Selective Roaming Control in Wireless Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Telecommunications networks face challenges in enabling roaming functionality for all customers due to the high cost and burden of maintaining the necessary infrastructure, leading to a need for selective roaming solutions that allow only certain customers to access roaming networks in specific geographic areas.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a selective roaming system that allows telecommunications networks to maintain a set of roaming permissions for individual wireless devices, specifying which devices can access roaming networks and in which geographic regions, thereby enabling targeted and cost-effective roaming services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If roaming functionality is enabled for all customers, then customer service coverage is improved, but infrastructure cost and operational burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the customer base into different categories (e.g., premium customers, standard customers) and applies different roaming policies to each segment. This allows the network operator to provide comprehensive roaming coverage to premium customers while limiting or denying roaming access to standard customers, thereby reducing infrastructure costs and operational burden while maintaining service quality for high-value users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements location-based roaming control where different roaming permissions are assigned based on geographic regions. The network can allow roaming in specific high-value or high-coverage areas while restricting it in low-value regions, optimizing the balance between service coverage and infrastructure investment.
2Reliability
If roaming infrastructure is maintained for all regions, then service availability is improved, but operational burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic roaming control where the network can adjust roaming permissions in real-time based on various factors such as network load, customer behavior patterns, and geographic conditions. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain service availability where needed while reducing operational complexity by automatically adapting to changing conditions rather than maintaining fixed infrastructure everywhere.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a roaming control mechanism that acts as an intermediary between the core network and roaming partners. This intermediary layer manages and coordinates roaming requests, allowing the network to maintain service availability through intelligent routing and coordination while reducing the operational burden on individual network elements and infrastructure components.
Data Source
AI summary
A telecommunications network provides selective roaming for user equipment (UE) devices registered to the network, allowing some UE devices to operate on a roaming network in some geographic regions and disallowing other UE devices to access roaming networks. The telecommunications network maintains mappings between UE devices and roaming permissions for each UE device. When a target UE device requests to attach to a roaming network, the roaming network passes the request, with an identifier of a particular geographic region in which the request was received, to the telecommunications network to query the mappings. If the mappings indicate the target UE device is authorized to access the roaming network in the particular geographic region, the telecommunications network allows the target UE device to attach to the roaming network.