Discovery and Security in LWA Communication

An access point, comprising:

• at least one antenna node configured to couple to an antenna;
• and
• an interface circuit, coupled to at least the one antenna node, configured to communicate with a radio node in a cellular-telephone network and an electronic device, wherein the interface circuit is configured to:
• provide, from the interface circuit, a message with information about a wireless local area network (WLAN);
• establish, via the interface circuit, a secure-communication pathway with the radio node based at least in part on the information;
• receive, at the interface circuit, a request from the electronic device;
• associate, in response to the request and via the interface circuit, with the electronic device;
• communicate, via the secure-communication pathway, by taking data associated with frames for a cellular-telephone communication protocol that comprise second information that specifies the radio node and encapsulating the data in frames for an IEEE 802.11 communication protocol that comprise third information that specifies the electronic device;
• and
• provide, via the interface circuit, the frames with the encapsulated data intended for the electronic device.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with an access point, the computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed by the access point, causes the access point to perform operations comprising:

• providing, from the interface circuit, a message with information about a wireless local area network (WLAN);
• establishing, via the interface circuit, a secure-communication pathway with the radio node based at least in part on the information;
• receiving, at the interface circuit, a request from the electronic device;
• associating, in response to the request and via the interface circuit, with the electronic device;
• communicating, via the secure-communication pathway, by taking data associated with frames for a cellular-telephone communication protocol that comprise second information that specifies the radio node and encapsulating the data in frames for an IEEE 802.11 communication protocol that comprise third information that specifies the electronic device;
• and
• providing, via the interface circuit, the frames with the encapsulated data intended for the electronic device.

A method for communicating via a secure-communication pathway, comprising:

• by an access point:
• providing, from an interface circuit in the access point, a message with information about a wireless local area network (WLAN);
• establishing, via the interface circuit, the secure-communication pathway with a radio node based at least in part on the information;
• receiving, at the interface circuit, a request from an electronic device;
• associating, in response to the request and via the interface circuit, with the electronic device;
• communicating, via the secure-communication pathway, by taking data associated with frames for a cellular-telephone communication protocol that comprise second information that specifies the radio node and encapsulating the data in frames for an IEEE 802.11 communication protocol that comprise third information that specifies the electronic device;
• and
• providing, via the interface circuit, the frames with the encapsulated data intended for the electronic device.