T-mobile Usa, Inc.

Terri L Brooks

John J Humbert

Scott Francis Migaldi

Ming Shan Kwok

Boris Antsev

Mark L Younge

Precia Carraway

Jun Liu

Wei-Ming Lan

Alan Denis MacDonald

Christopher Harvey Joul

Salvador Mendoza

Kun Lu

Egil Gronstad

Karunakalage Viraj Rakitha Silva

Neng-Tsann Ueng

Timothy Dunn

Gary C Jones

Wafik Abdel Shahid

John W Davis

Larany D Ponxay

John Michael Hicks

Systems and methods are discussed herein for an optimal approach for wireless emergency alerting within cells of wireless communication networks by using a careful estimation of a 'true effective radius' of each cell/sector to eliminate broadcasts falling short of alert area boundaries (with users in such gaps in coverage not receiving an alert despite being in the designated alert area). By utilizing true provisioning information of each cell/sector that is at least partly within the alert area boundaries to understand the true effective radii of particular cell sectors can be selected for broadcast of the alert such that the entire alert area is covered for broadcasting of the alert without excessive over-broadcasting, e.g., broadcasting excessively beyond the alert area boundaries. Alerts can then be broadcast within each selected cell sector.

Intelligent provisioning of cell/sector coverage to optimize broadcast areas for wireless emergency alerts

An alert broadcast system can receive a first alert message indicating an emergency from an alert management system. The first alert message generated by an emergency alert originator can include a unique identifier associated with the emergency. The alert broadcast system can forward the first alert message to a first group of wireless devices and cause each of the first group of wireless devices to temporarily store the unique identifier. The alert broadcast system can receive a second alert message, including the unique identifier from the alert management system. The alert broadcast system can forward the second alert message to a second group of wireless devices. The respective wireless device can perform an action based on a determination that the respective wireless device has received the first alert message prior to receiving the second alert message and that the second alert message is partly duplicative of the first alert message.

Using unique identifiers to limit duplicate alert messages communicated over a telecommunications network

A method for providing targeted alerts by a telecommunications system includes receiving, by a server subsystem, an alert message from an alert originator system. The alert message indicates an emergency associated with an area. The method includes passing the alert message to multiple mobile devices. The method also includes receiving a request message at a lookup subsystem of the telecommunications system generated by an instance of a mobile application on a mobile device based on the alert message. The method includes performing a lookup at a database for additional information associated with the alert message. The additional information identifies the geographic area associated with the emergency. The method further includes communicating the additional information to the particular mobile device thereby enabling the instance of the mobile application to perform an action related to the alert message to a user of the particular mobile device.

Providing additional information for emergency alerts via wireless networks

An electronic device configured to operate in two frequency bands having significantly different coverage areas receives coordinates associated with a smaller coverage area over a frequency band having a larger coverage area. The coordinates allow the electronic device to only power up the associated radio and search for a base station of the smaller coverage area when the electronic device is in the area described by the coordinates. This allows the electronic device to achieve significant power savings compared to even infrequent random polling to determine when a base station of the smaller coverage area radio system is available.

Location-matrix based user equipment band scanning

An access network can allocate a bearer for a network service associated with a quality-of-service (QoS) value (QV) and a retention-priority value (RPV), and determine a bearer ID for the service based on the QV, the RPV, and a supplemental priority value (SPV) different from the QV and from the RPV. Upon handover of a terminal, session(s) carried by a bearer allocated by the terminal can be terminated. That bearer can be selected using IDs of the bearers and a comparison function that, given two bearer IDs, determines which respective bearer should be terminated before the other. Upon handover of a terminal to an access network supporting fewer bearers per terminal than the terminal has allocated, a network node can select a bearer based on respective QVs and RPVs of a set of allocated bearers. The network node can deallocate the selected bearer.

Telecommunications network bearer allocation and deallocation

A computer-implemented method includes receiving, at a mobile device, geographical coordinates defining one or more alert areas associated with a wireless emergency alert over a wireless communication network, and comparing, at the mobile device, the current location of the mobile device with the received coordinates to determine if the mobile device is within the alert area(s). If the mobile device is within the alert area(s), the method further comprises applying a mapping application or other application on the mobile device to construct a map of the alert area(s) based on the coordinates, determine the location of the mobile device with respect the alert area(s), and display the map indicating the location of the mobile device with respect to the alert area(s) at a display interface of the mobile device.

Mobile device intelligent processing and presentation of wireless emergency alerts

Determining when to display a Fifth Generation (5G) service indicator is described herein. In an example, a network can compare capabilities supported by a user equipment (UE) with capabilities available to the UE (e.g., in a geographic area of the UE) to determine whether the UE can display the 5G service indicator. In some examples, such capabilities can be determined based at least in part on E-UTRAN New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) combinations of frequency bands.

5G service indicator presentation using network-based capability comparison

Determining when to display a Fifth Generation (5G) service indicator is described herein. In an example, a user equipment (UE) can compare capabilities supported by the UE with capabilities available to the UE (e.g., in a geographic area of the UE) to determine whether the UE can display the 5G service indicator. In some examples, such capabilities can be determined based at least in part on E-UTRAN New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) combinations of frequency bands.

5G service indicator presentation using capability comparison by user equipment

A method and a system for communicating a correction to an electronic emergency alert message from an electronic emergency alert system to a plurality of electronic devices are disclosed. The electronic emergency alert message, which includes a free form electronic text message and an emergency indication, and an electronic correction indication of the electronic emergency alert message are transmitted. An electronic quick alert message is transmitted to address the electronic correction of the emergency alert message. The electronic quick alert message includes a first text segment comprising predetermined text to indicate a correction to the electronic emergency alert message is being transmitted and a second text segment comprising at least a portion of the free form text message.

Method and system for retracting a false emergency alert

A computer-implemented method of receiving and processing a wireless emergency alert at a vehicle comprises receiving, at a computer system of the vehicle, the wireless emergency alert over a wireless communication network. The wireless emergency alert may include an alert message and geographical coordinates defining one or more alert areas associated with the emergency alert. The method may further include comparing, via the vehicle computer system, a current location of the vehicle with the geographical coordinates to determine whether the vehicle is within or near the alert area(s) and, if the vehicle is within or near the alert area(s), generating via the computer system a map illustrating the current location of the vehicle with respect to the alert area(s), and displaying the map at a display screen of the vehicle.

Vehicle intelligent processing and presentation of wireless emergency alerts

Predictive bearer assignment for wireless networks is described herein. A wireless network can include a first base station and a second base station to provide dual connectivity to user equipments (UEs) operating in an environment. A bearer assignment component can receive network information, such as signal strength(s) and/or locations of the UEs in the environment, from UEs connected the first or second base stations. The bearer assignment component can determine, based on the network information, whether to assign a bearer to a UE attempting to connect to the first or second base station, and if so, a type of a bearer to assign to the UE. If similarly situated UEs experience a positive or negative outcome involving a bearer, the bearer assignment component can assign bearers to optimize communications between other UEs and the first or second base stations.

Predictive bearer assignment for wireless networks

Mobile networks may be configured to broadcast wireless emergency alert (WEA) messages to receiving mobile devices. A mobile device within the network may receive a WEA message including data defining a geographic region associated with the message. Using the data defining the geographic region for the WEA message, the mobile device may perform location-based geofencing techniques to determine whether to present a notification in response to the WEA message. In various examples, a mobile device may calculate an offset distance based on a transgression parameter and may determine a second geographic region using the offset distance. The mobile device also may determine its current location and compare the location to the second geographic region to determine whether to present the WEA message, thereby limiting and/or minimizing the negative effects of potential undershoot and overshoot errors caused by inaccurate location determinations by mobile devices.

Growing community of inventors

Prosper, TX, United States of America

Terri L Brooks