Mobility Gateway for Multi-Operator In-Building Wireless Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-building wireless coverage often suffers from attenuation, interference, and distortion due to structural components, making ubiquitous coverage challenging, and deploying micro-cellular or pico-cellular equipment for multiple wireless operators is expensive.
Innovation Solution
A single instance of in-building wireless equipment with multiple antennas supporting various frequencies, a mobility gateway for authentication and provisioning, and local network routing to reduce congestion and enable efficient communication among devices from different service providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If micro-cellular or pico-cellular equipment is deployed for each wireless operator, then wireless coverage quality is improved, but deployment cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple wireless operators' equipment into a single shared in-building wireless system. Instead of deploying separate micro-cellular or pico-cellular equipment for each operator, the system uses one set of equipment that supports multiple operators through frequency selection and network interconnection, thereby reducing deployment cost while maintaining coverage quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The in-building wireless equipment is designed with multi-functionality to support multiple wireless operators simultaneously. The equipment can operate on different frequencies owned or licensed by various operators and can serve WCDs from different providers through a single deployment, making the system universal rather than operator-specific.
2Quantity of substance
If a single in-building wireless equipment supports multiple operators, then deployment cost is reduced, but network authentication and provisioning complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility gateway acts as an intermediary between the in-building wireless equipment and multiple wireless operators' networks. It handles authentication and provisioning requests from WCDs, communicates with each operator's network independently, and manages the complexity of supporting multiple operators, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the authentication and provisioning functions by handling each wireless operator's WCDs separately through the mobility gateway. Each operator's WCDs are authenticated and provisioned through their respective operator networks via the gateway, allowing independent management of each operator's subscriber base while using shared physical equipment.
3Ease of operation
If traffic is routed through the wireless service provider's network, then network management is simplified, but network congestion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically routes traffic based on the destination and current network conditions. Local traffic between WCDs in the same building is routed directly through the in-building equipment without leaving the local network, while external traffic is routed through the appropriate operator network. This dynamic routing reduces congestion on operator networks for local traffic while maintaining simple management for external communications.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobility gateway may authenticate a first wireless communication device (WCD) with a first wireless operator. The first WCD may subscribe to the first wireless operator, and may be served by a first wireless coverage area that is defined by a first carrier frequency. The first carrier frequency may be associated with the first wireless operator. The mobility gateway may also authenticate a second WCD with a second wireless operator. The second WCD may subscribe to the second wireless operator, may be served by a second wireless coverage area that is defined by a second carrier frequency. The second carrier frequency may be associated with the second wireless operator. The mobility gateway may route network traffic between a local network point of presence and at least one of the first and second WCD.