Patent ID: 8588751

Claim:
A method of communicating information to a mobile station which could connect to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) via an access point, the method implemented by the mobile station comprising steps of: receiving a beacon signal at the mobile station prior to when the mobile station establishes a connection to the WLAN via the access point, wherein the beacon signal is broadcasted from the access point of the WLAN to listening mobile stations within communication range, the beacon signal has an information tag alerting mobile stations that additional information relevant to a connection decision is available; interpreting, at said mobile station, the information tag; sending an information request from said mobile station to said access point; receiving in said mobile station said additional information sent from said access point; deciding in said mobile station to connect to the access point which is a component of the WLAN or to another access point which is a component of another WLAN based on said additional information, wherein an actual attachment process with the selected access point follows normal WLAN procedure; and wherein the beacon signal comprises a type-length-value (TLV) tagged parameter list comprising at least information about an identity of said access point, and the information tag alerting of additional information available at said access point, wherein said tag comprise two bytes of information; a tag number and a tag length.