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US 20120052857A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2012/0052857 A1 Kumar et al. (43) Pub. Date: Mar. 1, 2012 (54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REPORTING Publication Classi?cation LOSS OF BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY (51) Int. Cl. H04W 24/00 (2009.01) (75) Inventors: Shiv Kumar, Marlboro, NJ (US); H04W 4/12 (2009.01) Paritosh Bajpay, Edison, NJ (US); (52) U.S. Cl. ....................................... .. 455/424; 455/466 Jackson Liu, Middletown, NJ (US); Narendra Ravi, Howell, NJ (US) (57) ABSTRACT The subject disclosure provides a system and methods for a (73) Assignee: AT&T INTELLECTUAL central network monitoring authority to be automatically PROPERTY I, L.P., Reno, NV alerted upon loss of broadband connectivity at a residential gateway. In connection with detecting a connectivity loss in a (Us) residential gateway, traceable alert data is created, a mobile device is located within range of an associated femto cell, the (21) Appl. No.: 12/868,206 traceable alert data is provided to the mobile device; and the mobile device is then employed to transmit the traceable alert (22) Filed: Aug. 25, 2010 data to a central network monitoring authority. Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 1 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 2 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 3 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 4 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 .3 Wm. ‘Si..25.I mm Lbx an“ 3mm Wmmmmw WL Ma? w2....isxS. ~~ it ~ ii?7 ~~ ~ ~ ~ k5, ~~ ~ \.“ i;5";555555555554. Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 5 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 Em. ‘5,35%;..i.515...?.‘ . WWMJEWMM,..v,h’: , up:git-$5...13V . Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 6 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 QUE.,\ Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 7 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 ‘1555.13 Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 8 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 mam,Muw....w...~.n.Y “w#3 mmw .v... r m” wf Kg wm Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 9 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 a Patent Application Publication Mar. 1, 2012 Sheet 10 0f 10 US 2012/0052857 A1 ‘WWWmm mam US 2012/0052857 A1 Mar. 1, 2012 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REPORTING to the femto cell system either When idle or While in call LOSS OF BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY Without dropping an active call. [0006] Generally, a femto cell is a loW-poWeredbase station TECHNICAL FIELD that typically resides Within a building and provides cellular [0001] The subject disclosure relates generally to Wireless transceivers With access to a ?xed netWork. The femto cell communications, and more speci?cally, to automatically generally includes base station functionality, as Well as means alerting a central network monitoring authority upon loss of to communicate With a ?xed netWork such as the Internet. broadband connectivity. Generally, a femto cell utiliZes a residential gateWay and related components to access the internet. As used herein, the BACKGROUND term “residential gateWay” refers to an interface betWeen a Wide area netWork (WAN) and one or more local end user [0002] The use of Wireless communication devices have devices, also referred to as customer premises equipment become so prevalent in today’s society that almost everyone (CPE) devices. Residential gateWays operate as functional uses a cell phone or other Wireless communication device for bridges betWeen the external netWork and the CPE devices, communication With one another. As people become more receiving application-agnostic data from the external net con?dent With the use of these Wireless communication devices and the services they provide, the use of Wired Work, separating the data into various types, optionally refor devices, such as a Wired telephone at home, have become less matting it for a particular application, and distributing the important in day-to-day life. The result of this change in data via one or more in-premises netWorks to one or more behavior has led many people to discontinue their Wired com CPE devices. Each CPE device may consume the data in its munication service and rely entirely on their Wireless com raW format or perform additional transformations on the data munication device. In some circumstances, such as those prior to use. Data that is distributed by the gateWay may living on the fringe of service or living in large multi-unit include, but is not limited to, voice, video, and/or computer complexes, the marginal signal strength in these locations data. makes relying entirely on a Wireless service a someWhat risky [0007] Conventional residential gateWay devices provide proposition. end users With only limited data monitoring and control func [0003] In addition to mobile phone netWorks currently in tions. For example, conventional residential gateWays permit place, a neW class of small base stations has emerged, Which some ?ltering of computer data for security and netWork may be installed in a user’s home and provide indoor Wireless management purposes, such as providing ?reWall and coverage to mobile units using existing broadband Internet Dynamic Host Con?guration Protocol (DHCP) services. connections. Such personal miniature base stations are gen These functions of the residential gateWay are generally con erally knoWn as access point base stations, or, alternatively, ?gured by the end user via a Web interface, Which provides Home Node B (HNB) or femto cells. The coverage area of a some visibility into the traditional computer data functions of femto cell is relatively small and may cells may be connected the gateWay device, as Well as Simple NetWork Management to use mobile broadband access such as via High-Speed DoWnlink Packet Access (HSDPA). Protocol (SNMP) netWork monitoring and control functions. [0004] Femto cells have evolved to alloW the user to It should be noted that currently most residential gateWays do increase or provide su?icient signal strength in be overlapped not generate SNMP traps. In general, hoWever, apart from the With neighboring Wireless systems and other femto cells. provisioning and control of computer data netWork services, Femto cells are also connected to the Wireless communication no other function exists Within these devices to control or system using an Intemet Protocol based transmission system. monitor other application data types, such as voice or video. Typically, such miniature base stations are connected to the [0008] Some conventional residential gateWays include Internet and the mobile operator’s netWork via broadband interfaces that convert voice and video data received from the ?xed access such as via a residential gateWay (typically a WAN from an Internet Protocol (IP) format into a native Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) router or a cable modem). format used by a customer premises equipment (CPE) device, Alternatively, the femto cells can be implemented in any area such as a telephone or television. Control of these interfaces Where the user desires Wireless communication device usage may be provided via provisioning services from the netWork and a high-speed internet connection is available. For or from craft interfaces into the residential gateWay, but in example, a Wireless communication device user can install general this control is limited to “on/off” type functionality, and initialiZe a femto cell in their apartment and create a such as mapping IP addresses to telephone numbers, or pro Wireless communication service bubble permitting reliable viding a video cutoff relay. communications by the Wireless device and alloWing the user to cancel their Wired communications service and rely on [0009] Central netWork monitoring authorities (usually ser their Wireless communication device. vice providers) have methodologies to monitor, control, and [0005] Neighboring Wireless communication systems may maintain the connectivity of groups of customers (e.g., in a employ one or more radio access technologies on one or more small metropolitan area). Various methods are knoWn for frequencies typically via ?xed base stations, also knoWn as monitoring and/or controlling connectivity Within neighbor macro cells. Furthermore, a system may have one radio hoods and ?xed access points. HoWever, today, the connec access technology overlaying another. For example, portions tivity in individual residential gateWays is unmonitored. of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system [0010] The above-described de?ciencies of today’s Wire may be overlapped With Wideband Code Division Multiple less communications systems are merely intended to provide Access (WCDMA) base stations Which may be overlapped an overvieW of some of the problems of conventional sys With various femto cells. It may be desirable for the user tems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems equipment (UE) communicating on the macro cell to handoff With the state of the art and corresponding bene?ts of one or US 2012/0052857 A1 Mar. 1, 2012 more of the various non-limiting embodiments may become [0021] FIG. 4 is a simpli?ed schematic illustrating an oper further apparent upon review of the following detailed ating environment according to exemplary embodiments; description. [0022] FIG. 5 is a simpli?ed schematic illustrating a resi dential gateway device according to exemplary embodi SUMMARY ments; [0023] FIG. 6 is a simpli?ed schematic illustrating an oper [0011] The following presents a simpli?ed summary of the ating environment according to exemplary embodiments; speci?cation in order to provide a basic understanding of [0024] FIG. 7 is a simpli?ed schematic illustrating amobile some aspects of the speci?cation. This summary is not an device according to exemplary embodiments; extensive overview of the speci?cation. It is intended to nei [0025] FIG. 8 is a ?owchart illustrating the example steps ther identify key or critical elements of the speci?cation nor according to exemplary embodiments; delineate the scope of the speci?cation.