System for creating an air-to-ground IP tunnel in an airborne wireless cellular network to differentiate individual passengers
View Patent ↗The Aircraft Air-To-Ground IP Tunnel System provides wireless communication services to passengers located onboard an aircraft by storing data indicative of the individually identified passenger wireless devices located onboard the aircraft. The Aircraft Air-To-Ground IP Tunnel System assigns a single IP address to each Point-to-Point Protocol link connecting the aircraft network to the ground-based communication network and creates an IP subnet onboard the aircraft. The IP subnet utilizes a plurality of IP addresses for each Point-to-Point link, enabling each passenger wireless device to be uniquely identified with their own IP address. This is enabled since both Point-to-Point Protocol IPCP endpoints have pre-defined IP address pools and/or topology configured, so each Point-to-Point Protocol endpoint can utilize a greater number of IP addresses than one per link. Such an approach does not change IPCP or other EVDO protocols/messaging but allows this address to be directly visible to the ground-based communication network.
1. A system for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses to a plurality of passenger wireless devices which are located onboard an aircraft when said aircraft is in flight, comprising:
an aircraft network , located in an aircraft, for generating radio frequency communication signals to wirelessly communicate, in a packet-switched mode, with a plurality of passenger wireless devices located in said aircraft;
a ground-based Access Network , having a single IP address, for exchanging communication signals with at least one ground-based packet-switched communication network;
an Air-To-Ground network for the bidirectional exchange of packet-switched radio frequency communications on a single physical communication link between said aircraft network and said ground-based Access Network when said aircraft is in flight;
wherein said aircraft network comprises:
an IP address assignment for assigning a unique IP address on said aircraft network for each of said passenger wireless devices on the aircraft,
a data concentrator, located on said aircraft, for converting the subscriber packet data traffic received from said plurality of passenger wireless devices located in said aircraft to at least one packet-switched aggregate data stream;
wherein said Air-To-Ground network comprises:
an IP Tunnel for supporting the unique IP addresses of the passenger wireless devices on said aircraft network in said bidirectional packet-switched radio frequency communications between said aircraft network and said ground-based Access Network when said aircraft is in flight, comprising at least one of:
a Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol for establishing a router-to-router Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection between the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) located in the ground-based Access Network and the Air-To-Ground modem located in the aircraft,
a Layer 3 Tunneling Protocol for terminating the IP Tunnel just before the Air-To-Ground Modem on the aircraft and just after the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) on the ground, and
an aircraft-based NAT, located onboard the aircraft, for mapping the passenger wireless device IP address to an IP address and an ethereal source port that is unique for the particular passenger wireless device; and
a data concentrator for converting the subscriber traffic and signaling channels received from said corresponding ground-based communications network to at least one aggregate data stream for transmission to said aircraft network via said IP Tunnel when said aircraft is in flight.
2. The system for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses of claim 1 wherein said Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol comprises:
a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) functioning as the L2TP Access Concentrator (LAC) and Air-To-Ground modem acts as a L2TP Network Server (LNS).
3. The system for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses of claim 1 wherein said Air-To-Ground network further comprises:
a ground-based NAT for using the same static NAPT mapping of said aircraft-based NAT to convert IP addresses received from the aircraft back to the passenger wireless device IP address.
4. The system for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses of claim 1 wherein said Air-To-Ground network further comprises:
data disaggregation for disaggregating said at least one aggregate data stream into a plurality of data streams and delivering each of said plurality of data streams to a one of said plurality of passenger wireless devices located in said aircraft.
5. A method for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses to a plurality of passenger wireless devices which are located onboard an aircraft, comprising:
generating in an aircraft network, located in an aircraft, radio frequency communication signals to wirelessly communicate, in a packet-switched mode, with a plurality of passenger wireless devices located in said aircraft;
exchanging communication signals in a ground-based Access Network, having a single IP address, with at least one ground-based communication network; and
bidirectionally exchanging packet-switched radio frequency communications on a single physical communication link in an Air-To-Ground network between said aircraft network and said ground-based Access Network when said aircraft is in flight;
wherein said step of generating in an aircraft network comprises:
assigning a unique IP address on said aircraft network for each of said passenger wireless devices on the aircraft,
data concentrating on said aircraft, for converting the subscriber packet data traffic received from said plurality of passenger wireless devices located in said aircraft to at least one packet-switched aggregate data stream; and
wherein said step of exchanging communication signals comprises:
supporting, via an IP Tunnel, the unique IP addresses of the passenger wireless devices on said aircraft network in said bidirectional packet-switched radio frequency communications between said aircraft network and said ground-based Access Network when said aircraft is in flight, comprising at least one of:
establishing in a Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol a router-to-router Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection between the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) located in the ground-based Access Network and the Air-To-Ground modem located in the aircraft,
terminating a Layer 3 Tunneling Protocol for terminating the IP Tunnel just before the Air-To-Ground Modem on the aircraft and just after the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) on the ground, and
mapping, in an aircraft-based NAT, located onboard the aircraft, the passenger wireless device IP address to an IP address and an ethereal source port that is unique for the particular passenger wireless device; and
converting the subscriber traffic and signaling channels received from said corresponding ground-based communications network to at least one aggregate data stream for transmission to said aircraft network via said IP Tunnel when said aircraft is in flight.
6. The method for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses of claim 5 wherein said step of establishing in a Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol comprises:
using a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) as the L2TP Access Concentrator (LAC) and the Air-To-Ground modem as a L2TP Network Server (LNS).
7. The method for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses of claim 5 wherein step of bidirectionally exchanging packet switched radio frequency communications in an Air-To-Ground network further comprises:
using in a ground-based NAT the same static NAPT mapping as said step of mapping, onboard the aircraft, to convert IP addresses received from the aircraft back to the passenger wireless device IP address.
8. The method for providing individual ground-based Access Network IP addresses of claim 5 wherein step of bidirectionally exchanging packet-switched radio frequency communications in an Air-To-Ground network further comprises:
converting the subscriber traffic and signaling channels received from said corresponding ground-based communications network to at least one aggregate data stream; and
disaggregating said at least one aggregate data stream into a plurality of data streams and delivering each of said plurality of data streams to a one of said plurality of passenger wireless devices located in said aircraft.