Secure and seamless handover between IP-based cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks

1. A method of offloading data from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network, comprising:

receiving a request from a user equipment (UE) to connect to a Wi-Fi network;

determining that the UE is a subscriber to a cellular network;

determining whether to offload data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network based at least in part on a set of offload criteria;

obtaining a Home IP Address, wherein the Home IP Address comprises a mobile IP address corresponding to the UE assigned by the cellular network;

allocating the Home IP Address to the UE as the UE's IP address for communicating with the UE on the Wi-Fi network; and

offloading data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving authentication information from the UE, wherein the determining that the UE is a subscriber to the cellular network is based on the authentication information.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending the authentication information to an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server associated with the cellular network; and

receiving a plurality of mobile IP attributes associated with the UE from the AAA server, wherein the plurality of mobile IP attributes include a home agent (HA) IP address.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

intercepting a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) request sent by the UE;

sending a DHCP request to a local DHCP server as a DHCP proxy client; and

receiving a local IP address allocated by the local DHCP server.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

initiating mobile IP registration with a home agent (HA) associated with the cellular network.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the initiating of the mobile IP registration is performed by a proxy mobile IP (PMIP) client, and wherein a foreign agent IP address (FA-IP) comprises the local IP address allocated by the local DHCP server.

7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising creating a tunnel with a source IP address set to the local IP address and a destination IP address set to a home agent IP address corresponding to a home agent associated with the cellular network, wherein data packets received from the UE are tunneled to the home agent through the tunnel.

8. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

determining whether to create an IP in IP tunnel to the home agent; and

in the event that the IP in IP tunnel is not created, sending data packets received from the UE directly to the Internet.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Home IP Address is obtained from a home agent associated with the cellular network.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein allocating the Home IP Address to the UE as the UE's IP address for communicating with the UE on the Wi-Fi network comprises sending the Home IP Address to the UE in a DHCP offer message.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of offload criteria is based at least in part on one or more of the following: a network policy, a quality of service (QoS) requirement, a type of application, network performance, and load-balancing metrics.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the network performance includes one or more of the following: a level of traffic congestion, a degree of latency, and a throughput.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein a communication session associated with an application running on the UE prior to the offloading of the data is preserved after the offloading of the data has started.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the application is one of the following: streaming video, VoIP call, and VPN access.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether to offload data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network comprises denying access to the Wi-Fi network by the UE in the event that the determination of whether to offload data is negative.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the UE with access to a local service.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein providing the UE with access to a local service comprises:

intercepting a local service discovery packet sent by the UE;

creating a copy of the local service discovery packet;

mapping a source IP address of the copy of the local service discovery packet using network address translation (NAT) to a local address allocated by a DHCP server; and

sending the mapped copy of the local service discovery packet onto a local network.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein providing the UE with access to a local service further comprises:

intercepting a response to the local service discovery packet;

creating a copy of the response;

mapping a destination IP address of the copy of the response using NAT to the Home IP Address; and

sending the mapped copy of the response onto the Wi-Fi network.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending the offloaded data to a cellular core network via a mobile IP tunnel based at least in part on a second set of criteria, wherein the second set of criteria includes a type of application associated with the offloaded data.

20. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending the offloaded data to a Wi-Fi network backhaul based at least in part on a second set of criteria, wherein the second set of criteria includes a type of application associated with the offloaded data.

21. A system for offloading data from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions stored therein which when executed cause the processor to:

receive a request from a user equipment (UE) to connect to a Wi-Fi network;

determine that the UE is a subscriber to a cellular network;

determine whether to offload data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network based at least in part on a set of offload criteria;

obtain a Home IP Address, wherein the Home IP Address comprises a mobile IP address corresponding to the UE assigned by the cellular network;

allocate the Home IP Address to the UE as the UE's IP address for communicating with the UE on the Wi-Fi network; and

offload data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network.

22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

receive authentication information from the UE, wherein the determining that the UE is a subscriber to the cellular network is based on the authentication information.

23. The system of claim 21 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

send the authentication information to an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server associated with the cellular network; and

receive a plurality of mobile IP attributes associated with the UE from the AAA server, wherein the plurality of mobile IP attributes include a home agent (HA) IP address.

24. The system of claim 21 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the is processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

intercept a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) request sent by the UE;

send a DHCP request to a local DHCP server as a DHCP proxy client; and

receive a local IP address allocated by the local DHCP server.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

initiate mobile IP registration with a home agent (HA) associated with the cellular network.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the initiating of the mobile IP registration is performed by a proxy mobile IP (PMIP) client, and wherein a foreign agent IP address (FA-IP) comprises the local IP address allocated by the local DHCP server.

27. The system of claim 24 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to create a tunnel with a source IP address set to the local IP address and a destination IP address set to a home agent IP address corresponding to a home agent associated with the cellular network, wherein data packets received from the UE are tunneled to the home agent through the tunnel.

28. The system of claim 24 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

determine whether to create an IP in IP tunnel to the home agent; and

in the event that the IP in IP tunnel is not created, send data packets received from the UE directly to the Internet.

29. The system of claim 21 , wherein the Home IP Address is obtained from a home agent associated with the cellular network.

30. The system of claim 21 , wherein allocating the Home IP Address to the UE as the UE's IP address for communicating with the UE on the Wi-Fi network comprises sending the Home IP Address to the UE in a DHCP offer message.

31. The system of claim 21 , wherein the set of offload criteria is based at least in part on one or more of the following: a network policy, a quality of service (QoS) requirement, a type of application, network performance, and load-balancing metrics.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the network performance includes one or more of the following: a level of traffic congestion, a degree of latency, and a throughput.

33. The system of claim 21 , wherein a communication session associated with an application running on the UE prior to the offloading of the data is preserved after the offloading of the data has started.

34. The system of claim 33 , wherein the application is one of the following: streaming video, VoIP call, and VPN access.

35. The system of claim 21 , wherein determining whether to offload data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network comprises denying access to the Wi-Fi network by the UE in the event that the determination of whether to offload data is negative.

36. The system of claim 21 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to provide the UE with access to a local service.

37. The system of claim 36 , wherein providing the UE with access to a local service comprises:

intercepting a local service discovery packet sent by the UE;

creating a copy of the local service discovery packet;

mapping a source IP address of the copy of the local service discovery packet using network address translation (NAT) to a local address allocated by a DHCP server; and

sending the mapped copy of the local service discovery packet onto a local network.

38. The system of claim 37 , wherein providing the UE with access to a local service further comprises:

intercepting a response to the local service discovery packet;

creating a copy of the response;

mapping a destination IP address of the copy of the response using NAT to the Home IP Address; and

sending the mapped copy of the response onto the Wi-Fi network.

39. The system of claim 21 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to send the offloaded data to a cellular core network via a mobile IP tunnel based at least in part on a second set of criteria, wherein the second set of criteria includes a type of application associated with the offloaded data.

40. The system of claim 21 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to send the offloaded data to a Wi-Fi network backhaul based at least in part on a second set of criteria, wherein the second set of criteria includes a type of application associated with the offloaded data.

41. A computer program product for offloading data from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network, the computer program product being embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a request from a user equipment (UE) to connect to a Wi-Fi network;

determining that the UE is a subscriber to a cellular network;

determining whether to offload data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network based at least in part on a set of offload criteria;

obtaining a Home IP Address, wherein the Home IP Address comprises a mobile IP address corresponding to the UE assigned by the cellular network;

allocating the Home IP Address to the UE as the UE's IP address for communicating with the UE on the Wi-Fi network; and

offloading data from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network.