Patent ID: 8925044
Filing Date: 2014-12-30
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of identifying traffic generated by a device authorized to use a roaming communications service providing access via a wireless local area network to a communications system, wherein the method comprises: at an access point of the wireless local area network: receiving a request for roaming authorization from a roaming device which has made an association with a wireless communications network provided by the WLAN access point; processing the roaming service request by allocating an IP address to the device; generating, in response to allocating said IP address to an authorized device, a message including meta-data identifying authorized device and including in a source address field of the message an IP address allocated to the authorized device; and forwarding the meta-data message to a remote server; wherein, when said remote server receives said message, the message received has undergone network address translation of an IP address in the source field, and wherein the remote server associates said translated IP source address of said meta-data message with an authorized device identified by retrieving from a data structure an association between the extracted translated IP source address and a client device which is authorized to access said communications system, whereby subsequent traffic generated by said identified authorized device and having said translated source IP address is automatically authorized to use said roaming service in said communications system.