US 2004/0057408 A1 · Method and system of providing bandwidth on demand to WAN user from WLAN access point

Abstract

A system and method of providing bandwidth on demand to a Wide Area Network (WAN) user from a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point including determining a current position of a mobile appliance associated with the WAN user by a mobile switching center; transmitting the current position of the mobile appliance to a position location server over a WAN network; selecting a WLAN access point position location server that is accessible from the current position of the mobile appliance; determining the direction to the mobile appliance from the serving access point transmitting the direction to the serving access point; controlling a serving access point directional antenna so that it points in the direction of the mobile appliance; and establishing a communication link with the mobile appliance to provide bandwidth on a WLAN network to the WAN user, thereby enabling the WAN user to access and utilize a WLAN network for performing a task.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of providing bandwidth on demand to a Wide Area Network (WAN) user from a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point, comprising:

determining a current position of a mobile appliance associated with said WAN user;
transmitting the current position of said mobile appliance to a position location server over a WAN network;
selecting a WLAN access point from a plurality of WLAN access points that is accessible from the current position of said mobile appliance to provide a serving access point by said position location server;
determining the direction to said mobile appliance from said serving access point to provide directional information;
transmitting said directional information to said serving access point;
controlling a directional antenna of said serving access point in accordance with said directional information such that said directional antenna points in the direction of said mobile appliance;
establishing a communication link between said serving access point and said mobile appliance to provide bandwidth on a WLAN network to said WAN user, thereby enabling said WAN user to access and utilize a WLAN network for performing a task.

4 more elements

A system for providing bandwidth on demand to a Wide Area Network (WAN) user from a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point, comprising:

a WAN network having a plurality of cell sites;
a WLAN network having a plurality of WLAN access points, wherein each WLAN access point includes at least one directional antenna;
a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), connected to said WAN network, for determining a current position of said mobile appliance;
a mobile appliance associated with said WAN user and in communication with a serving cell site and said MSC, said serving cell site being one of said plurality of cell sites;
at least one position location server, connected to said WAN network and said WLAN network, for receiving the current position of said mobile appliance from said MSC over said WAN network, and selecting a WLAN access point from said plurality of WLAN access points that is accessible from and nearest to the current position of said mobile appliance to provide a serving WLAN access point;
and
wherein said serving WLAN access point is operable to establish a communication link with said mobile appliance and to provide a bandwidth on said WLAN network to said WAN user, thereby enabling said WAN user to access and utilize said WLAN network for performing a task.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and system of providing bandwidth on demand to WAN user from WLAN access point

Life of this patent

Method and system of providing bandwidth on demand to WAN user from WLAN access point

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20