Low-Cost Internet Base Station Authorization and Notification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cellular wireless networks face challenges in identifying and managing authorized mobile station users within specific establishments, such as businesses, to enhance customer service and operational efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Low-Cost Internet Base Stations (LCIBs) are used to receive registration requests from mobile stations, determine authorization, and send notification messages to establishments for unauthorized users, allowing authorized users to register while rejecting others and notifying the establishment of their presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If LCIBs are deployed to provide coverage in establishments, then customer service and operational efficiency are improved, but network security and access control become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary authorization server that mediates between mobile stations and LCIBs. This server handles the complex authorization logic, allowing LCIBs to remain simple access points while maintaining security. The intermediary processes registration requests, verifies authorization tokens, and manages the authorized user database, thus resolving the contradiction by centralizing complexity in a dedicated component rather than distributing it across all LCIBs.
2Reliability
If authorization checks are performed for every mobile station registration attempt, then network security is improved, but registration processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-provisioning authorized mobile stations with authorization tokens before they attempt to register with the LCIB. When a mobile station presents a valid token, the authorization check becomes a simple verification process rather than a complex database query. This pre-preparation of authorization credentials significantly reduces registration processing time while maintaining security, as the token verification is computationally lightweight compared to full authentication protocols.
3Loss of information
If notification messages are sent for unauthorized registration attempts, then establishment awareness is improved, but network traffic and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the notification feature optional and configurable at each LCIB location. Establishments can enable or disable notification messages based on their specific security needs and traffic conditions. Additionally, the system can filter notifications to only send alerts for suspicious patterns rather than every single unauthorized attempt, thus reducing network traffic and processing load while maintaining adequate awareness. This localized configurability allows each deployment to optimize the balance between awareness and resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for identifying customers at an establishment. In an embodiment, a low-cost Internet base station (LCIB) receives a request from a mobile station to register for service with the LCIB. The LCIB is located at an establishment, such as a store. The LCIB then determines whether the mobile station is authorized to register with the LCIB. If the mobile station is authorized to register with the LCIB, the LCIB allows the mobile station to register. If the mobile station is not authorized to register with the LCIB, the LCIB or LCIB controller responsively (a) rejects the registration request and (b) sends a notification message to the establishment, the notification message identifying the mobile station.