Establishing lwa-wlan communication

Abstract

A communication technique for establishing communication among an access point, an electronic device, and a radio node in a cellular-telephone network is described. In this communication technique, the electronic device is pre-provisioned by the radio node with an identifier of the cellular-telephone network. Moreover, the access point may advertise support for one or more LWA protocols in beacons. In response to a query from the electronic device, the access point may provide identifiers of the one or more cellular-telephone networks supported by the access point. If one of these identifiers matches the identifier, the electronic device may associate with the access point. Then, the access point may receive LWA traffic from the radio node and may forward the LWA traffic to the electronic device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic device, comprising:
 an interface circuit configured to communicate with another electronic device, wherein the interface circuit is configured to:
 provide information, addressed to the other electronic device, that advertises support for a communication protocol and for one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols; 
 receive a query, associated with the other electronic device, for identifiers of one or more cellular-telephone networks, one or more networks that are hosted by one or more entities that are other than a cellular-telephone provider, or both that provide communication via the one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols, and which are supported by the electronic device; 
 provide, addressed to the other electronic device, the identifiers of the one or more cellular-telephone networks, the one or more networks that are hosted by the one or more entities that are other than the cellular-telephone provider, or both in response to the query; 
 receive, associated with the other electronic device, an association request; and 
 associate with the electronic device in response to the association request. 
   
     
     
         2 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the interface circuit is configured to:
 receive, associated with a radio node in a network, frames intended for the other electronic device; and   provide, addressed to the other electronic device, second frames via the one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols, and   wherein the second frames comprise at least a portion of the frames.   
     
     
         3 . The electronic device of  claim 2 , wherein the second frames comprise cellular-telephone-network packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) datagrams that are encapsulated into IEEE 802.11 media access control (MAC) frames. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the identifiers of the cellular telephone networks comprise public land mobile network (PLMN) identifiers. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the query is compatible with an access network query protocol (ANQP). 
     
     
         6 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the information advertising support for the communication protocol is included in a beacon or a probe response. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device comprises an access point. 
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with an electronic device, the computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein, when executed by the electronic device, the program instructions cause the electronic device to communicate with another electronic device by performing operations comprising:
 providing information, addressed to the other electronic device, that advertises support for a communication protocol and for one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols;   receiving a query, associated with the other electronic device, for identifiers of one or more cellular-telephone networks, one or more networks that are hosted by one or more entities that are other than a cellular-telephone provider, or both that provide communication via the one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols, and which are supported by the electronic device;   providing, addressed to the other electronic device, the identifiers of the one or more cellular-telephone networks, the one or more networks that are hosted by the one or more entities that are other than the cellular-telephone provider, or both in response to the query;   receiving, associated with the other electronic device, an association request; and   associating with the electronic device in response to the association request.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operations comprise:
 receiving, associated with a radio node in a network, frames intended for the other electronic device; and   providing, addressed to the other electronic device, second frames via the one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols, and   wherein the second frames comprise at least a portion of the frames.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 9 , wherein the second frames comprise cellular-telephone-network packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) datagrams that are encapsulated into IEEE 802.11 media access control (MAC) frames. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the identifiers of the cellular telephone networks comprise public land mobile network (PLAIN) identifiers. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the query is compatible with an access network query protocol (ANQP). 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the information advertising support for the communication protocol is included in a beacon or a probe response. 
     
     
         14 . A method for communicating with another electronic device, the method comprising:
 by an electronic device:   providing information, addressed to the other electronic device, that advertises support for a communication protocol and for one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols;   receiving a query, associated with the other electronic device, for identifiers of one or more cellular-telephone networks, one or more networks that are hosted by one or more entities that are other than a cellular-telephone provider, or both that provide communication via the one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols, and which are supported by the electronic device;   providing, addressed to the other electronic device, the identifiers of the one or more cellular-telephone networks, the one or more networks that are hosted by the one or more entities that are other than the cellular-telephone provider, or both in response to the query;   receiving, associated with the other electronic device, an association request; and   associating with the electronic device in response to the association request.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method comprises:
 receiving, associated with a radio node in a network, frames intended for the other electronic device; and   providing, addressed to the other electronic device, second frames via the one or more cellular-telephone-network data communication Wi-Fi aggregation protocols, and   wherein the second frames comprise at least a portion of the frames.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the second frames comprise cellular-telephone-network packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) datagrams that are encapsulated into IEEE 802.11 media access control (MAC) frames. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the identifiers of the cellular telephone networks comprise public land mobile network (PLMN) identifiers. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the query is compatible with an access network query protocol (ANQP). 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the information advertising support for the communication protocol is included in a beacon or a probe response. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the electronic device comprises an access point.