MOBILE DEVICE WITH CELLULAR-WLAN OFFLAOD USING PASSIVE LOAD SENSING OF WLAN

摘要

Apparatus and methods are provided for switching between a wireless local area network (LAN) and a cellular network for a user equipment's (UE) data communication by passively sensing the load on the wireless LAN. A method is disclosed that includes detecting an access point associated with a wireless LAN and receiving packets that are transmitted by other devices that are using the wireless LAN. The method can further include examining the received packets to estimate a data load of the wireless LAN and selecting between the wireless LAN and a cellular network based on the estimated data load.

主权项

1. A method of signal processing in a user equipment (UE) to select between a wireless local area network (LAN) and a cellular network for data transmission, comprising:
detecting, by the UE, an access point associated with the wireless LAN; receiving, by the UE, packets that are transmitted by other devices that are using the wireless LAN; examining, by the UE, the received packets to estimate a data load of the wireless LAN; and selecting between the wireless LAN and the cellular network based on the estimated data load.