Google Inc.

At Home Corporation

At Home Bondholders' Liquidating Trust

Milo Steven Medin

Murari Srinivasan

Siddharth Ray

Ralph William Brown

Robert Keller

David T Temkin

Cedric Fung Lam

Dov Shimon Zimring

Yut Loy Chan

Ke Dong

Tony Ong

Steven Fong

Mitch Trott

Jeremy T Johnson

Yifan Gao

Siddarth Ray

A network device may make a determination that a first backhaul connection, which serves a first base station, is congested and that a second backhaul connection, which serves a second base station, is not congested. This determination may be made based on a first periodic data cap imposed on the first backhaul connection, a traffic load on the first backhaul connection, a second periodic data cap imposed on the second backhaul connection, and a traffic load on the second backhaul connection. In response to the determination, the network device may configure a value of a cellular communication parameter utilized by one or both of the base stations. The configuration may comprise periodic adjustments of the value of the cellular communication parameter. The periodic adjustments may cause one or more mobile devices to be handed-over between the first base station and the second base station.

Load distribution in a network of small-cell base stations

A method includes receiving a connection request from a mobile device at a network device to allow connection of the mobile device to a core network of the first service provider through a first base station and determining whether a backhaul connection between the core network of the first service provider and the first base station is congested by the network device. The backhaul connection is determined to be congested when L is greater than (D&#x2212;B)/T. When the first backhaul connection is determined to be congested, the method also includes preventing the first base station from connecting the mobile device to the core network.

Traffic management for base stations backhauled over data-capped network connections

A method of operating a spectrum system includes issuing communicating transmitter commands to a spectrum operator system from the spectrum system. The spectrum operator system is in communication with a transmitter. The method also includes instructing, using a computing processor, the spectrum operator system to identify a set of wireless terminals associated with the transmitter, instruct the set of wireless terminals or a subset of the wireless terminals associated with the transmitter to return network measurements to the spectrum system, and instruct different subsets of wireless terminals associated with the transmitter over time to return network measurements to the spectrum system.

Augmenting spectrum sharing using network measurements

A network device may make a determination that a first backhaul connection, which serves a first base station, is congested and that a second backhaul connection, which serves a second base station, is not congested. This determination may be made based on a first periodic data cap imposed on the first backhaul connection, a traffic load on the first backhaul connection, a second periodic data cap imposed on the second backhaul connection, and a traffic load on the second backhaul connection. In response to the determination, the network device may configure a value of a cellular communication parameter utilized by one or both of the base stations. The configuration may comprise periodic adjustments of the value of the cellular communication parameter. The periodic adjustments may cause one or more mobile devices to be cyclically handed-over between the first base station and the second base station.

A user's set top box (STB), or other client, executes a shell and has an application program interface (API) by which certain features of the client can be controlled. The client is in communication with a walled garden proxy server (WGPS). The client sends a request to the WGPS to access a service provided by a site in the garden. The site sends the client a message containing code calling a function in the API. The WGPS traps the message from the site and looks up the site in a table to determine the access control list (ACL) for the site. The WGPS includes the ACL in the header of the hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) message to the client. The shell receives the message and extracts the ACL. If the code lacks permission, the shell stops execution.

Method and system for restricting access to user resources

A local area network system that includes a residential gateway in wired communication with a remote service provider and multiple set top boxes in wired communication with the residential gateway. Each set top box includes a network extender having a wired connection to a residential gateway of a local area network, a media player in communication with the network extender, and at least one wireless transceiver in communication with the network extender. The media player includes a computing processor executing instructions to format a signal received from the network extender for use by a media device. Each set top box is configured as an access point for a local area network of the residential gateway.

Extending a local area network

A network device connected to a base station via a backhaul connection may be operable to determine whether the backhaul connection is congested. The determination may be based on a periodic data cap imposed on the backhaul connections. In response to a determination that the backhaul connection is congested, the network device may configure one or more cellular communication parameters of one or more of the plurality of base stations. The determination may be based on one or more of: a total amount of data consumed over the backhaul connection during a current time period, a traffic load on the backhaul connection, and an amount of time remaining in the current time period.

A method of operating a spectrum system includes issuing commands to a transmitter in communication with the spectrum system, receiving network measurements from one or more wireless terminals, comparing, using a computing processor, the network measurements with the issued commands, and determining a compliance of the transmitter to the issued commands.

A network device may make a determination that a first backhaul connection, which serves a first base station, is congested and that a second backhaul connection, which serves a second base station, is not congested. This determination may be made based on a first periodic data cap imposed (on the first backhaul connection, a traffic load on the first backhaul connection, a second periodic data cap imposed on the second backhaul connection, and a traffic load on the second backhaul connection. In response to the determination, the network device may configure a value of a cellular communication parameter utilized by one or both of the base stations. The configuration may comprise periodic adjustments of the value of the cellular communication parameter. The periodic adjustments may cause one or more mobile devices to be cyclically handed-over between the first base station and the second base station.

A system and method for sharing access to an internet protocol (IP) network among multiple internet service providers (ISPs) uses multiprotocol label switching (MPLS). End-users are coupled to a broadband customer access network. Each end-user is also associated with at least one of the ISPs. An aggregation router interfaces the customer access network with a network backbone. The network backbone includes a border router for interfacing between the network backbone and the network of an ISP. When the border router is activated, it creates a forwarding equivalency class (FEC) corresponding to the ISP. The border router stores a label for the FEC and the interface for reaching the ISP in an FEC table. The border router advertises the label binding for the FEC to all upstream nodes. An intermediate node receiving the label binding creates its own FEC table, associates a new label with the FEC, and advertises the new label binding to its upstream nodes. The aggregation router receives and builds a FEC table containing the label bindings for all ISPs reachable over the network backbone. When the aggregation router receives a data packet from an end-user, the aggregation router determines the ISP associated with the end-user, labels the data packet with the label corresponding to the FEC for that ISP, and routes the packet on the network backbone. The packet eventually reaches the border router, which pops off the label and passes the packet to the ISP.

Sharing IP network resources

A set top box including a network extender and a media player in communication with the network extender. The network extender is connectable to a residential gateway of a local area network through a wired connection. The media player includes a computing processor executing instructions to format a signal received from the network extender for use by a media device. The set top box also includes at least one wireless transceiver in communication with the network extender.

A user's set top box (STB), or other client, executes a shell and has an application program interface (API) by which certain features of the client can be controlled. The client is in communication with a walled garden proxy server (WGPS), which controls access to a walled garden. The walled garden contains links to one or more servers providing network-based services. The client sends a request to the WGPS to access a service provided by a site in the garden. To provide the service, the site sends the client a message containing code calling a function in the API. The WGPS traps the message from the site and looks up the site in a table to determine the access control list (ACL) for the site. The ACL is a bit-map that specifies which functions of the client's API can be invoked by code from the site. The WGPS includes the ACL in the header of the hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) message to the client. The shell receives the message and extracts the ACL. The shell uses the ACL to determine whether the code has permission to execute any called functions in the API. If the code lacks permission, the shell stops execution and sends a message to the site indicating that the site lacks permission. Otherwise, the shell allows the code to call the function.

Disclosed is a scalable, hierarchical, distributed network architecture and processes for the delivery of high-performance, end-to-end online multimedia services, including Internet services such as World Wide Web access. The network architecture connects a high-speed private backbone to multiple network access points of the Internet, to a network operation center, to a back office system, and to multiple regional servers in regional data centers. Each of the regional servers connects to several caching servers in modified head-ends, which in turn connect via fiber optics to many neighborhood nodes. Finally, each node connects via coaxial cable to multiple end-user systems. The processes include those for replicating and caching frequently-accessed content, and multicasting content customized per region or locality.

Growing community of inventors

Redwood City, CA, United States of America

Milo Steven Medin