System and method for provisioning telecommunications services between an access point and a telecommunications network and providing missing information notification
View Patent ↗A method and system for selectively provisioning connections between an access point, which supports telecommunications services over an IP network, and a carrier network includes a network connection and a telephone connector suitable for connecting to a landline telephone, a cordless telephone, or a mobile device. The access point sends a provisioning request, which includes identifying information such as a subscriber identifier and a MAC address, to a network controller. The network controller attempts to find a geographic, street, or other address associated with the connection to be provisioned. If an address is not found, the network controller rejects the connection and sends a missing information notification to the access point. After receiving the missing information notification, the access point controls a user indicator to provide error information.
1. A wireless local area network (WLAN) access point configured for facilitating IP-based communications over a telecommunications network controlled by a telecommunications service provider, wherein the telecommunications network includes a network server, the WLAN access point comprising:
an antenna;
a WLAN radio connected to the antenna and configured to provide WLAN connectivity;
a network connection component configured to communicate with an IP-based network and connected to transmit and receive data received from the WLAN radio;
a telephone connector component configured to accept a wired connection to a landline telephone;
a visual indicator device associated with the telephone connector component;
an identification module socket configured to accept an identification module, wherein the identification module includes a tamper-resistant memory and wherein the tamper-resistant memory has stored therein a subscriber identifier, and wherein the subscriber identity is neither a Medium Access Control (MAC) address nor an electronic serial number (ESN);
a processor, coupled to the WLAN radio, the network connection component, the telephone connector component, the visual indicator device, and the identification module socket, wherein the processor is configured to:
facilitate provisioning telecommunications services between the telephone connector component and the IP-based network,
wherein the telecommunications services include voice communications services over the IP-based network;
receive a missing information notification; and,
control the visual indicator device based on receiving the missing information notification,
wherein the missing information notification is received from the network server; and,
a housing at least partially enclosing the WLAN radio, the network connection component, the telephone connector component, the visual indicator device, the identification module socket, and the processor.
2. The WLAN access point of claim 1 , wherein the telecommunications services are Universal Mobile Access (UMA) or Generic Access Network (GAN) services, wherein the subscriber identifier is, or is based in part on, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and wherein the network server is configured to find a geographic address associated with the subscriber identifier and to generate the missing information notification if no address is found.
3. The WLAN access point of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator device is an indicator light and controlling the visual indicator device comprises enabling the indicator light in response to receiving the missing information notification.
4. The WLAN access point of claim 3 , wherein controlling the visual indicator light comprises enabling, disabling or changing a color of the visual indicator light.
5. The WLAN access point of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator device is a display screen and controlling the visual indicator device comprises displaying an error message on the display screen, and wherein the housing at least partially encloses the display screen.
6. The WLAN access point of claim 1 , wherein the telephone connector component is one of an RJ-11 RJ-25 or RJ-45 connector and wherein the telephone connector component is configured to physically accept a wired connection to a landline telephone.
7. The WLAN access point of claim 1 , further comprising a second telephone connector component, wherein the second telephone connector is configured to accept a wired connection to a second landline telephone, and wherein each telephone connector component is provisioned seperately.
8. The WLAN access point of claim 1 , further comprising a reader component configured to wirelessly read the subscriber identifier from a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag located in the landline telephone.
9. A system for managing use of an access point configured for facilitating IP-based communications in a telecommunications network, the system comprising:
a network connection component configured to communicate with an IP-based network;
an indicator module configured to provide a human-perceptible indication to a user in association with a telephone connector component;
an identifier component configured to provide an identifier;
a connection manager configured to facilitate provisioning of telecommunications services between the telephone connector component located on the access point and the IP-based network,
wherein the provisioning comprises providing user-specific information to a telecommunications network, and
wherein the user-specific information includes or is derived from the identifier; and
an address notification component configured to receive a missing information notification and to control the indicator module based on receiving the missing information notification.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the indicator device is a display screen and controlling the indicator device comprises displaying an error message on the display screen.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the telephone connection component configured to accept a connection with a user's telephone device, wherein the telephone connection component is configured to accept a connection using an unlicensed wireless band, and wherein the user's telephone device is a cordless phone or cellular phone.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the telephone connection component configured to accept a wired or wireless connection with a user's telephone device, and wherein the missing information notification is received from a server configured to find an address associated with the identifier and to generate the missing information notification if no address is found.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein, if no address is found, the connector manager rejects a connection between the telephone connector component and the IP-based network.
14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the telephone connection component is configured to accept a connection using a licensed wireless band, and wherein a user's telephone device is a cordless phone or cellular phone.
15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the indicator device is an indicator light and controlling the indicator device comprises enabling the indicator light in response to receiving the missing information notification.
16. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a network monitoring component configured to monitor a network address associated with the access device, wherein, if the network address changes significantly over a period of time, a missing information notification is generated.
17. A system of provisioning telecommunications services through an access point, the access point being suitable for use as an access point to an IP-based wireless telecommunications network to interface with a landline telephone, the system comprising:
a processor configured to:
automatically provision telecommunications services between a telephone connector component located on the access point and the IP-based network,
wherein provisioning comprises providing user-specific information to a telecommunications network; and
receive a missing information notification from a server configured to find an address associated with the user-specific information and to generate the missing information notification if no address is found; and
a means for providing a user-perceptible indication, associated with the telephone connector component,
wherein the means provides the user-perceptible indication in response to receiving the missing information notification.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the means for providing comprises a means for enabling an indicator light in response to receiving the missing information notification.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the means for providing comprises a means for displaying an error message on a display screen.
20. The system of claim 17 , further comprising a means for determining a geographic location of the access point, wherein the server is further configured to compare the geographic location to the address and to generate the missing information notification based on the comparison.