminal 114 can determine which of the WLANs are suitable candidates for connection.

The wireless terminal 114 provides network services via a display for each WLAN identified as a suitable candidate for connection (block 810). If the wireless terminal 114 determines that one or more of the services provided (for example, by a user of the wireless terminal 114) has been selected (block 812), the wireless terminal 114 links to provide one or more of the selected services WLAN (block 814).

At some time after connecting to the WLAN at block 814, the wireless terminal 114 can determine whether it should discover other available networks (block 816). For example, the network capability requirements of the wireless network terminal 114 may be changed or the wireless terminal 114 may become disconnected from the WLAN to which it is connected at block 814. In addition, in an example in which the wireless terminal 114 does not find a network at block 804 or does not select one or more services at block 812, the wireless terminal 114 can determine whether other available networks are found at block 816. road. If the wireless terminal 114 determines that it should find another network (block 816), then control returns to block 804. Otherwise, the example processing procedure of Fig. 8 ends.

Turning now to FIG. 9, during a network discovery process, the illustrated example process can be executed by the AP 104a. During a network discovery process, the exemplary process can be similarly executed by any other AP (for example, AP 104b and 104c in FIG. 1 or any other AP). First, AP 104a transmits its SSID (for example, SSID 212 in FIG. 2) and any encryption mode status (for example, encryption mode status 214 in FIG. 2) and a GAS support indicator (for example, GAS support indicator 216 in FIG. 2) (Block 902). The AP 104a may send this based on a periodic SSID broadcast for passive network discovery scans or based on an active network discovery scan initiated by a wireless terminal (for example, the wireless terminal 114 of FIGS. 1 to 5) News.

If the AP 104a receives a network capability request (for example, the network capability request 116 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) (block 906), the AP 104a determines whether to request a network capability (for example, the external network capability of FIG. 2). The request 218 is forwarded to an external network (for example, the external network A 108a of FIGS. 1 and 2) (block 906). For example, if the AP 104a communicates with an external network, it can send a network capability request to the external network. In addition, if it does not communicate with an external network, it does not send a network capability request to an external network.

If AP 104a determines that it should send a network capability request to an external network (for example, external network A 108a) (block 906), AP 104a sends the external network capability request 218 to external network A 108a ( Block 908) and receive the external network capability response 220 including the network capabilities of the external network A 108a from the external network A 108a (block 910), as described above in conjunction with FIG. 2. After receiving the network capability of external network A 108a at block 910 or if AP 104a determines at block 906 that it should not send a network capability request to an external network, AP 104a centrally accesses network A 106a (Figure 1 and Figure 2) Network capabilities (block 912). The AP 104a generates the network capability response 118 (FIGS. 1 and 2) (block 914) to include the network capability of accessing the network A 106a and/or the external network A 108a, and sends the network capability response 118 to the wireless Terminal 114 (block 916).

After sending the network capability response 118 at block 916 or if the AP 104a has not received the network capability request 116 at block 904, the AP 104a (for example) determines it based on a periodic SSID broadcast or a request from a wireless terminal. Should another SSID be sent (block 918). If the AP 104a determines that it should send another SSID, control returns to block 902. Otherwise, the AP 104a (for example) determines whether it should end its processing routine based on a power-off event or a low-power mode event (block 920). If AP 104a should not end its processing routine, control returns to block 904. Otherwise, the example processing procedure of Fig. 9 ends.

Although some methods, devices and products have been described in this article, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited to these. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, devices, and products that fall within the scope of the accompanying patent application literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

<p>100. . . Communication network</p><p>102a. . . Wireless LAN access location</p><p>102b. . . Wireless LAN access location</p><p>102c. . . Wireless LAN access location</p><p>104a. . . Access point</p><p>104b. . . Access point</p><p>104c. . . Access point</p><p>106a. . . Access network A</p><p>106b. . . Access network B</p><p>106c. . . Access network C</p><p>108a. . . External network A</p><p>108b. . . Access network B</p><p>112. . . Internet</p><p>114. . . Wireless terminal</p><p>116. . . Network capability request message</p><p>118. . . Network capability to respond to messages</p><p>120. . . Network Information</p><p>202. . . External network capability data storage</p><p>206a. . . Roaming principle</p><p>206b. . . Internet service capability</p><p>206c. . . Emergency service support</p><p>206d. . . Reservation service provider identifier</p><p>206e. . . Multimedia access type</p><p>206f. . . Authentication method</p><p>208. . . Access network capable data storage</p><p>210. . . Network capability profile</p><p>212. . . Service group identifier</p><p>214. . . Encryption mode status</p><p>216. . . Universal advertising service support indicator</p><p>218. . . External network capability request</p><p>220. . . External network capability response</p><p>302. . . Network capability profile data structure</p><p>304. . . Network capability</p><p>306. . . Priority list of service group identifiers</p><p>308. . . Unique profile identifier</p><p>310. . . Rank</p><p>312. . . Minimum capacity</p><p>314. . . Extra capacity</p><p>316. . . Identifier of the discovered service group</p><p>318. . . Network capability</p><p>400. . . Network capability profile data structure</p><p>402. . . Profile identifier</p><p>404. . . Minimum capacity</p><p>406. . . Service group identifier</p><p>502. . . processor</p><p>504. . . Terminal message generator</p><p>506. . . Terminal data parser</p><p>508. . . Flash memory</p><p>510. . . Random access memory</p><p>512. . . Expandable memory interface</p><p>514. . . Secure hardware interface</p><p>516. . . External data input/output interface</p><p>518. . . Wireless communication subsystem</p><p>520. . . speaker</p><p>522. . . microphone</p><p>524. . . monitor</p><p>526. . . User input interface</p><p>528. . . Battery</p><p>530. . . Battery interface</p><p>602. . . processor</p><p>604. . . Access point message generator</p><p>606. . . Access point data parser</p><p>608. . . Flash memory</p><p>610. . . Random access memory</p><p>612. . . Wireless communication subsystem</p><p>614. . . Network uplink communication interface</p>

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary communication network in which a wireless terminal can communicate with a plurality of wireless local area networks.

FIG. 2 shows a part of the example communication network of FIG. 1 in which a wireless terminal can discover an example network capability that can be accessed via one of the wireless local area networks of FIG. 1.

Figure 3 shows the cache and/or storage in a wireless terminal to facilitate the selection of the wireless connection based on the received network capabilities of their network and the network capability profile associated with the wireless terminal Example data structure of the network.

FIG. 4 shows another example network capability profile data structure with network capability profiles defining different groups of network capabilities.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary wireless terminal that can be used to implement the exemplary methods and devices described herein.

FIG. 6 shows an example wireless access point that can be used to implement the example methods and devices described herein.

7A to 7C show a flowchart of an exemplary process that can be implemented by a wireless terminal to discover available network capabilities via one or more wireless local area networks.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another exemplary processing procedure that can be implemented by the wireless terminal of FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 to discover available network capabilities via one or more WLANs.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process that can be implemented by a wireless local area network access point to send network capability information to a wireless terminal.