MPTCP Proxy for Seamless Wi-Fi LTE Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication technologies face challenges in efficiently managing link handovers and providing seamless mobility across different radio access technologies (RATs) while optimizing throughput and coverage, especially in environments with multiple network interfaces like Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP) proxy that determines the capabilities of User Equipment (UE) and dynamically manages subflows across multiple RATs, such as Wi-Fi and LTE, to provide enhanced capacity and coverage by leveraging both cellular and Wi-Fi networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If MPTCP is implemented to enable inverse multiplexing across multiple interfaces, then throughput increases to the sum of all available link-level channels, but device complexity increases due to requiring MPTCP support on both smartphones and application servers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an MPTCP gateway as an intermediary component that bridges between standard TCP and MPTCP. The gateway includes an MPTCP client that can establish MPTCP connections with multiple paths, while presenting a standard TCP interface to applications. This mediator handles the complexity of MPTCP management, path selection, and connection maintenance internally, allowing applications to use simple TCP while still benefiting from multipath aggregation. The gateway effectively translates and manages multiple TCP connections across different interfaces (Wi-Fi, cellular) without requiring application-level MPTCP implementation.
2Reliability
If link handover is solved by abstraction in the transport layer, then seamless mobility is achieved without special mechanisms at network or link level, but adaptability decreases when UE does not support MPTCP
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the MPTCP functionality into separate components: the MPTCP gateway handles MPTCP-specific operations (multipath management, subflow creation, path selection) while the UE and application server can use standard TCP. This segmentation allows the system to support both MPTCP-capable and non-capable UEs independently. When a UE supports MPTCP, it can directly establish MPTCP connections; when it doesn't, the gateway acts as an MPTCP endpoint, maintaining seamless mobility for all users without requiring universal MPTCP support.
Solution Approach 2:
The MPTCP gateway serves as an intermediary that adapts between MPTCP and standard TCP protocols. It can terminate MPTCP connections from MPTCP-capable UEs and translate them into standard TCP connections for non-capable UEs, or vice versa. This mediation layer provides seamless mobility management through transport-layer abstraction while maintaining broad adaptability to support both MPTCP and standard TCP devices, effectively resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods and computer software are disclosed for providing Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP) with mesh access. A multi Radio Access Technology (RAT) base station gateway having a MPTCP proxy, proxies an initial MPTCP connection from a User Equipment (UE). The multi-RAT base station gateway determines if the UE is capable of MPTCP to provide MPTCP. When the UE is capable of MPTCP, then the multi-Rat base station provides a Wi-Fi connection and an LTE connection. When the UE is not capable of MPTCP, then the multi-RAT base station provides an LTE connection.