Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/26—Devices for calling a subscriber
  • H04M1/27—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously
  • H04M1/274—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time, e.g. using toothed disc
  • H04M1/2745—Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time, e.g. using toothed disc using static electronic memories, e.g. chips
  • H04M1/27485—Appending a prefix to or inserting a pause into a dialling sequence
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/72—Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
  • H04M1/724—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M7/00—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
  • H04M7/12—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
  • H04M7/1205—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks
  • H04M7/1245—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks where a network other than PSTN/ISDN interconnects two PSTN/ISDN networks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/253—Telephone sets using digital voice transmission
  • H04M1/2535—Telephone sets using digital voice transmission adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2207/00—Type of exchange or network, i.e. telephonic medium, in which the telephonic communication takes place
  • H04M2207/18—Type of exchange or network, i.e. telephonic medium, in which the telephonic communication takes place wireless networks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2207/00—Type of exchange or network, i.e. telephonic medium, in which the telephonic communication takes place
  • H04M2207/20—Type of exchange or network, i.e. telephonic medium, in which the telephonic communication takes place hybrid systems
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M7/00—Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
  • H04M7/006—Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W8/00—Network data management
  • H04W8/02—Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
  • H04W8/08—Mobility data transfer
  • H04W8/12—Mobility data transfer between location registers or mobility servers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method and a device for optimal call management between national cellular mobile networks.
• Roaming refers to the ability of users to access their mobile services from a cellular network in a foreign country) that allow all users to remain reachable anywhere in the world.
• Roaming services require, in particular, agreements between the operators concerned, so that a cellular subscriber traveling in a visited country can benefit from the same mobile services provided by the operator of his home country.
• the cost of the call is then the sum of the following three elements:
• the cost of establishing the international outgoing call on the network Y of the country visited B it is defined by the operator of the network visited Y according to the roaming agreements between the latter and the network operator X of country A.
• the cost of terminating the call on the network X of country A it is defined by the operator of network X.
• the cost of the interconnection ie the transport of the signaling and call data between the network Y of the visited country B and the network X of the country A, it is defined by the operator interconnection.
• the roaming subscriber in the country B on the network Y receives a call, this call is issued by a correspondent of his country A, he then pays a tariff consisting of both elements following:
• SIM cards Subscriber Identity Module
• prepaid and rechargeable With a local SIM card of the country visited, a traveler can make international calls at a price more interesting than roaming and receive calls for free, regardless of their origin.
• the invention therefore more particularly aims to solve these problems by proposing the deployment of an intelligent roaming service over the various national cellular networks.
• This service offers several advantages to users:
• the user is located where he is; in all countries where this service is deployed, it can be reached via its home mobile telecommunication device number;
• the user optimizes the costs of his communications regardless of his location, regardless of the type of SIM used, local SIM of the country visited or domestic SIM of the country of residence. This cost reduction factor represents in some cases a saving of more than 60% compared to the conventional roaming tariff.
• the implementation of the invention results in the establishment of a global communications network between mobile telecommunication devices such as mobile phones.
• This network consists of a set of national cellular networks connected to an interconnection network by gateway servers which are controlled by a central routing server associated with a database that manages the access rights to the interconnection network.
• users the user who may be a subscriber to host on its mobile telecommunication device (or on its mobile telecommunication devices) an application module that allows a dialogue between its mobile telecommunication device and the central routing server device - base user data.
• the present invention therefore relates to a method of providing interconnection services characterized by the implementation of the following steps:
• an application module hosting the user's mobile telecommunication device, an application module, the user retaining his subscription on the domestic cellular network as well as his domestic SIM card;
• the multi-identifier SIM aims to eliminate the disadvantage of owning and managing as many local SIM cards as countries frequently visited;
• the chaining of the identifier number used in a visited country to the home number of the user is also carried out in the routing server.
• the mobile telecommunication device verifies the identifier of the SIM used and automatically proceeds to a registration at a local interconnection gateway.
• the registration procedure triggers localization functionalities, these functionalities being managed by said interconnection gateway, located in the visited country.
• the mobile telecommunications device on arrival in a country, initiates the same registration procedure with the local interconnection gateway and triggers the same location features.
• any call sent by the subscriber is then a local call between his mobile telecommunication device and an interconnection gateway in the country visited, the call then being routed to a subscriber. gateway terminating on a mobile network of the country of the called party.
• a multi-identifier SIM if the identifier is that of a network of the visited country, any call is also a local call, if the identifier is a neighboring country of the visited country, the Call will not be a local call but a regional or continental call with a rate close to the local rate.
• any call received by the subscriber is managed by an interconnection router, this router determining the most appropriate call termination procedure according to the cost of call termination on the mobile network of the country visited.
• the present invention is designed to allow the operator of an interconnection network to control harvesting, interconnection and call termination charges between a first national cellular mobile network (outbound call). and a second national cellular mobile network (received call), both connected to the interconnection network.
• the present invention also allows a user of a national cellular network to reduce its communication costs for any call sent to or received from a mobile phone on a cellular network abroad, while roaming.
• the present invention has the specificity of ensuring the transversality between several cellular telephony technologies (such as "GSM”("Global System for Mobile Communication”) or “CDMA”("Code Multiple Access Division”)).
• GSM Global System for Mobile Communication
• CDMA Code Multiple Access Division
• the present invention also has the advantage of using existing protocols, methods, and features without resorting to changes in existing national cellular network infrastructures.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the architecture of a specific network, making it possible to implement the method according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a schematic representation making it possible to visualize the main elements constituting the database of the device making it possible to implement the method according to the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a multi-identifier SIM card included in the device making it possible to implement the method according to the invention.
• Figure 4 is a schematic representation of an operation of the application module.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the steps of a method of linking between the start-up procedures of a mobile communication means and a procedure for establishing the "Presence" state of the invention.
• FIG. 6 is a schematic representation, in the form of a flowchart of an example of treatment of the "Presence” event according to the invention
• Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a sequence of steps that explain the operation of a "direct" call termination procedure.
• Figure 8 is a schematic representation of a sequence of steps that explain the operation of such a call procedure with "CaIl Back SMS" termination.
• Figure 9 is a schematic representation, in the form of a flowchart of an example of call management policies.
• Figure 10 is a schematic representation of a principle architecture of a cellular system that supports CAMEL by highlighting the possibility of incorporating the system according to the invention.
• FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of the adaptation to the CAMEL platform of the steps of a linking method between the start-up procedures of a mobile communication means and a procedure for establishing the state of "Presence According to the invention.
• Figure 12 is a schematic representation of the procedure for adapting the SMS call-back procedure to the CAMEL platform, using a USSD call-back procedure.
• GSM / GPRS system Global System for Mobile communications
• IP Internet Protocol
• SIP Session Initiation Protocol
• the device making it possible to implement the method according to the invention comprises a cellular telephone network 601 which is connected to a mobile telecommunications device 101 constituted in this case by a mobile phone.
• Any communication constituted for example by voice, short messages (SMS, "Short Message Service”), multimedia messages (MMS, "Multimedia Message Service”) between the telephone 101 and the network 601 complies with the standard defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
• Phone 101 and Network 601 support all the features and protocols required by 3GPP.
• the device for implementing the method according to the invention also comprises a cellular telephone network 602 which is connected to a mobile telecommunications device 102, such as a mobile phone; the phone 102 and the network 602 support all the features and protocols required by the 3GPP.
• the networks 601 and 602 are independent.
• the information relating to the user of the telephone 101 is saved in a memory area called 'Home Location Register' (HLR - 611).
• HLR - 611 a memory area called 'Home Location Register'
• the information relating to him is saved in the HLR 612.
• HLR Home Location Register
• the user of the telephone is on his home network 601, he is always located on the network, he can make a call after the verification of his identity and validation of his rights by the HLR 611, in the same way when he receives a call.
• the user can continue to use his phone 101 with his home SIM and register as a visitor on the network 602, information about it are recorded then temporarily in the network 602 to allow the operator of the network 602 to send information about his outgoing calls and received calls to his home operator 601 for roaming billing.
• the user of the telephone 101 may also use a local SIM 602 of the network, replacing his home SIM in his phone 101 or use the telephone 102.
• the local SIM 602 network the information on Concerning the 601 network are not known to the HLR 612, so it can not be reached via its home mobile network number 601.
• the device making it possible to implement the method according to the invention, as represented in FIG. 1, also comprises an application module 111 and 112 which is hosted in the mobile telecommunication devices 101 and 102 respectively, these application modules 111 and 112. being integrated in a storage means of these mobile telecommunication devices 101, 102.
• the device making it possible to implement the method according to the invention, as represented in FIG. 1, also comprises "voice gateway” devices 201, 202 which guarantee a logical and physical connection between, respectively, each of the networks 601 and 602. and a device “interconnection router” 500 through the Internet (public) network 400.
• the devices 201 and 202 provide the features of type “Softswitch” known in the state of the art: namely, a signaling translation between the SIP format and the "ISDN User Part” (ISUP) telephone format, as well as the translation of the voice transport protocols between the switched cellular networks. circuit and the packet-switched Internet network.
• Softswitch known in the state of the art: namely, a signaling translation between the SIP format and the "ISDN User Part” (ISUP) telephone format, as well as the translation of the voice transport protocols between the switched cellular networks. circuit and the packet-switched Internet network.
• the device making it possible to implement the method according to the invention, as represented in FIG. 1, also comprises "SMS gateway” devices 301, 302 which guarantee a logical and physical connection between - respectively - each of the networks 601 and 602. and the "interconnect router" device 500 across the (public) Internet network 400.
• the devices 301 and 302 provide signaling translation between the "Short Message Relay Protocol” (SM-RP) format and the "Hypertext Transfer Protocol" (http) format between circuit switched cellular networks and the packet switched internet network.
• SM-RP Short Message Relay Protocol
• http Hypertext Transfer Protocol
• the interconnection router device 500 provides a logical and physical connection between multiple voice gateways, such as gateways 201 and 202, to provide routing of signaling data and voice data between two mobile networks, such as networks. 601 and 602, using the Internet network 400.
• the same interconnection router device 500 provides a logical and physical connection between multiple SMS gateways, such as gateways 301 and 302, to provide routing of SMS data between two networks.
• Mobile such as networks 601 and 602 using the Internet network 400.
• the interconnection router 500 (and its associated database 501) will be able to manage the communication between the users of the telephones 101 and 102 depending on their location and the costs of harvesting, interconnecting and terminating calls between the 601 and 602 networks.
• this telephone 101 comprises a local, continental or multi-identifier SIM card provided by the operator of the global roaming service, this SIM card
• the second subscriber uses the mobile phone 102, this phone
• SIM card provided by the operator of the global roaming service, this SIM card (and its identifiers) being registered in the HLR 612 of the mobile network 602.
• the database 501 which is controlled by the roaming global service provider, has the following main elements:
• the user element 511 which includes all the identifiers of a French subscriber to the global roaming service: the name, the "Mobile Station International ISDN Number” (MSISDN) telephone number assigned by its home cellular operator, the telephone identifier "Passerelle-Voix-France” of the device which connects to the French mobile network for any voice communication, the "Gateway-SMS" telephone identifier of the device that connects to the same French mobile network for all SMS communication.
• MSISDN Mobile Station International ISDN Number
• the contact element 521 which contains all the identifiers of each of
• N contacts forming part of the address book of the user 511: name, current geographical location (domestic country or visited country), the telephone identifier MSISDN-Current assigned by the home cellular operator of the contact.
• the country element 531 which includes all the operator / network parameters for each visited country in which a French subscriber to the global roaming service can go: the identifier of the local operator, the telephone identifier MSISDN-Local of the SIM card that the subscriber uses in this country, the "Gateway-Voice-Local" telephone identifier of the device 201 or 202 which interconnects with the mobile network 601 or 602 for any voice communication, the telephone identifier "Gateway- SMS "device 301 or 302 which interconnects to the foreign mobile network 601 or 602 for any SMS communication, the cost of a local call transmitted / received to / from the device" Gateway-Voice-Local ", the cost of an SMS sent to the device "Gateway-SMS”.
• State element 541 which functions as a finite state machine, making it possible to know the operational state of the user at a given instant.
• a multi-identifier SIM card (also called SIM multi-IMSI) 700 comprises a file system defining a specific architecture.
• a card called "UMTS Integrated Circuit Card” (UICC) 700 includes several GSM applications ("Global System for Mobile Communications") and / or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).
• GSM / UMTS application comprises a set of specific data, such as identifiers, encryption and authentication keys, and administrative files, which enables the mobile communication means 101 hosting the UICC 700 card to communicate with the cellular network 601. comprising a corresponding data set.
• this set of specific data comprises:
• a GSM 11 application SIMl APP # 7F20 whose header # 7F20 follows the format defined by the "3rd Generation Partner ship Project" (3 GPP).
• the application 701 includes in particular the international subscriber number (IMSIn number) and the secret authentication key Km.
• the pair IMSI 11 , Km allows the communication between each mobile communication means 101 and the corresponding GSM cellular network 601.
• a UMTS 702 application (SIM2 APP # 7F21).
• the application 702 notably comprises the international subscriber number (IMSI number 12 ) and the secret authentication key K U2 .
• the pair (IMSI 12 , Kj 12 ) enables the communication between each mobile communication means 101 and the corresponding UMTS 601 cellular network.
• a "SIM Application Toolkit” application (SAT-X APP # 7F2X) 704, which allows the multi-IMSI 700 SIM card to have a "proactive" role: the multi-IMSI 700 SIM card can send commands to the mobile communication means 101, independently of the cellular networks 601.
• the JCRE model is capable of choosing each Applet and of allowing the dialogue between the mobile communication means 101 and any Applet (in particular the GSM / UMTS applications) by means of specific protocols, called APDUs ("Application Protocol Data Units"). .
• APDUs Application Protocol Data Units
• FIG. 4 represents the operational operation of the application module 111, which behaves like an automaton which changes state according to commands of input by the user on his mobile means of communication 101 or according to automatic locating means, as will be explained later.
• the operation of the application module 111 comprises the following steps: • putting in the "waiting" state 121 of the application module 111
• This physical and logical interface can be of type "short messages” (such as SMS) or USSD ("Unstructured Supplementary Service Data ”) or data type, such as HTTP (" HyperText Transfer Protocol ").
• This physical / logical interface is generally of data type, such as HTTP ⁇ "HyperText Transfer Protocol" or SIP
• the event "Presence” advantageously allows the database 501 of the interconnection router 500 to know the geographical location of the user; this geographical location is stored in the element 531 of the database 501.
• the database 501 of the interconnection router 500 is thus able to match the logical location of the mobile communication means 101 (this location being characterized by the telephone identifier corresponding to one of the IMSI of the multi-identifier SIM card 700 installed in the mobile communication means 101) with the geographical location of the user (this location following the processing of the event " Presence ").
• the interconnection router 500 After receiving the command "Presence", the interconnection router 500 sends a return message to the application module 111 so that the latter can also make the correspondence between logical location and physical location.
• the "Call" command allows the application module 111 and the interconnection router 500 to establish communication with another mobile communication means 102; the way in which this communication is established depends on the outcome of the procedure for establishing the state of "Presence", the objective being to enable users of mobile services to make calls at the best possible price, to the international and / or roaming.
• the two users of the mobile communication means 101 and 102 can be connected by implementing the following steps:
• FIG. 5 represents an exemplary link procedure between the start procedures of the mobile communication means 101 and the "Presence" procedure.
• the linking method comprises the following numbered steps, as shown in FIG. 5:
• Steps 1 and 2 at startup, the multi-identifier SIM card 700 and the mobile communication means 101 verify the compatibility of the latter with the "SIM Application Toolkit"(SAT); "Step 3: The multi-ID 700 SIM card sends a boot menu with the list of available SIM applications;
• Steps 4 and 5 the user chooses a SIM application (eg SIM "France”, or SIM “Italy”, or other).
• SIM application eg SIM "France”, or SIM "Italy”, or other.
• the multi-identifier SIM card 700 sends the mobile communication means 101 the IMSI identifier corresponding to the chosen SIM application; it is interesting to note that, depending on how the SIM card works, steps 4 and 5 could be automated and transparent to the user.
• Step 6 Registration procedures to the cellular network 601
• GSM Global System for Mobile communications
• Step 7 the user starts the application module 111.
• the application module 111 can be started automatically;
• Step 8 the "Presence" procedure is executed by the application module 111: the parameters describing the physical and logical location are sent to the interconnection router 500 via the "SMS-gateway” 301.
• a signaling SMS is triggered by the application module 111 to the "Gateway-SMS” 301, this SMS containing the logical and physical location parameters of the mobile communication means 101 and the user, respectively.
• the "SMS Gateway” 301 can relay the location information to the interconnection router 500.
• Steps 9. and 10 the interconnection router 500 stores the location information and returns a return message to the" SMS Gateway "301; in turn, the "SMS Gateway” 301 can relay the location information to the application module 111 by means of an SMS.
• Step 11 the same location information is recorded by the application module 111 of the mobile communication means 101.
• FIG. 6 shows an example of policies for processing the "Presence” event, according to a possible implementation variant. Art experts will recognize that other policies can be put in place without violating the spirit of the invention. According to the diagram of FIG. 6, these "Presence” event management policies are executed by the application software 111 (which is initially in the "Pending" state 121) according to the following steps:
• Step A The application module 111 triggers the recognition of the "Mobile Country Code” (MCC).
• MCC is a three-digit code, standardized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Recommendation E.212, to identify countries in mobile networks, especially GSM and UMTS technologies. It is possible to recognize the MCC from the radio link between the mobile communication means 101 and the cellular network 601 to which it is attached.
• ITU International Telecommunication Union
• Step B The value of the MCC is compared with the value stored in a memory area controlled by the application software 111. If the two values differ, this means that the subscriber of the global roaming service has changed country: The "Presence” event is then triggered and the PLC of the application module 111 changes to the "PRESENCE” state 122 in order to declare the new geographic location of the user to the interconnection router 500.
• Step C If the two values of MCC are identical, the "International Mobile Subscriber Identifier" is then analyzed from the SIM card inserted in the communication means 101.
• Step D The value of the IMSI is compared with the value stored in a memory area controlled by the application software 111. If the two values differ, this means that the subscriber of the global roaming service has changed network.
• GSM UMTS
• the "Presence” event is then triggered and the PLC of the application module 111 changes to the "PRESENCE” state 122 in order to declare the new logical location of the mobile communication means 101 to the interconnection router 500 .
• CALL PROCEDURE - "DIRECT" CALL TERMINATION Example context: A French user of the global roaming service calls a second user (French) of the roaming global service in the United States.
• the outgoing call procedure is managed by an application module 111 of the mobile telephone 101.
• the incoming call procedure to the mobile telephone 102 is managed by the interconnection router device 500.
• Figure 7 shows a sequence of numbered steps. which explain the operation of such a "direct" call termination procedure.
• Step 1 Following a call trigger command from the calling user, the PLC of the application module 111 goes into the state 'Call' 123 to check the call management policies to be applied . These policies will be explained in detail later.
• the application module 111 triggers a call setup procedure to the device "Gateway-Voice-Local” 201 (France).
• the call signaling between the switches of the local cellular network 601 and the "Gateway-Voice-Local” device 201 conforms to the "ISDN User Part” (ISUP) standard, well known to those skilled in the art.
• ISUP ISDN User Part
• the call establishment procedure triggered by the application module 111 is in accordance with the "URLs for Telephone Calls" standard defined in the "RFC2806" document of the "Internet Engineering Task Force".
• Step 3 Following the call establishment (Step 2), the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 201 triggers a call setup procedure to the interconnection router device 500.
• a procedure is in accordance with the standard "Session Initiation Protocol" (SIP).
• SIP Session Initiation Protocol
• the header of the SIP procedure will contain a "From" field of type: MSISDN- Current @ Gateway-Voice-Local. It will therefore be possible for the interconnection router device 500 to know the caller's telephone identifier and the corresponding "Gateway-Voice-Locale".
• Step 4 At the end of steps 2 and 3, a "voice" communication channel is established between the mobile telephone 101 and the interconnection router 500, by means of the "Gateway-Voice-Local” 201.
• the call triggering procedure performed by the application module 111, as soon as the establishment of such a communication channel, the DTMF tones ("Dual Tone Multifrequency") that correspond to the telephone identifier "MSISDN-France" of the The call is sent from the mobile telephone 101 to the interconnection router device 500, through the intermediary of the "Voice-Local Gateway” 201.
• Step 5 The interconnection router device 500 queries the contact part 521 of the database 501 in order to obtain the current location (United States) and the telephone identifier "MSISDN-Current" of the called party.
• Step 6 The interconnection router device 500 queries the country portion 531 of the database 501 to obtain the telephone identifier of the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 202 (United States).
• Step 7 The interconnection router device 500 triggers a call setup procedure to the "Gateway-Voice" device. Local "202.
• a procedure is in accordance with the" Session Initiation Protocol "(SIP) standard, for example, the SIP procedure header will contain a" To "field of type: MSISDN-Current @ Gateway- Voice-Local, the MSISDN-Current identifier referring to the called party, it will therefore be possible for the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 202 to know the telephone identifier to be called.
• SIP Session Initiation Protocol
• Step 8 the "Gateway-Voice-Local” device 202 initiates a call setup procedure to a mobile telephone 102 (in the United States).
• the call signaling between the switches of the local cellular network 602 and the "Gateway-Voice-Local” device 202 conforms to the "ISDN User Part” (ISUP) standard, well known to those skilled in the art.
• ISUP ISDN User Part
• a "voice" communication channel is established between the mobile telephone 101 and the interconnection router 500, through the intermediary of the "Voice-Local Gateway” 201.
• a voice communication channel is established between the mobile telephone 102 and the interconnection router 500, by means of the "Gateway-Voice-Local” 202. It is therefore possible for the router device of interconnection 500 to bridge the different sections of communication to match the mobile phone 101 of the caller (in France) and 102 of the called (in the United States).
• CALL PROCEDURE - TELEPHONE CONFERENCE Example context A French user of the global roaming service in England calls another user (French) of the global roaming service on the road in the United States.
• the outgoing call procedure is managed by the application module 111 of the mobile telephone 101.
• the interconnection router device 500 receives the call request by SMS and triggers a call to the mobile telephone 101, a second call to a mobile telephone 102 , and puts them in conference call.
• Figure 8 shows a sequence of numbered steps that explain the operation of such a call procedure - conference call
• the PLC of the application module 111 goes into the state 'Call' 123 to check the call management policies to apply. These policies will be explained in detail later.
• Step 3 The PLC of the application module issues an instruction command in SMS comprising the number of the called party with its international code to the "gateway-SMS" device 301.
• Step 4 The "SMS-gateway" device 301 triggers a call establishment procedure to the interconnection router device 500.
• a procedure complies with the "HyperText Transfer Protocol" standard ( HTTP).
• HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol
• the header of the http GET (or http POST) procedure will contain the caller's MSISDN-Current and the recipient's MSISDN.
• Step 5 The interconnection router device 500 queries the contact part 521 of the database 501 in order to obtain the current location (United States) and the telephone identifier "MSISDN-Current" of the called party.
• Step 6 The interconnection router device 500 queries the country portion 531 of the database 501 to obtain the telephone identifier of the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 202 (United States).
• Step 7 The interconnection router device 500 opens a conference call session. It initiates a callback procedure to the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 201.
• a procedure complies with the standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
• SIP Session Initiation Protocol
• the header of the SIP procedure will contain a "To" field of type: MSISDN- Current @ Gateway-Voice-Local, the MSISDN-Current identifier referring to the calling party. It will therefore be possible for the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 201 to know the telephone identifier to be called.
• the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 201 uses the received MSISDN number in order to locate the GMSC ('Gateway Mobile Switching Center') of the calling mobile network 101. Once the GSMC has been identified, an 'IAM' signal ('Initial Address Message') is relayed to the latter.
• Step 9 The MSC / VLR ('Mobile Switching Center / Visiting Location Register') of the cellular network 601 which currently controls the cellular telephone 101 of the recipient caller verifies that the called number is in its routing tables and proceeds to A reminder to the appellant 101.
• step 9 consists of several substeps, particularly in the case of the English (roaming) caller in England.
• the MSC / VLR belongs to an English 'visited' local cellular network, while the GMSC from step 8 belongs to the caller's home network. All substeps describing the interactions between the 'visited' network and the home network are not described because well known to those skilled in the art.
• Step 10 Following step 9, a communication channel is established between the interconnection router device 500 and the mobile telephone 101. A waiting message can be sent to the caller
• Step 15 The GMSC of the cellular network 602 sends back to the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 202 (United States) an 'ACM' ('Address Complete Message') message in order to inform the device 202 that a circuit has well booked.
• 'ACM' 'Address Complete Message'
• the device "Gateway-Voice-Local" 202 refers to the interconnection router 500 a SIP message type 'Ringing'. This message is relayed by all the network elements concerned so that the caller can hear the 'free' tone from the recipient's mobile phone 102.
• Step 21 Following the unhooking of the mobile telephone 102, the GMSC of the cellular network 602 sends back to the "Gateway-Voice-Local" device 202 (United States) an 'ANS' message ('ANswer Message') in order to inform the device. 202 that the recipient has dropped out.
• the device "Gateway-Voice-Local" 202 refers to the interconnection router 500 a SIP message type 'OK'. This message is relayed by all the network elements concerned so that a direct connection can be established between the caller and the called party.
• the calling procedures as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 make it possible to reduce the cost of a call to the mobile network 602 (United States).
• the called party does not pay anything if he is on his home network, but he has to pay a call cost when he is roaming abroad.
• the calling party pays according to the policies of the direct call if he is on his home network, however, he must pay a call cost received (network reminder) while roaming abroad.
• call management policies must be implemented, these policies being under the control of the application module 111.
• Figure 9 shows an example of call management policies, according to a possible implementation variant. Art experts will recognize that other policies can be put in place without violating the spirit of the invention. According to the scheme of Figure 9, these call management policies can result in the implementation of the following steps: - Initial state. Following a call trigger command from the user, the application module 111 goes into the state 'CALL' 123.
• Step A The application module reads the current value of the MCC stored in a specific memory area. This value was obtained beforehand from the radio link between the mobile communication means 101 and the cellular network 601 to which it is attached. This value will be called "MCC Radio" in the following.
• Step B The application module reads a second current value of the MCC stored in a specific memory area. This value was obtained beforehand from one of the IMSI of the Multi-IMSI SIM card inserted in the mobile communication means 101. This value will be called "MCC IMSI" in the following.
• Step C The values "MCC Radio” and "MCCJMSI” are compared. If they are different, the physical location of the user and the 'logical' location (in the direction of the GSM / UMTS network) are different.
• Step D The application module 111 checks whether the value of the "MCC Radio" corresponds to the user's country of origin. It is important to note that in the case of a Multi-IMSI SIM, the user has several 'Country of origin': indeed, in this case, several physical locations of the user can correspond to as many 'localization' logical logic of the mobile communication means 101. If the value of the "MCC Radio" corresponds to one of the user's country of origin, a call procedure of the "direct call” type (FIG. 7) is triggered; if not, a call procedure of the type 'conference call' (figure 8) is triggered. It should be noted that the call management policies described also apply if the recipient of the call request is a fixed number. It should also be noted that the same policies may apply if the called party is not subscribed to the global roaming service and, therefore, his / her mobile phone does not host the application module 112: in this case, the called correspondent will be considered to be in his home country.
• CAMEL is the reference service architecture for mobile operators.
• the standardization work initiated by 1 ⁇ TSI European Telecommunication Standard Institute
• 3GPP has been to adapt to the mobile context the concept of intelligent network developed by the ITU ("International Telecommunications Union").
• ITU International Telecommunications Union
• the deployment of CAMEL by the majority of mobile operators attests to its stability and maturity.
• Figure 10 shows a principle architecture of a cellular system that supports CAMEL and also a possible way to "graft" the system according to the invention.
• the architecture essentially refers to CAMEL's "Phase 1".
• CAMEL's “Phase 2” may be subsequently find that the principles of the description may apply equally to CAMEL's "Phase 2”.
• a subset of the functional blocks of the cellular network 601 is shown in Figure 10.
• the main features of CAMEL are well known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless it is useful to make some reminders, in relation to the representation of Figure 10:
• gsmSCF 800 (SCF stands for Service Control Function) is the entity where the CAMEL services reside. gsmSCF 800 is controlled by the home cellular operator. The node in which gsmSCF resides is called "Service Control Point" (SCP 800). SCP 800 supports the following protocols:
• o CAP (“CAMEL Application Part"), standardized by the 3GPP organization, represented with a continuous line in Figure 10, and which allows interfacing between SCP 800 and gsmSSF 810.
• IP-based protocol for communicating with the Interconnect Router 500 in the country of the home cellular operator.
• This type of protocol is not standardized. It will therefore be based on a proprietary implementation. It is interesting to note that the interconnection router 500 can be controlled by the roaming global service provider, while the home cellular operator controls the SCP 800. Access and interfacing agreements must be established between the two economic actors.
• gsmSSF 810 (SSF stands for "Service Switching Function”) is a functional entity that resides in the “Gateway Mobile Switching Function” GMSC (in the home cellular operator's network) and in the "Visiting Location Register" / "Mobile
• the gsmSSF 810 supports the following protocols:
• FIG 10 which allows interfacing with the HLR 611.
• CAP CAMEL Application Part
• 3GPP the organization 3GPP, shown with a continuous line in Figure 10, and which allows interfacing with the SCP 800 .
• the interconnection router 500 is operatively connected by IP-based protocols (shown with a solid line in Figure 10).
• the voice gateway 201 is operatively linked by ISDN User Part (ISUP) protocols with the GMSC (or VLR / MSC) which hosts the gsmSSF 810.
• ISUP ISDN User Part
• Interconnect router 500 with multiple SCP 800s through IP-based protocols (shown with a dot-square line in Figure 10).
• ISUP ISDN User Part
• FIG. 11 represents, by way of example, the procedure for adapting the "Presence” procedure to the CAMEL platform, this adaptation procedure comprising the following steps:
• Steps 1 to 7. They are identical to the corresponding steps in FIG.
• the application module 111 makes a call according to the USSD syntax: * ABC * Message body, where * ABC * is the USSD service code defined in the CAMEL platform, this code corresponding to the procedure of "Presence” and the Body of the message containing the current telephone identifier of the Multi-IMSI SIM card as well as the description of the user's physical location.
• * ABC * is the USSD service code defined in the CAMEL platform, this code corresponding to the procedure of "Presence" and the Body of the message containing the current telephone identifier of the Multi-IMSI SIM card as well as the description of the user's physical location.
• the request from the USSD service is relayed from the HLR 611 to the gsmSCF 800 included in the SCP 800.
• Step 9 Through an http request, the SCP device 800 triggers a "Presence" request to the interconnection router 500.
• Step 10 The interconnection router 500 and its database 501 record the location information.
• Step 11 Through an http request, the interconnect router 500 returns a response to the SCP device 800.
• Step 12 the SCP device 800 sends back to the application module 111 a response according to the USSD syntax: * AB C * Body of the message, body of the message comprising the telephone identifier of the local SIM card as well as the parameters necessary to the application module 111 of the mobile communication means 101 to enable it to record the physical and logical location information (step 13).
• SMS signaling between the application module 111 and the "SMS-Gateway" device 302 is replaced by messages of the "Unstructured Supplementary Service” type.
• Data "(USSD) these messages being exchanged between the SCP device 800 and the application module 111 by intermediation of the HLR 611.
• FIG. 12 represents, by way of example, the adaptation of the SMS call-back procedure represented in FIG. the CAMEL platform, using a USSD call-back procedure. It should be noted that steps 6 to 24 of Figure 12 correspond exactly to steps 7 to 25 of Figure 8. Therefore, only steps 1 to 5 of Figure 12 will be detailed:
• Step 1 Following a call trigger command from the calling user, the PLC of the application module 111 goes into the state 'Call' 123 to check the call management policies to be applied .
• Step 2 The application module 111 sends a call request according to the USSD syntax: * XYZ * Body of the message, where * XYZ * is the code of the USSD service defined in the CAMEL platform, this code corresponding to a procedure of " USSD call-back "and the Message Body with the called party's number and international dialing code.
• Step 3 The SCP device 800 initiates a call establishment procedure to the interconnection router device 500.
• a procedure complies with the "HyperText Transfer Protocol" (HTTP) standard.
• HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol
• the header of the http GET (or http POST) procedure will contain the caller's MSISDN-Current and the recipient's MSISDN.
• Step 5 The interconnection router device 500 queries the contact part 521 of the database 501 in order to obtain the current location (United States) and the telephone identifier "MSISDN-Current" of the called party.
• Another alternative embodiment consists in replacing the short signaling messages (SMS or USSD) with HyperText Transfer type connections.
• http http GET (or http POST) messages contains the information necessary to perform the "Presence" procedures as well as the conference call procedure.
• the application module
• Any cellular and IP system and infrastructure is compatible with the process, devices, and operational steps described above.
• the embodiment of the invention mainly involves the implementation of hardware and software required for communication between the devices and sub-devices shown in the different Figures.
• the principles of the invention can be advantageously applied by the following economic actors:
• - Cellular Operators adopting incompatible technologies can benefit from a simple solution to ensure compatibility in the provision of services, such as voice and SMS.
• a Cellular Operator who does not have roaming agreements with the Cellular Operator of a foreign country may adopt the interconnection solution presented in order to implement roaming agreements without having to resort to the intermediation of third party operators. This is the case for national operators.

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• 2009
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  • 2010-08-16 WO PCT/FR2010/051718 patent/WO2011020972A2/fr active Application Filing
  • 2010-08-16 US US13/391,470 patent/US20120157094A1/en not_active Abandoned
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