Patent ID: 7218944

Claim:
A wireless communication network comprising: one or more network access devices configured to broadcast a network parameter beacon within said network, which network parameter beacon is a first transmission within a communication involving mobile devices entering into the network area and powering-on within the network, wherein said network parameter beacon comprises network parameters from among frequency ranges, power levels, and channels supported by said network; and at least one mobile device configured with logic to (1) power on to a standby, receive-only operational mode, (2) monitor for receipt of a network parameter beacon being broadcasted within said network, (3) determine, based on information transmitted within said network parameter beacon, whether said mobile device is supported by said network, wherein, when the network parameter is a frequency range within which mobile device operation is supported, a handshake between the mobile device and an access device among the one of more network access devices is only initiated when a pre-set operating frequency of the mobile device falls within the frequency range provided by the network, (4) transition from the receive-only mode to an authentication mode when the device is supported by the network and initiate an authentication session with an access device among the one or more network access devices, (5) following an authentication of the mobile device, transition to a transmit-and-receive operational mode within the network, wherein the mobile device is able to complete general wireless communication within the network; and (6) enabling subsequent general wireless transmissions from the mobile device following the request for authentication only after the mobile device is authenticated; wherein said subsequent general wireless transmissions are not enabled from the mobile device and the mobile device remains in the receive-only mode when either the mobile device is not supported by the network or the mobile device is not authenticated; and wherein said mobile device only transmits general wireless transmission within said network in response to receipt of the network parameter beacon and a determination that said mobile device is supported by said network followed by the authentication of the mobile device, wherein said determination includes comparing the network parameters within said beacon with pre-set network parameters within the mobile device that allow the mobile device to communicate within a network.