Methods And Apparatus For Use In Facilitating The Communication Of Neighboring Network Information To A Mobile Terminal With Use Of A Radius Compatible Protocol

Abstract

A disclosed example method for requesting neighboring network information from a device involves encoding a request for neighboring network information and sending the request to an authentication server to obtain the neighboring network information. The example method also involves receiving a response to the request, retrieving the neighboring network information contained in the response, and decoding the neighboring network information. The decoded neighboring network information is stored.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method of a mobile terminal for requesting neighboring information from a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising:
 encoding a request for neighboring information, the request including a service set identifier identifying a first network;   sending the request to a first access point associated with the WLAN to obtain the neighboring information from a second access point in the first network based on the first network being identified in the service set identifier;   receiving a response to the request, the response generated by the first access point including neighboring information from the second access point; and   using the neighboring information for scanning.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said encoding is in accordance with an extensible authentication protocol (EAP). 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the encoding is based on an IEEE 802.21 format. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the request and the response are transported utilizing at least one of an IEEE 802. 1X format or an IEEE 802.11u format. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the neighboring network information includes one or more network identifications corresponding to one or more wireless communication networks neighboring or within a coverage region of a network access device in communication with the mobile terminal. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the neighboring network information enables the mobile terminal to perform a hand-off to one or more of the wireless communication networks. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the request is transported using an EAP within at least one of a RADIUS protocol or a DIAMETER protocol. 
     
     
         28 . A mobile terminal for requesting neighboring network information from a device, the mobile terminal comprising:
 a hardware processor configured to:
 encode a request for neighboring information, the request including a service set identifier identifying a first network; 
 send the request to a first access point associated with the WLAN to obtain the neighboring information from a second access point in the first network based on the first network being identified in the service set identifier; 
 receive a response to the request, the response generated by the first access point including neighboring information from the second access point; and 
 use the neighboring information for scanning. 
   
     
     
         29 . The mobile terminal of  claim 28 , wherein said encoding is in accordance with an extensible authentication protocol (EAP). 
     
     
         30 . The mobile terminal of  claim 28 , wherein the encoding is based on an IEEE 802.21 format. 
     
     
         31 . The mobile terminal of  claim 28 , wherein the request and the response are transported utilizing at least one of an IEEE 802. 1X format or an IEEE 802.11u format. 
     
     
         32 . The mobile terminal of  claim 28 , wherein the neighboring network information includes one or more network identifications corresponding to one or more wireless communication networks neighboring or within a coverage region of a network access device in communication with the mobile terminal. 
     
     
         33 . The mobile terminal of  claim 32 , wherein the neighboring network information enables the mobile terminal to perform a hand-off to one or more of the wireless communication networks. 
     
     
         34 . The mobile terminal of  claim 28 , wherein the request is transported using an EAP within at least one of a RADIUS protocol or a DIAMETER protocol. 
     
     
         35 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium with a set of instructions stored thereon, which when executed, cause a processor to perform operations for requesting neighboring network information from a mobile terminal, the operations comprising:
 encoding a request for neighboring information, the request including a service set identifier identifying a first network;   sending the request to a first access point associated with the WLAN to obtain the neighboring information from a second access point in the first network based on the first network being identified in the service set identifier;   receiving a response to the request, the response generated by the first access point including neighboring information from the second access point; and   using the neighboring information for scanning.   
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein said encoding is in accordance with an extensible authentication protocol (EAP). 
     
     
         37 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein the encoding is based on an IEEE 802.21 format. 
     
     
         38 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein the request and the response are transported utilizing at least one of an IEEE 802. 1X format or an IEEE 802.11u format. 
     
     
         39 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein the neighboring network information includes one or more network identifications corresponding to one or more wireless communication networks neighboring or within a coverage region of a network access device in communication with the mobile terminal. 
     
     
         40 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 39 , wherein the neighboring network information enables the mobile terminal to perform a hand-off to one or more of the wireless communication networks.