Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

Cellco Partnership

Peter Li

Ce Xu

Priscilla Lau

Patricia Ruey Chang

Mingxing Li

Xuming Chen

Amir Saghir

William Chung King

Said Hanbaly

Atul Thaper

Jack T Tang

Peter Hu

James Mathison

Clarence E Drumheller

Russel Brankley

Daniel T Belenets

Examples are disclosed that facilitate using enhanced cell global identifier to effectively manage the handover of cellular communication services for a mobile device in an LTE network from a source, or serving, evolved Node B (eNB) to a target home evolved Node B (HeNB). The increased use of HeNBs to provide service to mobile devices creates issues for the management of tracking area identifiers associated with the eNB and HeNBs and may increase tracking area update (TAU) signaling in the cellular network. The handover of a mobile device moving from an eNB coverage area to a neighboring HeNB coverage area is managed without use of a tracking area identifier by using enhanced cell global identifiers assigned to the respective HeNB. The following provides examples for minimizing the burden on the network devices to manage the administration of TAIs and that may reduce TAU signaling in the cellular network.

Enhanced cell global identifier-based handover from an eNodeB to a home eNodeB

The operational status of devices (such as routers, gateways, etc.) may be determined automatically, without the need for a user to look up status lights or sounds in a manual. A particular device may be automatically identified (e.g., by image recognition techniques), and the operational status may also be automatically identified. For example, a user device may capture an image, video, and/or audio of the device, and may automatically identify an operational status of the device based on the captured image, video, and/or audio. A message and/or suggested set of actions may also be presented to the user, which may indicate the operational status and instructions for one actions that the user may perform to improve the operational status of the device.

Smart device-assisted diagnosis of operating statuses of consumer devices

One or more devices may receive information that identifies a format of an identifier of a network device. The format of the identifier may indicate a portion of the identifier that identifies a type of the network device. The one or more devices may receive the identifier of the network device based on a user device connecting with the network device to communicate via the network device; determine the type of the network device connected to the user device based on the portion of the identifier and a format of the identifier that identifies the type of network device; and execute a processing instruction based on the type of network device connected to the user device.

Identifying base station types

One or more devices may receive an instruction to generate an index for a customer associated with a base station and may generate the index based on receiving the instruction. The index may include one or more spaces to store a corresponding one or more access identifiers (IDs) used to allow a user device to connect to the base station. The one or more devices may receive an instruction to add an access ID to the index; generate the access ID based on a format of the access ID, a customer type, a customer ID, or a space ID; store the access ID in one of the one or more spaces of the index; and provide the access ID to the user device and the base station. The access ID may permit the user device to connect to the base station to access a network via the base station.

Network device access ID assignment and management

In existing standards for packet data communication over enhanced cellular networks, for a subscriber having a static address, the network relies on the terminal to provide the static address. Consequently, the terminal needs to know (be programmed with) its own static address and typically the address of a home agent element of the network. To eliminate the attendant need to provision such address data in the mobile station, the static address is stored in a node of the network, and the network assigns that one address to the mobile station, every time when the subscriber requests packet data service, for example, using a mobile IP (MIP) type address assignment procedure. The address assignment operation may also provide the home agent address to the station.

Network based IP address assignment for static IP subscriber

Improved billing accuracy in session-based communications is provided by separating session (or connection) billing from session processing. If two sessions () on the same serving node are bridged, so the true stop time of the prior session () is not known, the stop time of the prior session is defined as a function of the last activity during (TALS) that session. To accomplish this, the serving node detects and stores the time of last activity and the time of initiation for each connection and determines the billing time accordingly, regardless of the state of the inactivity timer () or whether sessions were bridged by the serving node.

Session-based accounting

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West Orange, NJ, United States of America

Peter Li