| abstract |
Systems and methods for a mobile node having a home network to determine an authentication policy of a visited network in a communications network using the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) are provided. In an embodiment, the method includes a mobile node receiving an EAP Request Identity message from the visited network. The mobile node then determines the visited network's authentication policy based on the received EAP Request Identity message. Once the mobile node has determined the visited network's authentication policy, the mobile node selects an authentication policy based on the visited network's authentication policy and on its home network's authentication policy. The mobile node then transmits an EAP Response Identity message that includes the selected authentication policy. The mobile node includes, but is not limited to laptop computers, cellular phones, smart phones, and personal data assistants. |