Patent ID: 7440472

Claim:
A method for transparently initiating and terminating voice calls with a mobile handset using a wireless local area network (WLAN)—base transceiver station (BTS) gateway, the method comprising: (a) Initiating a call from a mobile handset using layer 3 air interface signaling carried over a WLAN interface; (b) at a WLAN-BTS gateway, learning an air interface control channel and an air interface traffic channel allocated to the call; (c) at the gateway, intercepting an incoming voice or media stream associated with the call, converting the incoming voice stream from an air interface protocol to a WLAN protocol, and forwarding the incoming voice stream to the mobile handset via the WLAN protocol; and (d) at the gateway, receiving an outgoing voice stream associated with the call, converting the outgoing voice stream from the WLAN protocol to the air interface protocol and forwarding the outgoing voice stream to the base transceiver station.