Method and system for supporting wireless communications within an internetwork

A method for supporting wireless communications within an internetwork comprising steps of:

• (a) detecting a presence of a first wireless device within a territorial region of a first network that is specific to supporting connectivity with a plurality of wireless devices within said territorial region;
• (b) assigning a first dynamic internetwork protocol telephony address to said first wireless device, including selecting said first telephony address independently of telephony addresses assigned to said first wireless device by remote networks of said internetwork, where each said remote network is specific to supporting connectivity with said wireless devices when said wireless devices are in territorial regions supported by said remote networks;
• (c) detecting incoming calls directed to said first wireless device via said first network;
• (d) for each incoming call, determining whether said first wireless device is within said territorial region of said first network;
• (e) establishing connectivity for said incoming calls using resources of said first network if said first wireless device is within said territorial region;
• (f) determining dynamic internetwork protocol telephony addresses assigned to said first wireless device by said remote networks if said first wireless device is outside said territorial region;
• and
• (g) transmitting call-setup messages to remote networks for which a dynamic telephony address has been assigned to said first wireless device and communicated to said first network, each call-setup message that is transmitted to a particular remote network having the dynamic telephony address assigned to said first wireless device by said particular remote network, each call-setup message being configured to initiate connectivity for said each incoming call.

A system for supporting wireless communication among networks in an internetwork comprising:

• a home router-server located on a home network supporting wireless communication, said home router-server being configured to establish a wireless communication link between telephonic devices and a wireless communication device that is associated with a first IP-telephony address uniquely assigned by said home network, said home router-server being configured to remotely broadcast a locate-wireless-communication-device command including a device identifier in response to an incoming call from one of said telephonic devices to said wireless communication device, said device identifier being specific to said wireless communication device, said locate-wireless-communication-device message including a request for at least one remotely assigned dynamic IP-telephony address assigned to said wireless communication device by a remote network, said home router-server being further configured to remotely transmit at least one call-setup request including a known remotely assigned dynamic IP-telephony address;
• a second network linked to said home network to exchange messages and requests, said second network including a second router-server configured to transmit a second dynamic IP-telephony address as one of said remotely assigned dynamic IP-telephony addresses in response to said locate-wireless-communication-device message from said home router-server, said second router-server being further configured to establish a wireless communication link with said wireless communication device via a second wireless base station supported by said second network if said wireless communication device is within a transmission range of said second wireless base station;
• and
• a third network linked to said home network and said second network to exchange messages and requests, said third network including a third router-server configured to transmit a third dynamic IP-telephony address as one of said remotely assigned dynamic IP-telephony addresses in response to said locate-wireless-communication-device message from said home router-server, said third router-server being further configured to establish a wireless communication link with said wireless communication device via a third wireless base station supported by said third network if said wireless communication device is within a transmission range of said third wireless base station.

A system for supporting communications within an internetwork, including communications involving wireless communication devices that are relocatable among transmission regions of said internetwork, comprising:

• first, second and third networks that are interlinked to at least partially form said internetwork, each said network including:
• (a) a base station having a generally fixed transmission region with respect to supporting communications with said wireless communication devices;
• and
• (b) a call control means for establishing communication links and for assigning a dynamic internetwork protocol telephony address to each wireless communication device from which a device identifier is received via said base station, said device identifier being specific to said each wireless communication device, said assigned dynamic telephony address having a unique association with said each wireless communication device within said each network and said unique association being independent of assigned dynamic telephony addresses to said each wireless communication device in other networks of said first, second and third networks, each said call control means being configured such that:
• (1) said each call control means is enabled to transmit call-setup requests to first remote networks when an incoming call is directed to a remotely located wireless communication device via said each call control means, said remotely located wireless communication device being outside the generally fixed transmission region of the network in which said each call control means is included, said first remote networks being networks for which said each call control means has local memory access to dynamic telephony addresses assigned to said remotely located wireless communication device by said first remote networks;
• and
• (2) said each call control means is further enabled to transmit a locate-wireless-communication-device message to second remote networks for which local memory access to a dynamic telephony address is unavailable when said incoming call is directed to said remotely located wireless communication device, said locate-wireless-communication-device message including said device identifier that is specific to said remotely located wireless communication device and including a request for dynamic telephony addresses assigned to said remotely located wireless communication device by said second remote networks.