Bluetooth Pairing for Femto Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional femto access control methods are signaling-intensive, leading to degradation of network capacity and UE battery performance, especially in dense and complex femto networks, due to extensive attachment signaling and limited unique access point identifiers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing Bluetooth-enabled femto access control, where UEs perform Bluetooth pairing with femto access points before attachment signaling, using a shared password for authorized devices, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling and conserving battery life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional attachment signaling is performed for every femto access point discovery, then access control is ensured, but signaling load increases and UE battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing Bluetooth pairing as a pre-check before allowing attachment signaling. The UE first attempts Bluetooth pairing with the FAP to verify authorization, and only if pairing succeeds does the UE proceed to perform attachment signaling. This preliminary verification step prevents unnecessary signaling for unauthorized devices, thereby conserving UE battery life while maintaining access control reliability.
2Reliability
If extensive attachment signaling is performed for each femto access point, then access authorization is verified, but network capacity degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses preliminary action by performing Bluetooth pairing before attachment signaling. This pre-verification filter ensures that only authorized devices proceed to consume network signaling resources, thereby maintaining network capacity while still verifying access authorization through the Bluetooth pairing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism by using Bluetooth pairing as an intermediate verification step between FAP discovery and full attachment signaling. This intermediary Bluetooth layer acts as a gatekeeper that filters out unauthorized devices before they can exhaust network resources through extensive attachment signaling procedures.
3Ease of operation
If traditional femto access control is implemented, then access management is achieved, but signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing Bluetooth pairing as a preliminary step before attachment signaling. This pre-filtering mechanism reduces the quantity of signaling messages that need to be exchanged, as only authorized devices that succeed in Bluetooth pairing will proceed to attachment signaling, thereby reducing overall signaling overhead while maintaining effective access management.
Data Source
AI summary
A low-cost system and methodology that facilitates improved femto access control by employing Bluetooth® technology is provided. Bluetooth-based femto access control utilizes a Bluetooth modem in a femto access point (FAP) that broadcasts a unique Bluetooth identity (ID). Nearby UEs can detect the femtocell and employ the Bluetooth ID for idle mode reselection and active mode handover behavior. Specifically, on detecting a femtocell, a UE can perform Bluetooth pairing with the FAP prior to performing attachment signaling. Moreover, only if Bluetooth signaling is successful, the UE proceeds to attach to the FAP. Thus, the system and method disclosed herein can control the UEs that attach to the femtocell, thereby reducing the signaling load and improving battery life of the UEs.