Methods and systems for enabling end-user equipment at an end-user premise to effect communications when an ability of the end-user equipment to communicate via a communication link connecting the end-user equipment to a communications network is disrupted

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11297672-B2
Application number	US-201715621587-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2017
Priority date	Dec 23, 2008
Publication date	Apr 5, 2022
Grant date	Apr 5, 2022

Abstract

A method for effecting communications, such as telephone calls, accesses to data network sites, alarm system communications, and/or other communications, over a communications network. The method comprises: determining that an ability of first end-user equipment at a first end-user premise to communicate via a first communication link connecting the first end-user equipment to the communications network is disrupted; establishing a wireless communication link between the first end-user equipment and second end-user equipment at a second end-user premise; and causing information transmitted by or destined for the first end-user equipment to be exchanged over the communications network via the wireless communication link and a second communication link connecting the second end-user equipment to the communications network. Also provided are apparatus and computer-readable media containing a program element executable by a computing system to perform such a method.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A communication apparatus at a first location comprising:
a wired interface for providing a first communication link connecting the communication apparatus to a communications network;
a first wireless interface for connecting the communication apparatus to at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location; and
a second wireless interface for connecting the communication apparatus to a second communication apparatus at a second location;
a processing entity configured to determine that an ability to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted; and
a routing entity configured to:
in response to determining that the ability to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted, cause the communication apparatus device at the first location and second communication apparatus at the second location to wirelessly exchange certain information to establish a wireless communication link using the second wireless interface; and
cause information of a communication session to be exchanged between the at least one user device of first end-user equipment and the communications network via the wireless communication link established between the communication apparatus at the first location and the second communication apparatus at the second location,

wherein the second communication apparatus has second communication link connecting the second communication apparatus to the communications network.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, to determine that the ability of the at least one user device of the first end-user equipment at the first location to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted, said processing entity is configured to verify the ability of the communication apparatus to communicate via the first communication link.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein, to verify the ability of the at least one user device of the first end-user equipment at the first location to communicate via the first communication link, said processing entity is configured to:
perform a verification of a state of the first communication link based on a signal conveyable via the first communication link; and
determine that the first communication link is disrupted based on a result of the verification.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein, to determine that the first communication link is disrupted based on the result of the verification, said processing entity is configured to determine that the signal is not received within a period of time or does not satisfy a quality-of-service condition.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein, to verify the ability of the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location to communicate via the first communication link, said processing entity is configured to:
perform a verification of a state of a software or hardware component of the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location; and
determine that the software or hardware component is disrupted based on a result of the verification.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, to determine that that the ability of the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted, said processing entity is configured to receive information indicative of a disruption of the ability of the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location to communicate via the first communication link.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the information indicative of a disruption of the ability of the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location to communicate via the first communication link comprising information indicative of a disruption of the first communication link.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the certain information comprises an identifier of the second communication apparatus at the second location.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the identifier of the second communication apparatus comprises at least one of a hardware identifier and an IP address.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the hardware identifier comprises at least one of a MAC address and an Ethernet hardware address.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the certain information comprises access information for the second communication apparatus at the second location.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the access information for the second communication apparatus at the second location comprises at least one of a password and a wireless network key.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the certain information comprises an identifier of the communication apparatus device at the first location.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 , wherein each of the identifier of the communication apparatus device at the first location and the identifier of the second communication apparatus at the second location comprises at least one of a hardware identifier and an IP address.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the hardware identifier comprises at least one of a MAC address and an Ethernet hardware address.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the certain information comprises access information for the communication apparatus device at the first location.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 , wherein each of the access information for the communication apparatus device at the first location and the access information for the second communication apparatus at the second location comprises at least one of a password and a wireless network key.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said processing entity is configured to receive, prior to determining that the ability to communicate via the first communication link is disrupted, a request for the communication to be effected over the communications network from the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the communication is one of:
a telephone call effected using the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location;
an access to a data network site effected using the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location; and
an alarm system communication effected using the at least one user device of first end-user equipment at the first location.

Assignees

• Bce Inc

Inventors

• Arsenault Jonathan Allan
• Clark David William
• Wolf Eric John
• Murray Sean Maclean

Classifications

• H04K3/222

  wherein jamming detection includes detecting the absence or impossibility of intelligible communication on at least one channel · CPC title

• H04K2203/18

  for wireless local area networks or WLAN · CPC title

• H04L67/14

  Session management (for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066) · CPC title

• H04K3/226

  Selection of non-jammed channel for communication (spectrum sharing arrangements H04W16/14; selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02) · CPC title

• H04L67/148

  Migration or transfer of sessions · CPC title