US-12627609-B2 - Controlling data rate based on domain and radio usage history

US12627609B2US 12627609 B2US12627609 B2US 12627609B2US-12627609-B2

Abstract

A domain and a mobile device may exchange data via a radio access node included in a mobile network. During a time of peak demand, a data load level of the radio access node may exceed a threshold. To accommodate the peak demand, historical types and volumes of data may be used to manage a data rate related to data associated with the domain. Based on the historical information, the data rate for a mobile device, a radio access node, a range of time, or a data type may be controlled. The data rate may be managed by a network gateway, such as a gateway included in the mobile network.

Inventors

Sheldon Meredith
William Cottrill
John Pastore

Assignees

AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240503

Claims (18)

1 . A method, comprising: determining, by a system comprising a processor, that a mobile device has an active session with a domain; determining, by the system, that the mobile device has a history of a volume of sessions with the domain exceeding a threshold; identifying, by the system and based on the determining that the mobile device has the history of the volume of sessions with the domain exceeding the threshold, a packet associated with the active session; determining, by the system, that the packet is available for data rate control in accordance with at least one attribute of the packet; selecting, by the system, the packet for the data rate control based on the determining that the packet is available for data rate control; determining, by the system and based on the selecting, a length of a time delay based on a margin by which an average load level of a radio exceeds a threshold level, a delay due to a loss of service, and a delay due to a security check; and delaying, by the system, a transmission of the packet by the length of the time delay.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one attribute comprises each of: a data type, a size, and a timestamp.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, by the system, that the mobile device has a history of low-bandwidth transactions with the domain according to a low bandwidth criterion; and based on the determining that the mobile device has the history of low-bandwidth transactions with the domain according to the low bandwidth criterion, transmitting, by the system, a second packet without a delay.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the packet is included as part of a first data stream, the method further comprising: identifying, by the system, a second data stream between the domain and a second mobile device; determining, by the system, that the second mobile device has a history of low-bandwidth transactions with the domain according to a low bandwidth transaction criterion; and responsive to the determining that the second mobile device has the history of low-bandwidth transactions with the domain, transmitting, by the system, a second packet that is included in the second data stream without a delay.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to determining that a second packet has a data type associated with high-bandwidth data transactions according to a high bandwidth transaction criterion, including, by the system, a delay when transmitting the second packet; and in response to determining that the second packet has a data type associated with low-bandwidth data transactions according to a low bandwidth transaction criterion, transmitting, by the system, the second packet without the delay, wherein the high-bandwidth data transactions and satisfying the high bandwidth transaction criterion are associated with bandwidths greater than those of the low-bandwidth data transactions and satisfying the low bandwidth transaction criterion.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the packet is included as part of a first data stream, the method further comprising: identifying, by the system, a second data stream between the mobile device and a second domain, wherein the second domain is a low-bandwidth domain satisfying a low bandwidth domain criterion; and transmitting, by the system and based on the identifying of the second data stream, a second packet included in the second data stream without a delay.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the system is included as part of a network management center or a network gateway.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the packet is a packet of video media.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one attribute indicates an adjustable bit rate for the video media.
10 . A system comprising: at least one processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, facilitate a performance of operations, the operations comprising: determining that a mobile device has an active session with a domain; determining that the mobile device has a history of a volume of sessions with the domain exceeding a threshold; identifying, based on the determining that the mobile device has the history of the volume of sessions with the domain exceeding the threshold, a packet associated with the active session; determining that the packet is available for data rate control; selecting the packet for the data rate control based on the determining that the packet is available for data rate control; determining, based on the selecting, a length of a time delay based on a margin by which an average load level of a radio exceeds a threshold level, a delay due to a loss of service, and a delay due to a security check; delaying a transmission of the packet by the length of the time delay; and transmitting the packet based on the delaying.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the determining that the packet is available for the data rate control is based on at least one attribute of the packet.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one attribute comprises a source address of the packet.
13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one attribute comprises a destination address of the packet.
14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one attribute comprises a data type, a size, a timestamp, or any combination thereof.
15 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, facilitate a performance of operations, the operations comprising: determining that a mobile device has an active session with a domain; determining that the mobile device has a history of a volume of sessions with the domain exceeding a threshold; identifying, based on the determining that the mobile device has the history of the volume of sessions with the domain exceeding the threshold, a packet associated with the active session; selecting, based on the identifying, the packet for data rate control; determining, based on the selecting, a length of a time delay based on a margin by which an average load level of a radio exceeds a threshold level, a delay due to a loss of service, and a delay due to a security check; delaying a transmission of the packet by the length of the time delay; and transmitting the packet based on the delaying.
16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: determining that the packet is available for the data rate control, wherein the selecting is based on the determining that the packet is available for the data rate control.
17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving packet attribute information associated with the packet, the packet attribute information pertaining to a plurality of attributes, wherein the determining that the packet is available for the data rate control is based on the receiving of the packet attribute information.
18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of attributes comprises a source address of the packet and a destination address of the packet.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/807,879, filed Jun. 21, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/842,971, filed Apr. 8, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,398,986), which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/435,921, filed Feb. 17, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,659,375). All sections of the aforementioned application(s) and patent(s) are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to the field of mobile network data throughput, and more specifically relates to managing data traffic on a particular mobile network node during periods of peak load. BACKGROUND Operators of mobile networks provide voice service and/or data service, including service to users of mobile telephones or mobile computing devices. Voice and data service may be provided by a radio access node (also “radio,” “node,” or “RAN”), such as a radio that provides coverage for an area of the mobile network. The radio provides service to users of the mobile network, such as to a geographical region or to a portion of the user population. Users may travel in and out of the coverage area of the radio while using their mobile devices, and users may choose to access different services via the radio. These circumstances may lead to constantly changing demands (also, “load”) on the radio's capacity. In addition, the changing load of the radio may follow a cyclical pattern, such as a pattern of peak demand during certain times of day. It is desirable to provide a consistently high level of service to users of the radio. An installed radio provides voice and data service for users in an area of the mobile network. Radios may be capable of providing service (also, “carrying traffic”) for users desiring voice service (also, “voice traffic”), users desiring data service (also, “data traffic”), or to both. The capacity of the radio may be determined by the radio's technology type (e.g., meeting the Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”) standard or the Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) standard). The capacity of the radio may also be determined by the radio's technical specifications, age, software or firmware version, or other factors. Users of mobile devices may expect to have a high level of service regardless of a radio's capacity or pattern of peak demand. One technique to provide a high level of service is to increase the number of radios capable of providing service. However, factors such as geographical features or regulatory requirements may prevent network operators from installing additional radios in certain areas. In addition, installing additional radios may be costly, and if the peak demand periods only occur occasionally (e.g., busy commuting hours, holidays), the additional radios may remain idle much of the time. It is desirable for a mobile network operator to manage services provided by a radio, such as during peak demand periods. For example, users of mobile communications networks often choose to consume data using their mobile communications devices. The mobile device may connect to a radio and consume (e.g., download and/or upload) data in the form of websites, music, videos, e-books, game information, or any other suitable data types. Different types of data comprise different amounts of data, and may consume a different portion of the capacity of the radio. A user that is watching a video may consume a larger portion of a radio's data bandwidth compared to a user that is sending an email. In addition, multiple users consuming data while connected to the same radio may overburden the capacity of the radio. For example, users waiting at an airport may choose to spend their time watching videos on their mobile devices. At busy times, radios that provide coverage to the airport may be overburdened by a large group of users watching videos, and a user attempting to send an email (such as a traveler needing to be picked up at the airport) may suffer service interruptions. If a mobile network operator manages radio services related to a video data type, the radio's capacity may no longer be overburdened, and services related to a text data type (e.g., the user's email) may be provided without interruption. Current solutions for reducing data traffic include determining whether a particular mobile device is currently using a large portion of available data bandwidth, and controlling the data rate to that device. However, information regarding data usage is received in periodic intervals (e.g., 1-5 minute intervals), and many data transactions are shorter in length than this interval. A mobile device may have its data rate controlled incorrectly, based on outdated periodic data usage information. In addition, controlling a data rate for a mobile device based on periodic data usage information may control the data rate for all types of data. If a user is attempting to use multiple types