Sprint Spectrum L.p.

Sprint Communications Comapny L.p.

Spring Spectrum L.p.

Christopher Michael Yenney

Ryan Sanford Talley

Bryan Barbee

Timothy Wayne Sill

Shilpa Kowdley Srinivas

Keith E Moll

William H Deal

Andrew Mark Wurtenberger

Jason Peter Sigg

Clark Douglas Halferty

Caleb Sisson Hyde

Methods and systems are provided for identifying customers at an establishment. In an embodiment, a low-cost Internet base station (LCIB) receives a request from a mobile station to register for service with the LCIB. The LCIB is located at an establishment, such as a store. The LCIB then determines whether the mobile station is authorized to register with the LCIB. If the mobile station is authorized to register with the LCIB, the LCIB allows the mobile station to register. If the mobile station is not authorized to register with the LCIB, the LCIB or LCIB controller responsively (a) rejects the registration request and (b) sends a notification message to the establishment, the notification message identifying the mobile station.

Method and system for selectively notifying an establishment of mobile-station registration attempts

Methods and systems are provided for changing mobile-station settings upon a mobile station handing off to a base station. In an embodiment, a base station makes a first determination that at least one of several enumerated events has occurred, and in response to making the first determination, carries out one or more of several enumerated steps. Among the several enumerated events are (i) a mobile station handing off to the base station, and (ii) the mobile station initiating a call to a voicemail system maintaining a voicemail account associated with the mobile station; and among the several enumerated steps are (i) disabling a password requirement for the voicemail account, (ii) conveying a voicemail password to the voicemail system on behalf of the mobile station, and (iii) configuring the mobile station to convey the voicemail password to the voicemail system upon the mobile station establishing a call to the voicemail system.

Methods and system for changing mobile station settings upon hand-off to low-cost internet base station

Methods and systems are provided for operation of densely-deployed low-cost Internet base stations (LCIBs). In an embodiment, an LCIB controller determines that a plurality of LCIBs are densely deployed. The LCIB controller then selects respective densely-deployed operational parameters for each respective LCIB in the plurality. After selecting the respective parameters, the LCIB controller configures each respective LCIB in the plurality to operate according to the respective densely-deployed operational parameters.

Method and system for operating densely-deployed low-cost internet base stations (LCIBs)

A method, system, and computer-readable medium for preventing or allowing a base station (BS) to perform a particular BS function are described. The BS and/or a base station controller (BSC) determine and compare a location of the BS to respective location(s) of one or more other BSs. The BS and/or BSC determine whether the BS location is at least a threshold distance respectively from each of one or more other BSs. If the BS location is at least a threshold distance respectively from each of one or more other BSs, the BS and/or BSC sets at least one parameter to prevent the BS from performing the particular BS function. If the BS location is less than the threshold distance respectively from at least one of the one or more other BSs, the BS and/or BSC sets at least one parameter to allow the BS to perform the particular BS function.

System and method for preventing or allowing occurrence of a base station function

Methods and systems are provided for providing wireless service using multiple protocols on a single radio-frequency (RF) carrier. According to an embodiment, a low-cost Internet base station (LCIB) provides wireless service on an RF carrier using a first wireless-communication protocol and provides wireless service on the RF carrier using a second wireless-communication protocol, where providing wireless service on the RF carrier using the first wireless-communication protocol and providing wireless service on the RF carrier using the second wireless-communication protocol occur at different times. The LCIB may alternate between providing wireless service using the first wireless-communication protocol and providing wireless service using the second wireless-communication protocol.

Method and system for providing wireless service according to multiple wireless-communication protocols on a single radio-frequency (RF) carrier

Methods and systems are provided for utilizing the mobile-station simultaneous hybrid dual receive (SHDR) capability to improve femtocell performance. A femtocell provides service to one or more SHDR mobile stations, each having (1) a transmit and primary receive chain (T&#xd7;R&#xd7;0) for communicating with and via the femtocell and (2) a secondary receive chain (R&#xd7;1) for monitoring a macro network, including monitoring a detected signal strength of one or more pilot channels of one or more macro-network coverage areas. The femtocell receives reports from at least the SHDR mobile stations to which the femtocell is providing service, the reports reflecting at least the detected signal strengths of the respective macro-network pilot channels. The femtocell uses the received reports for making and carrying out decisions as to whether or not to instruct one or more SHDR mobile stations to handoff to the macro network.

Utilizing the mobile-station simultaneous hybrid dual receive (SHDR) capability to improve femtocell performance

Methods and systems are provided for selecting carriers for low-cost Internet base station (LCIB) frequency-hopping pilot beacons. The LCIB receives channel-list message information associated with one or more macro-network coverage areas within a vicinity of the LCIB. The LCIB then uses the received channel-list message information to identify a set of macro-network carriers on which to transmit a frequency-hopping pilot beacon. The LCIB can then transmit its frequency-hopping pilot beacon on each of the carriers in the identified set.

Use of macro-network channel-list messages for selection of carriers for low-cost internet base-station frequency-hopping pilot beacons

Methods and systems are provided for disabling text-entry capabilities. In one embodiment, a mobile station detects that it is being supported by a given single hand of a user and not by two hands of the user. The mobile station also detects that it is being operated by the single given hand of the user and not by two hands of the user. Optionally, the mobile station also determines that it is moving at greater than a threshold rate or detects more than a threshold degradation in text-entry proficiency. In response to detecting at least that the mobile station is being supported and operated by the single given hand of the user and not by two hands of the user, the mobile station disables one or more text-entry capabilities.

Methods and systems for disabling text messaging

Methods and systems are provided for implementing global neighbor lists to support low-cost Internet base stations (LCIBs). In a macro wireless-communication network, each sector has a neighbor list that contains the pseudorandom number (PN) offsets of surrounding sectors. To account for LCIBs, a global neighbor list, configurable across sectors, access networks, markets, and/or vendors, is introduced. The global list may be maintained on an access network or on a separate server that interfaces with access networks. The global list may be incorporated at the beginning, in the middle (i.e. at specific priority levels), or at the end of each respective sector's neighbor list. If a given sector's neighbor list is full, it could be left unmodified, or some global-list entries could displace some existing entries. Other than incorporating entries from the global list, each macro sector's neighbor list remains, for the most part, independently modifiable.

Implementing global neighbor lists to support low-cost internet base stations (LCIBs)

Methods, media, and systems are provided for delivering short messaging service (SMS) messages via a satellite radio network are provided. A cellular-satellite gateway (CSG) server is coupled to both the network of a terrestrial cellular telecommunications provider and to the network of a satellite radio provider. Once a requisite number of unsuccessful attempts for delivery have been made by the elements of the cellular network, the SMS message is forwarded to the CSG server. The CSG sends the text message to a specified satellite radio network. The satellite radio network broadcasts the text message so that it may be received by a satellite radio enabled device. Messages are filtered at the mobile device to ensure only the intended recipient receives the text message. Acknowledgment is sent the next time the mobile device connects to its cellular network.

Redirection of SMS messages to satellite radio for delivery

Methods and systems are provided for a low cost Internet base station (LCIB) to grant a client device temporary access to a wireless network. In an embodiment, an LCIB receives a request from a client device. The request includes a feature code, an access code, and a client-device identifier. The feature code in the request indicates that the client device is requesting temporary access to the wireless network. Upon detecting the feature code in the request, the LCIB compares the access code in the request with a stored access code. If the access code from the request matches the stored access code, the LCIB grants the client device access to the wireless network on a temporary basis. Alternatively, if the access code from the request does not match the stored access code, the LCIB denies the client device access to the wireless network.

Method and system for a low-cost-internet-base station (LCIB) granting a client device temporary access

Methods and systems are provided for manually configuring low-cost Internet-base-station (LCIB) coverage using an associated mobile station. In an embodiment, an LCIB receives a user command of a first type, responsively enters a coverage-configuration mode, and then receives from a mobile station a series of user commands of a second type, each instructing the LCIB to engage in a power-calibration call with the mobile station. Responsively, the LCIB engages in a respective series of power-calibration calls with the mobile station, each call comprising the LCIB identifying a minimum transmission-power level at which a forward-link frame error rate (FFER) for the mobile station is less than a FFER threshold. The LCIB sets a transmission-power level for a pilot beacon (i.e. configures its coverage) based at least in part on the maximum transmission-power level among the minimum transmission-power levels identified while engaging in the series of power-calibration calls.

Manually configuring low-cost Internet-base-station (LCIB) coverage using an associated mobile station

Methods and systems are provided for implementing mobile-station-assisted low-cost-Internet-base-station&#x2014;(LCIB) location determination. In an embodiment, an LCIB receives location information over an air interface from a mobile station, the location information reflecting a location of the mobile station. In response to receiving the location information, the LCIB uses the location information to determine its location.

Growing community of inventors

Ashburn, VA, United States of America

Christopher Michael Yenney