US-20260129554-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR GEOGRAPHIC AND TIME-BASED CONTROL OF SATELLITE NETWORK CONNECTIONS TO USER DEVICES

Abstract

Aspects herein provide systems, methods, and media for terrestrially controlling whether user devices are allowed to or preventing from accessing and utilizing a non-terrestrial network. Using geofencing and time-based threshold techniques, a terrestrial network component determines and control whether user devices within a geofence should be prevented from accessing and utilizing the non-terrestrial network in order to avoid overloading the capacity of the non-terrestrial network. The terrestrial network component sends an indication and/or error to the non-terrestrial network for delivery to the user device to prevent the access. When the user device receives the indication and/or error from a satellite, for example, the user device that is within the geofence is caused to access and utilize the terrestrial network instead of the non-terrestrial network.

Inventors

• Mehul Jayant Shah
• Suresh Thanneeru

Assignees

• T-MOBILE INNOVATIONS LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251229

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method comprising: receiving an indication that a user device sent a request to access a satellite network; determining that the user device is located within a predefined geofence; based on determining that the user device is located within the predefined geofence, identifying a previously captured event that is associated with a most recent timestamp relative to any other previously captured events that are associated with the user device; determining that a total time duration measured between the most recent timestamp and the timestamp of the indication is below a predefined threshold; determining that the request to access the satellite network from the user device should be rejected; and communicating an indication of the rejection to the satellite network.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined geofence is selected from a plurality of predefined geofences based on geographic proximity to a location of the user device.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the previously captured event is associated with the user device accessing a terrestrial telecommunications network.
4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the previously captured event comprises at least one of a registration event, an attach event, a mobility update event, or a tracking area update on the terrestrial telecommunications network.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the previously captured event comprises querying a data store using an identifier associated with the user device.
6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the identifier comprises at least one of a device identifier, a subscriber identifier, or an account identifier.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined threshold defines a configurable time duration.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the configurable time duration is specific to at least one of the predefined geofence, a device type of the user device, or a service tier associated with the user device.
9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the total time duration exceeds the predefined threshold, determining that the request to access the satellite network from the user device should be accepted.
10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising communicating a notification indication to the satellite network that causes the satellite network to allow the request.
11. 11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication that the user device sent the request to access the satellite network is identifiable based on a signaling protocol associated with the satellite network.
12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein communicating the indication of the rejection comprises transmitting an error message that causes the satellite network to reject the request from the user device to access the satellite network.
13. 13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by a network element operating within a terrestrial telecommunications network.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the network element is communicatively coupled to both a terrestrial base station and a gateway interfacing with the satellite network.
15. 15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of a method comprising: receiving an indication that a user device sent a request to access a satellite network; determining that the user device is located within a predefined geofence; determining, based on previously captured connectivity information associated with the user device, that access to the satellite network by the user device should be restricted; and communicating access control information to the satellite network that causes the satellite network to restrict access by the user device.
16. 16 . The media of claim 15 , wherein the connectivity information comprises a previously captured event associated with a terrestrial telecommunications network.
17. 17 . The media of claim 16 , wherein restricting access to the satellite network comprises rejecting the request from the user device.
18. 18 . The media of claim 15 , wherein the access control information comprises an error or rejection indication recognized by the satellite network.
19. 19 . A system comprising: one or more processors operating within a terrestrial telecommunications network; and one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to: receive an indication that a user device sent a request to access a satellite network; determine that the user device is located within a predefined geofence; determine, based on connectivity information associated with the user device, that access to the satellite network by the user device should be restricted; and communicate access control information to the satellite network that causes the satellite network to restrict access by the user device.
20. 20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the connectivity information includes a previously captured event associated with the user device accessing a terrestrial telecommunications network within a time threshold.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/328,477, filed Jun. 2, 2023, titled “SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR GEOGRAPHIC AND TIME-BASED CONTROL OF SATELLITE NETWORK CONNECTIONS TO USER DEVICES,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. SUMMARY A high-level overview of various aspects of the invention is provided here to offer an overview of the disclosure and to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description section. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. In one aspect, a computerized method is provided. In accordance with a method, an indication that a user device sent a request to access a satellite network is received, wherein the indication is associated with a unique identifier for the user device, location coordinates of the user device, and a timestamp. It is determined whether the user device is located within a predefined geofence based on the location coordinates of the user device. Based on determining that the user device is located within the predefined geofence, a database is queried with the unique identifier for the user device to determine whether the unique identifier is associated with one or more previously captured events on a terrestrial network within the predefined geofence, wherein the one or more previously captured events are associated with corresponding timestamps. When the unique identifier is determined to be associated with the one or more previously captured events, one of the one or more previously captured events is identified that is associated with a most recent timestamp relative to any other previously captured events that are associated with the unique identifier. A total time duration is determined, as measured between the most recent timestamp and the timestamp of the indication. When the total time duration measured between the most recent timestamp and the timestamp of the indication is less than or equal to a predefined threshold, it is determined that the request to access the satellite network from the user device should be rejected. An error is generated and communicated to the satellite network, wherein the error causes the satellite network to reject the request from the user device to access the satellite network. In another aspect, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media are provided for storing instructions that when executed via one or more processors perform a computerized method. In accordance with the media, an indication that a user device sent a request to access a satellite network is received, wherein the indication is associated with a unique identifier for the user device, location coordinates of the user device, and a timestamp. It is determined whether the user device is located within a predefined geofence based on the location coordinates of the user device. Based on determining that the user device is located within the predefined geofence, a database is queried with the unique identifier for the user device to determine whether the unique identifier is associated with one or more previously captured events on a terrestrial network within the predefined geofence, wherein the one or more previously captured events are associated with corresponding timestamps. When the unique identifier is determined to be associated with the one or more previously captured events, one of the one or more previously captured events is identified that is associated with a most recent timestamp relative to any other previously captured events that are associated with the unique identifier. A total time duration is determined, as measured between the most recent timestamp and the timestamp of the indication. When the total time duration measured between the most recent timestamp and the timestamp of the indication is less than or equal to a predefined threshold, it is determined that the request to access the satellite network from the user device should be rejected. An error is generated and communicated to the satellite network, wherein the error causes the satellite network to reject the request from the user device to access the satellite network. In yet another aspect, a system is provided. The system comprises a database storing and updating events for a plurality of user devices, wherein each event corresponds to a unique identifier that is specific to a particular device, wherein each event is associated with a user device location for the particular user device, wherein each event is associated with a timestamp. The system further comprises a server having one or more processors, wherein the server operates within a telecommunications network, wherein the server is communicatively coupled to a base station within the telecommunications n