Patexia seeks prior art for a patent that allegedly describes a method of allowing a terminal that is not a registered member of a user group on a CSG (closed subscriber group) network to access a CSG network base station as a “guest” if the CSG is being operated as “open”.

The system accomplishes this guest access by:

• transmitting from the base station and receiving at the terminal an access mode indicator that indicates whether the CSG network is being operated as “open” or “closed”
• if the CSG network is “closed”, the base station refuses access to the terminal if it is not a registered member of a user group on the CSG network
• if the CSG network is “open”, the base station allows access to the terminal as a guest member if it is not otherwise a registered member of a user group on the CSG network

Figure 1. Block Diagram of a “Closed” and “Open” CSG Network Behavior

Questions

1. Was the reference filed or published before September 10th, 2007? (True/False)
2. Does the reference describe a system that uses a closed subscriber group (CSG) network to potentially limit access to a broadcasting node (base station) by a user equipment (terminal) that is not a registered member of a user group on the CSG network?
3. Does the system transmit an access mode indicator that indicates whether a CSG network is being operated as “open” or “closed” from the base station to the terminal?
4. Does the system allow a terminal that is not a registered member of a user group on the CSG network to establish a bidirectional link with the base station as a guest member if the access mode indicator  indicates that the CSG network is being operated as “open”?

Glossary

• Closed subscriber group (CSG) network - a feature of cellular networks that allow one or more base stations to restrict the users/subscribers or specific devices that can access specified base station resources to those on a list of IMSI/IMEI or phone numbers maintained by the base station’s operator