Service area determination in a telecommunications network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12356278-B2
Application number	US-202418666442-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 16, 2024
Priority date	Feb 20, 2019
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for correlating one or more service areas of a network with one or more geolocation coordinates to determine available services for customers to the network. A service polygon may be generated that define an area in which a particular service offered by a communications network is available. The boundaries of the service polygons may be adjusted based on information corresponding to physical features of the initial area. The service polygons may aid a communications network in providing a list of available services to potential customers or devices connected to the network by determining one or more geolocation coordinate values of a potential connection site and comparing the values to the service polygons. A network management system may determine the available services, current or in the future, to offer such services to a customer to the network.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for operating a network, the method comprising:
obtaining geolocation coordinates of an address received at a computing device, the received address corresponding to a potential termination site for a communications network;
obtaining, based on the geolocation coordinates and from a database in communication with the computing device, a service area polygon comprising a plurality of geographic boundaries defining an area of an available network service and which contains the geolocation coordinates of the potential termination site;
correlating, in a service map of a geographic area, the service area polygon with the geolocation coordinates of the potential termination site, wherein the correlation corresponds to an availability of the network service to the potential termination site;
altering the plurality of geographic boundaries of the service area polygon based on a network operating business rule; and
displaying the correlation of the service area polygon with the geolocation coordinates of the potential termination site in the service map.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the geolocation coordinates of the received address comprises:
transmitting, via an application programming interface (API), the received address to a geolocation database; and
receiving the geolocation coordinates of the address from the database.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving, via a user interface, an input verifying the geolocation coordinates of the received address.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein network equipment of the network comprises a transmission distance limitation of network equipment, the transmission distance limitation based on an acceptable noise threshold of the network equipment.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein network equipment of the network comprises a service type available from the network equipment based on a type of the network equipment.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the network operating business rule comprises a quality of service value threshold associated with the network service.

7. A system for managing a network, the system comprising:
a processor in communication a database maintaining geolocation coordinate values corresponding to an address; and
a non-transitory memory comprising instructions encoded thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, are operable to:
define a service polygon comprising a plurality of geographic boundaries defining an area of a network service based on a geographic location of network equipment configured to provide the network service;
alter the plurality of geographic boundaries of the service area polygon based on a network operating business rule;
display, in a graphical user interface including a service map, an overlay of the geolocation coordinate values corresponding to the address and the service polygon associated with the network service when the geolocation coordinate values are located within the plurality of geographic boundaries of the service polygon.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the instructions are further operable to:
transmit, via an application programming interface (API), the address to the database to request the geolocation coordinate values corresponding to an address.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the geolocation coordinate values associated with the address comprise a latitude value and a longitude value.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the instructions are further operable to:
display, on a display device in communication with a communication port, the graphical user interface; and
receive, via the user interface, an input verifying the latitude value and a longitude value associated with address.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the network service comprises a fiber-based connection between a site associated with the address and the network equipment configured to provide the network service.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the network service comprises an indication of a future service provided by the network and the service polygon comprises an installation schedule for the future service associated with the service polygon.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein the instructions are further operable to:
generate an initial service area polygon comprising an initial plurality of geographic boundaries based on the geographic location of the network equipment; and
alter the initial plurality of geographic boundaries of the initial service area polygon.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the initial plurality of geographic boundaries of the initial service area polygon is based on a technical feature of the network equipment to provide the network service.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein altering the initial plurality of geographic boundaries of the initial service area polygon is based on a physical barrier obtained from a topographical map comprising the geographic location of the network equipment.

16. The system of claim 7 wherein the network equipment is configured to provide a Passive Optical Network service for the area of the network service defined by the plurality of geographic boundaries.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method comprising:
receive, at a computing device, geolocation coordinates of an address corresponding to a potential termination site for a communications network;
obtain, based on the geolocation coordinates and from a database in communication with the computing device, a service area polygon comprising a plurality of geographic boundaries defining an area of an available network service and which contains the geolocation coordinates of the potential termination site;
correlate, in a service map of a geographic area, the service area polygon with the geolocation coordinates of the potential termination site, wherein the correlation corresponds to an availability of the network service to the potential termination site;
alter the plurality of geographic boundaries of the service area polygon based on a network operating business rule; and
display, on a display device, the correlation of the service area polygon with the geolocation coordinates of the potential termination site in the service map.

Assignees

• Level 3 Communications Llc

Inventors

• Draper Shawn
• Kaza Vamsi
• Matthews Jerry
• Gray William

Classifications

• H04L67/133

  Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC] · CPC title

• H04L67/51

  Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services · CPC title

• H04Q11/0067

  Provisions for optical access or distribution networks, e.g. Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GE-PON), ATM-based Passive Optical Network (A-PON), PON-Ring · CPC title

• G06F16/29

  Geographical information databases · CPC title

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title