Selectively enabling identifier resources for connections in a fifth generation (5G) or other next generation wireless network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11930544-B2
Application number	US-202217876484-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2022
Priority date	Apr 21, 2020
Publication date	Mar 12, 2024
Grant date	Mar 12, 2024

Abstract

Technologies described herein are generally directed to facilitating the allocation, scheduling, and management of network slice resources. According some embodiments, a system can facilitate performance of operations. The operations can include facilitating receiving information regarding a characteristic of a potential connection, by a user device, to respective network devices of a group of provider networks. The operations can further include facilitating selecting an identifier resource from a group of identifier resources, the group comprising the identifier resources available to the user device for a connection to a corresponding network device of a provider network from the respective network devices of the group of provider networks, resulting in a selected identifier resource. Further, the operations can include communicating the selected identifier resource to the user device for use by the user device to establish the connection to the corresponding network device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by first network equipment comprising a processor, information from a network device associated with a network from a group of networks resulting in a group of information;
determining, by the first network equipment, first information of the group of information corresponding to a connection over a first network of the group of networks, by second network equipment, to third network equipment, wherein the first information comprises an operating characteristic of a network via which the connection is enabled,
based on the first information, selecting, by the first network equipment, an authenticator for the connection; and
facilitating, by the first network equipment, communicating the authenticator to the second network equipment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein communicating the authenticator comprises communicating the authenticator to the second network equipment for use by the second network equipment to establish the connection.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the authenticator comprises an electronic subscriber network authenticator for use to establish the connection in accordance with a sub scriber agreement.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second network equipment comprises a user equipment.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the authenticator comprises an authentication resource from a group of authentication resources, the group comprising the authentication resources available to the second network equipment for the connection to the third network equipment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operating characteristic comprises a network cost characteristic received from an information device maintained by resources of the network.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
receiving, by the first network equipment, selection information representative of a selection criterion from the second network equipment, wherein selecting the authenticator is based on the selection criterion.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the selection criterion comprises a connection cost criterion, and wherein selecting the authenticator based on the selection criterion comprises selecting the authenticator corresponding to the network determined to be able to provide the connection via the network and determined to have a cost characteristic that satisfies the connection cost criterion.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the connection cost criterion comprises a lowest connection cost criterion, and wherein selecting the authenticator based on the selection criterion comprises selecting the authenticator corresponding to the network determined to have a lowest cost characteristic that satisfies the lowest connection cost criterion.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the operating characteristic comprises a connection bandwidth characteristic of the connection, and wherein selecting the authenticator comprises selecting the authenticator corresponding to the network determined to be able to enable the connection with the connection bandwidth characteristic that satisfies a connection bandwidth criterion.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the connection bandwidth criterion comprises a highest connection bandwidth criterion, and wherein selecting the authenticator based on the selection criterion comprises selecting the authenticator corresponding to the network determined to have a highest connection bandwidth characteristic that satisfies the highest connection bandwidth criterion.

12. A user device, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
receiving, from a network device, a group of indications, wherein each indication corresponds to a subscriber authenticator selected by the network device from a group of subscriber authenticators, the group comprising subscriber authenticators available for use to connect the user device to network devices respectively corresponding to different provider networks maintained by a group of network providers, wherein each indication was generated by the network device based on a current network cost retrieved by the network device from respective network providers,
analyzing a characteristic of a provider network of the different provider networks corresponding to the subscriber authenticator, wherein the indication comprises information corresponding to the characteristic of the provider network, and
based on a result of analyzing the characteristic of the provider network, selecting the provider network.

13. The user device of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise identifying a selection condition for use by the network device to select the subscriber authenticator, and wherein evaluation of the selection condition comprises the evaluation of the different provider networks, by the network device, to facilitate selection of the subscriber authenticator by the network device.

14. The user device of claim 13 , wherein evaluation of the selection condition comprises the evaluation of a connection cost condition, and wherein the characteristic of the provider network comprises a connection cost characteristic of the provider network, and wherein selecting the provider network by the user device comprises selecting the provider device based on evaluation information received from the network device that evaluated the provider network based on the selection condition.

15. The user device of claim 13 , wherein identifying the selection condition comprises identifying the selection condition based on input collected via a user interface of the user device.

16. The user device of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:
identifying the group of subscriber authenticators available for use to connect to the different provider networks, resulting in an identified group; and
communicating the identified group and network information representative of the different provider networks to the network device for use in selection of the subscriber authenticator from the identified group.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of network equipment, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
receiving an operating characteristic from a network device associated with a network from a group of networks resulting in a group of operating characteristics;
determining a first operating characteristic from the group of operating characteristics corresponding to a connection, by a user equipment, via a first network of a group of networks;
based on the operating characteristic, selecting an authentication resource for the connection from a group of authentication resources, the group comprising authentication resources available to the user equipment for the connection via the network, the selecting resulting in a selected authentication resource; and
communicating authentication information corresponding to the selected authentication resource to the user equipment.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving a selection criterion from the user equipment, and wherein selecting the authentication resource is based on the selection criterion.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the operating characteristic comprises a network usage cost characteristic, wherein the selection criterion comprises a connection cost criterion, and

Assignees

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

Inventors

• Sikes Jason
• Braunecker David
• Hamilton James
• Ayyagari Ramesh
• Barksdale Iii James
• Balog Charles

Classifications

• H04W76/11 Primary

  Allocation or use of connection identifiers · CPC title

• H04W72/04

  Wireless resource allocation · CPC title

• H04W72/23

  in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal · CPC title