Patent ID: 7876708

Claim:
A method for discovering network service providers (NSPs), which is used in a wireless communication network comprising customer premises equipments (CPEs), network access providers (NAPs) and NSPs, the method comprising: obtaining, by a CPE, from an NAP a downlink message including first change information about a plurality of NSPs supported by the NAP and an NAP identity transmitted by a network-side, wherein the NAP has direct connections to the plurality of NSPs, and wherein the NAP manages and inserts the first change information into the downlink message; determining whether the first change information matches change information about the plurality of NSPs stored in the CPE and whether the identity of the NAP is stored in the CPE; if the first change information matches the change information and the identity of the NAP is stored in the CPE, obtaining information about the plurality of NSPs pre-stored in the CPE; if the identity of the NAP is not stored in the CPE, and/or the first change information does not match the change information, obtaining, by the CPE, the information about the plurality of NSPs from the NAP; and determining the availability of the plurality of NSPs from the obtained information about the plurality of NSPs.