Abstract:
A method and a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) ( 600 ), including a universal subscriber identity module for identifying a closed subscriber group (CSG) cell are disclosed. The WTRU ( 600 ) receives a broadcast from a cell including a cell identifier (ID). If the cell ID is associated with a CSG cell, the WTRU ( 600 ) determines whether the CSG ID is programmed in the USIM ( 625 ). The cell broadcast may include a single bit information element (IE) indicating that the cell is a CSG cell. If the cell ID is a CSG ID, the cell ID may further include a plurality of fields which indicate at least one of a country, a region, an operator, and a home evolved Node-B (HeNB) number. The cell broadcast may further include a bit indicating whether the CSG cell is public or private. The cell broadcast may further include a bit indicating that emergency calls are allowed from all users.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present application relates to wireless networks. More particularly the present invention relates to a method for WLAN access signaling as well as an access point and a wireless endpoint device in a wireless network. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The use of wireless networks have become more common during the recent years due to several aspects such as e.g. an increased number of service providers, increasing transmission rates, decreasing usage costs and decreasing prices of the wireless equipment. Wireless networks enable access to computing resources for devices that are not physically connected to a network. 
         [0003]    Examples of popular services provided through wireless networks are e.g. Internet access, multimedia services such as e.g. streaming of music and films, etc. 
         [0004]    Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a common technology for wireless network access which is specified in IEEE 802.11 standards. WLANs typically operate over a fairly limited range, such as an office building or a building block. The components of a WLAN are wireless user devices, a.k.a. stations (STA) and access points (AP). 
         [0005]    Examples of STAs are e.g. laptop computers, mobile phones, smart phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). 
         [0006]    The APs are network nodes that allow the STAs to communicate wirelessly and to connect to another network, typically an organization&#39;s wired infrastructure or the Internet. 
         [0007]    WLAN provides wireless network access, both for public and private purposes. Public network access is usually provided by hotels, airports, restaurants etc. for their customers. In some cases there may even be city-wide networks available for the public, free of charge. Private WLANs are normally not intended for public use, unless permission has been given by the network/access point owner. The private WLAN is usually only intended to be used by the members of the household where the private WLAN is located. 
         [0008]    The most common methods of protecting a wireless network are by the use of authentication and or encryption. There are also other ways of protecting a WLAN by e.g. specifying the Media Access Control addresses of the STAs that are allowed to connect to the AP. 
         [0009]    But many home users leave their private WLAN unprotected because it is more difficult to set up a protected WLAN, compared to setting up an unprotected WLAN. The WLAN network can usually be made operational just by connecting the electrical power to the equipment. The activation of protection however, requires configuration changes. A wireless connection without protection may be referred to as an open wireless connection. If a wireless network is left totally without protection, which is a very common case, it is very easy for an outsider to attach to the network without the owner of the access point being able to control it. 
         [0010]    The common prior art methods of a STA connecting to a WLAN comprise displaying a list of active WLANs in the area, on the STA. Thereafter the user of the STA selects which WLAN to connect to, where after the WLAN attach is performed, by the WLAN access functionality of the STA, to the WLAN chosen by the user. 
         [0011]    However, in some cases depending on the settings in the STA, the connecting to a WLAN may be performed automatically. The WLAN attach procedure may furthermore be executed in the background of the STA, without the user noticing or even knowing it. 
         [0012]    A major problem associated with the present WLAN access process is that the use of an open WLAN connection without authorization may be regarded as a crime. In some countries it is no longer permitted to attach to, and hence also use, a WLAN network intended for private use, unless permission has been granted by the owner. It has been stated that the use of an open WLAN connection without authorization may be regarded as “unauthorized use” and one accused was sentenced to a six day fine. 
         [0013]    In WLAN there is no way for the AP to inform to STAs whether the network is intended for private or public use. This means that a private unprotected WLAN may be unintentionally connected to without permission, since the user has no information about whether the WLAN available for access is intended for private use or public use. 
         [0014]    Furthermore, with the present WLAN access procedure the only way for a user of a STA to be granted/get permission from the network owner, i.e. the owner of the access point, to access an open wireless connection is to agree with the owner of AP that he/she is allowed to use the wireless network. At present there isn&#39;t any technical method or protocol mechanism to control this permission in case of an unprotected WLAN. 
         [0015]    Having the recent Finnish court decisions in mind the user of a STA at present thus risks disobeying the law as soon as a wireless connection is established! This may lead to a decreased usage of the WLAN technology due to the users&#39; fear of and unwillingness to commit a crime. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0016]    The present invention aims at obviating or reducing at least some of the above mentioned disadvantages associated with existing technology. 
         [0017]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for improved access signaling in a wireless local area network. 
         [0018]    The basic principle of solving the problem in for the access point of the wireless local area network to provide information regarding if the wireless network is intended for public use or private use to wireless endpoint devices within coverage of the wireless local area network. 
         [0019]    According to a first aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method in an access point for providing network access information to a wireless endpoint device. The wireless endpoint device is located within the coverage of a wireless local area network. The wireless local area network comprises the access point. The method is characterized by the step of sending an information message to the wireless endpoint device. The information message comprises an access point information. The access point information indicates whether the wireless local area network is intended for public use or private use. 
         [0020]    According to a second aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by an access point capable of providing network access information to a wireless endpoint device. The wireless endpoint device is located within the coverage of a wireless local area network. The wireless local area network comprises the access point. The access point comprises a sending unit adapted to send an information message to the wireless endpoint device. The information message comprises an access point information indicating whether the wireless local area network is intended for public use or private use. 
         [0021]    According to a third aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method in a wireless endpoint device for being provided with network access information. The wireless endpoint device is located within coverage of one or more wireless local area networks. The one or more wireless local area networks comprise a respective access point. The method is characterized by the step of receiving one or more information messages from the respective one or more access points. The information messages each comprising an access point information. The access point information indicates whether the respective wireless local area network is intended for public use or private use. 
         [0022]    According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a wireless endpoint device. The wireless endpoint device is located within coverage of one or more wireless local area networks. The one or more wireless local area networks comprise a respective access point. The wireless endpoint device comprises a receiving unit adapted to receive one or more information messages from the respective one or more access points. The information messages each comprise an access point information. The access point information indicates whether the respective wireless local area network is intended for public use or private use. 
         [0023]    Since the access point of the wireless local area network provides information of the intended use of the wireless network to the wireless endpoint devices within coverage of the wireless local area network, by indicating whether the wireless local area network is intended for public use or private use, the risk of unintentionally unauthorized access is decreased. 
         [0024]    An advantage of the present solution is that the risk of connecting to a network intended for private use by mistake is minimized. Since this in some jurisdictions may be considered a crime the present solution is most favorable and useable. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless network. 
           [0026]      FIGS. 2   a ,  2   b  are combined signaling diagrams and block diagrams according to some embodiments. 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a message frame 
           [0028]      FIGS. 4 and 5  are flow charts illustrating embodiments of method steps. 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an access point. 
           [0030]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless endpoint device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0031]    The present solution regards the wireless network access process in a wireless network as presented below. To overcome the obstacles stated in the background section this invention presents an enhanced wireless network access procedure. 
         [0032]      FIG. 1  depicts a wireless network  100  according to some embodiments of the invention. The wireless network  100  includes an access node  110 , from now on referred to as an access point. The access point  110  is connected to a network  120 , such as e.g. a company LAN, a service provider&#39;s access network or the Internet. The access point  110  is a wireless entity which provides access to the services of the distribution network, via a wireless connection. 
         [0033]    Further the wireless network  100  may comprise at least one wireless endpoint device, such as e.g. a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a Personal Digital Assistants (PDA).  FIG. 1  shows a first wireless endpoint device  140 , which may be connected to the access point  110  via the wireless connection  130 , and a second wireless endpoint device  142 , which may be connected to the access point  110  via the wireless connection  132  and a third wireless endpoint device  144 , which may be connected to the access point  110  via the wireless connection  134 . 
         [0034]    According to some embodiments depicted in  FIG. 1  the wireless endpoint device  140  may be within coverage of a second wireless network  105 . Wireless network  105  may include an access point  115 . The access point  115  may be connected to a distribution network, such as e.g. network  120 . The access point  115  may be a wireless entity which provides access to the services of the distribution network, via a wireless connection. The wireless endpoint device  140  may be connected to the access point  115  via the wireless connection  150 . 
         [0035]    The wireless network  100 ,  105  may be any wireless network not strictly based on subscriptions. The wireless network  100 ,  105  may be a WLAN, the access point  110 ,  115  may be a WLAN access point and the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  may be WLAN stations. 
         [0036]    According to some embodiments the wireless network  100 ,  105  may be a WiMAX network, the access point  110 ,  115  may be a WiMAX access point and the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  may be WiMAX mobile stations. 
         [0037]    The purpose of the present solution is to enable the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  to get information regarding if the wireless networks  100 ,  105  are intended for public use or private use. 
         [0038]    The present solution ensures that the wireless network  100 ,  105  being utilized can provide information about the intended purpose and decreases the risk of unintentionally unauthorized access. This is highly advantageous as the solution will minimize the risk for the user of the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  to connect to a network intended for private use by mistake as the intended usage of the network should be clearly visible to the user. Since this in some jurisdictions may be considered a crime the present solution is most favourable and useable. 
         [0039]    The providing of the public/private information to the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  according to the present solution may be put into practice by the adding of a new parameter to the existing wireless network access signaling. The new parameter is used to indicate whether the wireless network  100 ,  105  is intended for public use or private use. 
         [0040]    According to some embodiments the public/private information may be included in the messages of the wireless network access signaling where the access points  110 ,  115  distribute information about their capabilities. Examples of such messages are e.g. 802.11/WLAN Beacon frame and 802.11/WLAN Probe Response frame. By adding the public/private information to these messages it could be ensured that the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  always have access to this information. 
         [0041]    The “public”-indication is used to indicate that the wireless network is available for public use. This would be the setting used for hotels, airports etc. This would also be used by wireless networks that are based on private access points sharing their access to other members of the network, such as e.g. the Wippies and OpenSpark networks in Finland. Even if the wireless network  100 ,  105  is public, the access to the network  100 ,  105  may still be controlled via access credentials only provided to intended users. Examples of such access credentials are e.g. user names and passwords. 
         [0042]    The “private”-indication is used to indicate that the wireless network  100 ,  105  is intended for private use. This is the case regardless whether the wireless network  100 ,  105  is encrypted or not. 
         [0043]    The default setting of the public/private information would preferably be “private” to facilitate the set up of private wireless networks. This ensures that the owner of the access point  110  of the wireless network  100 ,  105  has to separately switch on the indicator in order to make the wireless network  100 ,  105  public and thereby share it. 
         [0044]    The said new public/private information may be set as a parameter in the access point  110 ,  115  by the owner of the wireless network  100 ,  105  provided by the access point  110 ,  115 . The public/private information may be stored in the access point  110 ,  115 . The public/private parameter may be changed at any time by the administrator and/or owner of the access point  110 ,  115  of the wireless network  100 ,  100 , just as other network configuration data. The setting of the parameter would preferably be handled via ordinary wireless access point software, just as any other access point specific parameter is specified today when using wireless local area networks. 
         [0045]      FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b  are signaling schemes illustrating embodiments of the present solution wherein enhanced wireless network access signaling in the wireless network  100  is performed. According to the present solution the said new parameter is transmitted by the access point  110  to the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  within the coverage of the wireless network  100 . 
         [0046]    When connecting to the wireless network  100 , such as e.g. a WLAN, access point information  205  needs to be available to the wireless endpoint device  140  desiring to connect to the wireless network  100 . The access point information  205  is described in detail further on and is depicted in  FIG. 3 . Such access point information  205  may be e.g. the name of the wireless network  100 . The network name may be represented by a SSID, Service Set Identifier (SSID). The SSID allows the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  to distinguish one wireless network from another, such as e.g. to distinguish wireless network  100  from wireless network  105 . 
         [0047]    According to some embodiments depicted in  FIG. 2   a  the wireless network access signaling may be initiated by the wireless endpoint device  140  by broadcasting  210  a request message  215  to all access points within the broadcast area. The request message  215  is not depicted any Figure. According to the example of  FIG. 2   a  the request message  215  is broadcasted to access point  110  of wireless network  100  and to access point  115  of wireless network  105 . The request message  215  may comprise a request for wireless network information. According to some embodiments the request message  215  may be an 802.11 WLAN Probe Request frame. 
         [0048]    From now on the present solution is described as performed by the access point  110 . Access point  115  may also be capable of performing all the method steps described below, but to avoid confusion this description focuses on access point  110 . 
         [0049]    The access point  110  may receive the request message  215  from the wireless endpoint device  140 . The access point  110  may obtain the previously stored access point information  205 . 
         [0050]    According to common access signaling the access point  110  may perform some kind of resource check to validate that enough resources are available to enable the requesting wireless endpoint device wireless access. Further according to common access signaling resource reservation may be performed when the resource check was successful. 
         [0051]    Thereafter the access point  110  sends  220  an information message  225  to the wireless endpoint device  140 . The information message  225  is depicted in  FIG. 3  and is described in detail below. 
         [0052]    The purpose of the information message  225  is to provide technical information about the access point  110  and wireless network  100  to wireless endpoint devices within coverage of the wireless network  100  such as e.g. wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144 , enabling the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  to communicate with the access point  110 . The information message  225  comprises the access point information  205 . The access point information  205  indicates whether the wireless network  100  is intended for private use or public use. The information message  225  may be sent from the access point  110  as a response to the previously received request message  215 . 
         [0053]    According to some embodiments the information message  225  may be an 802.11 WLAN Probe Response frame. 
         [0054]    According to other embodiments depicted in  FIG. 2   b  the wireless network access signaling may be initiated by the access point  110  by obtaining such previously stored access point information  205  as described above. Thereafter the access point  110  sends  220  the information message  225  to the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  located within the coverage of the wireless network  100 . As mentioned above, the information message  225  is depicted in  FIG. 3  and is described in detail below. 
         [0055]    According to some embodiments the information message  225  may be broadcasted from the access point  110  to the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142  and  144  located within the coverage of the wireless network  100 . The wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  may be listening to the broadcast. The information message  225  may be an 802.11 WLAN Beacon frame. 
         [0056]    This section describes the steps that may be executed/performed in the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  when the previously described information message  225  is received: The wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  may receive the information message  225  from the access point  110 . The wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  may comprise an application handling the wireless connections, such as e.g. a “network monitor”. 
         [0057]    From now on this description of the present solution will focus only on the wireless endpoint device  140 . However the scenario described below may be performed in any of the wireless endpoint devices  140 ,  142 ,  144  located within the coverage of the wireless network  100 . 
         [0058]    When having received the information message  225  the network monitor of the wireless endpoint device  140  may display the received access point information  205  of the received information message  225  on the display of the wireless endpoint device  140 . As depicted in  FIG. 1  the wireless endpoint device  140  may be within the coverage of several wireless networks, such as wireless network  100  and wireless network  105 . According to some embodiments the wireless endpoint device  140  may receive an information messages  225  from the access points  110 ,  115  of each wireless network  100 ,  105 . With such access point information  205  available in the network monitor, the user of the wireless endpoint device  140  may easily see which wireless networks are available for public use and which are only intended for private purposes. 
         [0059]    Based on the access point information  205 , of the information message  210 , a selection of which wireless network to attach to, may be performed. According to some embodiments the user of the wireless endpoint device  140  selects which wireless network to connect to by interacting with the connection handling application such as e.g. the network monitor. According to other embodiments depending on the settings in the wireless endpoint device  140 , the wireless endpoint device  140  automatically selects a wireless network to connect to. Thus, in some cases, the connecting to the wireless network  100  may be performed without input from the user of the wireless endpoint device  140 . According to some embodiments the network monitor application or operating system of the wireless endpoint device  140  may display a warning text and may potentially temporarily interrupt the access procedure if the wireless endpoint device  140  tries to connect to a wireless network intended for private use. 
         [0060]      FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of an information message  225 . The information message  225  comprises a message header  310  and a message body  320 . The message body  320  may comprise several elements  330 ,  340 ,  350  comprising e.g. radio capabilities information of the wireless network  100 . The information message  225  comprises the access point information  205  indicating whether the wireless network  100  is intended for public use or private use. The information message  225  may also include common access point capabilities information. According to some embodiments the message body element  330  may be used for the access point information  205  of the present solution. According to some embodiments the access point information  205  may be e.g. represented by an extra field  331  in the frame body  320 . 
         [0061]    Further the access point information  205  indicating whether the wireless network  100  is intended for public use or private use may be represented by a “public”-indication and a “private”-indication. The “public”-indication and the “private”-indication may be used as exclusively alternatives, that is to say only one indication at a time is used. 
         [0062]    The information message  225  may be an access point capabilities message used in the 802.11 WLAN access signaling. As mentioned above, the information message  225  may be a Beacon frame or a Probe Response frame. 
         [0063]    The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0064]      FIG. 4  presents the steps of a method in a wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 . It is a method for being provided with network access information. The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  is located within coverage of one or more wireless local area networks  100 ,  105 . The one or more wireless local area networks  100 ,  105  comprise a respective access point  110 ,  115 . The method comprises the following steps:
         410 . This is an optional step. The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  sends  210  a request message  215  to each of the one or more access points  110 ,  115 . Each of said request messages  215  comprise a request for wireless network information. This step is to be taken prior to the receiving step  420 .     420 . In this step the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  receives one or more information messages  225  from the respective one or more access points  110 ,  115 . The information messages  225  each comprise an access point information  205 . The access point information  205  indicates whether the respective wireless local area network  100 ,  105  is intended for public use or private use.     430 . This is an optional step to be taken after the receiving step  420 . The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  selects one or none of the one or more wireless local area networks  100 ,  105  to connect to based on the received access point information  205 .       
 
         [0068]    The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
         [0069]      FIG. 5  presents the steps of a method performed by an access point  110 . It is a method for providing network access information to a wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 . The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  is located within the coverage of a wireless local area network  100 . The wireless local area network  100  comprises the access point  110 . 
         [0070]    The method comprises the following steps:
         510 . This is an optional step. The access point  110  configures and stores the access point information  205  in a capabilities unit  720 . The capabilities unit  720  may be comprised in the electronic device  100 .     520 . This is an optional method step to be taken prior to the sending step  220 ,  540 . The access point  110  receives a request message  215  from the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 . The request message  215  may comprise a request for wireless network information. The request message  215  may be represented by a Probe Request frame.     530 . This is also an optional step. Thereafter the access point  110  may obtain said stored access point information  205  from the capabilities unit  720 . This step may be performed prior to the sending step  220 ,  540  wherein the information message  225  is sent.     540 . The access point  110  sends  220  an information message  225  to the wireless endpoint device  140 , 142 ,  144 . The information message  225  comprises an access point information  205  indicating whether the wireless local area network  100  is intended for public use or private use. The access point information  205  may be included in the frame body  320  of the information message  225 . The access point information  205  may be represented by an extra field  331  in the frame body  320 . The information message  225  may be represented by a Beacon frame. The information message  225  may be represented by a Probe Response frame.       
 
         [0075]    The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 6 . To perform the method steps  410 - 430  in the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 , the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  comprises a number of arrangements depicted in  FIG. 6 . The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  is located within coverage of one or more wireless local area networks  100 ,  105 . The one or more wireless local area networks  100 ,  105  comprise a respective access point  110 ,  115 . 
         [0076]    The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  comprises a receiving unit  610  adapted to receive one or more information messages  225  from the respective one or more access points  110 ,  115 . The said information messages  22 ) each comprise an access point information  205  indicating whether the respective wireless local area network  100 ,  105  is intended for public use or private use. 
         [0077]    The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  may further comprise a wireless connection unit  620  adapted to select one or none of the one or more wireless local area networks  100 ,  105  to connect to based on the received access point information  205 . 
         [0078]    The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  may also comprise a sending unit  630  adapted to send a request message  215  to each of the one or more access points  110 ,  115 . Each of the request messages  215  comprising a request for wireless network information. 
         [0079]    According to some embodiments the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  may be a mobile phone, a laptop or a PDA. 
         [0080]    The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 7 . To perform the method steps  510 - 540  in the access point  110 , the access point  110  comprises a number of arrangements as depicted in  FIG. 7 . The access point  110  is capable of providing network access information to a wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 . The wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  is located within the coverage of a wireless local area network  100 . The wireless local area network  100  comprises the access point  110 . 
         [0081]    The access point  110  comprises a sending unit  710  adapted to send an information message  225  to the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 . The information message  225  comprises an access point information  205 . The access point information  205  indicates whether the wireless local area network  100  is intended for public use or private use. The sending unit  710  may further be adapted to obtain the stored access point information  205  from the capabilities unit  720  prior to sending the information message  225 . 
         [0082]    The access point  110  may further comprise a capabilities unit  720  adapted to configure and store the access point information  205 . 
         [0083]    The access point  110  may also comprise a receiving unit  730  adapted to receive a request message  215  from the wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144 . The request message  215  may comprise a request for wireless network information. 
         [0084]    The present methods and arrangements for indicating the intended use of a wireless network can be implemented through one or more processors together with computer program code for performing the functions of the invention. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the present method when being loaded into the access point  110  and wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  of the wireless network  100 . One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code can furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the access point  110  and wireless endpoint device  140 ,  142 ,  144  remotely. 
         [0085]    When using the word “comprise” or “comprising” it shall be interpreted as non-limiting, in the meaning of “consist at least of” 
         [0086]    The present invention is not limited to the above-described preferred embodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appending claims.