MXPA98005150A - Method and apparatus for providing dividi telecommunication services - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing divided wireless telecommunications services. In accordance with the invention, a wireless switch receives a service request from a wireless terminal and identifies a service provider associated with the wireless terminal. Then telecommunications services are provided to the wireless terminal using network resources associated with the service provider identifies

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING DIVIDED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to providing telecommunications services divided to wireless terminals. Background of the Invention In any given geographical area, there is currently a small number of service providers that provide wireless service in that area. In general, each of the service providers maintains its own wireless network infrastructure to provide those services. For example, consider a geographic area that is served by two wireless service providers. Each service provider will have its own network, which consists of at least one mobile switching center (MSC = Mobile Switching Center) and a number of radio base stations (RBS = Radio Base Station) connected to that MSC. MSCs and RBSs are used to provide the standard wireless communications functions in a geographical area, and the architecture and operation of MSCs and RBSs is well known for providing these functions. In addition to MSCs and RBSs, a ref: 27698 wireless telecommunications network will generally include other network nodes equally. These other nodes include message centers (MC = Message Centers) for sending text messages to wireless terminals capable of sending messages, voice message systems (VMS = Voice Message Systems) for providing voice mail services, and location records. of service area or domestic (HLR = Home Location Registers) which are databases that store subscriber profile information. It is the use and configuration of these other network nodes that allows a service provider to provide additional services and functionality to its subscribers. It is the use and configuration of these other network nodes in the provision of wireless services, which allows a service provider to differentiate itself from other service providers. In this way, the services of a given service provider will have a certain "look and feel" based on the use and configuration of these other network nodes. For example, the service provider A can provide voice mail services and send network calls to its subscribers, while the service provider 8 that provides service in the same area can provide short message service, but not services of voice mail or sending calls. In this way, the "look and feel" of wireless service experienced by subscribers in that geographic area will be different depending on what service the provider provides. Currently, there are service providers that do not maintain their own network, but resell the network services of other service providers. These resellers must accept the network configuration of the service provider from which they are reselling. In this case, the subscribers of both the network owner and the reseller will experience the same wireless network features and services. Similarly, there are certain geographic markets where two or more service providers are in partnership and both provide wireless services using the same network infrastructure. In these markets, social service providers can not distinguish or tailor their services because both use the same network infrastructure to provide service to their customers. Currently, the only way for service providers to provide wireless network services tailored to a geographic area is to maintain their own network in that area. This is especially true as the number of service providers in an area grows. In this way, there is a need for a technique that allows service providers to share the basic resources of a telecommunications network infrastructure, while allowing each service provider to tailor the services and features that are provided to its subscribers. DOWNLOAD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing divided wireless telecommunications services. In accordance with the invention, a wireless switch receives a service request from a wireless terminal and identifies a service provider associated with the wireless terminal. Then telecommunications services are provided to the wireless terminal using network resources associated with the identified service provider. In accordance with further aspects of the invention, each service provider maintains its own set of wireless network resources that are employed to provide services to the service provider's customers in conjunction with the shared network infrastructure. In one embodiment, a service provider may maintain its own subscriber profile database that stores the service profile for subscribers. Upon receiving a service request from a wireless terminal, the switch performs a database search of the subscriber profile database associated with the wireless terminal service provider and subsequently provides telecommunications services to the wireless terminal of the wireless terminal. according to the profile of the subscriber. According to another aspect of the invention, the resources associated with the various service providers can be physically divided between service providers or can be logically divided among service providers. The principles of the present invention can be applied to systems that provide service to any type of wireless terminal, including mobile stations and fixed stations. These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows the components of a wireless network of the prior art. Figure 2 shows the components of a wireless telecommunications network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 shows the contents of an exemplary partition table. Figure 4 is a flow chart showing the steps performed by the MSC when a mobile station attempts to register. Figure 5 shows a fixed wireless mode of the present invention. Detailed Description Figure 1 shows some of the components of a wireless network of the prior art. Whereas the network shown in Figure 1 is a partnership network, such that it is owned and maintained by two service providers, the service provider A and the service provider B. The service provider A provides services to the subscriber using the mobile station 102, and service provider B provides services to the subscriber using mobile station 104. Whereas both mobile station 102, and mobile station 104 are also in their local service system. That is, both the mobile station 102, and the mobile station 104 are provided with service by their own service providers in their domestic geographic area. In this way, neither the mobile station 102 nor the mobile station 104 are operating outside their home area. A mobile station operates outside its domestic area when it is in a geographic area outside of its service or domestic area. The concepts of geographic service or home areas and operation outside the service or home area of the mobile station are well known in the wireless communications art and will not be described in more detail here. The wireless network of Figure 1 includes MSC 110 and RBSs 106 and 108 which are connected to, and controlled by, MSC 110. The MSC 110 and RBSs 106 and 108 are the building blocks of the wireless communications network and provide the connectivity functions. basic required for wireless communications. In this way, the mobile station 102 communicates with RBS 106 via the air interface 105 and the mobile station 104 communicates with RBS 108 through the air interface 107. In turn, RBS 106 and RBS 108 communicate with MSC 110 over the links 109 and 111 , respectively. MSC 110 also connects to other networks such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (not shown) or other communication networks (not shown). This allows mobile stations to communicate with each other, or with other communication devices in other networks. MSC 110 also connects to a home location register (HLR) 114, a visitor location register (VLR = Visitor Location Register) 112, and a voice mail system (VMS = Voice Mail System) 116. The HLR 114 it stores the subscriber profiles for all subscribers having their home switch MSC 110. As is well known in the wireless communication art, when a mobile station attempts to register with an MSC, the MSC performs a database search in a remote location. HLR, to retrieve the subscriber profile information, and this subscriber profile information is stored in a VLR while that subscriber registers with the system. For example, when the mobile station 102 attempts to register with MSC 110, it sends its electronic serial number (ESN = Electronic Serial Number), the mobile identification number (MIN = Mobile Identification Number), and a registration request to MSC 110. Based on this information, MSC 110 performs a database search of the HLR 114 to retrieve the subscriber profile information associated with the mobile station 102 and stores the subscriber profile information retrieved in the VLR 112 while the mobile station 102 is recorded in the geographic area served by MSC 110. Similarly, when the mobile station 104 attempts to register with MSC 110, it sends its electronic serial number (ESN), mobile identification number (MIN), and a registration request to the MSC. 110. Based on this information, the MSC 110 performs a database search of the HLR 114 to retrieve the subscriber profile information associated with the station m mobile 104 and stores the subscriber profile information retrieved in VLR 112 while mobile station 104 registers in the geographic area served by MSC 110. Mobile stations 102 and 104 will then be provided with wireless service in accordance with the information of profile stored in VLR 102. If voice mail services are required by either mobile station 102 or 104, these services will be provided by VMS 116. In this way, although mobile station 102 and mobile station 104 are subscribers of different service providers, both profiles are stored in a single HLR 114 and both subscribers are provided with the same features and network services (eg, voice mail services by VMS 116). Since both the service provider A and the service provider B share the same network nodes (for example HLR 114 and VMS 116), the service provided to its subscribers looks the same. Figure 2 shows the components of a wireless telecommunications network according to one of the present invention. Elements of Figure 2 which are the same as the elements of Figure 1, have the same numbers and perform the same functions. Thus, in Figure 2, the mobile station 102 is provided with service by the service provider A, while the mobile station 104 is provided with service by the service provider B. However, in accordance with the present invention , each service provider can provide its subscribers with customized services and features, even when the two service providers share the same wireless infrastructure nodes (eg RBSs 106, 108, MSC 202, and VLR 112). According to the invention, MSC 202 is logically divided in order to provide differentiated service to mobile stations 102 and 104. As is well known, MSC 202 is an intelligent switch that operates in accordance with computer program instructions stored in a memory MSC 202. These stored program instructions control the operation of the MSC 202, including the switching functions, as well as other functions of the MSC 202. In this way, the MSC 202 is configured to operate in accordance with the present invention by program instructions. of appropriate computer and data stored in memory of MSC 202. This programming can be implemented by a person with ordinary skill in the art given the present description. In order to provide divided service according to the invention, the MSC 202 is provided with a division table stored in the MSC memory 202. The contents of an exemplary division table 300 are shown in Figure 3. The division table 300 contains two columns, MIN 302 and Service Provider 304. In this way, this table associates a service provider with a MIN for all mobile stations that have an MSC 202 assigned as their home switch. For example, the register 306 of the division table 300 indicates that all mobile stations that have a MIN with the first six digits that are 206 to 123, are provided service by the service provider A. In this way, the provider Service A provides service to mobile stations with a MIN in the range of 206-123-0000 to 206-123-9999. Similarly, register 308 indicates that all mobile stations that have a MIN with the first six digits that are 206-345 (for example in the range of 206-345-0000 to 206-345-9999) are provided service by the service provider B. Of course, the division table 300 can be configured at any level of granularity. In the illustrative division table 300 shown in Figure 3, each service provider is associated with a range of MINs. In this situation, the MINs will be assigned to the mobile stations depending on the service provider. Similarly, a division table can contain a record for each mobile station that has MSC 202 as its home MSC, and each MIN will be associated individually with a service provider. Of course, any combination of individual MIN records and range of MIN records can be used. This division table 300 is stored in MSC 202 and is employed by MSC 202 to provide divided service within a geographical area as follows. A flow chart showing the steps performed by MSC 202 when a mobile station attempts to register with the system as illustrated in Figure 4. As described above, these steps are performed by the MSC 202 under computer program instruction control . For illustration purposes, suppose that the mobile station 102 is energized in the geographic service area served by MSC 202. In step 402, MSC 202 receives a registration request, including MIN (206-123-4455) and ESN of the MS 102. In step 404, the MSC 202 determines the service provider associated with the mobile station 102 (e.g., the service provider that provides service to the mobile station 102), by performing a table search in the division table 300. MSC recognizes that the MIN of the mobile station A falls within the range of MINs indicated by the register 306 of the division table 300, and therefore that the mobile station 102 is provided service by the service provider A. new with reference to Figure 2, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless telecommunications network is provided with two sets of resources, with each set associated with one of the service providers. In this way, each service provider maintains its own set of resources and can provide service to its subscribers using its own set of resources. For example, as illustrated in Figure 2, the wireless communications network contains two independent HLRs, HLR A 206 and HLR B 208. Service provider A provides and maintains HLR A 206 and service provider B provides and maintains the HLR B 208. In this way, each service provider can independently maintain subscriber profiles for its own subscribers. Similarly, the wireless telecommunications network also contains two separate voice message systems, VMS A 204 which is supplied and maintained by the service provider A, and VMS B 210 which is supplied and maintained by the service provider B. Returning Now to the flowchart of Figure 4, in step 406, MSC 202 performs a database search of the HLR A 206 to retrieve the subscriber profile information for the subscriber associated with the mobile registration station 102. The MSC 202 knows how to access HLR A 206, and not HLR B 208, because in step 404 it is determined that the service provider A is the service provider for registering the mobile station 102. When the subscriber profile information is retrieved from the HLR A 206, it is stored in VLR 112. Subsequently, as illustrated in step 410, the telecommunication services are provided to the mobile station 102 according to the sub profile information. scriptor stored in VLR 112. As an example of the provision of telecommunications services, consider an incoming call to the mobile station 104, which is provided with service from the service provider B. Whereas the mobile station 104 is not registered with the MSC 202. An incoming call to the mobile station 104 is directed to the MSC 202. The MSC 202 determines that the mobile station 104 is not registered with the system because there is no subscriber profile for the mobile station 104 stored in VLR 112. MSC 202 accesses the division table 300 and determines from the register 308 that the mobile station 104 associates with the service provider B. MSC 202 then accesses HLR B 208, to obtain information from the subscriber profile of the mobile station 104 regarding how handle incomplete income calls to that mobile station. Whereas the subscriber profile stored in HLR B 208 for mobile station 104 indicates that incomplete incoming calls will be directed to voice mail. Since MSC 202 knows that the mobile station 104 is associated with the service provider B, MSC 202 directs the incoming call for additional handling to VMS B 210, which is the VMS node associated with the service provider B. Figure 2 shows the configuration of the present invention in accordance with mobile wireless implementation, wherein mobile stations with cellular wireless service are provided. However, the invention is not limited to a mobile wireless implementation, but on the contrary the principles of the present invention can be applied to any type of wireless terminal. Figure 2 shows the mobile stations 102 and 104 as a type of wireless terminal. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the aspects of the invention can be implemented in a fixed wireless environment, where the wireless terminals are fixed stations, for example residential structures. A fixed wireless mode of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 5. The fixed wireless network of Figure 5 contains a switch for fixed wireless access (FWA = Fixed Wireless Access) 502 connected to RBSs 512, 514, 516. In said configuration , switch FWA 502 performs essentially the same functions as MSC 202 and RBSs 512, 514, 516 perform essentially the same functions as RBSs 106, 108. In this manner, switch FWA 502 provides service to residential buildings 518, 520 by RBS 512 , to residential buildings 522, 524 by RBS 514, and residential buildings 526, 528 by RBS 516. Since residential buildings are fixed, there is no need for a VLR as in the mobile mode shown in Figure 2, because residential buildings do not move and therefore are always registered with the FWA 502 switch. By splitting the FWA 502 switch in a similar way To that described above in conjunction with mobile wireless mode, multiple service providers can tailor the service they provide to residential wireless customers. Although the basic concept is the same, since there is no registration concept, the FWA 502 switch works somewhat differently from the MSC 202 in Figure 2. For example, consider a 518 call to the residence. The call goes to the switch FWA 502 in a conventional manner and the FWA 502 switch sends appropriate call notification signals to the residence 518 via RBS 512 and air interface 513. If the call is not answered at the residence 518, the FWA 502 switch determines the provider of the call. services associated with residence 518. This determination is similar to that of step 404 of Figure 4. The FWA 502 switch can perform this step by accessing a table similar to that of division table 300, thereby associating the number of residence 518 telephone with a service provider. Consider for purposes of this description that residence 518 is provided with service by service provider C. The FWA 502 switch then performs a database query to the subscriber profile database C 508, to determine how to handle a call not answered for residence 518. Assume that the subscriber profile for residence 518 indicates that unanswered calls should be sent to network voice mail. In this way, when retrieving this information from the subscriber profile C 508, the FWA 502 switch will direct the call to the VMS C 504 that is associated with the service provider C. In this way, in a similar way to that of the mobile mode of Figure 2, a fixed wireless access environment can be divided to allow multiple service providers to provide tailored and differentiated services to subscribers, while sharing the same basic components.

As can be seen from the above description, the present invention provides a valuable advantage over communication systems of the prior art. The division aspects of the present invention allow several service providers to share the expense of providing and maintaining the basic components of a communications network while allowing the various service providers to provide differentiated services to their customers through the shared network. The embodiments described herein were described with illustrative sets of communications network resources, such as voice mail nodes and subscriber profile databases. However, the principles of the present invention can be applied to any set of communication resources and any number of service providers. The division aspects of the present invention allow for the very flexible provision of service among any number of service providers. In addition, the principles of the present invention can also be applied to a communications network where some of the network resources are shared among some of the service providers while others are not. For example, service providers can all share the voice mail system nodes of the network, but they can maintain separate HLRs. In addition, the invention was described above with service providers that supply and maintain certain physically separate network nodes. For example, the embodiment of Figure 2 shows service provider A maintaining VMS A 204 and HLR A 206 that are physically divided from HLR B 208 and VMS B 210 maintained by service provider B. In alternate modes, certain nodes can be logically divided between service providers. For example, there may be a physical subscriber database node, but the storage facilities within that node may be logically divided among the service providers. In addition, the present invention was described with the illustrative functions of mobile station registration and entry calls to mobile stations and residences. Of course, all types of communication services can be provided using the principles of the present invention. For example, subscriber origin may also be provided to call originators using the aspects of the present invention. These other services are well known and can be provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention by those skilled in the art. The above detailed description will be understood in every illustrative and exemplary but not restrictive aspect and the scope of the invention described herein will not be determined from the Detailed Description, but rather from the claims as interpreted in accordance with the broad extension allowed by patent laws. It will be understood that the embodiments shown and described herein are only illustrative of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (24)

1. CLAIMS 1. A method for providing divided telecommunications services within a geographical area, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: receiving in a wireless telecommunications switch, a service request from a wireless terminal; identify one of a plurality of service providers associated with the wireless terminal; and providing telecommunications services to the wireless terminal using network resources associated with the identified service provider. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the wireless terminal has the wireless telecommunications switch assigned as its home switch. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the service request includes an identification of the wireless terminal. 4. The method of compliance with the claim 1, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a fixed station. 5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a mobile station. 6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the network resources are physically divided among service providers. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the network resources are divided logically between service providers. 8. A method for operating a wireless telecommunications switch for division service within a geographical area served by the wireless telecommunications switch, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: receiving in the wireless telecommunications switch a service request from a wireless terminal, the wireless terminal has the wireless telecommunications switch assigned as its domestic switch; identify from a plurality of databases, a database associated with the service provider of the wireless terminal; receive profile information from the identified database; and provide telecommunications services to the wireless terminal, based on the profile information received. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that each of the plurality of databases is associated with a different telecommunications service provider. 10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the plurality of databases are physically divided. 11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the plurality of databases are logically divided. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the service request includes a wireless terminal identification number and wherein the step of identifying a database is based on the wireless terminal identification number. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a fixed station. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a mobile station. 15. A telecommunications system for providing divided telecommunications services characterized in that it comprises: a plurality of sets of network resources, each set being associated with one of a plurality of service providers; a shared telecommunications switch associated with each of the service providers and capable of communicating with at least a portion of the network resources; and means for providing telecommunications services to wireless terminals through the shared telecommunications switch, using the set of network resources associated with the service provider associated with the wireless terminal. The system according to claim 15, characterized in that the shared telecommunications switch further comprises a table that stores a plurality of wireless terminal identifiers and associated service provider identifications. 17. The system according to claim 15, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a fixed station. 18. The system according to claim 15, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a mobile station. The system according to claim 15, characterized in that at least a portion of the network resources are shared among at least some of the service providers. The system according to claim 15, characterized in that the network resources are physically divided among service providers. 21. The system according to claim 15, characterized in that the network resources are divided logically between service providers. 22. A telecommunications switch for providing divided services within a geographic area served by the wireless telecommunications switch, characterized in that it comprises: means for receiving a service request from a wireless terminal in the wireless telecommunications switch, the wireless terminal has the wireless telecommunications switch assigned as your home switch; means for identifying from a plurality of databases, a database associated with the service provider of the wireless terminal; means for receiving profile information from the identified database; and means for providing telecommunications services to the wireless terminal based on the received profile information. 23. The telecommunications switch according to claim 22, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a fixed station. 24. The telecommunications switch according to claim 22, characterized in that the wireless terminal is a mobile station.