Methods and network nodes are described. A network node receives an attach request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) via a cellular radio access network (RAN). The attach request message includes a mobile station (MS) radio access capability information element (IE), and the MS radio access capability IE includes a field that indicates whether the WTRU is capable of receiving services from a core network via a non-cellular wireless access network. The network node provides services from the core network to the WTRU.

Patent
   8948151
Priority
Oct 17 2003
Filed
Dec 03 2013
Issued
Feb 03 2015
Expiry
Dec 31 2023

TERM.DISCL.
Assg.orig
Entity
unknown
0
98
EXPIRED
17. A method for use in a network node, the method comprising:
receiving an attach request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the attach request message indicating a request to attach to a cellular core network and including a capability indicator that indicates whether the WTRU is capable of receiving services from the cellular core network via a wireless local area network (WLAN); and
providing services to the WTRU based on the capability indicator.
23. A network node comprising:
a receiver configured to receive an attach request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the attach request message indicating a request to attach to a cellular core network and including a capability indicator that indicates whether the WTRU is capable of receiving services from the cellular core network via a wireless local area network (WLAN); and
a processor and transmitter configured to provide services to the WTRU based on the capability indicator.
9. A network node comprising:
a receiver configured to receive an attach request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) via a cellular radio access network (RAN),
wherein the attach request message includes a mobile station (MS) radio access capability information element (IE), and
wherein the MS radio access capability IE includes a field that indicates whether the WTRU is capable of receiving services from a core network via a non-cellular wireless access network; and
a processor and a transmitter configured to provide services from the core network to the WTRU.
1. A method for use in a network node, the method comprising:
the network node receiving an attach request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) via a cellular radio access network (RAN),
wherein the attach request message includes a mobile station (MS) radio access capability information element (IE), and
wherein the MS radio access capability IE includes a field that indicates whether the WTRU is capable of receiving services from a core network via a non-cellular wireless access network; and
the network node providing services from the core network to the WTRU.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network node is a Serving General Packet radio Service (GPRS) Support node (SGSN).
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-cellular wireless access network is a wireless local area network (WLAN).
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the MS radio access capability IE further includes: an RF Power capability field; a Multislot capability field; an 8PSK Power capability field; a COMPACT Interference Measurement capability field; a Revision Level indicator field; a UMTS FDD radio access Technology capability field; a UMTS 3.84 Mcps TDD radio access Technology capability field; a UMTS 1.28 Mcps TDD radio access Technology capability field; and a Modulation based multislot class support field.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellular radio access network is based on Global System for mobile Communications (GSM) or Universal mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) technology.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the services are provided via the cellular RAN.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the services are provided via a non-cellular wireless access network.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the network node providing an attach accept message to the WTRU responsive to the attach request message.
10. The network node of claim 9, wherein the network node is a Serving General Packet radio Service (GPRS) Support node (SGSN).
11. The network node of claim 9, wherein the MS radio access capability IE indicates whether the non-cellular wireless access network is a wireless local area network (WLAN).
12. The network node of claim 9, wherein the MS radio access capability IE further includes: an RF Power capability field; a Multislot capability field; an 8PSK Power capability field; a COMPACT Interference Measurement capability field; a Revision Level indicator field; a UMTS FDD radio access Technology capability field; a UMTS 3.84 Mcps TDD radio access Technology capability field; a UMTS 1.28 Mcps TDD radio access Technology capability field; and a Modulation based multislot class support field.
13. The network node of claim 9, wherein the cellular RAN is based on Global System for mobile Communications (GSM) or Universal mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) technology.
14. The network node of claim 9, wherein the processor and transmitter are configured to provide the services via the cellular RAN.
15. The network node of claim 9, wherein the processor and transmitter are configured to provide the services via a non-cellular wireless access network.
16. The network node of claim 9, wherein the processor and transmitter are further configured to generate and transmit an attach accept message to the WTRU responsive to the attach request message.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the services are provided via a cellular radio access network.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the cellular radio access network is based on GSM or UMTS technology.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the capability indicator is a radio access capability information element or a mobile station (MS) network capability information element.
21. The method of claim 17, wherein the services are provided via a wireless local area network (WLAN).
22. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing, to the WTRU, an acknowledgement of the attach request message.
24. The network node of claim 23, wherein the processor and transmitter are configured to provide the services via a cellular radio access network.
25. The network node of claim 24, wherein the cellular radio access network is based on GSM or UMTS technology.
26. The network node of claim 24, wherein the capability indicator is a radio access capability information element or a mobile station (MS) network capability information element.
27. The network node of claim 24, wherein services are provided via a WLAN.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/285,746, filed Oct. 31, 2011, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/083,125, filed Mar. 17, 2005, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,102,823 on Jan. 24, 2012, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/750,193, filed Dec. 31, 2003, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,844 on Sep. 6, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/512,164, filed on Oct. 17, 2003, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

The present invention relates to WTRUs having dual-mode capabilities and more particularly to method and apparatus for reporting dual mode capabilities and for reporting availability of network interworking.

The current developments of wireless local area network (WLAN) interworking with general packet radio service/universal mobile telecommunications system/third generation (GPRS/UMTS/3G) networks has resulted in products that include two radio units in a common enclosure (e.g., cards supporting 802.11b+GPRS air interfaces and 802.11b+UMTS air interfaces). The units may be separate cards or may be integrated onto one common card.

Hereafter a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) includes but is not limited to a user equipment, mobile station, fixed or mobile subscriber unit, pager, or any other type of device capable of operating in a wireless environment. When referred to hereafter, a base station includes but is not limited to a Node-B, site controller, access point or any other type of interfacing device in a wireless environment.

Currently the network may not be aware of the dual-mode capabilities of the terminal. In addition, the offered services may change dramatically based on the terminal capabilities in terms of processing power, memory availability, screen size, bit rate, etc. For example, a dual mode 802+GPRS personal digital assistant (PDA) may be able to receive short message service (SMS) or multimedia message service (MMS) messages over a GPRS or an 802 network, however, several variations of these services may be provided in accordance with allotted memory space of the wireless terminal. Rich multimedia services may require larger memory size than that available in the PDA. Therefore, the same multimedia services may be provided via black and white or a reduced set of colors depending on terminal capabilities. Also, the possibility of network-assisted handoff can be provided to those terminals that indicate dual mode (WLAN/GPRS or WLAN/3G) capabilities. A mechanism is needed to indicate these capabilities to the existing GPRS/UMTS networks.

In addition, in network interworking, there is no capability of informing a wireless terminal having dual-mode radio capabilities and relying upon one of the networks with which it communicates to be advised of the interworking capability to enable the wireless terminal to have the increased ability of communicating with either of the two networks.

Methods and network nodes are described. A network node receives an attach request message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) via a cellular radio access network (RAN). The attach request message includes a mobile station (MS) radio access capability information element (IE), and the MS radio access capability IE includes a field that indicates whether the WTRU is capable of receiving services from a core network via a non-cellular wireless access network. The network node provides services from the core network to the WTRU.

The present invention will be understood from a consideration of the figures in which like elements are designated by like numerals and, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of the network having integrated universal mobile telephone service (UMTS) and wireless local area network (WLAN) networks.

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram showing an attached procedure and embodying the capabilities of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a WTRU network capability information element (IE).

FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively show the existing and modified network capability and radio access (RA) capability information element (IE).

FIG. 4A shows the modified network capabilities IE of FIG. 4 in greater detail.

FIGS. 5A1-5A2 and 5B show the modified RA capability IE of FIG. 5 in greater detail and FIG. 5A shows the manner in which FIGS. 5A1 and 5A2 are arranged.

The problem solved by this invention is the mechanism by which a terminal that supports both GPRS and WLAN, or 3G and WLAN can report its WLAN capabilities to the supporting GPRS/UMTS networks. Also, the invention identifies the mechanism by which a 3G network can indicate that 3G or packet switched domain services over WLAN are available.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a network in which a UMTS and a WLAN are integrated. The WTRUs 12, 14 and 16 communicate with the network over respective radio links (RL-1, RL-2 and RL-3). More particularly, WTRU 12 communicates with a GSM radio access network (RAN); WTRU 14 communicates with a 2.5/3G RAN and WTRU 16 communicates with a WLAN access point (AP). WTRUs 12 and 14 may be cellular telephones while WTRU 16 may be a laptop, personal digital assistant (PDA) or other like device having an appropriate card enabling communication with the WLAN AP.

The GSM RAN communicates with a mobile switching center (MSC) which, as is known in the art, has the capability of interworking with location data bases. The MSC communicates with the visitor location register (VLR) to identify, authenticate, etc. the WTRU 12. The MSC also communicates with the short message service-gateway mobile switching center/interworking-mobile switching center (SMS-GMSC/IW-MSC) which provides the services such as short message service (SMS) data. The home location register (HLR) is a data base within the home public land mobile network (HPLMN) providing routing information for mobile terminated calls and SMS data and is also responsible for maintenance of user subscription information distributed to the relevant VLR (note the VLR in FIG. 1) or GSN (GPRS support node) through the attached process and mobility management procedures such as location area and routing area updates.

The WLAN AP communicates with a packet data gateway/WLAN access gateway (PDG/WAG). Capability information is exchanged between the GSN and the PDG/WAG. Services such as SMS data services are communicated to the PDG/WAG and hence to the WTRU 16 by way of the PDG/WAG and WLAN AP. Based on the capability of the WTRU 16, SMS data may be delivered thereto.

The WTRUs 12 and 14 when respectively communicating with the network through their associated RAN, provide information regarding their capability which, in accordance with the present invention, includes WLAN compatibility.

FIG. 2 shows an attached procedure combined with a WLAN capability update. In the procedure shown in FIG. 2, a UMTS dual mode WTRU, at step S1, powers up for a signaling connection to perform the ATTACH procedure. At step S2, a radio resource control (RRC) connection request message is conveyed to the radio network controller (RNC). Admission control and availability of resources is performed by the RNC, at step S3, which then conveys an RRC connection setup message to the dual mode WTRU, at step S4. The WTRU, at step S5, provides an RRC connection set up complete message providing the WTRU radio access (RA) compatibility and, at step S6, provides the initial direct transfer message, which includes the attached request and the point-to-multipoint system information (PtM SI), instant messaging system information (IM SI), network (NW) capability and radio access (RA) capability. The RNC, at step S7, provides an initial WTRU Message: attach request including the network and radio access capabilities. In addition to the UMTS capabilities, the message further contains WLAN capability. At step S8, authentication and ciphering request and security mode commands are performed and the WTRU is authenticated, at step S9. Thereafter, the SGSN provides a WTRU capability update to the WAG-PDG, at step S10, and provides an attach-accept message to the RNC, at step S11, which is then conveyed, at S12, to the WTRU.

The update of the WTRU capability sent to WAG-PDG, at step S10, causes the SGSN to update the WAG, which may then decide if the service request can be terminated.

The purpose of a mobile station WTRU network capability information element is to provide the network with information concerning aspects of the WTRU related to the GPRS. The contents of the information element can affect the manner in which the network handles the operation of the WTRU. WTRU network capability information indicates general WTRU characteristics and, except for fields explicitly indicated, is independent of the frequency band of the sending channel.

WTRU network capability is a type 4 information element (IE) having a maximum length of ten octets.

The value part of the WTRU network capability IE is coded, as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a comparison of the existing network capability IE with the network capability information element of the present invention and FIG. 5 shows a comparison of the radio access capability information element (RAC IE) with the RAC IE of the present invention.

The purpose of the mobile station (MS) network capability IE is to provide the network with information concerning aspects of the mobile station (i.e., WTRU) related to GPRS. The contents can affect the manner in which the network handles the operation of the mobile station. The MS network capability information indicates general mobile station characteristics and except for fields explicitly indicated, is independent of the frequency band of the channel it is sent on. The MS network capability is a type 4 information element with a maximum of ten octets length. The value part of a MS network capability information element is coded as shown in FIG. 3.

Making reference to FIG. 4, which shows the network capability IE in amplified fashion, item (1) of both the existing and new IE, namely the system management capabilities by way of dedicated channels, are the same. Item (2) listed in the existing and new IE, the system management capabilities by way of GPRS channels are the same. Item (3) in the existing IE, and item (6) in the new information element, the Universal Multiple—Octet Coded Character Set (UCS), USC2 16 bit coding support, are the same.

Item (4) in the existing IE and item (7) in the new IE, i.e. the supplementary service screening indicator, are the same. The support of localized service area (SoLSA) capability, item (5) of the existing IE and item (8) of the new IE, are the same.

Item (6) in the existing IE, the revision level indicator, is the same as item (9) in the new IE. Items (4) and (5) in the new IE, namely, the system management capability by way of the WLAN and the short message system (SMS) item which identifies text only, text and animation, the instant message service and the multimedia service as well as others are provided to the WTRU, are not provided in the existing IE. Items (7) through (10) of the existing IE are omitted from the new IE and will not be discussed herein for simplicity.

FIG. 4A shows the network capability IE in greater detail. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the location service (LCS) value added (VA) location request notification bit, (in binary format) is “0” when not supported and is “1” when supported. WLAN capability is supported when its binary bit is “1” and is not supported when in the “0” state. The bit or bits identifying each capability are assigned predetermined locations with the IE. This is also the case for the RA capabilities. Also note that the GPRS encryption algorithm (GEA) capability bit is “0” when not supported and “1” when supported.

The purpose of the mobile station radio access (MS RA) capability information element (IE) is to provide the radio part of the network with information concerning radio aspects of the mobile station (i.e., the WTRU). The contents can affect the manner in which the network handles the operation of the mobile station. The MS RA capability is a type 4 information element, with a maximum length of 52 octets. The value part of a MS RA capability information element is coded as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 5 compares the existing and new radio access capability IEs. Items (1) through (4) of the existing IE, namely the access technology type, access capabilities, UMTS FDD RA technology capability and UMTS 3.84 Mcps TDD RA technology capability, are identical to the items (1) through (4) in the new IE.

Items (5) and (6) in the existing IE are omitted from the new IE and hence will not be discussed herein for purposes of simplicity. Item (5) of the new IE does not appear in the existing IE and provides WLAN radio access capability which identifies the type of remote terminal, (such as PDA, laptop, phone, etc.), memory size, screen size, processing power, technology version (such as 802.11, 802.15, 802.16 and so forth), service profile, (such as SMS text only or text and animation), MMS, IMS, location, MBMS, and the like.

FIGS. 5A1-5A2/5B show the MS RA capability IE in greater detail. In FIGS. 5A1-5A2, the Access Technology type of four binary bits, represents the technology type used for access. Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) is a form of frequency shift keying providing good spectral efficiency. 8PSK is a modulation technique where the carrier exists in one of eight states. FIG. 5B shows the fields and binary dates for identifying some of the capabilities. For example, a three bit field is used to identify WLAN 802 RA Technology wherein the technology supported is identified by a particular combination of binary bits. Note that no support of WLAN 80.xx technology is represented by “000,” support for WLAN 802.11b technology represented by “001” and so forth. As another example, the CDMA 2000 RA Technology capability is “0” when not supported and “1” when supported.

A dual mode WTRU provides a WLAN capability report over its UMTS (or GPRS) network depending on whether the dual mode WTRU has WLAN/UMTS or WLAN/GPRS capability.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the WTRU is powered up, it first communicates by way of the UMTS channels and performs a non-access stratum (NAS) “ATTACH” procedure whereupon the UMTS/WLAN capability is exchanged with the network, as shown in FIG. 2.

Depending on implementation, the user may chose to continue communicating with the UMTS network, manually switch over to WLAN channels or perform an automatic handover to the WLAN network, if available.

The present invention thus introduces two new IEs to existing GPRS/UMTS capability messages between WTRU and network and network and WTRU. The radio access capability information element (RAC IE) is modified to inform the network about the dual-mode capabilities of the WTRU/card, i.e., GPRS+WLAN or UMTS/WLAN. The radio access capability (RAC), carries all aspects of the WLAN capabilities including terminal type, (such as PDA, laptop, cell phone), memory size, screen size, processing power, technology version (such as 802.11, 802.15, 802.16 and so forth), service profile (such as SMS text only or text and animation), SMS, MMS, IMS, location, multicast broadcast media service (MBMS) and so forth. The WLAN capability update procedures are achieved without modification of the existing “ATTACH” procedure. The network capability is modified to inform dual mode WTRUs regarding the existence of WLAN interworking capabilities and the different types of services that can be provided over a WLAN network.

Shaheen, Kamel M., Purkayastha, Debashish

Patent Priority Assignee Title
Patent Priority Assignee Title
5267244, Nov 08 1991 Atmel Corporation Method and an apparatus for establishing the functional capabilities for wireless communications between a base unit and a remote unit
5734977, Nov 10 1994 Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Fraud detection in radio communications network
5826188, Dec 07 1995 Google Technology Holdings LLC Method and apparatus for handing off calls between differing radio telecommunication networks
5862480, Dec 26 1995 Google Technology Holdings LLC Method and apparatus for managing service accessibility between differing radio telecommunication networks
5963869, Mar 14 1996 Ericsson Inc. Method and apparatus for management of analog and digital control channels
6073018, Dec 11 1997 Ericsson Inc System and method for interworking of wireless communication systems with ISDN networks
6243581, Dec 11 1998 Nortel Networks Limited Method and system for seamless roaming between wireless communication networks with a mobile terminal
6400946, Mar 13 1995 Nokia Mobile Phones Limited Multimode universal mobile telecommunications system
6463463, May 29 1998 Malikie Innovations Limited System and method for pushing calendar event messages from a host system to a mobile data communication device
6574489, Jun 26 1998 LENOVO INNOVATIONS LIMITED HONG KONG Incoming call notification method and device for a multimode radio device
6621793, May 22 2000 Sony Corporation Application influenced policy
6625135, May 11 1998 Carnegie Mellon University Method and apparatus for incorporating environmental information for mobile communications
6658011, Apr 19 1999 NOKIA SOLUTIONS AND NETWORKS OY Use of wireless application protocol in a packet-switched radio telecommunication system
6714526, Dec 15 2000 Qualcomm Incorporated Method and apparatus for code assignment in a spread spectrum wireless communication system
6748234, Nov 21 2000 Qualcomm Incorporated Method and apparatus for power control in a wireless communication system
6771964, Sep 24 1999 Qualcomm Incorporated Handover between wireless telecommunication networks/systems
6785535, Jun 06 2000 RPX CLEARINGHOUSE LLC Method for monitoring communications in a cellular radiocommunication system, and network core therefor
6788676, Oct 30 2002 Nokia Technologies Oy User equipment device enabled for SIP signalling to provide multimedia services with QoS
6853628, Jun 28 2002 InterDigital Technology Corporation System for facilitating personal communications with multiple wireless transmit/receive units
6879584, Jan 31 2001 Google Technology Holdings LLC Communication services through multiple service providers
6879600, Jun 03 2002 Sprint Spectrum LLC Method and system for intersystem wireless communication session arbitration
6934752, Mar 23 2000 Cirrus Logic, INC Quality of service extensions for multimedia applications in wireless computer networks
6980801, Jun 07 1999 Nokia Technologies Oy Selection mobility agent in access network
7031703, Jul 22 1999 Unwired Planet, LLC System and method of communicating operating capabilities in a telecommunication network
7089005, Jul 31 2002 InterDigital Technology Corporation Handover between a cellular system and a wireless local area network
7133384, Dec 07 2000 SK Telecom Co., Ltd. Method for supporting hand-off decision for guaranteeing mobility of a dual-mode mobile terminal between different mobile communication network systems
7254392, Feb 28 2000 Nokia Technologies Oy Intersystem handover with modified parameters
7299046, Aug 30 2002 Alcatel Lucent Apparatus, and associated method, for facilitating dormant-mode operation of a mobile mode in a radio communication system
20020032751,
20020085516,
20020101858,
20020137534,
20020151325,
20020184401,
20030014521,
20030031160,
20030095522,
20030104816,
20030114158,
20030134650,
20030157935,
20030176195,
20040008650,
20040087307,
20040100940,
20040116140,
20040120277,
20040148352,
20040151143,
20040156329,
20040176059,
20040190468,
20040203593,
20040203792,
20050002407,
20050003804,
20050004968,
20050013245,
20050025164,
20050026616,
20050054308,
20050058125,
20050059398,
20050059430,
20050083893,
20050083899,
20050102529,
20050111419,
20050130659,
20050152396,
20050170852,
20050254469,
20050286466,
20060004643,
20060133325,
20060246902,
20060268755,
20060291417,
20070264994,
20080274736,
EP891047,
EP1213941,
JP2003067296,
JP9200271,
JP9289684,
KR20000040492,
KR20030037373,
WO60895,
WO111911,
WO122764,
WO135585,
WO139533,
WO150790,
WO195579,
WO201902,
WO3015444,
WO2004077753,
WO2005020619,
/
Executed onAssignorAssigneeConveyanceFrameReelDoc
Dec 03 2013InterDigital Technology Corporation(assignment on the face of the patent)
Date Maintenance Fee Events


Date Maintenance Schedule
Feb 03 20184 years fee payment window open
Aug 03 20186 months grace period start (w surcharge)
Feb 03 2019patent expiry (for year 4)
Feb 03 20212 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 4)
Feb 03 20228 years fee payment window open
Aug 03 20226 months grace period start (w surcharge)
Feb 03 2023patent expiry (for year 8)
Feb 03 20252 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 8)
Feb 03 202612 years fee payment window open
Aug 03 20266 months grace period start (w surcharge)
Feb 03 2027patent expiry (for year 12)
Feb 03 20292 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 12)