JP2022047106A - Customer management device, communication system, program, and management method of communication display name - Google Patents

Abstract

To simplify a procedure when a used business operator assigns a communication display name containing a character string desired by a customer according to a request of the customer, to the customer.SOLUTION: In a communication system, a registering device of a management business operator integrally registers a corresponding relation between a communication address of a communication device of a used business operator using the registering device and a plurality of communication display names. A customer management device of the communication system includes: an acquisition unit which acquires one or not less than two communication display names respectively selected by the plurality of customers from among the plurality of communication display names; and a registration unit which registers the corresponding relation between the one or not less than two communication display names acquired by the acquisition unit and the customers who have selected the communication display names in a storage unit which stores the corresponding relation between the plurality of customers of the used business operator and the communication display names respectively assigned to the plurality of customers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention is operated by a user company that uses a registration device such as DNS (Domain Name System) operated by the management company, and is assigned a domain name or APN (Access Point Name) to the customer of the user company. ), Etc., the customer management device for managing the display name for communication, the communication system, the program, and the management method of the display name for communication.

Conventionally, a method using a wild card APN is known as a method for collectively registering a correspondence relationship between a communication address of a PGW (packet data network (PDN) gateway (GW)) and a plurality of APNs (Patent Document 1). In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the correspondence between the PGW communication address and the APN is managed for each subscriber in the home subscriber server (HSS: Home Subscriber Server). In this system, when a communication terminal used by a subscriber who has subscribed to a wildcard APN communicates using a new APN different from the APN managed by HSS, the correspondence of the subscriber is reached. The new APN will be added.

Japanese Patent No. 4991969

In the field of mobile communications, a virtual mobile network operator (MVNO:) as a user operator that conducts a mobile communication business using mobile communication equipment of a mobile communication operator (MNO: Mobile Network Operator), which is a management operator. Mobile Virtual Network Operator) is known. When the MVNO conducts a mobile communication business, the APN (communication display name) assigned to the MVNO and the said so that communication between the communication terminal used by the MVNO customer and the PGW (communication device) of the MVNO can be established. A registration process is required to register the correspondence with the MVNO's PGW communication address in the MNO's DSN (registration device).

The MVNO is considering developing a business in which customers to whom APNs are assigned can use APNs containing character strings desired by the customers themselves. However, when the MVNO using the mobile communication equipment of the MNO assigns the APN desired by the customer to the customer in response to the request from the customer of the MVNO, the MVNO receives the customer's request each time. , It was necessary to request the above-mentioned registration process from the MNO. Therefore, there is a problem that the procedure for allocating the APN desired by the customer is complicated and time-consuming.

This problem is not limited to the case where the user is an MVNO, but a virtual mobile network enabler (MVNE: Mobile Virtual Network Enabler) that provides a service that supports the mobile communication business of the MVNO using the mobile communication equipment of the MNO. ) Is also a problem that arises when the user is a user. For example, when the MVNE allocates the APN desired by the MVNO to the MVNO which is a customer of the MVNE, the MVNE needs to request the MNO to perform the above-mentioned registration process each time it receives a request from the MVNO. There is a problem that the procedure is complicated.
Further, the above-mentioned problem is not limited to the mobile communication business, but is a problem that also occurs widely in the network business.

The customer management device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a registration device operated by a management company, a communication address of a communication device used by a user company using the registration device, and a plurality of communication display names. Correspondence relations are collectively registered, and when the communication terminal used by the customer of the user company and the communication device communicate with each other, the communication display name assigned to the customer among the plurality of communication display names is used. Customer management operated by the user for a communication system that acquires the communication address of the communication device from the registration device and establishes communication between the communication terminal and the communication device. In the device, the acquisition unit that acquires one or two or more communication display names selected by the plurality of customers from the plurality of communication display names, and the plurality of customers of the user company and the plurality of customers. In the storage unit that stores the correspondence relationship with the communication display name assigned to each, the correspondence relationship between the one or more communication display names acquired by the acquisition unit and the customer who selected the communication display name is stored. It has a registration unit to register.
In the customer management device, the acquisition unit may acquire the one or more communication display names via the communication network.
Further, in the customer management device, the communication display name may be the APN (Access Point Name) of the communication device.
Further, in the customer management device, the communication device may be a gateway device.
Further, in the customer management device, the communication device selects a gateway device from a plurality of gateway devices based on the communication display name corresponding to the received communication data, and transfers the communication data to the selected gateway device. It may be a data sorting device to be transmitted.
Further, in the customer management device, the gateway device may be a gateway device of a closed network used by the customer.
Further, in the customer management device, the user operator uses the DNS (Domain Name System), which is the registration device managed by the mobile communication operator (MNO: Mobile Network Operator), which is the management operator. The customer may be a mobile virtual network operator (MVNE), and the customer is a virtual mobile network operator (MVNO) to which a display name for communication is assigned by the virtual mobile service provider. It may be.

Further, the communication system according to another aspect of the present invention is operated by a management company, and is a registration device in which a correspondence relationship between a communication address of a communication device and a plurality of communication display names is collectively registered, and the registration device. It has a customer management device that is operated by a user company that uses the above and manages a communication display name assigned to a customer of the user company from among the plurality of communication display names, and is used by the customer. When the communication terminal and the communication device communicate with each other, the communication address of the communication device is acquired from the registration device using the communication display name assigned to the customer, and the communication terminal and the communication device are used. The customer management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used as the customer management device, which is a communication system for establishing communication with the customer.

Further, in the program according to still another aspect of the present invention, the communication address of the communication device used by the user company using the registration device and a plurality of communication displays are displayed on the registration device operated by the management company. The correspondence relationship with the name is collectively registered, and when the communication terminal used by the customer of the user company and the communication device communicate with each other, the communication display assigned to the customer among the plurality of communication display names. Operated by the user operator for a communication system that acquires the communication address of the communication device from the registration device using a name and establishes communication between the communication terminal and the communication device. A program for the computer of the customer management device to function, and is an acquisition unit that acquires one or more communication display names selected from the plurality of communication display names by a plurality of customers of the user company. In the storage unit that stores the correspondence between the plurality of customers of the user company and the communication display names assigned to the plurality of customers, the one or more communication display names acquired by the acquisition unit are used. The computer functions as a registration unit for registering a correspondence relationship with a customer who has selected the communication display name.

Further, in the method of managing the display name for communication according to still another aspect of the present invention, the communication address of the communication device used by the user company using the registration device is applied to the registration device operated by the management company. And the correspondence relationship with a plurality of communication display names are collectively registered, and when the communication terminal used by the customer of the user company and the communication device communicate with each other, the customer among the plurality of communication display names The communication display name in the communication system that acquires the communication address of the communication device from the registration device using the assigned communication display name and establishes the communication between the communication terminal and the communication device. In the management method, one or two or more communication display names selected from the plurality of communication display names by the plurality of customers of the user company are acquired, and the plurality of customers of the user company are used. In the storage unit that stores the correspondence relationship with the communication display name assigned to each of the plurality of customers, the correspondence relationship between the acquired one or more communication display names and the customer who selected the communication display name is registered. Including to do.
The method for managing the display name for communication further includes collectively registering the correspondence between the communication address of the communication device and the plurality of display names for communication in the registration device, and is registered in the registration device. As the plurality of communication display names, a communication display name in a format including a plurality of types of characters or a special character meaning a plurality of types of character strings may be used.

According to the present invention, it is possible to simplify the procedure when a user company assigns a communication display name including a character string desired by the customer to the customer in response to a request from the customer.

Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the schematic structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment. In the communication system, the sequence diagram which shows the outline of the process flow for connecting a communication terminal from PGW to PDN in the communication system. An explanatory diagram showing an outline of procedures between businesses related to the communication system. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the schematic structure of the communication system which concerns on the modification. In the same communication system, the sequence diagram which shows the outline of the process flow for the communication terminal used by user C to connect from PGW-C to the closed area PDN of user C.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a communication system according to the present embodiment.
In this embodiment, a virtual mobile network operator (MVNE), which is a user company, responds to a plurality of virtual mobile communication operators (MVNO-A, MVNO-B, MVNO-C), which are customers of the MVNE. This is an example of providing a service that supports the mobile communication business performed by each MVNO by using the mobile communication equipment of the mobile communication operator MNO, which is the management operator. In the present embodiment, the MVNE assigns an individual APN (communication display name) to each MVNO, and the communication terminal used by the user of each MVNO through the PGW 70 as a gateway device which is a communication device used by the MVNE. The 10A, 10B, and 10C enable communication via the PDN (Packet Data Network) 1.

Here, the APN of "AAA.apn" is assigned to the MVNO-A, the APN of "BBB.apn" is assigned to the MVNO-B, and the APN of "CCC.apn" is assigned to the MVNO-C. ing. Further, in the example of FIG. 1, for convenience of illustration, only one communication terminal 10A, 10B, 10C of each MVNO is shown, but usually there are two or more communication terminals. Further, the PDN1 may be the Internet or the like, or may be a closed network.

In the communication system of the present embodiment, the communication terminals 10A, 10B, and 10C (communication terminals used by the users of each MVNO) used by the three MVNOs (MVNO-A, MVNO-B, MVNO-C) that are the customers of the MVNE, respectively. When communicating via the PDN1, it is necessary to establish communication between the communication terminals 10A, 10B, 10C and the MVNE PGW70. At this time, the communication address (PGW address) of the PGW 70 is acquired from the DNS 50 as a registration device using the APN assigned to each MVNO, and the communication between the communication terminals 10A, 10B, 10C and the PGW 70 is established. This process is performed by, for example, MME (Mobility Management Entity) 40.

The communication system of the present embodiment is mainly composed of communication terminals 10A, 10B, 10C used by each MVNO, equipment operated by the MNO, and equipment operated by the MVNE. The equipment operated by the MNO is, for example, a base station 20, an SGW (Serving Gateway) 30, an MME 40, and a DSN 50. The equipment operated by the MVNE is, for example, an HSS (Home Subscriber Server) 60, a PGW 70, a customer management device 80, and an authentication server 90.

The equipment operated by the MVNE is managed and operated by the user MVNE for the customer management device 80, but other equipment may be managed and operated by another business operator. For example, at least one of the HSS 60, PGW 70, and authentication server 90 may be managed and operated by each MVNO that is a customer of the MVNE. As in the present embodiment, the HSS60, PGW70, and authentication server 90 are managed and operated by the MVNE, so that each MVNO, which is a customer of the MVNE, can carry out a mobile communication business without preparing its own equipment. It will be possible.

Each of the communication terminals 10A to 10C of the present embodiment has at least a mobile communication unit 12, a control unit 13, and a storage unit 14, and the display unit 11 and the operation unit 15 are provided according to the functions of the communication terminals 10A to 10C. To prepare for.

The mobile communication unit 12 is a communication unit for mobile communication, which is also called a mobile station, and functions as a communication means for communicating via a mobile communication network. Performs high-frequency signal processing for wireless communication with the base station 20 of the above. The mobile communication unit 12 has a function of communicating using IP (Internet Protocol) via a mobile communication network. The mobile communication unit 12 is configured as, for example, a communication module. The communication terminals 10A to 10C can be connected to the mobile communication network side by performing wireless communication with the base station 20 by the mobile communication unit 12 by a predetermined wireless communication method.

The control unit 13 controls the operation of the communication terminals 10A to 10C. The control unit 13 is composed of, for example, an MPU (micro processing unit). By executing a program such as predetermined firmware, the control unit 13 can execute various processes using communication via PDN1, for example.

The storage unit 14 is composed of a RAM, a ROM, or the like, and stores various data used in the control unit 13. For example, an example of IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) or GUTI (Globally Unique Temporary ID) (hereinafter, “IMSI”), which is terminal identification information assigned to each of the communication terminals 10A to 10C in advance, will be described in the storage unit 14. .) Information is stored. Further, the storage unit 14 stores PCO (Protocol Configuration Options) for use in communication via PDN, setting data such as APN assigned to the MVNO corresponding to the communication terminal, and the like.

Further, the base station 20 constitutes a radio access network (RAN), and is also called, for example, eNodeB (eNB) or gNodeB, or is called a macro cell base station, a small cell base station, or the like depending on the size of the cell formed by the base station 20. Or called. The base station 20 includes, for example, a radio unit (RRH) for transmitting and receiving radio signals and a baseband unit (BBU) for performing digital baseband signal processing. For example, the RRH converts a digital baseband signal received from the BBU into an RF signal, amplifies the power to a predetermined signal level, and transmits the digital baseband signals to the communication terminals 10A to 10C. Further, the RRH converts the RF signal received from the mobile communication unit 12 of the communication terminals 10A to 10C into a digital baseband signal and transmits it to the BBU.

The SGW 30 is a gateway device that performs data communication with the base station 20 through a mobile communication network without using an IP, and is an IP between the PGW 70, which is a gateway device of an external network such as PDN1, and the communication terminals 10A to 10C. Relay data communication using. That is, the SGW 30 serves as an anchor point for the RAN including the base station 20, and relays user packet data between the PGW 70.

The core network included in the mobile communication network is also called EPC (Evolved Packet Core) in, for example, LTE / LTE-Advanced, and the base station 20 is connected via a predetermined communication interface. In addition to the MME 40, the core network may have other nodes such as SCEF (Service Capability Exposure Function) and PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function).

The MME 40 is a node that accommodates the base station 20 and performs wireless communication network control, mobility control, handover control, user authentication control, communication establishment control, and the like. The MME 40 may have a function of collecting and storing information such as communication log information and communication control parameters for each of the communication terminals 10A to 10C and the base station 20.

The DSN50 is managed and operated by the MNO, and is an APN used by the communication terminals 10A to 10C (corresponding to the communication terminals 10A to 10C) when the communication terminals 10A to 10C used by each MVNO, which is a customer of the MVNE, and the PGW70 communicate with each other. Based on the APN) assigned to the MVNO to be used, the name resolution process for specifying the communication address of the PGW 70 is performed. The DNS 50 of the present embodiment includes at least a name resolution database 51 in which the correspondence between the communication address of the PGW 70 used by the MVNE and the plurality of APNs assigned to each MVNO that is a customer of the MVNE is registered.

The HSS 60 includes a database of information on users (subscribers) who use the communication services of the mobile communication business of each MVNO, which is a customer of the MVNE. For example, it manages user contract information and user authentication information of each MVNO, and manages them. Performs processing such as notifying the MME 40 of the information when the location is registered.

The PGW 70 is a gateway device for an external network such as a PDN1, and is a communication device for communication terminals 10A to 10C used by MVNOs, which are customers of the MVNE, to communicate via the PDN1. The PGW 70 has IP addresses assigned to communication terminals 10A to 10C, user authentication related to connection to PDN1, creation of communication usage data for billing (for example, CDR: Call Data Record), DHCP server function, and the like.

Here, the name resolution database 51 of the DNS 50 described above is a wild card APN in a format including a wild card represented by a special character "*" meaning a plurality of types of characters or a plurality of types of character strings as the registered APN. It corresponds to. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the correspondence between the communication address of the PGW 70 and the wildcard APN "* .apn" is registered in the name resolution database 51. By using such a wild card APN, it becomes easy to collectively register the correspondence between one communication address and a plurality of APNs and to manage the plurality of APNs. In particular, as a method of collectively registering the correspondence between one communication address and a plurality of APNs, the correspondence between the communication address and each APN may be individually registered, but a certain number or more of APNs may be registered individually. It is convenient to use the wildcard APN when the above are collectively associated with the same communication address.

When an MVNE assigns an individual APN to a new customer MVNO, the name of the DSN50 is conventionally the correspondence between the APN assigned to the new MVNO and the PGW70 used by the MVNE each time a new MVNO is generated. The procedure of requesting the MNO that manages and operates the DSN50 for the registration process to be newly registered in the solution database 51 was taken. In this case, both the MVNE side and the MNO side are complicated in that a procedure is generated every time a new MVNO is generated. In addition, since it takes time for the necessary processing and procedures on the MNO side, it takes a lot of time for the MVNE to allocate the APN to the new MVNO.

In particular, recently, the MVNO side to which the APN is assigned often requests the MVNE side to use the APN including the character string desired by the MVNO side. In order to respond to such a request, the MVNE that has received the APN desired by the MVNO has to inquire the MNO whether or not the APN can be used, which further complicates and prolongs the procedure.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the correspondence relationship between the plurality of APNs that the MVNE may assign to the MVNO in the future and the communication address of the PGW 70 to be used by the MVNO that is the customer of the MVNE is collectively registered in the DSN50 in advance. The MVNE will perform the procedure for the MNO. Specifically, the MVNE requests the MNO in advance to register the correspondence between the communication address of the PGW 70 and the wildcard APN called "* .apn" in the name resolution database 51. When this registration process is completed, if the MVNE is an APN included in the range of the wildcard of "* .apn", when allocating a new APN to the MVNO, the MVNE will be assigned to the new APN to the MNO. The procedure for requesting the registration process is no longer required.

In order to realize the above processing and procedure, the customer management device 80 managed and operated by the MVNE is used in this embodiment. The customer management device 80 is mainly composed of a customer database 81, an external communication unit 82, a processing unit 83, and an internal communication unit 84.

The customer database 81 functions as a storage unit for storing the correspondence between the MVNO customers MVNO-A, MVNO-B, and MVNO-C and the APNs assigned to them. Other information stored in the customer database 81 includes, for example, the IMSI paid out to the customers MVNO-A, MVNO-B, and MVNO-C. In addition, the information stored in the customer database 81 can be arbitrarily set, and examples thereof include information such as a user name used for authentication, a password, an authentication method (PAP, CHAP, etc.), and band limitation. When the authentication server 90 is managed by the customer MVNO, the information such as the user name and password for authentication does not need to be stored in the customer database 81, and instead, for example, the authentication server 90 Communication address may be stored.

The external communication unit 82 communicates with a device not controlled by the MVNE. In particular, in the external communication unit 82 of the present embodiment, the operators of the MVNO-A, MVNO-B, MVNO-C, etc., who are the customers of the MVNE, use the communication device to access the customer management device 80 through a network such as the Internet. Used as an interface for. Each MVNO can input various information from the customer page of the MVNE by the operator operating a terminal device such as a personal computer and accessing the customer management device 80 through the external communication unit 82, which is convenient for the customer. It is possible to improve the sex. In particular, in the present embodiment, each MVNO shall input the APN desired by the MVNO within the range of the wild card of "* .apn" registered in the DNS50 of the MNO in the preliminary procedure from the customer page of the MVNE. Can be done. Therefore, the external communication unit 82 has one or more selected from the range of the wild card of "* .apn" pre-registered in the DNS 50 by the plurality of customers MVNO-A, MVNO-B, and MVNO-C, respectively. It functions as an acquisition unit that acquires the APN.

The processing unit 83 executes various processes performed by the customer management device 80. In particular, the processing unit 83 of the present embodiment functions as a registration unit, and registers in the customer database 81 the correspondence between the APN selected by each MVNO acquired by the external communication unit 82 and the MVNO selecting the APN. Perform processing.

Further, when the processing unit 83 of the present embodiment registers the desired APN input from the MVNE customer page by the MVNO, which is a customer of the MVNE, in the customer database 81, the internal communication unit 84 informs the HSS 60 of the APN. Performs request processing to register the correspondence relationship with the user of the MVNO. In this case, the HSS 60 responds to the request from the internal communication unit 84 of the customer management device 80, and associates the APN related to the request with the IMSI of the MVNO user corresponding to the APN in the subscriber information database (string). Attach) Perform the process. Although this process is performed in the present embodiment in which the HSS 60 is managed by the MVNE, it is not necessary when the HSS 60 is managed by the MNO. Instead, the wildcard APN should be registered with the HSS managed by the MNO once for the first time.

Further, the processing unit 83 of the present embodiment provides authentication information managed by the customer database 81 to the authentication server 90 that performs user authentication for the PGW 70 to authenticate the connection of the communication terminals 10A to 10C to the PND1. It also processes. For example, when the processing unit 83 registers the desired APN input from the MVNE customer page by the MVNO, which is a customer of the MVNE, in the customer database 81, the internal communication unit 84 informs the authentication server 90 of the APN and the MVNO. Performs request processing to register the correspondence with the user of. In this case, the authentication server 90 responds to the request from the internal communication unit 84 of the customer management device 80, and associates the APN related to the request with the IMSI of the MVNO user corresponding to the APN in the authentication database ( Associate) process.

The internal communication unit 84 communicates with the device managed by the MVNE, and is used as an interface when communicating with the HSS 60 and the authentication server 90 managed and operated by the MVNE.

Further, the authentication server 90 performs user authentication of the communication terminals 10A to 10C connected to the PDN1 via the PGW 70. When the authentication server 90 receives the user authentication request from the PGW 70, the authentication server 90 refers to the authentication database and performs user authentication based on the IMSI or APN related to the user authentication request. When a new APN is registered in the customer database 81 in the customer management device 80, the information in the authentication database (authentication confirmation) is based on the correspondence between the new APN sent from the customer management device 80 and the user of the MVNO. Information) is updated. The authentication server 90 and the customer management device 80 may each have a database as in the present embodiment, but may be integrated into either database. For example, the customer database 81 of the customer management device 80 may be integrated into the authentication database of the authentication server 90.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of a processing flow for connecting communication terminals 10A to 10C from PGW 70 to PDN 1 in the communication system of the present embodiment.
In this description, the MVNO-A communication terminal 10A will be used, but the same applies to the other MVNO communication terminals 10B and 10C.

For example, when the user turns on the power of the communication terminal 10A, the mobile communication unit 12 of the communication terminal 10A transmits a connection request including the IMSI information assigned to itself in advance to the MME 40 via the base station 20 (S101). , S102). The MME 40 sends an authentication request to the HSS 60 to confirm whether the IMSI is authenticated (S103). The HSS 60 performs an authentication process of whether or not the IMSI related to the authentication request is registered in the HSS 60 (S104), and transmits the authentication response to the MME 40 (S105). By this authentication process, it is authenticated whether or not the communication terminal 10A that has transmitted the connection request is the communication terminal of the MVNO-A that carries out the mobile communication business by using the mobile communication equipment of the MNO.

Next, the MME 40 transmits an APN request to the communication terminal 10A that has transmitted the connection request via the base station 20 (S106, S107). Upon receiving this APN request, the communication terminal 10A transmits the APN stored in the storage unit 14 to the MME 40 via the base station 20 (S108, S109).

The MME 40 that has received the APN of the communication terminal 10A in this way transmits the APN to the DNS 50 (S110). As a result, the DNS 50 refers to the name resolution database 51 and performs a name resolution process for specifying the communication address (PGW address) of the PGW 70 associated with the received APN (S111), and transfers the specified PGW address to the MME 40. Notify (S112).

Next, the MME 40 transmits a session generation request including the APN and the IMSI received from the communication terminal 10A to the PGW 70 corresponding to the PGW address via the SGW 30 (S113, S114). Upon receiving this session generation request, the PGW 70 issues a user authentication request for confirming whether or not the communication terminal 10A related to the session generation request is permitted to connect to the PDN1 via the PGW 70. (S115).

The authentication server 90 performs a user authentication process for confirming whether the IMSI and APN related to the user authentication request are registered in the authentication database (S116), and transmits the user authentication response to the PGW 70 (S117). By this user authentication process, authentication is performed as to whether or not the communication terminal 10A that has transmitted the connection request is permitted to connect to the PDN1 via the PGW 70.

After completing the user authentication process, the PGW 70 generates a session (S118) and sends the session generation response to the SGW 30 (S119). As a result, the SGW 30 executes a process for passing the communication data from the communication terminal 10A to the PGW 70, and transmits a session generation response to the MME 40 (S120). Upon receiving this session generation response, the MME 40 notifies the communication terminal 10A that has transmitted the connection request of the connection permission via the base station 20 (S121, S122). As a result, the communication terminal 10A can connect to the PDN1 from the PGW 70 and perform data communication with another device connected to the PDN1.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of procedures between business operators related to the communication system of the present embodiment.
In one example of the present embodiment, the MVNE, which provides a service for supporting the mobile communication business performed by the MVNO using the mobile communication equipment of the MNO, first receives an IMSI loan from the MNO. The MVNE provides the SIM including the rented IMSI to the MVNO-A, which is a customer of the MVNE, and the MVNO-A allows the MVNO user to use the provided SIM to the MVNO-A user. It is possible to carry out a mobile communication business using MNO's mobile communication equipment.

The MVNE causes the MVNO-A, which is the customer, to use the PGW70 (MVNO-A) used by the MVNE in order to enable the MVNO-A user's communication terminal 10A to connect to the PDN1 and perform data communication. It is necessary to assign the APN corresponding to PGW) to the MVNO-A. For that purpose, it is necessary to have the DNS 50 managed and operated by the VNO register the correspondence between the communication address (PGW address) of the PGW 70 used by the MVNE and the APN.

In the present embodiment, as described above, in order to simplify this procedure, the MVNE collectively registers in advance the correspondence between a plurality of APNs that may be assigned to customers in the future and the communication addresses of the PGW 70 in the DSN50. Do the procedure. Specifically, the MNO is requested to perform a registration process for collectively registering the correspondence between the communication address (PGW address) of the PGW 70 used by the MVNE and the plurality of APNs in the DSN50 (S201). In response to this, the MNO registers the correspondence between the communication address of the PGW 70 and the wild card APN "* .apn" in the name resolution database 51 of the DNS 50 (S202). Specifically, the MNO sets a NAPTR (The Naming Authority Pointer) record so that the node list of the PGW 70 can be acquired with the APN corresponding to the wild card APN "* .apn".

After completing the registration in the name resolution database 51, the MNO sends a registration completion notification to the MVNE (S203). As a result, when the MVNE allocates an APN to the new customer MVNO-A, the MVNE does not have to perform the procedure of requesting the MNO to register the new APN, and the MVNE transfers the APN to the new MVNO-A. Can be assigned.

The MVNO-A, which has become a customer of the MVNE, can access the customer page of the MVNE through the external communication unit 82 of the customer management device 80 managed and operated by the MVNE (S204). Then, the MVNO-A is a character string (a character string applied to the wild card "*" of the wild card APN "* .apn" registered in the DNS 50) that is desired to be included in the APN assigned to itself on this customer page. ) Is input (S205). Here, it is assumed that the MVNO-A desires the character string "AAA".

The MVNE receiving this input by the customer management device 80 applies the input character string "AAA" to the wild card "*" of the wild card APN "* .apn" by the processing unit 83 of the customer management device 80. "AAA.apn" is associated with the MVNO-A and registered in the customer database 81 (S206). At this time, as information accompanying the APN, for example, information such as a user name and password used for authentication, an authentication method in the authentication server 90, and a band limitation in the PGW 70 may be managed in the customer database 81. In this case, if the information such as the user name and the password is not correctly input in the communication terminals 10A to 10C, it is possible to prevent the communication of the communication terminals 10A to 10C from being permitted.

Further, the MVNE performs authentication confirmation information of the subscriber information database of the HSS 60 and the authentication database of the authentication server 90 for the APN "AAA.apn" registered in the customer database 81 by the processing unit 83 of the customer management device 80, respectively. Update (S207, S208).

When the above processing and procedure are completed, the MVNE assigns the APN "AAA.apn" selected (desired) by the MVNO-A to the MVNO-A (S209). As a result, the MVNO-A conveys the APN "AAA.apn" assigned by the MVNE to the communication terminal 10A of its own user (the user who uses the SIM provided by the MVNE to the MVNO-A). As a result, for example, when the user of the communication terminal 10A sets the APN to "AAA.apn" in the communication terminal 10A (S210), the APN "AAA.apn" is stored in the storage unit 14 of the communication terminal 10A, and the communication terminal is stored. The 10A can connect to the PDN1 from the PGW 70 used by the MVNE and perform data communication with other devices connected to the PDN1. If information such as a user name and a password is required to allow this data communication, the information is also transmitted to the user, and the user inputs the information to the communication terminal 10A.

As described above, by using the customer management device 80 of the present embodiment, the MVNE assigns a new APN (on-demand APN) selected (desired) by the MVNO to the customer MVNO. On the other hand, the procedure for requesting the registration process of the new APN becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the procedure is simplified on both the MVNE side and the MNO side, and the MVNE can quickly assign the APN selected (desired) by the customer's MVNO.

Further, as in the present embodiment, the MVNO, which is a customer of the MVNE, can set the APN including the character string desired by the MVNO, which is advantageous for the branding strategy of the mobile communication business performed by the MVNO.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the user company using the DNS 50 managed and operated by the MNO is an MVNE has been described, but the same applies to the case where the user company is an MVNO. That is, even when the MVNO directly performs procedures with the MNO without going through the MVNE, for example, it is conceivable that the MVNO will carry out a business of assigning its own APN to a user (for example, a corporate customer) who is a customer of the MVNO. Will be. Even in this case, according to the above-described embodiment, by using the customer management device 80 managed and operated by the MVNO, the MVNO can select (desire) a new APN (on) for the user who is the customer. When allocating the demand APN), the procedure of requesting the MNO to register the new APN becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the procedure is simplified on both the MVNO side and the MNO side, and the MVNO can quickly assign the APN selected (desired) by the customer user.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the HSS 60 may be managed and operated by the user operator MVNE or may be managed and operated by the management operator MNO. When the HSS60 managed and operated by the MNO is used, the wild card APN may be registered in the HSS60 as well as the DNS50. In this case, if the APN is included in the range of the wild card, the procedure for requesting the MNO to register a new APN becomes unnecessary, and the communication between the customer management device 80 and the HSS 60 is also unnecessary. It is possible to do.

[Modification example]
Next, a modification of the communication system in the above-described embodiment will be described.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a communication system according to this modification.
This modification is an example in which the MVNO directly performs procedures with the MNO without going through the MVNE, and is unique to each of the users A to C (for example, corporate customers) who are the customers of the MVNO as a user business operator. It assigns an APN. Here, the APN of "AAA.apn" is assigned to the user A, the APN of "BBB.apn" is assigned to the user B, and the APN of "CCC.apn" is assigned to the user C.

Further, in this modification, the user C manages and operates the closed area PDN1C which is a closed area network (for example, the in-house network of the user C). When the communication terminal 10C, which is the authorized communication terminal used by the user C, connects from the PGW-C70C to the closed PDN1C via the base station 20, the authentication process is performed by the authentication system provided by the MVNO. The authentication system in this modification uses the APN assigned by the MVNO to the user C, and realizes highly secure authentication processing.

The APNs assigned to the user A and the user B are the communication terminals 10A and 10B of the user A and the user B connected to the PDN1 from the PGW 70, and the communication terminals 10A and 10B in the above-described embodiment are connected to the PDN1 from the PGW 70. It is the same as when connecting to. Therefore, in the following description, the points that are duplicated with the above-described embodiment will be omitted, and the points peculiar to this modification will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the communication system according to this modification is different from the case of the above-described embodiment in the equipment operated by the MVNO which is the user. Specifically, an LB (Load Balancer) 100 as a communication device operated by the MVNO is installed between the SGW 30 and the PGW 70 and PGW-C70C. The LB 100 is used for processing in which communication data, processing requests, etc. sent from the SGW 30 are distributed to a plurality of constituent devices constituting the PGW 70 with the same function, and the load per constituent device is suppressed.

In the present modification 100, one of PGW70 and PGW-C70C is selected and selected based on the APN corresponding to the communication terminal of the transmission source of the communication data transmitted via the SGW 30 using the LB100. The LB100 functions as a data sorting device that sends communication data to the PGW70 or PGW-C70C. The LB 100 includes a sorting database 101 in which the correspondence between the APNs of users A to C and the PGW 70 or PGW-C70C corresponding to each APN is registered, and the sorting database 101 is referred to via the SGW 30. Based on the APN corresponding to the communication terminal of the transmission source of the transmitted communication data, the sorting process of sending the communication data to the PGW70 or PGW-C70C corresponding to the APN is performed.

In this modification, the sorting process is performed using the LB 100, but the sorting process may be performed using a communication device different from the LB 100. Further, in this modification, the sorting process is performed based on the APN corresponding to the communication terminal of the communication data transmission source, but it is also possible to perform the sorting process based on the IMSI of the communication terminal of the communication data transmission source. ..

Since the sorting process as described above is performed, the name resolution database 51 of the DNS 50 in this modification has the communication address (LB address) of the LB 100 and the wild card APN "* .apn" as shown in FIG. Correspondence is registered. As a result, when the communication terminals 10A to 10C of the users A to C, which are the customers of the MVNO, connect to the respective PDN1 or the closed area PDN1C and perform communication, any communication data is once sent to the LB100 and then sent to the LB100. It will be sorted by LB100 and sent to the corresponding PGW70 or PGW-C70C.

Similar to the above-described embodiment, the APNs selected (desired) by the users A and C are registered in the customer database 81 of the customer management device 80 of the MVNO. After that, the processing unit 83 of the customer management device 80 in this modification performs update processing for the HSS 60 and the authentication server 90 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and in this modification, the internal communication unit 84 to the LB 100 are concerned with the update processing. A process for registering the correspondence between the APN and the user of the MVNO in the sorting database 101 is performed.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of a processing flow for the communication terminal 10C used by the user C to connect from the PGW-C70C to the closed area PDN1C of the user C in the communication system of the present modification.
In this description, the communication terminal 10C of the user C will be described, but the same applies to the communication terminals 10A and 10B of the other user A and the user B.

When the communication terminal 10C of the user C connects to the closed PDN1C via the base station 20, the MME 40 is assigned to the user C via the SGW 30 through the name resolution processing (S111', S112') in the DSN50. A session generation request is transmitted to the LB 100 specified by the LB address corresponding to (S101 to S114). Upon receiving this session generation request, the LB 100 refers to the sorting database 101 and performs a sorting process for selecting the PGW-C70C associated with the APN of the communication terminal 10C included in the session generation request (S201). Then, a session generation request is sent to the selected PGW-C70C (S202).

Upon receiving the session generation request from the LB 100, the PGW-C70C is a user for confirming whether or not the communication terminal 10C related to the session generation request is permitted to connect to the closed PDN1C via the PGW-C70C. The authentication request is transmitted to the authentication server 90C as an authentication device (S115).

The authentication server 90C performs a user authentication process for confirming whether the IMSI and APN related to the user authentication request are registered in the authentication database (S116), and transmits the user authentication response to the PGW-C70C (S117). ). By this user authentication process, it is authenticated whether or not the communication terminal 10C that has transmitted the connection request is permitted to connect to the closed area PDN1C via the PGW-C70C.

Here, the authentication server 90C that performs the authentication process for connecting to the closed area PDN1C may be managed and operated by the MVNO, but in this modification, it is managed by the user C who manages and operates the closed area PDN1C. It is in operation. The user C who manages and operates the closed area PDN1C may already manage and operate the authentication server 90C which performs the authentication process for connecting to the closed area PDN1C without going through the base station 20. In such a case, the existing user C may already be managed and operated. An authentication server (in-house account management server, etc.) can be used. The update process of the authentication server 90C can be performed via the external communication unit 82 as the transmission unit of the customer management device 80, or can be performed without going through the customer management device 80.

When the user C manages and operates the authentication server 90C as in this modification, the customer management device 80 does not manage information such as the user name and password, but manages the communication address of the authentication server 90C. May be good. In this case, for example, the PGW-C70C refers to the communication address of the authentication server 90C stored in the customer management device 80, and transmits an authentication request to the authentication server 90C for a request in which the APN and the IMSI match. As a result, the authentication server 90C performs the authentication process and returns an authentication response to the PGW-C70C. When the communication address of the authentication server 90C is managed by the customer management device 80 in this way, the authentication server 90C and the customer management device 80 can be independently updated and managed, so that the existing authentication server 90C is the same as before. Update / management operation becomes possible. Therefore, the user C can update and manage the authentication server 90C without considering the customer management device 80, which is highly convenient for the user.

After the user authentication process is completed, the PGW-C70C generates a session (S118) and transmits the session generation response to the SGW 30 (S119), as in the above-described embodiment. As a result, the SGW 30 executes a process for passing the communication data from the communication terminal 10C to the PGW-C70C, and transmits a session generation response to the MME 40 (S120). Upon receiving this session generation response, the MME 40 notifies the communication terminal 10C that has transmitted the connection request of the connection permission via the base station 20 (S121, S122). As a result, the communication terminal 10C can connect to the closed area PDN1C from the PGW-C70C and perform data communication with other devices connected to the closed area PDN1C.

Also in this modification, as in the above-described embodiment, by using the customer management device 80 that is managed and operated by the MVNO, the MVNO is a new one that each user selects (desirs) from the customer users A to C. When allocating an APN (on-demand APN), the procedure of requesting the MNO to register the new APN becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the procedure is simplified on both the MVNO side and the MNO side, and the MVNO can quickly assign the APN selected (desired) by the user who is the customer.

Further, in general, in PAP / CHAP authentication for each APN, the APN, the user name, the password, and the authentication method are disclosed on the Internet or the like, but in this modification, the APN, the user name, the password, which are particularly assigned to the user C, are disclosed. The authentication method is not disclosed and is presented only to user C, and cannot be known by third parties including other user A and user B. Moreover, the APN assigned to the user C is selected and determined by the user C himself. Therefore, this modification of performing the authentication process of the connection of the user C to the closed PDN1C using the APN assigned to the user C can provide a highly secure authentication process.

Further, it is conceivable to use the SIM information without using the APN for the authentication process of the connection to the closed area PDN1C. There is a high risk of being accessed. On the other hand, in the case of the authentication process using APN presented only to user C as in this modification, even if the SIM is stolen and used illegally, unauthorized access to the closed PDN1C can be performed. The risk can be reduced.

The above description is based on the case where LTE / LTE-Advanced is assumed and the communication display name is APN. However, in the next generation communication method such as the 5th generation, for example, the communication display name is DNN. The same applies to the case of (Data Network Name).

The processing process described in the present specification and the components of the communication terminal, DNS, customer management device, authentication server, and other communication systems can be implemented by various means. For example, these processes and components may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. Further, the component is not limited to a single device, but includes a plurality of devices that are communicably connected to each other.

Regarding hardware implementation, in order to realize the above steps and components in an entity (for example, various wireless communication devices, various base station devices such as eNodeB and gNode, mobile communication unit, hard disk drive device, or optical disk drive device). Means such as processing units used are one or more application-specific ICs (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmables. A gate array (FPGA), a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, an electronic device, or any other electronic unit, computer, or combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. It may be implemented inside.

Also, for firmware and / or software implementation, each part used to implement the components is code for a program (eg, procedure, function, module, instruction, etc.) that performs the functions described herein. ) May be implemented. In general, any computer / processor readable medium that clearly embodies the firmware and / or software code is a means such as a processing unit used to implement the steps and components described herein. May be used to implement. For example, firmware and / or software code may be stored in memory and executed by a computer or processor, for example in a control device or storage device. The memory may be mounted inside the computer or processor, or it may be mounted outside the processor. The firmware and / or software code may be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), or an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM). ), Flash memory, floppy (registered trademark) discs, compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), magnetic or optical data storage devices, etc. good. The code may be executed by one or more computers or processors, or the computers or processors may be made to perform functional embodiments described herein.

Further, the medium may be a non-temporary recording medium. Further, the code of the program may be read and executed by a computer, a processor, or another device or device machine, and the format thereof is not limited to a specific format. For example, the code of the program may be any of source code, object code, and binary code, or may be a mixture of two or more of these codes.

Also, the description of the embodiments disclosed herein is provided to allow one of ordinary skill in the art to manufacture or use the present disclosure. Various amendments to this disclosure will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art and the general principles defined herein are applicable to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be recognized in the broadest range consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

1: PDN
1C: Closed PDN
10A to 10C: Communication terminal 11: Display unit 12: Mobile communication unit 13: Control unit 14: Storage unit 15: Operation unit 20: Base station 30: SGW
40: MME
50: DNS
51: Name resolution database 60: HSS
70: PGW
80: Customer management device 81: Customer database 82: External communication unit 83: Processing unit 84: Internal communication unit 90, 90C: Authentication server 100: LB
101: Sorting database

Claims (11)

In the registration device operated by the management company, the correspondence between the communication address of the communication device used by the user company using the registration device and a plurality of communication display names is collectively registered, and the user company said. When the communication terminal used by the customer and the communication device communicate with each other, the registration device communicates with the communication device using the communication display name assigned to the customer among the plurality of communication display names. A customer management device operated by the user operator for a communication system that acquires an address and establishes communication between the communication terminal and the communication device.
An acquisition unit that acquires one or more communication display names selected by the plurality of customers from the plurality of communication display names, respectively.
The one or more communication display names acquired by the acquisition unit and the communication are stored in a storage unit that stores the correspondence between the plurality of customers of the user company and the communication display names assigned to the plurality of customers. A customer management device characterized by having a registration unit for registering a correspondence relationship with a customer who has selected a display name. In the customer management device according to claim 1,
The acquisition unit is a customer management device characterized by acquiring the one or more communication display names via a communication network. In the customer management device according to claim 1 or 2.
The customer management device, wherein the communication display name is an APN (Access Point Name) or a DNN (Data Network Name) of the communication device. In the customer management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The communication device is a customer management device characterized by being a gateway device. In the customer management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The communication device is a data sorting device that selects a gateway device from a plurality of gateway devices based on a communication display name corresponding to the received communication data and transmits the communication data to the selected gateway device. A customer management device that features. In the customer management device according to claim 4 or 5.
The gateway device is a customer management device, which is a gateway device of a closed network used by the customer. In the customer management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The user operator is a virtual mobile service provider (MVNE: Mobile) that uses the DNS (Domain Name System), which is the registration device managed by the mobile communication operator (MNO: Mobile Network Operator), which is the management operator. Virtual Network Enabler)
The customer is a customer management device, characterized in that the customer is a virtual mobile network operator (MVNO: Mobile Virtual Network Operator) to which a display name for communication is assigned by the virtual mobile service provider. A registration device that is operated by a management company and collectively registers the correspondence between the communication address of the communication device and multiple communication display names.
It has a customer management device that is operated by a user company that uses the registration device and manages a communication display name assigned to a customer of the user company from among the plurality of communication display names.
When the communication terminal used by the customer and the communication device communicate with each other, the communication address of the communication device is acquired from the registration device using the communication display name assigned to the customer, and the communication terminal and the communication terminal are used. A communication system that establishes communication with the communication device.
A communication system characterized in that the customer management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used as the customer management device. In the registration device operated by the management company, the correspondence between the communication address of the communication device used by the user company using the registration device and a plurality of communication display names is collectively registered, and the user company said. When the communication terminal used by the customer and the communication device communicate with each other, the registration device communicates with the communication device using the communication display name assigned to the customer among the plurality of communication display names. It is a program for operating the computer of the customer management device operated by the user operator for a communication system that acquires an address and establishes communication between the communication terminal and the communication device. ,
An acquisition unit that acquires one or more communication display names selected from the plurality of communication display names by a plurality of customers of the user company, and
The one or more communication display names acquired by the acquisition unit and the communication display name are stored in a storage unit that stores the correspondence between the plurality of customers of the user company and the communication display names assigned to the plurality of customers. A program characterized in that the computer functions as a registration unit for registering a correspondence relationship with a customer who has selected a display name. In the registration device operated by the management company, the correspondence between the communication address of the communication device used by the user company using the registration device and a plurality of communication display names is collectively registered, and the user company said. When the communication terminal used by the customer and the communication device communicate with each other, the registration device communicates with the communication device using the communication display name assigned to the customer among the plurality of communication display names. It is a method of managing a display name for communication in a communication system that acquires an address and establishes communication between the communication terminal and the communication device.
Acquiring one or more communication display names selected from the plurality of communication display names by a plurality of customers of the user company, respectively.
The acquired one or more communication display names and the communication display names are selected in the storage unit that stores the correspondence between the plurality of customers of the user company and the communication display names assigned to the plurality of customers. A method of managing a display name for communication, which comprises registering a correspondence relationship with a customer who has made a transaction. In the method for managing a display name for communication according to claim 10,
Further including collectively registering the correspondence between the communication address of the communication device and the plurality of communication display names in the registration device.
As the plurality of communication display names registered in the registration device, a communication display name in a format including special characters meaning a plurality of types of characters or a plurality of types of character strings is used. How to manage.

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