A method (300) and an apparatus (800) for determining duration of authorized usage time period are disclosed. A wireless mobile communication device (112) receives (304) a signal, measures (306) signal strength of the signal, determines (308) the duration of authorized usage time period based upon the measured signal strength, and requests (310) registration for the duration of authorized usage time period. A method (900) and a system (1300) for registering a wireless mobile communication device (112) in a wireless local area network (102) for a variable duration based upon wireless signal strength information are also disclosed. The wireless local area network (102) receives (902) a signal (116) including a registration request and an identification of the wireless mobile communication device (112), measures (906) signal strength of the signal, registers (908) the identification of the source of the signal, determines (910) duration of the authorized usage time period based upon the signal strength, assigns (912) the duration of authorized usage time period to the identification of the source of the signal, and un-registers (914) the identification of the source of the signal from the registration upon expiration of the duration of authorized usage time period.