Patent ID: 9084081
Filing Date: 2015-07-14
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of automatically connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot, the method comprising: storing subscription information for one or more service providers (SP) that operate Wi-Fi networks in a subscription data object of a mobile device, the subscription information including home service provider information and policy information, wherein the policy information includes a service provider blacklist that indicates hotspot service providers with which the home service provider does not have a roaming agreement; determining, without user interaction, if the subscription information is applicable to an available Wi-Fi network; when the subscription information is applicable to an available network, the method includes performing, without user interaction, an authentication with the available Wi-Fi network to establish a Wi-Fi connection with the available network; refraining from establishing a Wi-Fi connection with hotspot service providers identified in the service provider blacklist, wherein the service provider blacklist identities the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) for each blacklisted hotspot service provider; determining a current location of the mobile device based on a geo-location, a cellular identifier or a WLAN identifier; retrieving, without user interaction, a list of one or more preferred networks available at the current location from the subscription data object; and automatically performing, without user interaction, an EAP-based authentication using pre-provisioned credentials with a selected one of the available Wi-Fi networks to establish the Wi-Fi connection.