Storing wi-fi and cellular tower database to assist cellular network system selection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016157168-A1
Application number	US-201414558264-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 2, 2014
Priority date	Dec 2, 2014
Publication date	Jun 2, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of selecting a cellular network includes storing a location database in a memory of a mobile device, the location database providing location data for one or more locations each identified by a unique identifier, in response to recognizing the identifier, determining a current location of the mobile device by looking up the identifier in the database, prioritizing bands based on the current location to define a band priority, and selecting the cellular network based on the band priority.

First claim

1 . A method of selecting a cellular network, the method comprising:
storing a location database in a memory of a mobile device, the location database providing location data for one or more locations each identified by a unique identifier; in response to recognizing the identifier, determining a current location of the mobile device by looking up the identifier in the location database; prioritizing bands based on the current location to define a band priority; and selecting the cellular network based on the band priority.

2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein recognizing the identifier comprises:
detecting a Wi-Fi signal;
obtaining a MAC address from the Wi-Fi signal;
and wherein determining the current location comprises looking up the MAC address in the location database.

3 . The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein detecting the Wi-Fi signal comprises passively scanning for a Wi-Fi beacon signal broadcast by a Wi-Fi access point.

4 . The method as claimed in claim 3 comprising searching for a mobile country code associated with the MAC address in the location database.

5 . The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the recognizing occurs in response to activating a cellular radiofrequency transceiver.

6 . The method as claimed in claim 2 further comprising:
waiting for a threshold amount of time to elapse before performing the detecting of the Wi-Fi signal and the determining of the current location; and
limiting a total scan time for detecting the Wi-Fi signal.

7 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions in code which when loaded into a memory and executed by a processor of a mobile device cause the mobile device to:
store a location database in a memory of a mobile device, the location database providing location data for one or more locations each identified by a unique identifier; in response to recognizing the identifier, determine a current location of the mobile device by looking up the identifier in the location database; and prioritize bands based on the current location to define a band priority; and select the cellular network based on the band priority.

8 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 wherein the code to recognize the identifier comprises code to cause the device to:
detect a Wi-Fi signal;
obtain a MAC address from the Wi-Fi signal;
and wherein the code to determine the current location comprises code for looking up the MAC address in the location database.

9 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 8 comprising code to cause the mobile device to passively scan for a Wi-Fi beacon signal broadcast by a Wi-Fi access point.

10 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 9 comprising code for searching for a mobile country code associated with the MAC address in the location database.

11 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 wherein the code to detect is executed in response to activating a cellular radiofrequency transceiver.

12 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 8 further comprising code for causing the device to wait for a threshold amount of time to elapse before performing the detecting of the Wi-Fi signal and the determining of the current location and to limit a total scan time for detecting the Wi-Fi signal.

13 . A mobile device comprising:
a memory for storing a location database that includes location data for one or more locations each identified by a unique identifier; a processor operatively coupled to the memory to: in response to recognizing the identifier, determine a current location of the mobile device by looking up the identifier in the location database; prioritize bands based on the current location to define a band priority; and select the cellular network based on the band priority.

14 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 further comprising:
a Wi-Fi receiver to receive a Wi-Fi signal;
wherein the processor is configured to obtain a MAC address from the Wi-Fi signal and to determine the current location of the mobile device by looking up the MAC address in the location database.

15 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the Wi-Fi transceiver detects a Wi-Fi signal by scanning for a Wi-Fi beacon signal.

16 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to search for a mobile country code associated with the MAC address in the location database.

17 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the processor initiates detection of the Wi-Fi signal in response to activating a cellular radiofrequency transceiver.

18 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to wait for a threshold amount of time to elapse before performing the detecting of the Wi-Fi signal and the determining of the current location and to limit a total scan time for detecting the Wi-Fi signal.

19 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the location database also includes prioritized Radio Access Technologies

20 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the location database also includes prioritized absolute radio-frequency channel numbers (ARFCN).

Assignees

• Blackberry Ltd

Inventors

• Xue Hao
• Wirtanen Jeffrey William
• Cormier Jean-Philippe Paul

Classifications

• H04W72/56

  based on priority criteria · CPC title

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title

• H04W48/18 Primary

  Selecting a network or a communication service · CPC title

• H04W4/029 Primary

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• H04W72/10

  Electricity · mapped topic