Federating mobile wireless networks using auctions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11051242-B2
Application number	US-201916454211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2019
Priority date	Jun 27, 2019
Publication date	Jun 29, 2021
Grant date	Jun 29, 2021

Abstract

Spectrum resource sharing management is described, e.g., a user equipment can determine a metric representative of a quality of a communication signal received by the user equipment, wherein the communication signal is received via a first mobile network operated by a first mobile network operator entity. In response to the metric being determined to be below a threshold, the user equipment can scan a group of frequency bands. The user equipment can receive a broadcast signal from a network node device via a frequency band of the group of frequencies, wherein the broadcast signal comprises a performance parameter and cost information, and wherein the network node device is associated with a second mobile network operated by a second mobile network operator entity. In response to an evaluation of the performance parameter and the cost information, the user equipment can determine whether to select the network node device to engage in cellular transmissions between the user equipment and the network node device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A user equipment, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
determining a metric representative of a quality of a communication signal received by the user equipment, wherein the communication signal is received via a mobile network to which the user equipment is registered,
in response to the metric being determined to have reached a threshold, scanning a group of frequency bands, wherein a first frequency band of the group of frequency bands is associated with a first mobile network operator entity, and wherein a second frequency band of the group of frequency bands is associated with a second mobile network operator entity,
receiving, via the first frequency band, a first broadcast signal from a first network node device associated with the first mobile network operator entity, wherein the first broadcast signal comprises a first performance parameter and first cost information,
receiving, via the second frequency band, a second broadcast signal from a second network node device associated with the second mobile network operator entity, wherein the second broadcast signal comprises a second performance parameter and second cost information, and
in response to an evaluation of the first performance parameter and the first cost information versus the second performance parameter and the second cost information, determining whether to select the first network node device to engage in cellular transmissions between the user equipment and the first network node device.

2. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise, in response to the determining whether to select the first network node device, selecting the first network node device to engage in the cellular transmissions.

3. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the metric relates to a signal-to-noise ratio.

4. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the first performance parameter comprises a throughput representative of a rate of successful delivery of messages sent between the first network node device and the user equipment.

5. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the first performance parameter comprises a packet latency.

6. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the first performance parameter relates to an availability of the first frequency band for use by the user equipment.

7. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the first performance parameter relates to an uplink transmission noise floor.

8. The user equipment of claim 1 , wherein the first performance parameter relates to a packet transmission rate.

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp
• At & T Mobility Ii Llc

Inventors

• Meredith Sheldon
• Akyol Umut
• Summers Jason
• Meredith Zachary

Classifications

• H04W36/302

  due to low signal strength · CPC title

• H04W36/1446

  wherein at least one of the networks is unlicensed · CPC title

• H04W16/14

  Spectrum sharing arrangements {between different networks} · CPC title

• H04W36/36

  by user or terminal equipment · CPC title

• H04W36/26

  by agreed or negotiated communication parameters · CPC title