System and method for integrated WiFi/WiMax neighbor AP discovery and AP advertisement

摘要

A system and method wherein mobile nodes scan both 802.16 and 802.11 radio channels for neighbor access points. A mobile node reports both WiMax and WiFi neighbor access points to its parent access point. A parent access point advertises both WiMax and WiFi neighbor access points to child mobile nodes to facilitate faster roaming and load balancing. A parent WiMax AP can direct a mobile node to roam to a neighbor WiFi access point that has a lighter load or offers enhanced services. As an option, a location tracking protocol is used to determine the location of a mobile node and the mobile node's parent AP advertises neighbor APs that offer services in the mobile node's location.