EP1692890A1

EP1692890A1 - Telecommunications services apparatus and methods

Info

Publication number: EP1692890A1
Application number: EP04798431A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jeffrey Wilson
Original assignee: Intellprop Ltd
Current assignee: Intellprop Ltd
Priority date: 2003-11-12
Filing date: 2004-11-08
Publication date: 2006-08-23
Also published as: GB0326368D0; WO2005048617A1

Abstract

In a telecommunications system, an SMS router (16) responds to routing requests from an SMSC (13) in another network such that text messages are caused to be delivered to the SMS router (16) in the home network. The SMS router (16) attempts delivery of the text message to the intended recipient's mobile terminal (20) and, in the event of delivery failure, stores the text message in a mobile terminated SMS store (22). The stored text message can then be subjected to a re-try schedule for further attempts to deliver the text message, and to provide recipient control of message delivery, for example by USSD, email, SMS or voice call.

Description

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES APPARATUS AND METHODS

This invention concerns the field of telecommunications and in particular relates to telecommunications services apparatus and methods, having application in the areas of messaging, connectivity and text processing.

Messaging on mobile networks, and in particular text messaging, has grown significantly since its introduction. It is foreseen that in the future, advanced services will continue to fuel this growth as users find that the mobile terminal becomes increasingly useful for a variety of aspects of lifestyle, communication and information retrieval.

Both voice and text messaging are commonly used by subscribers of mobile telephone networks. Interconnection between many networks has permitted message transmission between subscribers of different networks, and in some cases also between networks of differing technologies, such as GSM and CDMA. Voice messaging commonly uses a mailbox system, whereby a subscriber is allocated a personal mailbox into which other subscribers may record voice messages for later collection by the mailbox owner. Support for the composition, transmission and reception of text messages is present in the majority of GSM mobile terminals.

Text messaging requires alphanumeric entry using the standardised Man Machine Interface (MMI) of the mobile handset, and also requires that the message be addressed to the desired recipient. The destination address for the message may typically be specified either by entering a Mobile Station ISDN number (MSISDN) that is the mobile telephone number of the desired recipient, or by selecting an entry from the handset's address book that already has the desired MSISDN preprogrammed in. The address book normally provides the MSISDN by using alphanumeric look-up of a name.

Currently, the predominant usage of messaging services on mobile networks is for person-to-person text messaging, which in the case of GSM networks is supported by the Short Message Service (SMS). SMS defines signalling messages within the Mobile Application Protocol (MAP) for transferring the Short Message in Mobile Originated (MO) mode between the Mobile Handset and the Short Message Service Centre (SMSC), and in Mobile Terminated (MT) mode between the Short Message Service Centre and the Mobile Handset. Comparable messaging technologies exist for other mobile network architectures, and next generation messaging systems for GSM (Enhanced Messaging Services EMS, and Multimedia Messaging Services MMS) are being introduced; collectively these are referred to as text messaging services.

GSM networks are specified in the relevant standards, and these define that the GSM short messaging services (SMS) are implemented by a store and forward device known as a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC.) This technique is analogous to recorded voicemail, and was most beneficial in the early days of GSM, when handsets were less portable than they are today, battery life was poor and radio coverage was limited. At that time only a small proportion of text messages were deliverable at the first attempt, and so a store and forward device was appropriate. Today the converse is true, and many networks report that 80% or more of messages are deliverable on the first attempt.

Other uses of text messaging services include person to Host, and Host to person, where a Host is a network equipment or third party equipment designed to source and/or sink text messages. Hosts typically provide message collection facilities for voting events, competitions or information services and/or message source facilities for subscription services or advertising. It is common at the moment for text messages to be delivered to terminating hosts over IP networks using SMSC based protocols, although some companies such as Telsis (RTM) offer email delivery to hosts over the public Internet. Text message interaction with Host applications, for example for voting, purchases, or entertainment is increasingly common, and interaction with Host applications is beginning to grow in the same way as it has previously on fixed networks in response to the development of premium rate services. There are known systems allowing a mobile subscriber to send a text message from a mobile handset and have the message delivered as an email to a specified email address. However the syntax for specifying the email address on the mobile handset is cumbersome and slow, and hence the facility when offered by a network is relatively little used. A further disadvantage of this arrangement is that the user must know in advance the desired destination email address. Although the domain name of many companies can be guessed, the complete email address of a company department that is able to handle messages or queries sent by email is generally not guessable.

An additional complexity of such SMS to email services is that the reply path requires a correlation mechanism. When a message is originated from an email address and delivered to a mobile telephone, it is desirable that the mobile user should be able to reply to the sender using the SMS Reply function of the handset's MMI. To do this the CLI field of the original message delivered to the handset must contain a valid reply address. Since this can be either an MSISDN number or an 11 character alphanumeric string, it is not generally possible to directly store an email address there. Consequently the network must maintain a correlation mechanism. A special CLI value is generated and sent to the mobile handset with the message. The network stores the CLI value and the corresponding sender's email address. When the user replies, the special CLI is used as the destination address. This address causes the text message to be directed to the network's SMS to email gateway, where the corresponding destination email address is looked up and substituted.

Although provided for by the GSM standards, there is no divert (forwarding) facility available for text messages in current networks. Furthermore, there is no translation available to a different medium, such as text to speech or email, that can be specified by the recipient.

The current extensive use of text messaging for communication gives rise to a need for associated services that allow text message communication to provide some additional features that are taken for granted with other forms of communication. For example voice communication can support call recording and written communication allows photocopying, while text messaging has very little support for any form of copying or archiving, and none that is easy to use.

A major limitation of traditional SMS architectures involving only store and forward delivery of SMS, as originally envisaged in the GSM specifications, is that the message store element is in the sender's network not the receiver's. There are thousands of SMSCs in the many networks world wide, and while a handset is unavailable, there may be a message waiting in any one of them. Therefore this architecture is inappropriate for doing anything intelligent with a waiting message other than continuing to wait. Furthermore in traditional SMS architectures, when a recipient is roaming, a message sent to him from any network other than his home network does not even pass through his home network.

It can be seen that networks using a traditional SMS architecture do not have access to messages waiting in the SMSCs of other networks. It is therefore not possible for this architecture to support useful and novel services such as SMS divert, SMS copy, SMS archive or to deliver SMSs via an alternative medium such as email.

If one imagines a situation commonly experienced by people who travel widely, it can be seen that while travelling in a territory that does not have GSM coverage, any text messages addressed to the traveller will remain stored in the SMSCs of the sending networks. After their validity period has expired, these messages will be deleted and in some networks the maximum validity period is as short as three days. During the validity period, these messages are not accessible by any person other than the holder of the SIM card and regardless of the importance of a message, neither the network operator or the traveller's colleagues are able to assist in delivery of his messages. This situation severely restricts the applicability of SMS to important business communication. The fundamental problem with the current architecture is that the storage mechanism for SMS is distributed around the senders' networks. PCT published application WO 03/049461 discloses that message delivery attempts may be forced to pass through the home network. It is only by forcing message transmission through the home network that control over mobile terminated messaging can be achieved.

SMSCs provide a storage function but this storage is only provided for mobile originated messaging. This storage does not solve the problem of delivery to the recipient who is out of GSM coverage because the storage is both in the sender's network and of a time limited nature.

SMS is a long-term technology for communication between people and hence needs to provide choices so that subscribers are able to control the manner and timing of message delivery. If one considers the voicemail model, it can be seen that voicemail does not suffer from the same problems as the traditional SMS architecture. In a typical voicemail system, a collection of voice mailboxes is organised in the subscriber's home network and messages from any subscriber on any network can be stored in the subscriber's voice mailbox. This allows the voice mailbox supplier to provide advanced features for the mailbox system giving the subscriber a wide range of controls over his messaging. This is achievable simply because the messages are stored in the recipient's network. It can therefore be seen that the traditional SMS architecture with distributed storage in a large number of sending networks is inappropriate for providing the required degree of control for SMS messaging.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a telecommunications services apparatus for a home telephone network, the apparatus comprising means for responding to a text message routing request from another network to cause an associated text message to be delivered to a message processing means in the network, the message processing means being operable to attempt delivery of the text message, and a text message store for storing the text message in the event of delivery failure by the message processing means, the message processing means being operable to subsequently process the stored text message.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a telecommunications services method for a home telephone network, the method comprising responding to a text message routing request from another network to cause an associated text message to be delivered to a message processing means in the network, attempting delivery of the text message from the message processing means, and, in the event of delivery failure, storing the text message in a message store in the home network for subsequent processing by the message processing means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the event of delivery failure, the message is stored in a mobile terminated message store in the home network, and a re-try schedule is implemented for further attempts to deliver the message and to provide recipient control of message delivery, for example by unstructured supplementary services data (USSD), email, SMS or voice call or other means allowing the recipient to control the timing, routing or medium of message delivery. The mobile terminated message store in the home network may store text messages and voice messages.

Further aspects of the invention provide a computer program for carrying out the above method, and a storage medium on which such computer program is stored.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying single figure drawing (Figure 1) which shows a block diagram of a telecommunications services apparatus.

Referring to Figure 1, a mobile telecommunications system is shown as spanning a Home Network and another network, designated Any Network. An SMSC 13 is located in Any Network. The Home Network includes an SMS router 16 connected to an SMS store 22, an email gateway 24, an SMS service control point (SCP) 26, and a home location register (HLR) 28. A recipient subscriber 20 is shown as being connected to the telecommunications system via a visitor mobile switching centre (VMSC) 18.

The SMS router 16 may be, for example, a Telsis (RTM) SMS Router, manufactured by Telsis Limited. This equipment is connectable to mobile telephone networks using known signalling protocols such as SS7 and TCP/TP .

The SMS store 22 may be referred to as an MT store since it stores text messages in MT form.

In Figure 1, messages to be delivered to subscribers are generally stored in the SMSC 13 in Any Network. The SMSC 13 queries the HLR 28 in the recipient subscriber's network (Home Network) to determine a routing address. The HLR 28 returns a routing address for the SMS router 16 in the Home Network to the SMSC 13, causing the SMSC 13 to deliver the message to the SMS router 16. The recipient subscriber 20 is connected to the telecommunications system via the VMSC 18 which may be in any network. The SMS router 16 can determine a subscriber's location from the HLR 28. The subscriber 20 can configure delivery settings which may be stored in the SMS SCP 26. Under the control of the SMS SCP 26, the SMS router 16 can then deliver the message either directly to the subscriber via the VMSC 18 or alternatively as an email through the email gateway 24 or to the SMS store 22 for later re-try.

It can be seen that in the traditional SMS architecture, the recipient does not have the same degree of control over text message delivery as he typically does over voice mail systems. The present technique solves this problem by providing a message store in the recipient's network. This model has significant differences from the traditional SMSC model and confers the benefits of the traditional voicemail architecture into the SMS domain. The combination of known direct delivery techniques (PCT- WO 02/085052) with a mobile terminated message store provides the optimum user experience for SMS delivery. Messages are always directed via the recipient's home network so that the user's requested options for message handling can be enforced. The apparatus in the home network can then ensure that messages that can be delivered immediately to the recipient are direct delivered to his handset whilst messages that cannot be delivered are stored in his home network. By providing control interfaces that allow the recipient to customise his message delivery mechanisms, a recipient can for example, divert messages to an alternative handset, to cause them to be delivered or copied to an email address or to simply be re-tried for a period. This is in contrast to traditional SMS architecture where a hundred undelivered messages may be stored in a hundred SMSCs in different networks, while with the present technique a traveller who has arrived in an area where GSM coverage was expected but in fact is unavailable, can send a message to his home network by SMS, USSD, voice or another method and arrange for his messages to be delivered from his store to an alternative medium such as email, fax, voice. Not only future messages but also those already stored will then be available to the traveller.

In an embodiment of the invention, the apparatus comprises one or more SMS routers 16 and SMS SCP 26, and one or more SMS stores 22. Other configurations are possible fulfilling the essential attributes of controlled SMS routing and storage.

An advantage of the present system is that it may be installed in a single network and yet provide benefit for all the subscribers of that network regardless of the fact that messages for the network's subscribers may be stored in a large number of SMSCs in other networks. The known technique commonly referred to as "SRI- aliasing" allows the HLR response to routing queries to direct mobile terminated messages to be delivered to the Home Network, preferably to the SMS router 16. This gives the Home Network full control over mobile terminated message routing. The HLR function may be within the apparatus or may be the standard HLR function for the mobile network. In either case, the HLR also stores the actual location of the recipient subscriber's mobile terminal. The SMS router 16 is able to query the HLR 28 to determine the subscriber location and then to attempt direct delivery of the message from the SMS router 16 in the Home Network to the recipient subscriber 20. In the event of delivery failure, the message may be stored in the SMS store 22 in the Home Network. This provides the key advantage over traditional SMSC-based architectures where the stored messages for a recipient may be scattered around a large number of networks.

The SMS store 22 in the present technique acts in a similar manner to the store in a voice mail system, storing and delivering messages to subscribers and providing them with a degree of control over the management of these messages.

It is envisaged that the recipient would be provided with an interface for management of his message delivery. For example, by sending a USSD command to his HLR 28, he could be able to switch on advanced message management features such as delivery of the message by email to a specified address. This would be useful for the business traveller who is outside GSM coverage for a period. Alternatively, configuration could be carried out via a voice service or SMS message or another method. The same architecture as the present system is also appropriate for SMS or email diversion since the home network now has control over message delivery. The subscriber may, for example, be permitted to configure an alternative mobile number to divert or copy messages; this might be configured for all messages or only certain messages based on CLI or time of day. This for example would be useful to allow a parent to copy all messages from a child to both parents.

In a further embodiment, the SMS store 22 may also act as a voice store therefore providing a common mailbox for text and voice messages. It will become increasingly important to handle text messages and voice messages in a common fashion since there is a growing convergence between text and voice messaging technologies and both long and short number services may be by both text and voice to the same number. It seems likely that there will be an increasing trend to text and to call the same number.

The present invention may be implemented using either a centralised or a distributed system. The SCP 26 may optionally be used for controlling message delivery and storing subscriber profile information. The use of a centralised SCP also permits the SMS router(s) 26 and SMS store(s) 22 to be easily distributed across a number of platforms. This can provide geographic and functional resilience.

In so far as the embodiment(s) of the invention described above may be implemented, at least in part, using software controlled processing apparatus, it will be appreciated that a computer program providing such software control and a storage medium by which such a computer program is stored are envisaged as aspects of the invention.

Claims

1. Telecommunications services apparatus for a home telephone network, the apparatus comprising means for responding to a text message routing request frorα another network to cause an associated text message to be delivered to a message processing means in the network, the message processing means being operable to attempt delivery of the text message, and a text message store for storing the text message in the event of delivery failure by the message processing means, the message processing means being operable to subsequently process the stored text message.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the subsequent processing by the message processing means comprises implementing a re-try schedule for further attempts to deliver the stored text message.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the message processing means is operable to attempt message delivery by text message, email, telefax and/or voice.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the message processing means provides recipient control of subsequent message processing.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recipient control is via USSD, email, SMS and/or voice.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the recipient control allows the recipient to control the timing, routing and or medium of message delivery.

7. Apparatus according to claim 4, claim 5 or claim 6, comprising a service control point for storing delivery settings entered under recipient control.

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the message processing means comprises an SMS router.

9. A telecommunications services method for a home telephone network, the method comprising responding to a text message routing request from another network to cause an associated text message to be delivered to a message processing means in the network, attempting delivery of the text message from the message processing means, and, in the event of delivery failure, storing the text message in a message store in the home network for subsequent processing by the message processing means.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the subsequent processing by the message processing means comprises implementing a re-try schedule for further attempts to deliver the stored text message.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein message delivery is attempted ^"by the message processing means by text message, email, telefax and/or voice.

12. A method according to claim 9, claim 10 or claim 11, wherein recipient control of subsequent message processing is provided by the message processing means.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the recipient control is via USSD, email, SMS and/or voice.

14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the recipient control allows the recipient to control the timing, routing and/or medium of message delivery.

15. A method according to claim 12, claim 13 or claim 14, wherein delivery settings entered under recipient control are stored in a service control point.

16. A method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein message processing is effected by an SMS router.

17. A computer program for implementing a method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

18. A storage medium storing a computer program according to claim 17.