Femtocell Fingerprinting

A system comprising:

• a central fingerprint database operable to store a fingerprint of a femtocell;
• a fingerprint manager in communication with the fingerprint database, the fingerprint manager configured to:
• create the fingerprint in the fingerprint database, and store, for the fingerprint, a fingerprint component that represents a characteristic of the femtocell;
• determine a reliability criteria for the fingerprint;
• and
• delete the fingerprint when the reliability criteria fails the reliability threshold;
• and
• a proximity detector in communication with the fingerprint database, the proximity detector configured to:
• obtain location information applicable to a device;
• compare the fingerprint to the location information to determine whether to trigger a cell search;
• and
• initiate an attempt to connect the device to the femtocell when the cell search is triggered.

A system comprising:

• a non-volatile fingerprint memory;
• a central fingerprint database;
• a fingerprint manager in communication with the fingerprint database, the fingerprint manager configured to:
• restore, after power-up, a fingerprint of a local cell for a restricted subscriber group from the non-volatile fingerprint memory to the central fingerprint database;
• create the fingerprint in the fingerprint database, and store, for the fingerprint, fingerprint components comprising characteristics of the local cell;
• update the fingerprint when an update criteria is met;
• determine a reliability criteria for the fingerprint;
• and
• delete the fingerprint when the reliability criteria fails the reliability threshold;
• a proximity detector in communication with the fingerprint database, the proximity detector configured to:
• obtain environment characteristics applicable to a device;
• compare the fingerprint to the environmental characteristics to determine whether to trigger a cell search;
• and
• initiate an attempt to connect the device to the local cell when the cell search is triggered;
• and
• where the fingerprint manager is operable to obtain the fingerprint components from among:
• a radio resource control input operable to convey a macrocell measurement as a fingerprint component to the fingerprint manager;
• a positioning system input operable to convey physical location information as a fingerprint component to the fingerprint manager;
• and
• a wireless network input operable to convey wireless access point information as a fingerprint component to the fingerprint manager.