# US 2014/0155046 A1 · Universal near field self-configuring femtocell > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0155046 A1 - Document ID: US20140155046A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/689,892 - Filed: 2012-11-30 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30 - Assignees: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC - Applicants: Centurylink Intellectual Property LLC - Inventors: Robert J. Morrill - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140155046A1 ## CPC - H04W 24/02: Arrangements for optimising operational condition - H04W 84/045: {using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B} - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract Embodiments of the present invention include a method for configuring a femtocell. In one embodiment, the method includes identifying a cellular device within near-field communication range of the femtocell. The method identifies a carrier network associated with the cellular device and automatically configures the femtocell to operate on the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A universal near field self-configuring femtocell comprising: a near-field-transceiver capable of near-field communication with a cellular device; a cellular transceiver; memory in communication with a processing unit, the memory including computer usable program code, and the processing unit executing the computer usable program code to: identify the cellular device in response to the cellular device being within a near-field communication range of the femtocell; identify a carrier network associated with the cellular device; and automatically configure the femtocell to operate on the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The universal near field self-configuring femtocell of claim 1, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to contact a configuration server for retrieving configuration parameters for establishing communications with the carrier network. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The universal near field self-configuring femtocell of claim 1, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to pre-stored configuration parameters for establishing communications with the carrier network. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The universal near field self-configuring femtocell of claim 1, further comprising a second cellular transceiver, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to configure the femtocell to operate on a second carrier network using the second cellular transceiver. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The universal near field self-configuring femtocell of claim 1, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to configure the femtocell to operate on both a second carrier network and the carrier network utilizing the cellular transceiver. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The universal near field self-configuring femtocell of claim 2, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to contact the configuration server for retrieving configuration parameters for establishing communications with the carrier network in response to identifying the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 7 A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions embodied in a tangible computer-readable medium, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions to: identify a cellular device in response to the cellular device being within a near-field communication range of a femtocell; identify a carrier network associated with the cellular device; and automatically configure the femtocell to operate on the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 8 A method for configuring a femtocell, the method comprising: identifying a cellular device within near-field communication range of the femtocell; identifying a carrier network associated with the cellular device; and automatically configuring the femtocell to operate on the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: requesting cellular provider information from the cellular device for identifying the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: automatically receiving cellular provider information from the cellular device for identifying the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the cellular provider information includes a service provider identifier and a user credential. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein automatically configuring the femtocell to operate on the carrier network associated with the cellular device is performed using pre-stored configuration parameters associated with the carrier network. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising contacting a configuration server for retrieving configuration parameters for establishing communications with the carrier network. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein contacting the configuration server for retrieving configuration parameters for establishing communications with the carrier network is performed in response to identifying the carrier network associated with the cellular device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein contacting the configuration server for retrieving configuration parameters for establishing communications with the carrier network is performed in response to the femtocell detecting a connection to a communications network. ### Claim 16 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein identifying the cellular device within near-field communication range of the femtocell includes identifying the cellular device in response to receiving a tap from the cellular device. ### Claim 17 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising providing an acknowledgment message to the cellular device indicating that the femtocell has been properly configured to operate with the cellular device. ### Claim 18 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising automatically reconfiguring the femtocell to operate on a second carrier network associated with a second cellular device within near-field communication range of the femtocell. ### Claim 19 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the femtocell is configured to operate with multiple carrier networks simultaneously for enabling communication to cellular devices operating on different carrier networks. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein the femtocell virtualizes communication on the second carrier network using a single cellular transceiver.