Determining wireless coverage of mobile device using route-based coverage map

Abstract

In some embodiments, a server may obtain wireless network coverage information from a crowdsourcing device, where the wireless network coverage information indicates wireless network coverage characteristics at different locations along various routes of travel. The server may determine a wireless coverage map for the area based on the wireless network coverage information, where for each location along one or more routes of travel within the area, the wireless coverage map may include a respective wireless coverage indication of a wireless coverage level of the wireless network at the respective location. The server may transmit route-based coverage information for a particular route to a mobile device, wherein the route-based coverage information includes the respective wireless coverage indications from the coverage map for one or more locations along the particular route.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 17 / 933,638, filed on September 20, 2022, entitled “DETERMINATION OF WIRELESS COVERAGE FOR A MOBILE DEVICE USING A ROUTE BASED COVERAGE MAP,” which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining and utilizing wireless network coverage information along a travel route.

[0004] 2. Description of related technologies

[0005] Wireless mobile devices, such as mobile phones and asset tracking devices, often engage in wireless communications along a route of travel. For asset tracking, for example, an asset tracking device may periodically transmit reports of its location and other information to a remote monitoring device or server via a wireless communication network. To save power, these mobile devices may often disconnect from the wireless network and enter a low-power state (e.g., power saving mode or PSM) between transmitting reports. To subsequently reconnect and transmit a report, they may first need to determine whether wireless coverage is available and from which networks, which may take time and consume battery power. Summary of the invention

[0006] An example method for providing route-based coverage information at a server according to the present invention may include: obtaining wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes. The method may also include: determining a wireless coverage map for an area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more travel routes within the area, the wireless coverage map includes a corresponding wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location. The method may also include: transmitting route-based coverage information for a particular route in the one or more travel routes to a mobile device, wherein the route-based coverage information includes corresponding wireless coverage indications for one or more locations along the particular route from the coverage map.

[0007] An example method for using route-based coverage information at a mobile device according to the present invention may include: receiving route-based coverage information for a particular travel route from a server, wherein for each of a plurality of locations along the particular route, the route-based coverage information includes a respective coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the respective location. The method may also include: determining a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the particular route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: an estimated location of the mobile device, and the route-based coverage information for the particular route.

[0008] An example server includes: a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices via the transceiver, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes. The one or more processors may be further configured to determine a wireless coverage map for an area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more travel routes within the area, the wireless coverage map includes a corresponding wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location. The one or more processors may be further configured to transmit route-based coverage information for a particular route in the one or more travel routes to a mobile device via the transceiver, wherein the route-based coverage information includes corresponding wireless coverage indications for one or more locations along the particular route from the coverage map.

[0009] An example mobile device includes: a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive route-based coverage information for a particular travel route from a server via the transceiver, wherein for each of a plurality of locations along the particular route, the route-based coverage information includes a respective coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the respective location. The one or more processors may be further configured to determine a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the particular route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: an estimated location of the mobile device, and the route-based coverage information for the particular route.

[0010] This summary is neither intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of the disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail in the following description, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is an illustration of a system that enables creation and use of route-based overlay maps, according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 is a simplified overhead view of an example route.

[0013] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 An illustration of example coverage information for a route.

[0014] Figure 4 is used for Figure 2 Example of relay availability information for a route.

[0015] Figure 5 is an illustration of an example coverage map that may be created based on crowdsourced information from crowdsourced mobile devices and stored at a coverage server according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 6 is a signal flow diagram of a crowdsourcing method according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 7 is a signal flow diagram of a method of using route-based coverage information from a coverage map according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a method of providing route-based coverage information at a server.

[0019] Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a method of using route-based coverage information at a mobile device.

[0020] Fig.10 is a block diagram of an implementation of a mobile device.

[0021] Fig.11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system.

[0022] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements according to certain example implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following description is directed to certain specific implementations for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of each embodiment. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. The described specific implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communication standard, such as any of the following: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 standard for ultra-wideband (UWB), the IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Technical standards), Standard, code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), GSM / general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA), wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), evolution data optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Revision A, EV-DO Revision B, high rate packet data (HRPD), high speed packet access (HSPA), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+), long term evolution (LTE), advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), or other known signals for communicating within a wireless, cellular or Internet of Things (IoT) network (such as, a system utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G or further specific implementations thereof). More specifically, although the embodiments described herein generally relate to determining the wireless coverage of a wireless wide area network (WWAN) (such as a cellular network), the embodiments may be applied to additional or alternative wireless networks.

[0024] As used herein, "RF signals" include electromagnetic waves that transmit information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of each RF signal through multiple channels or paths, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal.

[0025] As mentioned, a wireless mobile device may engage in communications using one or more wireless networks while traveling along a route. To this end, such wireless mobile devices may often need to perform scanning to detect whether wireless coverage is provided via one or more wireless networks. For example, a mobile device may listen to broadcast signals sent by a base station of a cellular network. However, this scanning process may take time and consume battery power, which may be extremely limited for many wireless mobile devices. For example, if there is no wireless coverage available from any available network at the current location of the mobile device, scanning for broadcast signals may take a lot of time (e.g., 10 seconds to 30 seconds), resulting in significant battery power consumption and ultimately will not allow the mobile device to communicate at all. It may be beneficial to know in advance whether wireless coverage is available, because when it is known that no wireless coverage is available, the mobile device will not need to scan for wireless coverage.

[0026] Embodiments herein solve these and other problems by creating a route-based coverage map that can be used by a wireless mobile device to determine the coverage of one or more wireless networks while traveling along a route. The coverage map of a route can be based on data collected for the area by crowdsourcing information from wireless devices in the area. Once having a route-based coverage map, the mobile device can then determine a schedule for when, where, and / or how to communicate along the route. Embodiments can be implemented using any of a variety of different components. Figure 1 An example system is provided in .

[0027] Figure 1 is a diagram of a system 100 that enables the creation and use of route-based coverage maps, according to an embodiment. Figure 1 Sample, Figure 1 These are provided as non-limiting examples, and alternative embodiments may have additional or alternative components, and / or the components may be connected in different ways. Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , arrows represent communication links, which may include wired and / or wireless communications that may be governed by different standards and / or protocols. It should also be understood that Figure 1 is a simplified diagram. The various components, networks, and communication links may include additional devices not shown, and Figure 1 The number and / or types of devices shown in the system 100 are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. The illustrated communication links connecting the various components in the system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0028] In system 100, mobile device 105 may include a wireless mobile device capable of communicating via one or more wireless networks. Examples of such mobile devices 105 include asset tags 110 and mobile phones 115. Other types of mobile devices 105 (not shown) may include, for example, laptops, tablets, personal data assistants (PDAs), navigation devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearable devices, in-vehicle communication systems (IVS), or some other portable or removable device with wireless communication capabilities. Depending on the desired functionality, mobile device 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, Long Term Evolution (LTE), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX TM ), 5G New Radio (NR), etc. The mobile device 105 may also support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which (similar to one or more RATs) may connect to other networks, such as the Internet. The use of wireless communications may enable the mobile device 105 to communicate with other components of the system 100 via the communication network 125 (e.g., via the wireless link 120).

[0029] Depending on the desired functionality, the communication network 125 may include any of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks, including a wireless network accessible by the mobile device 105 via the wireless link 120, whose wireless coverage information can be used for the creation and use of route-based coverage maps (as discussed in more detail below). The communication network 125 may, for example, include any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks, and / or wide area networks, etc. In addition, the communication network 125 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, the communication network 125 may include, for example, a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of the communication network 125 include long-term evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also referred to as new radio (NR) wireless networks or 5G NR wireless networks), Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The communication network 125 may also include more than one type of network.

[0030] According to some embodiments, the mobile device 105 may be able to communicate with the communication network 125 via one or more satellite networks 130 (which may also be referred to as satellites 130). According to some embodiments, the satellite network 130 may include a satellite-based communication network having satellites (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) capable of communicating with ground devices including the mobile device 105. The satellites in the satellite network 130 may include, for example, a group of low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and / or geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites that are communicatively coupled to one or more ground networks (e.g., the communication network 125). The satellite network 130 may be referred to as a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and according to some embodiments, the satellites of the satellite network 130 may functionally support and operate non-terrestrial transmit / receive points (TRPs) (also referred to as transmit / receive points) of a WWAN network (e.g., LTE and / or NR network). The satellites 130 used for communication may be different from the satellites used for global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning (which may be accessed by the mobile device 105, as described elsewhere herein).

[0031] According to some embodiments, the mobile device 105 may be able to communicate with the communication network 125 via one or more relay devices 135. As shown, the relay device 135 may include mobile devices such as cars, IVS, cellular phones, asset tags, etc., which may include the same type of device as the mobile device 105, or may be different. The mobile device 105 may communicate with the relay device 135 via a device-to-device (D2D) link 140 such as a proximity service (ProSe) or a side link. The D2D link 140 may employ side link signaling and may relay communications between the mobile device 105 and the communication network 125 via the relay device 135. That is, if the mobile device 105 is outside the wireless coverage area of ​​the communication network 125 but within the wireless communication range of one or more relay devices 135 within the wireless coverage area, the one or more relay devices 135 may effectively extend the wireless coverage area of ​​the communication network 125 to the mobile device 105 via the D2D link 140. In some scenarios, multiple relay devices 135 may form a communication chain, such that communications between mobile device 105 and communication network 125 may pass through multiple relay devices 135. In an alternative embodiment, relay device 135 may include base station functionality and may be viewed by mobile device 105 as a base station of communication network 125, in which case relaying may occur via relay 135 and link 140 using uplink / downlink signaling rather than sidelink signaling.

[0032] The monitoring device 145 may include one or more devices remote from the mobile device 105 that communicate with the mobile device 105. The monitoring device 145 may be used by an individual, company, agency, other entity, or a combination thereof to monitor and / or manage the mobile device 105, and may include one or more servers, laptops, PCs, mobile devices, dedicated hardware, etc. For example, in an application such as asset tracking, the mobile device 105 may include one or more asset tags 110 that periodically communicate their location to the monitoring device 145. The monitoring device 145 may include a server that collects this information, which may be accessed via a portal or application, executed by a computer or mobile device, indicating the location of one or more asset tags 110 to a user (e.g., via a display). The monitoring device 145 may also collect statistical information about the asset tags 110 for data analysis, logic optimization, etc.

[0033] The route server 150 may include a computer server accessible by the mobile device 105 that provides the mobile device 105 with a route to travel. In some embodiments, the route server 150 may simply use map information to determine the route based on the departure and destination. In some embodiments, the departure and destination may be provided by the mobile device 105, in which case the route server 150 may then provide the route that the mobile device 105 will take. In some embodiments, the departure and destination may be provided by another device (e.g., a monitoring device 145, a vehicle transporting the mobile device 105, etc.). In some embodiments, the route server 150 may perform higher-level logistics management of the mobile device 105, in which case it may determine the departure and destination. For example, this may occur if the route server 150 manages the routes of a package delivery service, which may optimize the route determination of the fleet. The route may be determined based on factors such as fuel efficiency, current traffic conditions, other road conditions, weather, vehicle mileage, and / or other capabilities, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the route server 150 may determine the route of the vehicle transporting the mobile device 105, and then may provide route information to the vehicle and the mobile device 105. In some embodiments, the vehicle may provide route information to the mobile device 105, which may be received by the vehicle from the route server 150. In some embodiments, the route server 150 may provide the route to the coverage server 155, which may then determine coverage information based on the route and provide the route and coverage information to the mobile device 105.

[0034] The coverage server 155 may include a computer server accessible by the mobile device 105 that receives crowdsourced information from the mobile device 105 and / or provides route-based coverage information to the mobile device 105. In short, the coverage server 155 may receive information about wireless coverage characteristics from the mobile device 105 to create a route-based coverage map for the area. A route-based coverage map for a region is a map indicating the roads (or at least the main roads) in a particular area and the coverage levels at various locations along each road on the map. Once the route-based coverage map is developed, the coverage server 155 may then provide coverage information about the expected route of travel to the mobile device 105 (which may include the same or different mobile device 105 as the mobile device that provided the crowdsourced information for creating the map). Using this coverage information, the mobile device 105 may then determine a plan (or schedule) for communicating along the route, which may help maximize efficiency, battery life, etc.

[0035] Figure 2 is a simplified top view of an example route 200, illustrating how a route may be accessed from a mobile device (e.g., Figure 1 In this example, the mobile device travels along route 200 from departure location 210 to destination 220. As the mobile device travels along route 200, it can send crowdsourced information to a server (e.g., Figure 1 The coverage server 155 or another remote device transmits information about coverage (and optionally other information) for use in creating a route-based coverage map.

[0036] Coverage information may be collected at various sensing locations 230 along route 200. (To avoid clutter, Figure 2 ) Depending on the desired functionality, the locations of the sensing locations 230 may be determined by the mobile device or by a server that may provide information to the mobile device regarding collecting data before the mobile device travels along the route 200. For example, the server may determine specific locations along the route 200 where coverage information is insufficient, and may configure the mobile device to collect coverage information at those specific locations. Additionally or alternatively, the sensing locations 230 may be determined by the mobile device or the server before and / or during the mobile device's travel along the route 200 based on a periodicity of time and / or distance (e.g., every X minutes and / or every Y meters or Y kilometers), a predetermined schedule, a predetermined location (e.g., at the beginning, middle, or end of a predetermined road segment), a trigger condition (e.g., sensing a change exceeding a threshold in coverage, speed, altitude, temperature, etc., or a combination thereof), or a combination thereof.

[0037] At each sensing location 230, the mobile device may determine coverage information for one or more wireless networks. To this end, the mobile device may perform a scan of RF signals to determine whether wireless coverage is available and / or may measure the signal strength / power level of one or more wireless networks for which wireless coverage is available. According to some embodiments, the mobile device that collects coverage information for multiple wireless networks may perform sensing for all wireless networks at each sensing location 230, or may perform sensing for only some wireless networks (e.g., the same or different wireless networks) at different sensing locations 230.

[0038] Depending on the desired functionality, other information may also be collected at each sensing location 230 and provided to the server along with the coverage information. The other information may include any of a variety of types of information that may be used by other mobile devices that subsequently travel along the route 200, and may depend on the type of sensors that the mobile device has that are capable of obtaining the other information. The other information may include, but is not limited to, traffic levels, the availability (e.g., number) of nearby relay devices 135, temperature, the speed of the mobile device, and / or the speed or speed information of other vehicles near the mobile device, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the number of available nearby repeater devices 135 may be reported, which may potentially be used to indicate whether a connection to a wireless network via a repeater device 135 is available at a given sensing location 230 if coverage is not otherwise available.

[0039] The manner in which the mobile device reports coverage information to the server may vary depending on the desired functionality. If wireless coverage is available along route 200, the mobile device may transmit a report to the server at each sensing location 230. If wireless coverage becomes unavailable at any of sensing locations 230, the mobile device may store the information and provide it to the server at a later point in time when coverage is available again. According to some embodiments, the mobile device may store all information obtained at each of sensing locations 230 and transmit the information to the server in one batch after reaching destination 220.

[0040] The coverage information included in the report transmitted to the server may also vary. For each sensing location 230, the coverage information may include whether coverage is available (e.g., a binary "yes" or "no"), an indication of how good the coverage may be (e.g., based on the signal power level detected at the sensing location 230), which wireless networks are detected, or a combination thereof. For each sensing location 230, the reported coverage information may be accompanied by a timestamp of when the coverage information for the corresponding sensing location 230 was obtained and the location of the corresponding sensing location 230. The location information of the mobile device may be obtained by the mobile device using GNSS and / or inertial and other sensors (e.g., odometer, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer). The location information may include absolute coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude) and / or relative location information (e.g., a location along a road such as a mile marker, and / or a position relative to a reference point on the route 200, where the position may be defined as the distance traveled between the position and the reference point along the route 200, or the straight-line distance between the position and the reference point). Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the information reported by the mobile device may include information other than coverage information, such as temperature, speed, relay devices, and the like.

[0041] Because crowdsourced information may not be limited to a single mobile device, embodiments may coordinate crowdsourcing in an efficient manner. Such coordination may be performed by an overlay server (e.g., Figure 1The crowdsourcing coordination may be arranged by a coverage server 155 of the vehicle or other devices (including the mobile device itself). In addition, such crowdsourcing coordination may take into account the capabilities of the mobile devices. For example, crowdsourcing coordination between multiple asset tracking devices may take into account the battery capabilities of each asset tracking device. If the first asset tracking device only has three hours of battery power left, but the route takes six hours to complete, the first asset tracking device may obtain coverage (and optionally other) information for the first half of the route, and the second device (on the same vehicle, or on a separate vehicle traveling the same route) may obtain coverage information for the second half of the route. If these asset tracking devices are within communication range of each other, they can coordinate with each other. For example, after obtaining coverage information for the first half of the route, the first asset tracking device may communicate with the second asset tracking device (which may not have yet obtained coverage information) to configure the second asset tracking device to obtain coverage information for the second half of the route. According to some embodiments, the first asset tracking device may select the second asset tracking device (e.g., from a plurality of additional asset tracking devices) based on battery capabilities. That is, if the second asset tracking device has a higher battery capacity and / or capability than the other asset tracking devices and / or sufficient battery capacity to obtain coverage information for the second half of the route, the second asset tracking device may be selected. Determining the battery capacity of the mobile device and / or server may be based on the current power profile provided by the mobile device. According to some embodiments, the first mobile device configured to obtain coverage information for the route may decide to transfer the task of obtaining coverage information for the route based on, for example, a battery life percentage falling below a threshold level, a determination that the remaining battery will be insufficient to obtain coverage information for the route (or the remaining portion of the route, or the time period before the device reaches a known charging location), and / or other factors.

[0042] Figure 3 is an illustration of coverage information for route 200 that may be compiled by a server that receives crowdsourced information from mobile devices traveling along route 200. Over time, as mobile devices continue to provide coverage information along route 200 to the server, the server may determine network coverage along route 200. The fidelity and completeness of this information may increase with each report received from the mobile device. As mentioned, the server may identify certain locations along route 200 where additional coverage information may be desired, in which case it may instruct the mobile device (e.g., before the mobile device travels along route 200) to collect coverage information at these locations.

[0043] In this example, route 200 is divided into various road segments based on coverage. As shown, route 200 includes segments with good network coverage 310, segments with poor network coverage 320, and segments with no network coverage 330. Alternative embodiments may convey similar information in different ways. For example, according to some embodiments, route 200 or a road may be divided into segments of predetermined lengths (e.g., segments of X meters or kilometers), each of which has its own coverage information. Additionally or alternatively, the type of coverage information provided may vary based on information received by the server from crowdsourced mobile devices (e.g., binary "yes" or "no", signal strength, available networks, etc.). In addition, each of a plurality of wireless networks may be provided with information such as Figure 3 The coverage information shown may be provided for each segment, and / or coverage information about each network may be provided for each segment. For example, some embodiments may indicate that a segment with good network coverage 310 includes coverage from wireless networks A and B, while a segment with poor network coverage 320 has coverage only from wireless network B, and so on.

[0044] like Figure 3 The coverage information compiled by the server as shown may be based on time, in which case specific times (e.g., time of day and / or day of week) or specific time periods (e.g., 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., midnight to 7:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday, etc.) may be included along with other coverage information for each segment or location along route 200. Additional time-based information may be useful when coverage information for a route such as route 200 undergoes changes at different times and on different days (e.g., daytime versus nighttime, or weekdays versus weekends). For example, some networks may reduce coverage along certain routes when traffic is low (e.g., at night or on weekends) to save power, and may enhance coverage when traffic is high (e.g., during the day or on weekdays). Similarly, other types of coverage information (such as the availability of repeaters) may also vary depending on the time and / or day.

[0045] As mentioned, additional information may be provided to the server when a mobile device provides crowdsourced information about a route, in which case the server may compile additional information for the route (eg, average temperature or average traffic levels for different segments of route 200). Figure 4 An example of this situation is provided.

[0046] Figure 4 is an illustration of relay availability for route 200. As mentioned previously, the mobile device providing crowdsourced information may be able to determine relay availability at different sensing locations along route 200 and provide this along with coverage information. The server may then use this information to create relay availability information for the route, such as Figure 4Relay availability may be indicated by an average number of other mobile devices in the vicinity of the mobile device that have the capability to act as relay devices 135. The mobile device may detect the relay device 135 capability from a signal (e.g., a sidelink or downlink signal sent by the relay device 135 indicating or suggesting that the relay device 135 also has access to the wireless network), but in some cases (e.g., when the relay device 135 uses uplink / downlink signaling to perform relaying), it may not be possible to detect that the received downlink signal is transmitted from the relay device 135 instead of from the wireless network.

[0047] Similar to coverage information, relay information can be communicated in any of a variety of ways. Figure 4 In the example shown, route 200 is divided into different segments having relay availability 410 above a threshold and relay availability 420 below a threshold. The threshold may, for example, indicate a minimum average number of nearby relay devices 135 to ensure connectivity to the wireless network (via relay connections) above a certain probability. Of course, other embodiments may provide map-based information about relay availability in different ways, such as a non-binary grading (e.g., "low," "medium," and "high" groupings), grouping by the average number of nearby relay devices (e.g., groups with 0-5, 6-10, or 11-15 connections, etc.), etc. In addition, the segmentation of route 200 may be performed differently, as previously described with reference to Figure 3 described.

[0048] Figure 5 5 is a diagram of an example coverage map 500 that may be created and stored at a coverage server based on crowdsourced information from crowdsourced mobile devices. That is, as mobile devices travel along various routes and report coverage information at various sensing locations (e.g., as described with respect to FIG. 5 ), the coverage map 500 may be created based on crowdsourced information from crowdsourced mobile devices and stored at a coverage server. Figure 2 As described above), the server can not only accumulate coverage information for a single route (e.g. Figure 3 and Figure 4 ), and may accumulate coverage information for some or all roads in the entire area. Accumulating coverage information may include obtaining an average or weighted average of coverage information obtained from separate mobile devices about the same sensor location and / or the same road segment (e.g., an average or weighted average of signal strength or signal power measurements), which may improve the accuracy and reliability of coverage information. For example, if at a particular sensor location, 90% of mobile devices report that coverage is available from networks A, B, and C, and 10% of mobile devices report that coverage is available from networks A and B, but not from network C, the coverage server may determine that wireless coverage at the sensor location is always available from networks A and B, but only with a 10% probability of being available from network C.

[0049] As mentioned above, the data in the coverage map 500 may include time and / or day related information (e.g., an indication of applicable time periods or applicable days of the week). In this case, the coverage server may create multiple coverage maps 500 for a particular area, where each coverage map 500 is limited to a particular time period (e.g., 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and / or a particular day or days of the week (e.g., weekdays or weekends).

[0050] As shown in this example, map 500 includes road segments with good network coverage 510, road segments with poor network coverage 520, and road segments with no network coverage 530 for the entire area. In this way, the coverage server can determine route information for almost any specific route from a departure point 540 to a destination 550, which it can provide to mobile devices traveling along the specific route. Other information accompanying the coverage information can also be stored by the coverage server and provided to mobile devices in a similar manner. Because the coverage server can receive coverage and other crowdsourced information from multiple mobile devices over time, it can detect and remove anomalous data that does not conform to similar data provided by other mobile devices (e.g., within a threshold). Removing anomalous data in this way can help ensure the integrity of the crowdsourced data stored by the coverage server.

[0051] Providing coverage information can be performed in different ways, depending on the desired functionality. For a given route, which may be determined by a coverage server or provided by another device (as previously explained), the coverage server may provide coverage data corresponding to the route. Additionally or alternatively, for example, if the coverage server also determines the route, the route and coverage information may be provided to the mobile device together. Route information may be communicated based on coverage (e.g., a start and end point for a defined coverage level on a road or route), predetermined segments (e.g., coverage describing a single 10-mile segment (or segment of another selected length) along a route), or a combination thereof. The coverage data provided may also be based in part on the time period and / or day of the week during which the device will travel along the route.

[0052] Using coverage information about a route, a mobile device can determine a plan or schedule for communicating while traveling along the route. This can involve determining when, where, and / or how to communicate with one or more remote devices, or any combination thereof. For example, a mobile device can determine specific locations along a route at which the mobile device will transmit location information to remote devices (e.g., Figure 1 For example, the mobile device may use the coverage information to determine which locations to use and the networks it can use at each location. For areas along the route that do not have network coverage, the mobile device may determine not to attempt to transmit location information, or may determine to use an NTN communication link (e.g., Figure 1 Satellite network 130). While traveling on the route, the mobile device can execute a communication plan based on the coverage map and knowledge of where it is along the route. The location can be determined using a GNSS receiver (if available), or the approximate location can be estimated using sensor information (e.g., odometer and / or other information received from the vehicle, accelerometer information, etc.). According to some embodiments in which the approximate location is estimated, the mobile device can use known current and / or previous coverage to more accurately determine its location on the route, as well as possible periods of continued coverage or no coverage. When coverage is indicated as available, the mobile device can then report its location to the monitoring device. According to some embodiments, the entity receiving the mobile device report may include an entity from which the mobile device receives coverage information (e.g., Figure 1 The functionality of the coverage server 155 and the monitoring device 145 may be combined in a single entity). Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device using the coverage information for the route may also provide crowdsourced information to the monitoring device 145 or a separate crowdsourcing server. In other words, a single mobile device may utilize the coverage information for the route and provide crowdsourced information about route coverage in a single trip along the route. In this way, the coverage map may be continuously updated (e.g., by the coverage server) based on the latest crowdsourced information. The algorithm for identifying and removing anomalous information may then take into account the possibility that the new information received by the mobile device may reflect a change in coverage.

[0053] Figure 6 6 is a signal flow diagram of how a method 600 of crowdsourcing may be performed according to some embodiments. As shown, the method 600 may be performed by a mobile device 610 and a server 620. The mobile device 610 may correspond to Figure 1 The mobile device 105 of FIG. 104 and, in particular, corresponds to a crowdsourcing mobile device for obtaining wireless coverage information for a travel route. As previously mentioned, the crowdsourcing mobile device may or may not use route-based coverage information when obtaining coverage information for a route. The server 620 may correspond to a coverage server as described elsewhere herein (e.g., Figure 1 Depending on the desired functionality, server 620 may perform other functions described herein, such as for routing mobile devices and / or monitoring mobile devices.

[0054] Method 600 may begin at operation 630, where mobile device 610 and server 620 synchronize in anticipation of crowdsourcing. This may include mobile device 610 indicating to server 620 that it will be traveling along a route at a later date and / or time. This may be in response to, for example, mobile device 610 determining the route or receiving a request from another device (e.g., Figure 1In some embodiments, operation 630 may include server 620 indicating to mobile device 610 that mobile device 610 will move along the route at a later date and / or time. This may be in response to a request for route information from mobile device 610 or another device. Alternatively, server 620 may be provided with an indication of the route, which it may relay to mobile device 610.

[0055] At operation 635, server 620 requests coverage information from mobile device 610. According to some embodiments, server 620 may decide to make the request at operation 635 in response to determining that the information in the coverage map for the route is insufficient and / or may need to be updated. According to some embodiments, the request for coverage information may include information about how the mobile device can obtain coverage. This may include, for example, an indication of a sensing location (e.g., sensing location 230), a frequency (e.g., in time and / or distance) at which coverage information is to be obtained, an identity of one or more wireless networks from which coverage information is to be obtained, a format for reporting coverage information, or a combination thereof.

[0056] At operation 640, the mobile device then begins the route. As mentioned, the mobile device may include a device transported via a separate vehicle. According to some embodiments, the mobile device 610 may be notified when the route begins (e.g., via user input, a message received by another device, etc.). According to some embodiments, the mobile device 610 may automatically determine when travel along the route has begun based on GNSS and / or other location data indicating travel along the route.

[0057] Operations 645, 650, and 655 may occur during the route. Specifically, at operation 645, the mobile device 610 samples the wireless coverage at a certain location. As mentioned in the previously described embodiments, sampling the wireless coverage may include determining whether an RF signal can be received from one or more wireless networks and / or performing measurements to determine the power of the RF signal received from one or more wireless networks. The mobile device may also sample other characteristics such as weather, temperature, traffic, the presence of relay devices, etc. As indicated by operation 650, the mobile device may optionally transmit one or more coverage characteristics indicating the sampling. More specifically, the one or more characteristics may include an indication of whether there is wireless coverage, a measurement of a wireless signal from any of the one or more wireless networks, a timestamp of the measurement, a location at which the measurement was performed, or a combination thereof.

[0058] As mentioned at operation 655, operation 645 and (optionally) operation 650 may be repeated at different locations along the route until the mobile device completes the route, as mentioned at operation 660. Similar to starting the route, the mobile device 610 may be notified of the completion of the route via manual and / or automatic means. As shown at operation 665, the mobile device 610 may optionally transmit coverage characteristics of the entire route after completing the route. This may occur, for example, without the mobile device 610 performing operation 650.

[0059] Figure 7 700 is a signal flow diagram of how route-based coverage information from a coverage map may be used according to some embodiments. As shown, the method 700 may be performed by a mobile device 710 and a server 720. The mobile device 710 may correspond to Figure 1 The mobile device 105 of the present invention, and in particular, corresponds to a mobile device that uses coverage information provided by the server 720 to determine when to communicate with a monitoring device (e.g., the monitoring device 145). The mobile device 710 may be different from the mobile device 610 used in the method 600. That is, as discussed below, the mobile device 710 may be used to obtain additional crowdsourced information about coverage of the route. The server 720 may also correspond to a coverage server as described elsewhere herein (e.g., Figure 1 coverage server 155).

[0060] Method 600 may begin at operation 730, where mobile device 610 and server 620 synchronize use of coverage information regarding a route. This may include mobile device 710 indicating to server 720 that it will travel along the route at some later date and / or time or time period. This may be in response to, for example, mobile device 710 determining the route or receiving a request from another device (e.g., Figure 1 In some embodiments, operation 730 may include server 720 indicating to mobile device 710 that mobile device 710 will move along the route at a later date and / or time or time period. This may be in response to a request for route information from mobile device 710 or another device. Alternatively, server 720 may be provided with an indication of the route, which it may relay to mobile device 610.

[0061] At operation 735, the server 720 provides coverage map information about the route to the mobile device 610, and may provide the date and / or time period for traveling along the route. As described in the previous embodiment, the server 720 can extract coverage information for the route from the coverage map (e.g., Figure 5 In other words, the coverage information for a route may include a portion of a coverage map corresponding to the route (e.g., Figure 3shown).

[0062] Depending on the desired functionality, the coverage information may vary. The coverage information may include, for example, an indication of whether wireless coverage exists (at each point or segment) at each of the various points (or different segments) along the route, the degree of wireless coverage, power measurements of wireless signals from wireless networks, identification of one or more wireless networks that do or do not provide wireless coverage, or a combination thereof. In addition, as mentioned elsewhere herein, the server 720 may provide additional information about the route, such as weather, temperature, traffic, the presence or availability of relay devices, and the like.

[0063] At operation 740, the mobile device 710 determines a communication plan (also referred to as a communication schedule) for the route. As previously described, the mobile device may determine a communication plan based on coverage information and optional additional information about the route. This may include when, where and / or how to communicate with a remote device (e.g., a monitoring device), or any combination thereof. Or specifically, according to some embodiments, the communication plan for a route may include multiple times to communicate wirelessly with a remote device, multiple locations to communicate wirelessly with a remote device, a wireless network for wirelessly communicating with a remote device, whether to use a relay device to access a wireless network to communicate wirelessly with a remote device, whether to use an NTN to communicate wirelessly with a remote device, or a combination thereof.

[0064] At operation 745, the mobile device then begins the route. Figure 6 According to method 600, according to some embodiments, mobile device 710 can be notified when the route begins (e.g., via user input, a message received by another device, etc.). According to some embodiments, mobile device 710 can automatically determine when travel along the route has begun based on GNSS and / or other location data indicating travel along the route (e.g., odometer or other sensor readings).

[0065] At operation 750, the mobile device 710 communicates with the monitoring device (e.g., provides its current location to the monitoring device) according to the communication plan determined at operation 740. Again, the communication may be performed at certain time-based and / or distance-based frequencies, at certain locations, etc., which may be affected based on coverage along the route. In order to communicate according to the communication plan (or schedule), the mobile device 710 may estimate its current location, which may be performed using a GNSS receiver and / or other sensors of the mobile device 710, as previously described, and may then determine from the coverage map received at operation 735 that wireless coverage that allows the communication is or should be available at the location.

[0066] The operation in frame 755 is an optional crowdsourcing operation that can be performed by mobile device 710 in some embodiments. The specific functionality of operations 760 and 765 (and subsequent operation 770) can echo the corresponding functions in method 600. That is, operations 760 and 765 can occur when mobile device 710 travels along the route. At operation 760, mobile device 710 samples the wireless coverage at a certain location and optionally samples other characteristics. This information can then be transmitted to server 720 at operation 765, and / or can be transmitted at operation 770 after the route is completed at operation 775 (e.g., as a batch of information about all samples taken along the route). As indicated by operation 780, operation 750 and (optionally) the crowdsourcing operation in frame 755 can be repeated at different locations along the route until the mobile device completes the route at operation 775. Depending on the desired functionality, the communication location of the mobile device 710 at operation 750 may be the same as or different than the location at which the mobile device 710 performs the crowdsourcing operation in block 755 .

[0067] By obtaining and providing route-based coverage information, the embodiments of this article can provide various advantages over existing solutions. Route-based coverage information can help provide an effective solution for mobile devices, which is not necessarily specific to the transportation industry. The coverage information provided to the mobile device can enable the mobile device to determine a communication plan or schedule, in which the mobile device can decide when to enter a sleep or power saving mode and when to wake up. The device can remain in sleep mode in an area without coverage, thereby saving power by avoiding scanning for available wireless networks. This can help enable mobile devices such as IOT devices to optimize battery efficiency, making it higher than existing standards. In addition, because many mobile devices can be used for crowdsourcing coverage information, data (e.g., measurement results) can be combined (e.g., via averaging), and abnormal data can be identified and omitted, thereby helping to ensure the credibility and reliability of the coverage map. According to some embodiments, the service can be used to manage or track mobile devices, and notify end users of location updates of mobile devices (e.g., in real time). In addition, as also mentioned, other conditions such as temperature, altitude, road conditions, traffic levels, or any combination thereof can be collected and communicated to mobile devices and / or other entities traveling along the route.

[0068] Figure 8 is a method 800 for providing route-based coverage information at a server (e.g., coverage server 155 or route server 150) according to one embodiment. Aspects of method 800 reflect the functionality of the server as described in the embodiments herein, including reference to Figure 6 and Figure 7 The functionality discussed in the method. Figure 8The operations shown in the blocks may be performed by software and / or components of a computing device. Examples of such components are described below with reference to Fig.11 describe.

[0069] At block 810, functionality includes obtaining wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes. Figure 6 As described, a server may obtain wireless network coverage information as coverage information for a crowdsourcing process in which a server may request and subsequently receive coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices in an area for which a wireless coverage map is to be created or updated. According to some embodiments, the wireless network coverage characteristics at the first plurality of locations include: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, a measurement of a wireless signal from any of the one or more wireless networks, a timestamp of the measurement, a location at which the measurement was made, or a combination thereof.

[0070] The components for performing the functionality at block 810 may include, for example, Fig.11 The computer system 1100 is shown with a bus 1105 , a processor 1110 , storage devices 1125 , a communication subsystem 1130 , a memory 1135 (including an operating system 1140 and / or applications 1145 ), and / or other components.

[0071] At block 820, the functionality includes determining a wireless coverage map for the area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more travel routes within the area, the wireless coverage map includes a corresponding wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location. Figures 2 to 5), the wireless coverage indication may indicate wireless coverage in different ways, depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments of method 800, the wireless coverage indication indicating the level of wireless coverage of the one or more wireless networks includes: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, the level of wireless coverage, a power measurement of a wireless signal from a wireless network, an identification of one or more wireless networks that provide or do not provide wireless coverage, a time period, or a combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, for each of the one or more wireless networks, the wireless coverage indication also indicates the possibility that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network. In such embodiments, the possibility that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network can be determined from information about the presence of a repeater included in the wireless network coverage information. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, each of the first plurality of locations and the second plurality of locations includes a segment along a corresponding route of travel, a fixed point along a corresponding route of travel, or a combination thereof.

[0072] Means for performing the functionality at block 820 may include, for example, Fig.11 The computer system 1100 is shown with a bus 1105 , a processor 1110 , storage devices 1125 , a communication subsystem 1130 , a memory 1135 (including an operating system 1140 and / or applications 1145 ), and / or other components.

[0073] At block 830, functionality includes transmitting route-based coverage information for a particular route in the one or more travel routes to a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 105), wherein the route-based coverage information includes corresponding wireless coverage indications for one or more locations along the particular route from a coverage map. Figure 7 As described, a coverage map of a route may be provided in response to a request from the mobile device or another device (e.g., a server). Thus, for some embodiments of method 800, transmitting route-based coverage information for a particular route to a mobile device may be responsive to receiving a request for route-based coverage information from the mobile device. Some embodiments may also include receiving a particular route from the mobile device or from another server. In addition, according to some embodiments, the server itself may determine the route. Thus, some embodiments of method 800 may include determining a particular route for a mobile device based on a departure point and a destination, wherein transmitting route-based coverage information for a particular route to a mobile device includes transmitting route-based coverage information and information about the particular route.

[0074] The means for performing the functionality at block 830 may include, for example, Fig.11The computer system 1100 is shown as having a bus 1105 , a processor 1110 , storage devices 1125 , a communication subsystem 1130 , a memory 1135 (including an operating system 1140 and / or applications 1145 ), and / or other components.

[0075] Fig. 9 900 is a method of using route-based coverage information at a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 105) according to one embodiment. Aspects of method 900 reflect the functionality of a mobile device as described in the embodiments herein, including reference to Figure 6 and Figure 7 The functionality discussed in the method. Fig. 9 The operations shown in the boxes may be performed by software and / or components of the mobile device. Examples of such components are described below with reference to Fig.10 describe.

[0076] At box 910, functionality includes receiving route-based coverage information for a particular route of travel from a server (e.g., route server 150 or coverage server 155), wherein for each of a plurality of locations along the particular route, the route-based coverage information includes a corresponding coverage indication indicating a level of wireless coverage of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location. Depending on the desired functionality, each of the plurality of locations may include a segment along the corresponding route of travel, a fixed point along the corresponding route of travel, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the wireless coverage indication indicating the level of wireless coverage of the one or more wireless networks may include: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, a level of wireless coverage, a power measurement of a wireless signal from a wireless network, an identification of one or more wireless networks that do or do not provide wireless coverage, a time period, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, for each of the one or more wireless networks, the wireless coverage indication may also indicate a likelihood that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network.

[0077] According to some embodiments, the functionality at block 910 may be part of a larger process. For example, according to some embodiments, method 900 may include, before receiving route-based coverage information for a particular route, transmitting a request for route-based coverage information for a particular route to a server. In such embodiments, the request may include information about the particular route. Such embodiments may also include receiving information about the particular route from another server.

[0078] Means for performing the functionality at block 910 may include, for example, Fig.10The mobile device 1000 is shown with a bus 1005 , a processor 1010 , a digital signal processor (DSP) 1020 , a wireless communication interface 1030 , a sensor 1040 , a memory 1060 , a GNSS receiver 1080 , and / or other components.

[0079] At box 920, functionality includes determining a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the particular route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: an estimated location of the mobile device, and route-based coverage information for the particular route. As mentioned in the previously described embodiments, a communication schedule or plan may involve how, when, and / or where to communicate. Therefore, according to some embodiments of the method, determining the communication schedule may include: determining multiple times to wirelessly communicate with a remote device, determining multiple locations to wirelessly communicate with a remote device, determining a wireless network for wirelessly communicating with a remote device, using a relay device to access a wireless network to wirelessly communicate with a remote device, using a non-terrestrial network (e.g., a satellite network) to wirelessly communicate with a remote device, or a combination thereof.

[0080] Means for performing the functionality at block 920 may include, for example, Fig.10 The mobile device 1000 is shown with a bus 1005 , a processor 1010 , a digital signal processor (DSP) 1020 , a wireless communication interface 1030 , a sensor 1040 , a memory 1060 , a GNSS receiver 1080 , and / or other components.

[0081] Some embodiments of method 900 may also include one or more additional features described in the foregoing embodiments. For example, some embodiments of method 900 may also include: for each of one or more reported locations along a particular route, transmitting a coverage report to a server, wherein the coverage report includes wireless network coverage characteristics for each of the one or more reported locations. The wireless network coverage characteristics for each of the one or more reported locations may include: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, a measurement of a wireless signal from any of the one or more wireless networks, a timestamp for the measurement, a location at which the measurement was made, or a combination thereof.

[0082] Fig.10 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile device 1000 that can be utilized as described above (e.g., in conjunction with the aforementioned figures). For example, the mobile device 1000 can be used as and / or correspond to the mobile device 105, the relay device 135, the monitoring device 145, the mobile device 610, the mobile device 710, or any combination thereof, as described herein. It should be noted that Fig.10It is intended only to provide a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. In addition, the functionality of the UE (e.g., mobile device 105) discussed herein may be provided by Fig.10 One or more of the illustrated hardware and / or software components execute.

[0083] Mobile device 1000 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via bus 1005 (or may otherwise communicate as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1010, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or components. Processor 1010 may include one or more processing units, which may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. Fig.10 As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1020, depending on the desired functionality. Position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication (discussed below) may be provided in the processor 1010 and / or the wireless communication interface 1030. The mobile device 1000 may also include one or more input devices 1070, which may include but are not limited to one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 1015, which may include but are not limited to one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0084] The mobile device 1000 may further include a wireless communication interface 1030, which may include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as Device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE 802.15.4 device, Wi-Fi device, WiMAX device, WAN device and / or various cellular devices, etc.), etc., which can enable the mobile device 1000 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 1030 can allow the TRP of the network to communicate (e.g., send and receive) data and signaling, such as via eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, access point, various base stations and / or other access node types and / or other network components, computer systems and / or any other electronic devices communicatively coupled to the TRP, as described herein. Communication can be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1032 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1034. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 1032 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof. The antenna 1032 may be capable of using beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams) to send and receive wireless signals. Beamforming can be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques using corresponding digital and / or analog circuits. Wireless communication interface 1030 may include such circuitry.

[0085] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1030 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers to communicate with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers (such as wireless devices and access points). The mobile device 1000 may communicate with different data networks, which may include various network types. For example, one such network type may include a wireless wide area network (WWAN), which may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, and the like. A CDMA network may implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and so on. The IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards are included. A TDMA network may implement Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network may employ Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), and the like. 5G NR, LTE, Advanced LTE, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. A wireless local area network (WLAN) may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, while a wireless personal area network (WPAN) may be a Bluetooth network, IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0086] The mobile device 1000 may also include sensors 1040. The sensors 1040 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain location-related measurements and / or other information (e.g., for determining an approximate location of the mobile device 1000, as described herein).

[0087] Embodiments of the mobile device 1000 may also include a GNSS receiver 1080 that is capable of receiving signals 1084 from one or more GNSS satellites using an antenna 1082 (which may be the same as the antenna 1032). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 1080 may extract the position of the mobile device 1000 using conventional techniques from GNSS satellites of GNSS systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) over Japan, the IRNSS over India, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) over China, etc. In addition, the GNSS receiver 1080 may be used with various augmentation systems, such as, for example, a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as, for example, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN), among others.

[0088] It may be pointed out that although Fig.101080 is illustrated as a different component, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. As used herein, the term "GNSS receiver" may include hardware and / or software components configured to obtain GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Therefore, in some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may include (as software) a measurement engine executed by one or more processors, such as processor 1010, DSP 1020, and / or a processor within wireless communication interface 1030 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors, such as processor 1010 or DSP 1020.

[0089] The mobile device 1000 may also include and / or be in communication with memory 1060. The memory 1060 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0090] The memory 1060 of the mobile device 1000 may also include software elements ( Fig.10 ), these software elements include operating systems, device drivers, executable libraries and / or other code, such as one or more applications, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or may be designed to implement and / or configure methods and / or systems provided by other embodiments as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described for the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 1060 that can be executed by mobile device 1000 (and / or processor 1010 or DSP 1020 within mobile device 1000). Then, in some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0091] Fig.111 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system 1100 that may be used in whole or in part to provide the functionality of one or more components and / or devices (including servers) as described in the embodiments herein. Thus, computer system 1100 may be used as route server 150, coverage server 155, monitoring device 145, server 620, server 720, or any combination thereof and / or correspond to them, as described herein. This may include, for example, computer servers, personal computers, personal electronic devices, etc. It should be noted that Fig.11 It is intended only to provide a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. Fig.11 The broad illustrations show how various system elements can be implemented in a relatively separate or relatively more integrated manner. Fig.11 The illustrated components may be localized to a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located at different geographical locations.

[0092] The computer system 1100 is shown as including hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus 1105 (or can communicate in other ways as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1110, which may include but is not limited to one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, etc.) and / or other processing structures, which can be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 1100 may also include one or more input devices 1115, which may include but are not limited to a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, etc.; and one or more output devices 1120, which may include but are not limited to a display device, a printer, etc.

[0093] The computer system 1100 may also include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1125, which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage devices, and / or may include, but are not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices (such as random access memory ("RAM") and / or read-only memory ("ROM")), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data storage may include databases and / or other data structures for storing and managing messages and / or other information to be transmitted to one or more devices via the hub, as described herein.

[0094] The computer system 1100 may also include a communication subsystem 1130, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communication interface 1133, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communication, universal serial bus (USB), etc.). The wireless communication interface 1133 may include one or more wireless transceivers, which may transmit and receive wireless signals 1155 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1150. Thus, the communication subsystem 1130 may include a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset, etc., which may enable the computer system 1100 to communicate with any device on the corresponding network (including user equipment (UE), base station and / or other transmission / reception point (TRP), and / or any other electronic device described herein) on any or all of the communication networks described herein. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1130 can be used to receive and transmit data, as described in the embodiments of this article.

[0095] In many embodiments, the computer system 1100 will also include a working memory 1135, which may include a RAM or ROM device, as described above. The software elements shown as being located within the working memory 1135 may include an operating system 1140, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code such as one or more application programs 1145, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more of the procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions that can be executed by a computer (and / or a processor within a computer); then, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0096] The set of these instructions and / or codes may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as the storage device 1125 described above). In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system such as the computer system 1100. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium such as an optical disk), and / or may be provided in the form of an installation package so that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer using the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may take the form of executable code that can be executed by the computer system 1100, and / or may take the form of source code and / or installable code that, when compiled and / or installed on the computer system 1100 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), takes the form of executable code.

[0097] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0098] With reference to the accompanying drawings, components that may include memory may include non-transient machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may be involved when providing instructions / codes to a processor and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / codes. In many specific implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example: magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with hole patterns, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or memory box, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or codes.

[0099] The methods, systems and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, replace or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the features described in certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the drawings provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. In addition, technology may evolve, and therefore many elements are examples, which do not limit the scope of the present disclosure to those specific examples.

[0100] It has proven convenient at times, primarily for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, digital symbols, and the like. However, it should be understood that all of these or similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as will be apparent from the above discussion, it should be understood that throughout this specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "correlating," "measuring," "performing," and the like refer to the actions or processes of a particular device such as a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as physical, electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities in a memory, register, or other information storage device, a transmitting device, or a display device of the special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device.

[0101] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" may include multiple meanings that are also intended to depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (inclusive meanings are used here) as well as A, B, or C (exclusive meanings are used here). In addition, as used herein, the term "one or more" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular form, or may be used to describe a certain combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the subject matter claimed is not limited to this example. In addition, the term "at least one of...", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0102] Several embodiments have been described, and various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over the application of the various embodiments or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. In addition, multiple steps may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0103] In view of this description, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0104] Clause 1. A method for providing route-based coverage information at a server, the method comprising: obtaining wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes; determining a wireless coverage map of an area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more travel routes within the area, the wireless coverage map includes a corresponding wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location; and transmitting route-based coverage information for a specific route among the one or more travel routes to a mobile device, wherein the route-based coverage information includes the corresponding wireless coverage indication of one or more locations along the specific route from the coverage map.

[0105] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein each of the first plurality of locations and the second plurality of locations comprises a segment along a corresponding travel route, a fixed point along a corresponding travel route, or a combination thereof.

[0106] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the wireless coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks includes: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, the level of wireless coverage, a power measurement of wireless signals from a wireless network, an identification of one or more wireless networks that provide or do not provide wireless coverage, a time period, or a combination thereof.

[0107] Clause 4. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein for each of the one or more wireless networks, the wireless coverage indication further indicates a likelihood that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network.

[0108] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the likelihood that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network is determined from information regarding the presence of a repeater included in the wireless network coverage information.

[0109] Clause 6. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the characteristics of the wireless network coverage at the first plurality of locations include: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, a measurement of wireless signals from any of the one or more wireless networks, a timestamp of the measurement, a location at which the measurement was performed, or a combination thereof.

[0110] Clause 7. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 6, wherein transmitting the route-based coverage information for the particular route to the mobile device is in response to receiving a request for the route-based coverage information from the mobile device.

[0111] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 7, further comprising receiving the specific route from the mobile device or from another server.

[0112] Clause 9. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8 further includes determining the specific route of the mobile device based on a departure point and a destination, wherein transmitting the route-based coverage information of the specific route to the mobile device includes transmitting the route-based coverage information and information about the specific route.

[0113] Clause 10. A method for using route-based coverage information at a mobile device, the method comprising: receiving route-based coverage information for a specific travel route from a server, wherein for each of a plurality of locations along the specific route, the route-based coverage information includes a corresponding coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location; and determining a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the specific route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: an estimated location of the mobile device, and the route-based coverage information for the specific route.

[0114] Clause 11. A method according to clause 10, wherein determining the communication schedule includes: determining multiple times for wirelessly communicating with the remote device, determining multiple locations for wirelessly communicating with the remote device, determining a wireless network for wirelessly communicating with the remote device, using a relay device to access a wireless network to wirelessly communicate with the remote device, using a non-terrestrial network to wirelessly communicate with the remote device, or a combination thereof.

[0115] Clause 12. The method according to any one of clauses 10 to 11 further includes: transmitting a coverage report to the server for each of the one or more reported locations along the specific route, wherein the coverage report includes wireless network coverage characteristics of each of the one or more reported locations.

[0116] Clause 13. A method according to clause 12, wherein the characteristics of the wireless network coverage at each of the one or more reported locations include: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, a measurement of wireless signals from any of the one or more wireless networks, a timestamp of the measurement, the location at which the measurement was performed, or a combination thereof.

[0117] Clause 14. The method of any one of clauses 10 to 13, wherein each of the plurality of locations comprises: a segment along a corresponding travel route, a fixed point along a corresponding travel route, or a combination thereof.

[0118] Clause 15. A method according to any one of clauses 10 to 14, wherein the coverage indication indicating the level of wireless coverage of the one or more wireless networks comprises: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, the level of wireless coverage, a power measurement of wireless signals from a wireless network, an identification of one or more wireless networks that provide or do not provide wireless coverage, a time period, or a combination thereof.

[0119] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 10 to 15, wherein for each of the one or more wireless networks, the coverage indication further indicates a likelihood that the respective wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network.

[0120] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 10 to 16, further comprising: before receiving the route-based overlay information for the particular route, transmitting a request for the route-based overlay information for the particular route to the server.

[0121] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein the request includes information about the particular route.

[0122] Clause 19. The method of any one of clauses 17 to 18, further comprising receiving the information about the particular route from another server.

[0123] Clause 20. A server, comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: obtain wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices via the transceiver, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes; determine a wireless coverage map of an area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more travel routes within the area, the wireless coverage map includes a corresponding wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location; and transmit route-based coverage information for a specific route in the one or more travel routes to a mobile device via the transceiver, wherein the route-based coverage information includes the corresponding wireless coverage indication of one or more locations along the specific route from the coverage map.

[0124] Clause 21. A server according to clause 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include in the wireless coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks: an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, a level of wireless coverage, a power measurement of wireless signals from a wireless network, an identification of one or more wireless networks that provide or do not provide wireless coverage, a time period, or a combination thereof.

[0125] Clause 22. A server according to any one of clauses 20 to 21, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include in the wireless coverage indication of each wireless network in the one or more wireless networks the possibility that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network.

[0126] Clause 23. A server according to clause 22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the possibility that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network from information about the presence of a repeater included in the wireless network coverage information.

[0127] Clause 24. A server according to any one of clauses 20 to 23, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: in response to receiving a request for the route-based coverage information from the mobile device, transmit the route-based coverage information for the specific route to the mobile device.

[0128] Clause 25. A mobile device comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive route-based coverage information for a specific travel route from a server via the transceiver, wherein for each of a plurality of locations along the specific route, the route-based coverage information includes a corresponding coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the corresponding location; and determine a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the specific route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: an estimated location of the mobile device, and the route-based coverage information for the specific route.

[0129] Clause 26. A mobile device according to clause 25, wherein in order to determine the communication schedule, the one or more processors are configured to: determine multiple times to communicate wirelessly with the remote device, determine multiple locations to communicate wirelessly with the remote device, determine a wireless network for communicating wirelessly with the remote device, use a relay device to access a wireless network to communicate wirelessly with the remote device, use a non-terrestrial network to communicate wirelessly with the remote device, or a combination thereof.

[0130] Clause 27. A mobile device according to any one of clauses 25 to 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: for each of the one or more reported locations along the specific route, transmit a coverage report to the server, wherein the coverage report includes wireless network coverage characteristics for each of the one or more reported locations.

[0131] Clause 28. A mobile device according to any one of clauses 25 to 27, wherein in order to receive the coverage indication indicating the level of wireless coverage of the one or more wireless networks, the one or more processors are configured to receive an indication of whether wireless coverage exists, the level of wireless coverage, a power measurement of wireless signals from a wireless network, an identification of one or more wireless networks that provide or do not provide wireless coverage, a time period, or a combination thereof.

[0132] Clause 29. A mobile device according to any one of clauses 25 to 28, wherein in order to receive the coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks, the one or more processors are configured to: for each of the one or more wireless networks, receive the possibility that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network.

[0133] Clause 30. A mobile device according to any one of clauses 25 to 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: transmit a request for the route-based coverage information for the specific route to the server before receiving the route-based coverage information for the specific route.

[0134] Clause 31. An apparatus having means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 30.

[0135] Clause 32. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions comprising code for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 30.

Claims

1. A method for providing route-based coverage information at a server, the method comprising: obtaining wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes; determining a wireless coverage map for an area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein the wireless coverage map includes, for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more routes of travel within the area, a respective wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the respective location; as well as Route-based coverage information for a particular route of the one or more travel routes is transmitted to a mobile device, wherein the route-based coverage information includes the respective wireless coverage indications for one or more locations along the particular route from the coverage map.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first plurality of locations and the second plurality of locations comprises: along the corresponding route of travel, a fixed point along the corresponding route of travel, or A combination of them.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks comprises: An indication of whether wireless coverage exists, The degree of wireless coverage, Power measurement of wireless signals from wireless networks, the identification of one or more wireless networks that do or do not provide wireless coverage, time period, or A combination of them.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein for each of the one or more wireless networks, the wireless coverage indication further indicates a likelihood that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network. 5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the possibility that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network is determined from information about the presence of a repeater included in the wireless network coverage information.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristics of the wireless network coverage at the first plurality of locations include: An indication of whether wireless coverage exists, measurements of wireless signals from any of the one or more wireless networks, The timestamp of the measurement, the location at which said measurements are made, or A combination of them. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the route-based coverage information for the particular route to the mobile device is in response to receiving a request for the route-based coverage information from the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the specific route from the mobile device or from another server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the specific route of the mobile device based on a departure point and a destination, wherein transmitting the route-based coverage information of the specific route to the mobile device comprises transmitting the route-based coverage information and information about the specific route.

10. A method of using route-based coverage information at a mobile device, the method comprising: receiving route-based coverage information for a particular travel route from a server, wherein, for each of a plurality of locations along the particular route, the route-based coverage information includes a respective coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the respective location; and determining a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the particular route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: the estimated location of the mobile device, and The route-based coverage information for the particular route.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the communication schedule comprises: determining a plurality of times to wirelessly communicate with the remote device, determining a plurality of locations in wireless communication with the remote device, determining a wireless network for wirelessly communicating with the remote device, Using a relay device to access a wireless network to communicate wirelessly with a remote device, communicating wirelessly with the remote device using a non-terrestrial network, or A combination of them.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: For each of the one or more reported locations along the particular route, a coverage report is transmitted to the server, wherein the coverage report includes wireless network coverage characteristics for each of the one or more reported locations.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the characteristics of wireless network coverage at each of the one or more reported locations include: An indication of whether wireless coverage exists, measurements of wireless signals from any of the one or more wireless networks, The timestamp of the measurement, the location at which said measurements are made, or A combination of them.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of locations comprises: along the corresponding route of travel, a fixed point along the corresponding route of travel, or A combination of them.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks comprises: An indication of whether wireless coverage exists, The degree of wireless coverage, Power measurement of wireless signals from wireless networks, the identification of one or more wireless networks that do or do not provide wireless coverage, time period, or A combination of them.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein for each of the one or more wireless networks, the coverage indication further indicates a likelihood that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network.

17. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Prior to receiving the route-based overlay information for the particular route, a request for the route-based overlay information for the particular route is transmitted to the server. The method of claim 17 , wherein the request includes information about the particular route.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising receiving the information about the particular route from another server.

20. A server, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: obtaining, via the transceiver, wireless network coverage information from a plurality of crowdsourcing devices, the wireless network coverage information indicating wireless network coverage characteristics at a first plurality of locations, the first plurality of locations including locations along a plurality of travel routes; determining a wireless coverage map for an area based on the wireless network coverage information, wherein the wireless coverage map includes, for each location in a second plurality of locations along one or more routes of travel within the area, a respective wireless coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the respective location; as well as Route-based coverage information for a particular route of the one or more travel routes is transmitted to a mobile device via the transceiver, wherein the route-based coverage information includes the respective wireless coverage indications for one or more locations along the particular route from the coverage map.

21. The server of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include in the wireless coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks: An indication of whether wireless coverage exists, The degree of wireless coverage, Power measurement of wireless signals from wireless networks, the identification of one or more wireless networks that do or do not provide wireless coverage, time period, or A combination of them.

22. The server of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include in the wireless coverage indication for each of the one or more wireless networks a likelihood that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network.

23. The server of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the possibility that the corresponding wireless network is accessible via a relay connection to the wireless network from information about the presence of a repeater included in the wireless network coverage information.

24. The server of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the route-based coverage information for the particular route to the mobile device in response to receiving a request for the route-based coverage information from the mobile device.

25. A mobile device, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, via the transceiver, route-based coverage information for a particular travel route from a server, wherein, for each of a plurality of locations along the particular route, the route-based coverage information includes a respective coverage indication indicating a wireless coverage level of one or more wireless networks at the respective location; and determining a communication schedule for wirelessly communicating with a remote device while traveling along the particular route, wherein determining the communication schedule is based at least in part on: the estimated location of the mobile device, and The route-based coverage information for the particular route.

26. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein to determine the communication schedule, the one or more processors are configured to: determining a plurality of times to wirelessly communicate with the remote device, determining a plurality of locations in wireless communication with the remote device, determining a wireless network for wirelessly communicating with the remote device, Using a relay device to access a wireless network to communicate wirelessly with a remote device, communicating wirelessly with the remote device using a non-terrestrial network, or A combination of them.

27. A mobile device according to claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: transmit a coverage report to the server for each of the one or more reported locations along the specific route, wherein the coverage report includes wireless network coverage characteristics for each of the one or more reported locations.

28. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein to receive the coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks, the one or more processors are configured to receive: An indication of whether wireless coverage exists, The degree of wireless coverage, Power measurement of wireless signals from wireless networks, the identification of one or more wireless networks that do or do not provide wireless coverage, time period, or A combination of them.

29. A mobile device according to claim 25, wherein in order to receive the coverage indication indicating the wireless coverage level of the one or more wireless networks, the one or more processors are configured to: for each of the one or more wireless networks, receive the possibility that the corresponding wireless network can be accessed via a relay connection to the wireless network.

30. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit a request to the server for the route-based coverage information for the particular route prior to receiving the route-based coverage information for the particular route.

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