System, method, and computer-readable medium for mobile station authentication and registration via an ip-femtocell

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for facilitating mobile station registration and authentication via a femtocell system are provided. A femtocell system receives a registration request from a mobile station and transmits a registration request to a core network on behalf of the mobile station. The registration request transmitted by the femtocell system preferably includes a register identifier generated by the femtocell system. On receipt of a registration request from the femtocell system, the convergence server may engage in a registration and authentication procedure with a radio access network Home Location Register and/or Authentication Center on behalf of the mobile station.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 generating, by a femtocell system, a registration identifier of a mobile station from at least one authentication parameter;   receiving, by a convergence server located in a first core network, a session initiation protocol registration request for a mobile station transmitted to the first core network;   receiving, by the convergence server from the femtocell and in a separate message from the session initiation protocol registration request, authentication parameters of the mobile station, the authentication parameters comprising the registration identifier;   emulating, by the convergence server, a Mobile Switching Center; and   authenticating, by the convergence server, the mobile station with at least one of a Home Location Register and an authentication center located in the radio access core network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the femtocell system, an overhead message train with an indicator that authentication is required for system access. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising receiving, by the femtocell system, a registration request from the mobile station responsive to the mobile station receiving the overhead message train. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the authentication parameters are included in the registration request. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising generating, by the femtocell system, a random number, wherein the random number is included in the overhead message train. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising performing, by the convergence server, authentication and registration procedures with a radio access core network. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the authentication and registration procedures are performed on behalf of the mobile station. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by the convergence server, the registration identifier in a session initiation protocol register message. 
     
     
         9 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions tangibly embodied thereon for execution by a processing system, the computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to:
 generate a registration identifier that is associated with a mobile station from at least one of a plurality of authentication parameters of the mobile station;   receive, by a convergence server located in a first core network, a session initiation protocol registration request for the mobile station transmitted to the first core network;   receive, by the convergence server from the femtocell and in a separate message from the session initiation protocol registration request, the plurality of authentication parameters of the mobile station; and   perform, by the convergence server, authentication and registration procedures with a radio access core network on behalf of the mobile station.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to transmit, by the femtocell system, an overhead message train with an indicator that authentication is required for system access. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 10 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to receive, by the femtocell system, a registration request from the mobile station responsive to the mobile station receiving the overhead message train, wherein the authentication parameters are included in the registration request. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the processing system to generate, by the femtocell system, a random number. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the random number is included in the overhead message train. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 9 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to generate, by the femtocell system, a registration identifier of the mobile station from at least one of the authentication parameters. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to receive, by the convergence server, the registration identifier. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the registration identifier is received in a session initiation protocol register message. 
     
     
         17 . A system, comprising:
 a first core network that includes a convergence server;   a radio access core network;   an Internet Protocol-based femtocell system that provides a radio access point for one or more mobile stations, wherein the femtocell system transmits an overhead message train that includes a random number generated by the femtocell system, wherein a mobile station receives the overhead message train, calculates a registration authentication result from data including the random number, and transmits a registration request including the registration authentication and a plurality of authentication parameters, wherein the convergence server receives from the femtocell system a session initiation protocol registration request for the mobile station transmitted to the first core network and, in a separate message from the session initiation protocol registration request, the plurality of authentication parameters of the mobile station.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the femtocell system generates a register identifier that is associated with the mobile station from at least one of the plurality of authentication parameters, wherein the femtocell system generates the registration identifier from at least one of the plurality of authentication parameters. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the convergence server performs authentication and registration procedures with the radio access core network. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the authentication and registration procedures are performed on behalf of the mobile station.