IP Library › Granted Patent US 12701422
Granted Patent B2
US 12701422 · App. 18/344,834 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Gatekeeping for roaming WiFi callers

Inventors: Joel Arends (Renton, WA); Nassereddine Sabeur (Bellevue, WA); Saqib Badar (Bellevue, WA)
Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc.
H04W12/63H04W8/12H04W12/009H04W12/06
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12701422
App. No.
18/344,834
Granted
Aug 4, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Gatekeeping for roaming WiFi callers includes: receiving, by a first wireless network node, from a second wireless network node, an authentication request identifying a user equipment (UE) that is requesting a call over WiFi and identifying a network address of the UE; based on at least the network address of the UE, determining a location of the UE; based on at least the location of the UE, determining whether the call is permitted; based on at least determining that the call is not permitted for the UE, responding with a message that blocks the call. Solutions also include: receiving, by the second wireless network node, from a packet data gateway, a request for a call over WiFi; based on at least receiving the request, transmitting the authentication request to the first wireless network node, the authentication request identifying the network address of the UE.

Claims (25)

1 . A method of wireless communication, the method comprising:

receiving, by a home subscriber server (HSS), a multimedia authentication request (MAR) identifying a user equipment (UE) that is requesting a voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) or video over WiFi (ViWiFi) call, wherein the MAR includes an internet protocol (IP) address of the UE;

determining, by the HSS, a geographical location associated with the IP address of the UE based on an IP address database maintained by the HSS;

determining, by the HSS, that the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call is being requested while the UE is roaming based on the geographical location associated with the IP address of the UE; and

transmitting, by the HSS responsive to the MAR, a 5004 Roaming Not Allowed error message that blocks the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call based on to determining that the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call is being requested while the UE is roaming.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the geographical location corresponds to a different country than that associated with a home wireless network of the UE.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the IP address database maintained by the HSS maps IP addresses to geographical regions.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the IP address database maintained by the HSS maps IP addresses to countries.

5 . A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium storing programming instructions for execution by the processor, the programming instructions, upon execution by the processor, causing the system to perform the following operations:

receiving, by a home subscriber server (HSS), a multimedia authentication request (MAR) identifying a user equipment (UE) that is requesting a voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) or video over WiFi (ViWiFi) call, wherein the MAR includes an internet protocol (IP) address of the UE;

determining, by the HSS, a geographical location associated with the IP address of the UE based on an IP address database maintained by the HSS;

determining, by the HSS, that the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call is being requested while the UE is roaming based on the geographical location associated with the IP address of the UE; and

transmitting, by the HSS responsive to the MAR, a 5004 Roaming Not Allowed error message that blocks the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call based on determining that the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call is being requested while the UE is roaming.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the IP address database maintained by the HSS maps IP addresses to geographical regions.

7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the IP address database maintained by the HSS maps IP addresses to countries.

8 . One or more computer storage devices having programing instructions stored thereon, which, upon execution by a processor of a system, cause the system to perform the following operations:

receiving, by a home subscriber server (HSS), a multimedia authentication request (MAR) identifying a user equipment (UE) that is requesting a voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) or video over WiFi (ViWiFi) call, wherein the MAR includes an internet protocol (IP) address of the UE;

determining, by the HSS, a geographical location associated with the IP address of the UE based on an IP address database maintained by the HSS;

determining, by the HSS, that the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call is being requested while the UE is roaming based on the geographical location associated with the IP address of the UE; and

transmitting, by the HSS responsive to the MAR, a 5004 Roaming Not Allowed error message that blocks the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call based on determining that the VoWiFi or ViWiFi call is being requested while the UE is roaming.

9 . The one or more computer storage devices of claim 8 , wherein the geographical location corresponds to a different country than that associated with a home wireless network of the UE.

10 . The one or more computer storage devices of claim 8 , wherein the IP address database maintained by the HSS maps IP addresses to geographical regions.

11 . The one or more computer storage devices of claim 8 , wherein the IP address database maintained by the HSS maps IP addresses to countries.