Geographic Information for Wireless Networks
Techniques for geographic information for wireless networks are described. According to various embodiments, a connectivity module on a mobile device receives geographic position information for a mobile device from another functionality of the mobile device and independent of a query by the connectivity module for the information. The connectivity module retrieves the geographic position information locally on the device, and utilizes the geographic position information to cause various actions to be performed. For instance, the connectivity module utilizes the geographic position information to identify a wireless network at a particular geographic region, and to cause a wireless scan to be initiated to detect the wireless network.
1 . A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including:
maintaining a wireless radio in an inactive state;
detecting, by a connectivity manager, that geographic position information corresponding to an identified location of the system is available;
communicating, by the connectivity manager and via a network, the geographic position information to a network information service;
receiving, by the connectivity manager and via the network, a message from the network information service indicating whether a wireless network is available at the identified;
activating, based on the message including an indication that the wireless network is available, the wireless radio from the inactive state and initiating operations using the wireless radio including:
scanning for the wireless network; and
connecting to the wireless network.
2 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein said receiving further includes receiving information about the wireless network.
3 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein said receiving further includes receiving information about the wireless network, the operations further comprising providing, by the connectivity manager and subsequent to the activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, the information about the wireless network to the wireless radio.
4 . The system as described in claim 1 , the operations further comprising loading, by the connectivity manager and prior to the activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, a network profile corresponding to the wireless network.
5 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the wireless radio is configured, while in the inactive state, to receive wake events from the connectivity manager.
6 . The system as described in claim 1 , the operations further comprising scheduling, by the connectivity manager and prior to said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, a network scan to be performed by the wireless radio to detect the wireless network, and wherein said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state is performed based on the scheduled network scan.
7 . The system as described in claim 1 , wherein the network is a cellular network and the wireless network is a wireless broadband network.
8 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
maintaining a wireless radio in an inactive state;
detecting, by a connectivity manager, that geographic position information corresponding to an identified location of a computing device is available;
communicating, by the connectivity manager and via a network, the geographic position information to a network information service;
receiving, by the connectivity manager and via the network, a message from the network information service indicating whether a wireless network is available at the identified location;
activating, based on the message including an indication that the wireless network is available, the wireless radio from the inactive state and initiating operations using the wireless radio including:
scanning for the wireless network; and
connecting to the wireless network.
9 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 8 , wherein said receiving further includes receiving information about the wireless network.
10 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 8 , wherein said receiving further includes receiving information about the wireless network, the method further comprising providing, by the connectivity manager and subsequent to the activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, the information about the wireless network to the wireless radio.
11 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 8 , further comprising loading, by the connectivity manager and prior to said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, a network profile corresponding to the wireless network.
12 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 8 , wherein the wireless radio is configured to receive, while in an inactive state, wake events from the connectivity manager.
13 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 8 further comprising scheduling, by the connectivity manager and prior to said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, a network scan to be performed by the wireless radio to detect the wireless network, and wherein said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state is performed based on the scheduled network scan.
14 . The computer-implemented method as described in claim 8 , wherein the network is a cellular network and the wireless network is a wireless broadband network.
15 . One or more computer-readable storage media storing a computer program comprising computer executable instructions, which when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
maintaining a wireless radio in an inactive state;
detecting, by a connectivity manager, that geographic position information corresponding to an identified location of the computing device is available;
communicating, by the connectivity manager and via a network, the geographic position information to a network information service;
receiving, by the connectivity manager and via the network, a message from the network information service indicating whether a wireless network is available at the identified location;
activating, based on the message including an indication that the wireless network is available, the wireless radio from the inactive state and initiating operations using the wireless radio including:
scanning for the wireless network; and
connecting to the wireless network.
16 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 15 , wherein said receiving further includes receiving information about the wireless network.
17 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 15 , wherein said receiving further includes receiving information about the wireless network, the operations further comprising providing, by the connectivity manager and subsequent to said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, the information about the wireless network to the wireless radio.
18 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 15 , the operations further comprising loading, by the connectivity manager and prior to said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, a network profile corresponding to the wireless network.
19 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 15 , the operations further comprising scheduling, by the connectivity manager and prior to said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state, a network scan to be performed by the wireless radio to detect the wireless network, and wherein said activating the wireless radio from the inactive state is performed based on the scheduled network scan.
20 . The one or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 15 , wherein the network is a cellular network and the wireless network is a wireless broadband network.