Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/508,335

WLAN STEERING BASED ON BAND-USAGE HISTORY

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Nov 14, 2023
Priority
Nov 15, 2022 — provisional 63/425,326
Examiner
FOLLANSBEE, KEITH TRAN-DANH
Art Unit
2411
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Ruckus IP Holdings LLC
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
61%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 61% of resolved cases
61%
Career Allowance Rate
57 granted / 93 resolved
+3.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
152
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
§103
65.5%
+25.5% vs TC avg
§102
16.2%
-23.8% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 93 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim 1, 12, 16 has been amended. Claims 7 has been cancelled. Claim 21 has been added. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 1-6, 8-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khoury et al. (US20210282063) in view of Iyer et al. (US20110235591). Regarding claim 1, Khoury teaches An access point, comprising: an interface circuit configured to wirelessly communicate with an electronic device, wherein the interface circuit is configured to ([0008] “An access point that provides a transition recommendation is described. This access point includes an interface circuit that wirelessly communicates with an electronic device … Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device”): associate with the electronic device in a band of frequencies ([0037] “During operation, the access point may associate with an electronic device”), [0039] “Thus, the wireless communication may occur in, e.g., a 2.4 GHz, a 5 GHz, a 6 GHz and/or a 60 GHz frequency band. (Note that IEEE 802.11ad communication over a 60 GHz frequency band is sometimes referred to as ‘WiGig.’ In the present discussion, these embodiments are also encompassed by ‘Wi-Fi.’) However, a wide variety of frequency bands may be used”); access or obtain information associated ([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”, (Examiner’s Note: Wi-FI 6 and Wi-FI 5 operate on specific frequency bands); and based at least in part on the information, provide a transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device ([0008] “Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device based at least in part on the difference in the first capability and the second capability, where the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the first WLAN to a second WLAN that has the second capability”), wherein the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the band of frequencies to a second band of frequencies, which is different from the band of frequencies ([0008] “Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device based at least in part on the difference in the first capability and the second capability, where the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the first WLAN to a second WLAN that has the second capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”). Khoury does not specifically teach that comprises historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device. Iyer teaches that comprises historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device ([0048] “MAC list 1200 includes MAC addresses 1210 associated with multiple wireless client devices, timestamp of last received Probe Request 1220, SNR of last received Probe Request 1230, a field indicating whether a client device associated with the MAC address is capable of communicating on the system's preferred communication band (such as 5 GHz communication band) 1240, and another field indicating whether the client device is capable of communicating on the system's non-preferred communication band (such as 2.4 GHz communication band) 1250. Note that MAC list 1200 may include other fields to facilitate tracking the client devices' capabilities, preferences, network environments, and so on, without departing from the spirit of the instant disclosure”, Fig. 2 “1210 MAC”, “1220 Time of last probe request”, “1240 5GHz capable”, “1250 2.4GHz capable”, (Examiner’s Note: these probe request are sent on the which ever band the device are capable with, and since the log in clude timestamps, this is historical data ). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Khoury to incorporate the teachings of Iyer. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to increase optimization of the system by allowing for steering to preferred bands. Regarding claim 12, Khoury teaches A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with an access point ([0041] “the one or more access points 112, the one or more electronic devices 114 and/or the one or more optional controllers 116 may include subsystems, such as a networking subsystem, a memory subsystem and a processor subsystem”), the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein, when executed by the access point, the program instructions cause the access point to perform operations comprising ([0118] “Memory subsystem 1612 includes one or more devices for storing data and/or instructions for processing sub system 1610 and networking sub system 1614. For example, memory subsystem 1612 can include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and/or other types of memory (which collectively or individually are sometimes referred to as a ‘computer-readable storage medium’). In some embodiments, instructions for processing subsystem 1610 in memory subsystem 1612 include: one or more program modules or sets of instructions (such as program instructions 1622 or operating system 1624), which may be executed by processing subsystem 1610”): associating with an electronic device in a band of frequencies ([0037] “During operation, the access point may associate with an electronic device”), [0039] “Thus, the wireless communication may occur in, e.g., a 2.4 GHz, a 5 GHz, a 6 GHz and/or a 60 GHz frequency band. (Note that IEEE 802.11ad communication over a 60 GHz frequency band is sometimes referred to as ‘WiGig.’ In the present discussion, these embodiments are also encompassed by ‘Wi-Fi.’) However, a wide variety of frequency bands may be used”); accessing or obtaining of information that comprises([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”, (Examiner’s Note: Wi-FI 6 and Wi-FI 5 operate on specific frequency bands); and based at least in part on the information, provide a transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device ([0008] “Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device based at least in part on the difference in the first capability and the second capability, where the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the first WLAN to a second WLAN that has the second capability”), wherein the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the band of frequencies to a second band of frequencies, which is different from the band of frequencies ([0008] “Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device based at least in part on the difference in the first capability and the second capability, where the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the first WLAN to a second WLAN that has the second capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”). Khoury does not specifically teach that comprises historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device. Iyer teaches that comprises historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device ([0048] “MAC list 1200 includes MAC addresses 1210 associated with multiple wireless client devices, timestamp of last received Probe Request 1220, SNR of last received Probe Request 1230, a field indicating whether a client device associated with the MAC address is capable of communicating on the system's preferred communication band (such as 5 GHz communication band) 1240, and another field indicating whether the client device is capable of communicating on the system's non-preferred communication band (such as 2.4 GHz communication band) 1250. Note that MAC list 1200 may include other fields to facilitate tracking the client devices' capabilities, preferences, network environments, and so on, without departing from the spirit of the instant disclosure”, Fig. 2 “1210 MAC”, “1220 Time of last probe request”, “1240 5GHz capable”, “1250 2.4GHz capable”, (Examiner’s Note: these probe request are sent on the which ever band the device are capable with, and since the log in clude timestamps, this is historical data ). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Khoury to incorporate the teachings of Iyer. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to increase optimization of the system by allowing for steering to preferred bands. Regarding claim 16, Khoury teaches A method for providing a transition recommendation, comprising: by an access point: associating with an electronic device in a band of frequencies ([0037] “During operation, the access point may associate with an electronic device”), [0039] “Thus, the wireless communication may occur in, e.g., a 2.4 GHz, a 5 GHz, a 6 GHz and/or a 60 GHz frequency band. (Note that IEEE 802.11ad communication over a 60 GHz frequency band is sometimes referred to as ‘WiGig.’ In the present discussion, these embodiments are also encompassed by ‘Wi-Fi.’) However, a wide variety of frequency bands may be used”); accessing or obtaining of information that comprises([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”, (Examiner’s Note: Wi-FI 6 and Wi-FI 5 operate on specific frequency bands); and based at least in part on the information, provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device ([0008] “Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device based at least in part on the difference in the first capability and the second capability, where the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the first WLAN to a second WLAN that has the second capability”), wherein the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the band of frequencies to a second band of frequencies, which is different from the band of frequencies ([0008] “Next, the access point may provide the transition recommendation addressed to the electronic device based at least in part on the difference in the first capability and the second capability, where the transition recommendation recommends that the electronic device transition from the first WLAN to a second WLAN that has the second capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”). Khoury does not specifically teach that comprises historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device. Iyer teaches that comprises historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device ([0048] “MAC list 1200 includes MAC addresses 1210 associated with multiple wireless client devices, timestamp of last received Probe Request 1220, SNR of last received Probe Request 1230, a field indicating whether a client device associated with the MAC address is capable of communicating on the system's preferred communication band (such as 5 GHz communication band) 1240, and another field indicating whether the client device is capable of communicating on the system's non-preferred communication band (such as 2.4 GHz communication band) 1250. Note that MAC list 1200 may include other fields to facilitate tracking the client devices' capabilities, preferences, network environments, and so on, without departing from the spirit of the instant disclosure”, Fig. 2 “1210 MAC”, “1220 Time of last probe request”, “1240 5GHz capable”, “1250 2.4GHz capable”, (Examiner’s Note: these probe request are sent on the which ever band the device are capable with, and since the log in clude timestamps, this is historical data ). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Khoury to incorporate the teachings of Iyer. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to increase optimization of the system by allowing for steering to preferred bands. Regarding claim 2, Khoury teaches wherein the accessing or obtaining of the information is based at least in part on: a media access control (MAC) address of the electronic device ([0080] “ In some embodiments, a legacy beacon (such as beacon 700) may be identified relative to a multi-BSS beacon (such as multi-BSS beacon 600 in FIG. 6) by the inclusion of a MAC address in the beacon”); an identifier used during authentication of the electronic device; or a username or hostname of the electronic device ([0048] “Notably, access point 112-1 may ensure that electronic device 114-1 selectively receives an appropriate probe response (including the correct BSSID) based at least in part on the capabilities of electronic device 114-1 (such as whether or not electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard)”). Regarding claim 3, Khoury teaches wherein the information is stored in memory in or associated with the access point ([0118] “Memory subsystem 1612 includes one or more devices for storing data and/or instructions for processing sub system 1610 and networking sub system 1614. For example, memory subsystem 1612 can include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and/or other types of memory (which collectively or individually are sometimes referred to as a ‘computer-readable storage medium’). In some embodiments, instructions for processing subsystem 1610 in memory subsystem 1612 include: one or more program modules or sets of instructions (such as program instructions 1622 or operating system 1624), which may be executed by processing subsystem 1610”). Regarding claim 4, Khoury teaches wherein the accessing or obtaining of the information comprises receiving, associated with a computer system, the information ([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”, (Examiner’s Note: Wi-FI 6 and Wi-FI 5 operate on specific frequency bands). Regarding claim 5, Khoury teaches wherein the computer system comprises: a controller of the access point ([0038] “Moreover, an access point in the system may communicate with a controller or services using a wired communication protocol, such as a wired communication protocol that is compatible with an IEEE 802.3 standard (which is sometimes referred to as ‘Ethernet’), e.g”); or a cloud-based computer system. Regarding claim 6, Khoury teaches wherein the information is associated with or indicates a type of application used by the electronic device; a capability of the electronic device([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”); or a type of traffic associated with the electronic device. Regarding claim 8, Khoury teaches wherein the band of frequencies comprises frequencies that are lower than frequencies in the second band of frequencies ([0039] “Thus, the wireless communication may occur in, e.g., a 2.4 GHz, a 5 GHz, a 6 GHz and/or a 60 GHz frequency band. (Note that IEEE 802.11ad communication over a 60 GHz frequency band is sometimes referred to as ‘WiGig.’ In the present discussion, these embodiments are also encompassed by ‘Wi-Fi.’)”). Regarding claim 9, Khoury teaches wherein the transition recommendation comprises a basic service set (BSS) transition management (BTM) frame ([0047] “Then, after electronic device 114-1 has associated with access point 112-1 using the second BSSID, access point 112-1 may recommend that electronic device 114-1 transition to the first BSSID (e.g., using a BTM frame)”). Regarding claim 10, Khoury teaches wherein, after providing the transition recommendation, the access point is configured to terminate the association with the electronic device in the band of frequencies ([0012] “Additionally, after providing the transition recommendation, the access point may terminate the association with the electronic device”). Regarding claim 11, Khoury teaches wherein the band of frequencies is associated with a WLAN having a service set identifier (SSID) and a basic service set identifier (BSSID), and the second band of frequencies is associated with a second WLAN having a second SSID and a second BSSID ([0014] “Note that the first WLAN may have a first service set identifier (SSID) and a first basic service set identifier (BSSID), and the second WLAN may have a second SSID and a second BSSID”, [0111] “Wi-Fi 6 technology may benefit from having many Wi-Fi 6 clients connected to one WLAN. In particular, OFDMA may be more efficient as the number of clients using this technology that are connected to one WLAN grows. Steering (moving clients from WLAN to another WLAN or from one access point to another access point) clients (or electronic devices associated with an access point or a WLAN) from a Wi-Fi 5 compatible access point or a Wi-Fi 5 compatible WLAN to a Wi-Fi 6 compatible WLAN may bring performance benefits to the client and to the wireless network by increasing the number of clients associated with the Wi-Fi 6 compatible WLAN”)). Regarding claim 13, Khoury teaches wherein the accessing or obtaining of the information is based at least in part on: a media access control (MAC) address of the electronic device ([0080] “ In some embodiments, a legacy beacon (such as beacon 700) may be identified relative to a multi-BSS beacon (such as multi-BSS beacon 600 in FIG. 6) by the inclusion of a MAC address in the beacon”); an identifier used during authentication of the electronic device; or a username or hostname of the electronic device ([0048] “Notably, access point 112-1 may ensure that electronic device 114-1 selectively receives an appropriate probe response (including the correct BSSID) based at least in part on the capabilities of electronic device 114-1 (such as whether or not electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard)”). Regarding claim 14, Khoury teaches wherein the accessing or obtaining of the information comprises receiving, associated with a computer system, the information ([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”, (Examiner’s Note: Wi-FI 6 and Wi-FI 5 operate on specific frequency bands); and wherein the computer system comprises: a controller of the access point ([0038] “Moreover, an access point in the system may communicate with a controller or services using a wired communication protocol, such as a wired communication protocol that is compatible with an IEEE 802.3 standard (which is sometimes referred to as ‘Ethernet’), e.g”); or a cloud-based computer system. Regarding claim 15, Khoury teaches wherein the information is associated with or indicates a type of application used by the electronic device; a capability of the electronic device ([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”); or a type of traffic associated with the electronic device. Regarding claim 17, Khoury teaches wherein the accessing or obtaining of the information is based at least in part on: a media access control (MAC) address of the electronic device ([0080] “ In some embodiments, a legacy beacon (such as beacon 700) may be identified relative to a multi-BSS beacon (such as multi-BSS beacon 600 in FIG. 6) by the inclusion of a MAC address in the beacon”); an identifier used during authentication of the electronic device; or a username or hostname of the electronic device ([0048] “Notably, access point 112-1 may ensure that electronic device 114-1 selectively receives an appropriate probe response (including the correct BSSID) based at least in part on the capabilities of electronic device 114-1 (such as whether or not electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard)”). Regarding claim 18, Khoury teaches wherein the accessing or obtaining of the information comprises receiving, associated with a computer system ([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”, (Examiner’s Note: Wi-FI 6 and Wi-FI 5 operate on specific frequency bands), the information; and wherein the computer system comprises: a controller of the access point ([0038] “Moreover, an access point in the system may communicate with a controller or services using a wired communication protocol, such as a wired communication protocol that is compatible with an IEEE 802.3 standard (which is sometimes referred to as ‘Ethernet’), e.g”); or a cloud-based computer system. Regarding claim 19, Khoury teaches wherein the information is associated with or indicates a type of application used by the electronic device; a capability of the electronic device ([0008] “During operation, the access point may associate with the electronic device. Moreover, the access point may determine that the electronic device has a second capability that is different from the first capability”, [0009] “In some embodiments, the second IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6, and the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include an earlier IEEE 802.11 standard, such as IEEE 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5”); or a type of traffic associated with the electronic device. Regarding claim 20, Khoury teaches wherein the band of frequencies is associated with a WLAN having a service set identifier (SSID) and a basic service set identifier (BSSID), and the second band of frequencies is associated with a second WLAN having a second SSID and a second BSSID ([0014] “Note that the first WLAN may have a first service set identifier (SSID) and a first basic service set identifier (BSSID), and the second WLAN may have a second SSID and a second BSSID”, [0111] “Wi-Fi 6 technology may benefit from having many Wi-Fi 6 clients connected to one WLAN. In particular, OFDMA may be more efficient as the number of clients using this technology that are connected to one WLAN grows. Steering (moving clients from WLAN to another WLAN or from one access point to another access point) clients (or electronic devices associated with an access point or a WLAN) from a Wi-Fi 5 compatible access point or a Wi-Fi 5 compatible WLAN to a Wi-Fi 6 compatible WLAN may bring performance benefits to the client and to the wireless network by increasing the number of clients associated with the Wi-Fi 6 compatible WLAN”)). Regarding claim 21, Khoury does not teach wherein the historical band-of-frequency usage indicates at least one of bands of frequencies previously used by the electronic device. Iyer teaches wherein the historical band-of-frequency usage indicates at least one of bands of frequencies previously used by the electronic device ([0040-42] “For example, the wireless network system may observe that too many wireless users and/or devices are connected on the 2.4 GHz communication band, and thereby determine that 5 GHz communication band would be a preferred communication band…If a wireless network system can successfully identify client devices that are capable of communicating on the system's preferred communication band, which is different from the client device's preferred communication band, then the wireless network system can guide those client devices to communicate on the system's preferred communication band instead of the client's preferred communication band ...In one embodiment, the wireless network system can identify such client devices by keeping track of their MAC addresses when a wireless signal (for example, a PROBE request) is received on the system's preferred communication band”, (Examiner’s Note: based on the description a log using MAC addresses of the devices are kept based on whether they use 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Khoury to incorporate the teachings of Iyer. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to increase optimization of the system by allowing for steering to preferred bands. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 07/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s Argument 1 The Office Action concedes that Khoury fails to disclose, teach, or suggest "historical band-of-frequency usage by the electronic device". (See Office Action, pp. 4, 7, and 9). To overcome such a deficiency, the Office Action further cites "bandwidth history, and other suitable information" in paragraph [0111] of Chennichetty. (Id.) Although the Office Action acknowledges that "bandwidth history, and other suitable information" are not equivalent to "historical band-of-frequency usage", the Office Action asserts that "bandwidth history, and other suitable information" can be considered to be "associated with or indicating historical band-of-frequency usage" and hence meets the language of Claims 1, 12, and 16. (See Office Action, pp. 18 and 19). Applicant respectfully disagrees with the interpretation of the Office Action. Examiner’s Response 1 Examiner respectfully disagrees. See updated rejection. Chen is no longer relied upon. Khoury in view of Iyer is relied upon to show historical band-of-frequency usage in claim 1. See updated rejection. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEITH TRAN-DANH FOLLANSBEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3071. The examiner can normally be reached 10am -6 pm M-Th. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /K.T.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2411 2411 /DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 14, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 19, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Feb 10, 2026
Response Filed
May 28, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 27, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jul 29, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Sep 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
61%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (+14.7%)
3y 4m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
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