WLAN SSID Mapping for Automatic Network Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users in wireless local area networks (WLANs) face challenges in selecting the best network without prior knowledge of available network names and capabilities, limiting their ability to choose from a list of provided network names, similar to the manual selection process in cellular systems where global knowledge is not feasible.
Innovation Solution
A mechanism where a WLAN Access Point broadcasts Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs) indicating available backbone networks, allowing user equipment (UE) to select networks based on signal strength and preferences, with SSIDs linked to branded networks through stored information, enabling manual or automatic selection and routing connections through the access network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual network selection based on network names is used, then users can select networks they are familiar with, but users cannot have global knowledge of all WLAN network names and their capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where the WLAN access network automatically maps SSIDs to backbone networks and performs network selection on behalf of the user. The access network acts as a mediator that translates user-friendly SSID selection into actual network connection decisions, eliminating the need for users to have global knowledge of network capabilities while maintaining ease of operation.
2Extent of automation
If automatic network selection based on stored preferences is used, then network selection can be performed without user intervention, but the system requires a priori knowledge about network capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex network selection logic and preference storage requirements from the user equipment and relocates them to the WLAN access network. By taking out the automated selection mechanism from the UE, the system achieves automatic network selection without requiring complex preference management in user devices.
3Adaptability or versatility
If users select networks without structured SSID information, then simple network names can be used, but users cannot make informed decisions about network capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the SSID structure into multiple meaningful fields including network type identifier, country code, and backbone network identifier. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple user-facing network names while embedding structured capability information that enables informed network selection decisions.
4Ease of manufacture
If WLAN systems use freely selectable network names, then network providers have flexibility in naming, but users lack the ability to select the best network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the SSID field multi-functional by embedding both user-friendly network identification and structured capability information within the same field. This universality allows SSIDs to serve both as simple network names for user recognition and as structured data for automated network selection, eliminating the trade-off between naming flexibility and selection efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for user equipment (UE) resident in a wireless access network (WLAN) to obtain access to at least one other network is disclosed. The method includes storing the identification (SSID) of the at least one other network (visited PLMNs 1-3 and home PLMNs 4 and 5) in the user equipment; transmitting from the user equipment a request for connection to one of the at least one other network, which includes an identification of at least one of the at least one other network, to the wireless access network; and in response to the wireless access network receiving the identification, the user equipment is connected to the identified at least one other network through the wireless access network.