KR20120023277A - System and method for supporting feature code services with outbound roaming subscriber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A feature service support system about an oversea roamer and a method thereof are provided to control an additional service of a home location register in a roaming SCP. CONSTITUTION: A roaming SCP(Service Control Point)(115) receives an intelligent network service request message from a visitor MSC(Mobile Switching Center)(133) according to the origination of a call including a pre-arranged roaming feature code. The roaming SCP converts the roaming feature code into a feature code according to home network standards. An HLR(Home location Register)(113) receives an intelligent network service message from the home SCP. The HLR transmits additional service information.

Description

System and method for supporting feature code services with outbound roaming subscriber}

The present invention relates to an additional service providing support method for an overseas roaming subscriber, and more particularly, to a method and a system for controlling an additional service using a feature code in a roaming subscriber terminal roaming into a visited network.

With the development of mobile communication technology, mobile communication subscribers can be provided with mobile communication services in the same way as in home networks by bilateral agreements and system interworking between mobile operators when visiting overseas or visiting other mobile operators. In particular, recently, 3G communication service has been started, and as the user's terminal can be used as it is abroad without renting or changing the terminal, the use of overseas roaming service is increasing.

Although the user can use the communication service as it is by using the overseas roaming service as described above, there are still various inconveniences in using various additional services provided in Korea in addition to the general communication service. In other words, there are some limitations in using additional services during the international roaming, unlike when using various additional services in Korea. Among them, the limitations and inconveniences of using additional services using feature codes are representative examples. have.

In other words, if a domestic home network subscriber uses roaming abroad, he / she cannot use the feature code currently used in Korea in connection with an additional service. In addition, since most mobile communication terminals used in Korea do not support USSD, there is no method for activating or deactivating specific services (call waiting, call forwarding, roaming allowance, etc.) except for feature codes. .

Therefore, in order to set or control the activation or deactivation of supplementary services used in Korea through the subscriber terminal roaming in the overseas visit network, the only method was to call a domestic customer center and request a counselor. .

As such, subscribers who are roaming overseas need to call a customer service center in order to properly use domestic supplementary services. There are problems such as inconvenience of customers and delay in time due to outgoing charges and direct calls.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for enabling a subscriber terminal roaming overseas in a visited network to be used as a feature code of a domestic standard through a predetermined promised feature code. have.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be described below and will be appreciated by the embodiments of the invention. Further, objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and the combination shown in the appended claims.

In order to achieve the above object, a feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber according to the present invention, a service for supporting an additional service using a feature code in a roaming subscriber terminal roaming into a visited network A system for providing, receiving an intelligent network service request message from a visited network exchange according to a call origination including a roaming feature code of a roaming subscriber station, and converting the roaming feature code included therein into a feature code according to a home network standard. An intelligent network controller for generating an intelligent network service message and transmitting the generated intelligent network service message to a home location register; And a home location register which receives the intelligent network service message including the feature code transmitted from the intelligent network controller, sets the supplementary service according to the feature code, and then transmits supplementary service information set to the visited network of the roaming subscriber station. Include.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a communication system including an intelligent network controller and a home location register, a method for providing a service that enables a roaming subscriber terminal roaming into a visited network to control an additional service using a feature code (A) receiving, by the intelligent network controller, an intelligent network service request message from a visited network exchange according to a call origination including a roaming feature code of a roaming subscriber terminal; (b) the intelligent network controller converting a roaming feature code included in the message into a feature code according to a home network standard to generate an intelligent network service message and transmitting the generated intelligent network service message to a home location register; (c) receiving, by the home location register, the intelligent network service message and setting an additional service according to a feature code included therein; And (d) transmitting, by the home location register, additional service information set to a visited network of the roaming subscriber station.

According to the present invention, a roaming subscriber code that roams a visited network by controlling a supplementary service in a home location register by converting a roaming feature code previously promised by a roaming intelligent network controller into a feature code of a domestic standard. Through this, it provides an effect that enables you to easily activate and deactivate domestic supplementary services.

In addition, it is possible to control the domestic supplementary services only by inputting the roaming feature code of the roaming terminal without requiring a separate procedure, thereby inducing the use of supplementary services by the roaming customer and providing the effect of improving the overall service quality. do.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the description of the invention below, And should not be construed as limiting.
1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication network environment in which a feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a location registration procedure of a roaming subscriber station roaming into a visited network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of supporting a feature code service for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in a feature code conversion DB provided in a feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of control information according to a CAMEL protocol included in an ISD message transmitted to a visiting network in a location registration process in a feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be construed as having a conventional or dictionary meaning, and the inventors should properly explain the concept of terms in order to best explain their own invention. Based on the principle that can be defined, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept corresponding to the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, It is to be understood that equivalents and modifications are possible.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication network environment in which a feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented.

Referring to the drawings, the system according to the present invention includes a home network 110 and a visited network 130, and subscribers of the home network 110 roam to the visited network 130 to receive communication services. The visit network 130 may be an overseas network.

In FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 131 is a communication terminal having a voice call, a video call, a text message transmission, and a global roaming function. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 131 is a terminal roaming to the visited network 130 as a terminal of a subscriber to the home network 110.

Referring to FIG. 1, the home network 110 includes a gateway location register (GLR) 111, a home location register (HLR) 113, a roaming SCP (Service Control Point) 115, and a roaming SCP ( 115 includes the feature code conversion DB 116 provided. Here, a wireless access network (access network, base station, base station controller, etc.), an exchange (MSC), a gateway exchange (GMSC), a message center, etc. are included together, but a description thereof will be omitted here.

The gateway location register 111 serves as a gateway for location registration processing of the mobile terminal 131 roaming from the home network 110 to the visited network 130. When the location registration request is received from the roaming subscriber terminal 131 Request a location registration to the home location register 113 that accommodates the roaming subscriber station 131.

The gateway location register 111 downloads the subscriber profile from the home location register 113 and sends it down to the exchange 133 on the roaming subscriber terminal 131 side. In addition, the gateway location register 111 relays the exchange of routing information between the home location register 113 of the home network 110 and the exchanger of the visited network 130 or between the home location register of the visited network and the exchanger of the home network.

The home location register 113 manages the profile of the mobile subscriber as well as the current location information of the mobile terminal. The home location register 113 stores the location information of the roaming subscriber terminal 133 when the location registration request from the roaming subscriber terminal 131 comes up through the gateway location register 111 and stores the subscriber profile in the gateway location register 111. Down.

In the present invention, the home location register 113 stores and manages various additional service information or additional service setting information as a subscriber profile, and provides this information to an exchange or a visited network to apply the corresponding additional service to subscribers. . In addition, the home location register 113 serves to provide routing information and additional service information for the mobile terminal using a subscriber profile including the stored location information and additional service information of the mobile terminal. That is, when the routing information request for a specific mobile terminal is received from the originating exchange, the home location register 130 checks the destination exchange using the location information of the mobile terminal, and obtains a routing number from the destination exchange. Transmit to originating exchange.

In addition, the home location register 113 receives a feature code according to the standard of the home network and changes or sets additional service information set for the corresponding subscriber. At this time, the feature code is directly received from the subscriber located in the home network, but the feature code converted to meet the home network standard is received from the subscriber roaming in the overseas visited network through the roaming SCP 115.

In addition, the newly set additional service information is applied directly to the subscriber terminal in the case of the home network or by providing the corresponding additional service information to the visited location register, and in the case of an overseas visited network, the visited network through the gateway location register 111. Provided by the exchange or visit network to apply. In this case, the newly set additional service information may be delivered using an insert subscriber data (ISD) message.

When the outgoing call is received from the roaming subscriber station 131 roaming into the visitor network 130, the switch 133 of the visitor network 130, before the incoming call processing (for example, call processing through an international telephone network), roams the roaming service. Service request message is sent to SCP 115 to request the intelligent network service processing for roaming subscriber.

At this time, during the location registration process of the roaming subscriber terminal 131 roaming to the visited network 130, the intelligent network service request message is sent to the roaming SCP 115 when the subscriber terminal roamed to the visited network. The registration message is received from the home location register 113 of the home network, and is registered and stored. Accordingly, the roaming subscriber station 131 roaming to the visited network is processed accordingly.

Through this, when the exchange 133 of the visited network 130 receives the outgoing call sent from the roaming subscriber station 131, before the outgoing call is processed through the inter-network switching network (eg, an international telephone network), the outgoing call The intelligent network service is requested to the roaming SCP 115 of the home network 110 through the signal network based on the identification number of the roaming subscriber terminal 131 included in the home network 110. That is, the exchange 133 of the visited network 130 suspends the incoming call processing of the outgoing call.

When the exchange 133 of the visited network 130 receives the completion response to the intelligent network service request, the exchange 133 receives the outgoing call through the network between the network (eg, international telephone network). On the other hand, after the additional service setting control processing is performed as a result of the intelligent network service request according to the roaming feature code transmission, the call release request is received from the roaming SCP 115, and thus the originating call is terminated. That is, since the origination is only for the control process of activating or deactivating the additional service of the home network using the roaming feature code, the actual incoming process is not performed.

Here, the roaming feature code refers to a code in the form of a called party number that has been promised in advance so that the roaming SCP 115 of the home network can be converted into a standard feature code of the home network. This roaming feature code is included in the called number field of the origination information when the roaming subscriber terminal 131 is transmitted to the roaming SCP 115 through the visitor network 130 exchange 133. Furthermore, the intelligent network service request message transmitted from the exchange 133 of the visited network 130 to the roaming SCP 115 of the home network 110 is used with an initial DP (IDP) message, and roams on the CalledPartyBCDNumber information of the IDP message. Feature codes are included and delivered.

Roaming SCP 115 provides intelligent network services for roaming subscribers roaming from home network 110 to visited network 130. For example, intelligent network services such as local discount service and prepaid service are controlled. That is, when the roaming SCP 115 receives the intelligent network service request message from the exchange 133 of the visited network 130, the roaming SCP 115 performs roaming-related intelligent network service logic such as prepaid charge deduction and regional discount with reference to the subscriber profile.

In the present invention, the roaming SCP 115 is a logic for converting the roaming feature code included in the call origination of the roaming subscriber terminal 131 roaming to the visited network 130 other than the service to a feature code conforming to the standard of the home network Do this. In addition, the roaming SCP 115 may be included in a general intelligent network controller (SCP).

That is, the roaming feature code included in the Calling Number and CalledPartyBCDNumber fields of the intelligent network service request message received from the exchange 133 of the visited network 130 is extracted, and the feature code conversion DB ( 116) to generate the intelligent network service message by converting it into a standard feature code recognizable by the home network home location register 113, and performing a logic for transferring the information to the home location register.

In addition, the feature code conversion DB 116 is a database in which the roaming feature code and the home network standard feature code previously promised to the roaming subscriber station 131 correspond to each additional service provided by the communication network. Through this, the roaming SCP 115 may convert the roaming feature code extracted from the intelligent network service request message into a standard feature code through the feature code conversion DB 116.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in a feature code conversion DB provided in a feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4, an example of the feature code conversion DB 116 provided in the roaming SCP 115 according to the present invention will be described.

As shown in the figure, the feature code conversion DB 116 according to the present invention stores additional service items, correspondingly stored roaming feature codes and domestic standard feature codes. As an example of being stored in the additional service item, services such as voice mail service, automatic connection, call forwarding, call waiting, call waiting, call rejection, and the like may be stored.

In addition, the roaming feature code and the domestic standard feature code corresponding to each additional service are divided into an activation code and a deactivation code and stored. That is, for example, the roaming feature code and the standard feature code stored in response to the 'waiting on call' supplementary service are as shown in the drawing, and the activation code is 114 * 40 + SEND and * 40 + SEND, respectively. Are stored '114 * 400 + SEND' and '* 400 + SEND' respectively. Therefore, according to this example, when '114 * 40 + SEND' is included in the intelligent network service request message as the roaming feature code, the roaming feature code item is confirmed by the feature code conversion DB 116 as shown in the figure, and corresponding thereto. The feature code is converted to the * 40 + SEND, the national standard feature code. In addition, it can be seen that this is a feature code for activating the call waiting service of the additional service in the home location register.

Next, the location registration procedure of the roaming subscriber station 131 under the system of the present invention will be described first with reference to FIG.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a location registration procedure of a roaming subscriber station roaming into a visited network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the subscriber station 131 roaming from the home network 110 to the visited network 130 receives a location registration request message to the exchange 133 through a wireless access network when a location registration requirement such as power-on occurs. Location (S201), and the exchange 133 receiving the location registration request confirms that the subscriber is the subscriber of the home network 110 based on the identification number of the roaming subscriber station 133, and the gateway location register 111 of the home network 110. In step S203, a location registration request message (Update Location) is transmitted.

The gateway location register 111 that receives the location registration request message from the exchange 133 of the visited network 130 sends the location registration request message to the home location register 113 that accommodates the roaming subscriber station 131. It is transmitted (S205).

Then, the home location register 113 updates the location information of the roaming subscriber terminal 131 and inquires the profile of the roaming subscriber and transmits it to the gateway location register 111 by putting it in an Insert Subscriber Data (ISD) message (S207). ). Upon receiving the ISD message including the subscriber profile, the gateway location register 111 transmits the received ISD message to the exchange 133 on the roaming subscriber terminal 131 side (S209). The exchange 133 of the visited network 130 registers and stores the subscriber profile included in the ISD in the visited location register.

At this time, the home location register 113 sends a setting message to the roaming SCP 115 to transmit an intelligent network service request message, that is, an IDP message, to the roaming SCP 115 when the subscriber terminal 131 roams to the visited network. In addition, it transmits to the exchange 133 of the roaming subscriber terminal 131 via the gateway location register 111. Through this, the subscriber station 131 roaming in the visited network will post an IDP message from the visited network switch 133 to the roaming SCP 115 first.

As such, when the location registration process, the location registration request message is first transmitted to the roaming SCP 115, and the information to set the IDP message to be included in the ISD message is sent down to the visited network exchanger 133. An example of control information according to the included CAMEL protocol is shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ISD message according to the CAMEL protocol sent to the visited network switch 133 includes information for changing the OCSI SCF address information to the address information of the roaming SCP 155. Therefore, when all roaming subscriber terminal 131 is sent, the intelligent network service request message is transmitted according to the roaming SCP 115 address information.

In addition, the home location register 113 registers the roaming subscriber's profile to the visited network 130 and simultaneously inserts the roaming subscriber's profile into the roaming SCP 115 that provides the intelligent network service to the roaming subscriber. Data) is carried in the message (S211). The roaming SCP 115 registers the roaming subscriber's profile and then provides the intelligent network service to the roaming subscriber.

Hereinafter, when a call including a roaming feature code is sent from the roaming subscriber terminal 131 roaming to the visited network 130 with reference to FIG. 3, the home network 110 converts the call into a standard feature code, and then the corresponding feature code. A series of methods of controlling the setting of the supplementary service and applying the supplementary service accordingly will be described in detail.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of supporting a feature code service for an overseas roaming subscriber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the roaming subscriber station 131 roaming to the visited network 130 attempts to make a call with a roaming feature code for controlling an additional service according to a user's input. At this time, the roaming feature code is a code of the called party number in advance, and corresponds to the standard feature code for each additional service. That is, since the visited network 130 cannot use the domestic standard feature code used in the domestic home network 110, the roaming feature code in the form of a called number promised to be easily converted in the domestic home network 110 is used.

For example, when attempting to place a call in the visited network 130 with a * 72 + call button, which is a feature code of the domestic standard, it does not recognize this and may not function as a proper feature code. Therefore, if the call is made to the promised roaming feature code such as 114 * 72 + call button in the form of a called number, and it is changed to * 72 + call button which is a standard feature code in the home network 110, the function code plays a role of the feature code. To do it.

As such, the outgoing call originating from the roaming subscriber station 131 including the roaming feature code is transmitted to the originating exchange 133 of the visited network 130 (S101).

The originating switch 133 of the visited network 130 receiving the originating call checks the subscriber profile registered in the visited location register to confirm the intelligent network service trigger information. If the intelligent network service trigger is set, the originating exchange 133 suspends the incoming call processing of the originating call and roams to request the intelligent network service to the roaming SCP 115 of the home network 110 according to the intelligent network service trigger information. Send the Initial DP operation with the feature code.

At this time, the roaming feature code is stored in the 'CalledPartyBCDNumber' field of the IDP message and transmitted. Here, the intelligent network service trigger information is set and stored in the visited network or the visited network exchange side during the location registration processing of the roaming subscriber station roaming into the visited network as described above with reference to FIG. 2 (S102).

The roaming SCP 115 of the home network 110 recognizes a roaming feature code included in the Initial DP operation, and instructs processing to convert the roaming feature code into a feature code of a domestic standard. That is, when the received IDP message includes a roaming feature code of a predetermined type, the control is performed to convert the received IDP message into a standard feature code (S103).

When the feature code conversion processing instruction is given, the conversion processing is performed by inquiring the received roaming feature code to the feature code conversion DB 116 and extracting a corresponding domestic standard feature code. For example, when the received roaming feature code is '114 * 240 + SEND', if the query is made to the feature code conversion DB 116, the domestic standard feature code is '* 240 + SEND' according to the example of FIG. If the standard feature code is extracted, the roaming feature code can be converted into the standard feature code (S104).

Next, when the feature code conversion process is completed, the roaming SCP includes the converted feature code in the IDP message and delivers it to the home location register of the home network. According to the above example, the IDP message is delivered with the feature code '* 240 + SEND' (S105).

The home location register receives an IDP message, checks a feature code included in the home location register, and then sets and processes an additional service corresponding to the feature code. That is, according to the above example, the feature code '* 240 + SEND' is checked, and the deactivation of the call forwarding service, which is an additional service, is performed (S106).

As such, when a supplementary service is newly set in the home location register, a procedure of delivering the supplementary service information set to the exchange of the visited network is performed through the gateway location register (GLR) to apply it to the corresponding subscriber. At this time, the message used to deliver the additional service information uses the ISD message (S107, S108).

In the visiting network exchange, a procedure of newly applying the additional service to the corresponding roaming subscriber station 131 is performed based on the received additional service information. That is, according to the above example, the procedure to apply to deactivate the do not disturb service is performed (S109).

The method of the present invention as described above may be embodied as a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (such as a CD-ROM, a RAM, a ROM, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk).

While the specification contains many features, such features should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention or the scope of the claims. Also, the features described in the individual embodiments herein can be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described herein in a single embodiment may be implemented in various embodiments individually or in a suitable subcombination.

It is to be understood that, although the operations have been described in a particular order in the figures, it should be understood that such operations are performed in a particular order as shown, or that a series of sequential orders, or all described operations, . In some circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, it should be understood that the division of various system components in the above-described embodiments does not require such division in all embodiments. The above-described program components and systems can generally be implemented as a single software product or as a package in multiple software products.

The present invention described above is capable of various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is not limited by the drawings.

110: home network 111: gateway location register
113: home location register 115: roaming intelligent network controller
116: feature code conversion DB 130: visit network
131: roaming subscriber station 133: visited network exchange

Claims (11)

A system for providing a service that enables a roaming subscriber terminal roaming into a visited network to control an additional service using a feature code,
Receiving an intelligent network service request message from a visited network exchange according to a call originating a roaming feature code of the roaming subscriber terminal, and converting the roaming feature code included therein into a feature code according to a home network standard to generate an intelligent network service message Intelligent network controller for transmitting to the home location register after the; And
A home location register that receives the intelligent service message including the feature code transmitted from the intelligent network controller, sets an additional service according to the feature code, and transmits additional service information set as a visited network of the roaming subscriber station; Feature code service support system for overseas roaming subscribers. The method of claim 1,
The intelligent network controller,
A roaming feature code that is previously promised to a roaming subscriber terminal and a home network standard feature code correspond to each additional service provided by a communication network, and have a feature code conversion DB stored therein, and the roaming feature code included in the intelligent network service request message is included in the feature list. Feature code service support system for overseas roaming subscribers, characterized in that the conversion process to the standard feature code through the code conversion DB. The method of claim 1,
The roaming feature code is
Feature code service for overseas roaming subscribers, which is in the form of called party number promised in advance with roaming subscriber so that it can be converted into standard feature code, and is included in called party number field of outgoing information when calling from roaming subscriber terminal Support system. The method of claim 3, wherein
The intelligent network service request message or the intelligent network service message,
Feature code service support system for overseas roaming subscriber, characterized in that the IDP (Initial DP) message. The method of claim 4, wherein
The roaming feature code is
The feature code service support system for overseas roaming subscribers, characterized in that included in the CalledPartyBCDNumber information of the IDP message. The method of claim 1,
The intelligent network controller,
And a roaming intelligent network controller (RSCP) that performs service processing of roaming subscribers. The method of claim 1,
The home location register, at the time of location registration processing of the subscriber terminal roaming to the visited network,
Feature code service support for overseas roaming subscribers, characterized in that a registration message is sent to the visited network switch to register and store the intelligent network service request message to the intelligent network controller when the subscriber station roams to the visited network. system. The method of claim 1,
The home location register,
A feature code service support system for an overseas roaming subscriber, characterized by transmitting the set additional service information to a visited network through an Insert Subscriber Data (ISD) message. In a communication system including an intelligent network controller and a home location register, a method for providing a service that enables a roaming subscriber terminal roaming into a visited network to control an additional service using a feature code,
(a) receiving, by the intelligent network controller, an intelligent network service request message from a visited network switch according to a call origination including a roaming feature code of a roaming subscriber station;
(b) the intelligent network controller converting a roaming feature code included in the message into a feature code according to a home network standard to generate an intelligent network service message and transmitting the generated intelligent network service message to a home location register;
(c) receiving, by the home location register, the intelligent network service message and setting an additional service according to a feature code included therein; And
and (d) transmitting, by the home location register, additional service information set to a visited network of the roaming subscriber station. The method of claim 9,
The step (b)
The roaming feature code that is previously promised to the roaming subscriber terminal and the home network standard feature code correspond to each additional service provided by the communication network, and the roaming feature code is converted into a feature code according to the standard through a stored feature code conversion DB. How to support feature code services for international roaming subscribers. The method of claim 9,
Before step (a) above,
When the home location register processes the location registration of the subscriber station roaming in the visited network,
And registering and transmitting a setting message to the visited network switch to induce the intelligent network service request message to be sent to the intelligent network controller when the subscriber station roams to the visited network. How to support feature code services for.

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