Presence Status Based Routing for Wireless Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for routing traffic between wireless cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks do not effectively consider the presence status of mobile station users, leading to network congestion and increased costs, as they fail to selectively route inbound communications based on user availability and willingness to use Wi-Fi networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that tracks the presence status of mobile stations to determine whether to route data communications through a cellular network or a Wi-Fi network based on user availability and willingness, using a Traffic Routing Application Server (TRAS) within the IMS core network to make routing decisions based on presence status messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional routing methods based on location, time, and data content are used, then routing decisions can be made for outbound communications, but they fail to consider user presence status and do not work well for inbound communications
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by tracking and determining user presence status in advance before routing decisions are needed. The presence status is continuously monitored and stored, so when routing decisions are required for inbound or outbound communications, the information is already available, enabling informed routing choices without losing critical user availability data
Solution Approach 2:
A presence server is introduced as an intermediary component that mediates between the mobile station and the routing system. This intermediary tracks presence status messages from the mobile station, stores the information, and provides it to the routing logic, ensuring that user presence status is systematically captured and utilized for routing decisions
2Quantity of substance
If carriers expand and upgrade wireless network systems to handle data traffic, then network capacity increases, but the upgrades cannot keep up with the growth of data traffic volume and operating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing mobile stations to autonomously select and connect to Wi-Fi networks when available and appropriate. Users can configure their devices to prefer Wi-Fi for certain types of traffic or when connected to trusted networks, reducing the burden on cellular network infrastructure and lowering carrier operating costs without requiring continuous network expansion
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the routing parameter from purely network-centric decisions to user-centric decisions based on presence status. By introducing presence status as a new parameter that incorporates user availability, device state, and network preferences, the system enables dynamic routing that can shift traffic to Wi-Fi networks, thereby reducing cellular network load and associated operating costs
3Productivity
If carriers offer unlimited data plans to encourage data usage, then user data consumption increases, but this increases carrier operating costs and leads to network congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces dynamics by making routing decisions flexible and adaptive rather than static. Routing is dynamically adjusted based on real-time presence status information, including user availability, device connectivity state, and network conditions. This dynamic approach allows traffic to be routed to Wi-Fi networks when appropriate, reducing cellular network congestion while still supporting high data usage volumes under unlimited plans
4Loss of energy
If Wi-Fi networks are used for data communications, then cellular network traffic is reduced and user costs decrease, but routing decisions must accurately determine user willingness and availability to use Wi-Fi
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies segmentation by dividing the routing decision process into distinct functional components: presence status tracking, presence status determination, and routing logic execution. This segmentation allows each component to handle a specific aspect of the decision-making process, reducing overall complexity while enabling accurate determination of user willingness and availability to use Wi-Fi networks
Data Source
AI summary
Data communications are selectively routed via an appropriate wireless access network including wireless cellular networks and wireless LAN, according to presence status of a mobile station. A network system tracks the presence status of the mobile station, which may relate to its availability and willingness to communicate via a particular type of wireless access network such as wireless LAN. With this kind of presence status information for a mobile station as guidance for traffic routing, inbound data communication can be routed to, and outbound data communication can be sent from, the mobile station, all via the desired access network. When applied to wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi network, this presence based routing mechanism can effectively reduce traffic burden over the wireless cellular network for the wireless carriers while lowering the cost of communication for the end users under usage based data plans.