Patent ID: 7831236

Claim:
A method for use in provisioning a mobile communication device in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the WLAN including a plurality of wireless access points (APs) which provide wireless communications with a plurality of mobile communication devices, the method comprising the acts of: providing one of the plurality of wireless APs as a provisioning wireless AP for the WLAN; providing the provisioning wireless AP within a secured room, the secured room being made of a secured room structure having a wall structure and an entry door, the secured room structure being configured to restrict the plurality of mobile communication devices from entry therewithin; causing the provisioning RF coverage region of the provisioning wireless AP to have a substantially smaller RF coverage area than the area of the secured room structure and the RF coverage areas of the plurality of wireless APs; providing a security access controller for the secured room which is configured to control an opening of the entry door of the secured room in response to a first authentication procedure for an accessing party having the mobile communication device; after proper authentication of the accessing party using the first authentication procedure, allowing entrance for the accessing party having the mobile communication device within the secured room via the entry door using the security access controller; while the mobile communication device is confined within the secured room and within the provisioning RF coverage region, allowing the mobile communication device to associate with the provisioning wireless AP with use of a provisioning ESSID, for establishing layer-2 communications between the mobile communication device and the WLAN, for access to and operation in a provisioning VLAN of the WLAN; while the mobile communication device is associated with the provisioning wireless AP and operating in the provisioning VLAN: sending, to the mobile communication device via the provisioning wireless AP, an IP address which is assigned to the mobile communication device, for establishing layer-3 communications between the mobile communication device and the WLAN; sending, to the mobile communication device via the provisioning wireless AP, a network address of a provisioning server of the WLAN; after the layer-3 communications are established and the network address of the provisioning server is sent, causing a second authentication procedure for the mobile communication device to be performed, via the provisioning wireless AP, with the provisioning server identified by the network address; and after positive authentication of the mobile communication device using the second authentication procedure: causing a provisioning procedure to be performed between the mobile communication device and the provisioning server via the provisioning wireless AP, to program the provisioning information in the mobile communication device.