Presence detection for cellular and internet protocol telephony
View Patent ↗A telephone system supports communication with user devices over both a cellular radio network as well as over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, and enables roaming and active call handoff between cellular and IP domains. Approaches to detecting presence of a user near a suitable IP network are used in controlling transitions between the domains, for example, enabling automatic transitions between domains, and delivery of calls to a mobile user to data network devices in the vicinity of the user.
1. A method of internetwork signaling comprising:
determining a presence of a first mobile device proximal in location to a first user-specific location-based group of devices, the first mobile device being both operable in and registered in a cellular radio network with a first service provider;
registering the first mobile device in a wireless data network with a second service provider; and
notifying the first mobile device and at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices of a call to the first mobile device while the first mobile device remains both registered in the wireless data network and proximal in location to the first user-specific location-based group of devices;
wherein determining the presence of the first mobile device proximal in location to the first user-specific location-based group of devices is based at least in part on information provided when registering the first mobile device in the wireless data network.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presence of the first mobile device is determined when the first mobile device establishes communication in the wireless data network.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein registering the first mobile device in the wireless data network comprises providing location information to the second service provider.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein location information comprise at least one of a routable Internet Protocol address, a host name, and text information.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user-specific location-based group of devices is one of a plurality of user-specific location-based groups of devices.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first mobile device is determined to be proximal in location to the first user-specific location-based group of devices by observing a source internet protocol (IP) address of IP packets in the wireless data network.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user-specific location-based group of devices is further associated with at least one device that communicates in the wireless data network.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices includes a wired circuit switched device that communicates in a wired circuit switched telephone network that includes a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising notifying all of the devices that are associated with the first user-specific location-based group of devices of the call to the first mobile device while the first mobile device remains proximal in location to the first user-specific location-based group of devices.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices includes a packet-based device that communicates in the wireless data network having the second service provider.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the wired circuit switched telephone network has a third service provider.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first service provider and the second service provider comprise a same service provider.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein notifying comprises alerting at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices when the first mobile device is busy.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein notifying comprises alerting at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices with a distinct tone.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein notifying the at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices is performed by the first service provider.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein notifying the at least one of the first user-specific location-based group of devices is performed by the second service provider.
17. The method of claim 1 further comprising notifying the at least one wired circuit switched device of a call to the first mobile device while the first mobile device remains registered to the wireless data network.
18. The method of claim 1 wherein the first user-specific location-based group of devices comprises two or more devices.