RU2394392C2 - Method and system for determining presence of mobile station in special service area of mobile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technology.

SUBSTANCE: proposed solution enables determination of presence of a mobile station in at least one service area of a mobile communication system which provides services in several geographically distributed service areas. The mobile station is activated in order to provide information on the position associated with presence of the mobile station at the position which receives services from the service area which contains the given special service area. If present in the special service area, the mobile station automatically receives special services to which it has rights. Reception of special services is automatically indicated to the mobile station user.

EFFECT: reduced load on administrative functional communication centres.

19 cl, 2 tbl, 9 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to mobile communication systems comprising mobile communication terminals and radio network infrastructure, fixed communication terminals, application nodes and a transport network. In particular, the present invention provides a method and system for determining the presence of a mobile station in at least one specialized service area, delivering information to users of mobile communication terminals that receive a service from a specialized service area, and also for the services and functionality provided by the system communications in a specialized service area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication systems of the prior art comprise a plurality of communication terminals and nodes connected by means of a communication network. Communication systems provide functionality and services to users of a communication system through their communication terminals.

Modern communication terminals can have many physical access capabilities to the communication network through access points. Physical access can be based on a radio link using the radio frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as WLAN, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, DECT or Bluetooth standards, or use another part of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared ports, etc. These types of access are commonly referred to as wireless or cellular access. In addition, fixed linear connections can form part of a communication system using electromagnetic, optical or equivalent means for transporting information. The latter are widely known by standards such as ADSL, SDSL, cable modem, LAN, ISDN or regular PSTN, etc., and are usually referred to as wired access.

Communication terminals that have only a wireless connection as physical access are denoted by the term “mobile terminals”.

In addition to physical access, the terminal may have a number of functional access to services and functionalities provided by the communication system, which may include, but are not limited to, switched voice calls, voice calls based on Internet Protocol (IP), Service Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Internet browsing and email.

The communication system, moreover, has functional nodes of administration, costing and execution. Functional execution nodes actually provide the functionality and services of a communication network. Functional administration nodes register various elements, such as subscribing users to services and functionalities, connection status of functional and physical access of a user terminal, allowable quota for functionalities and services, user authentication, terminal authentication and passwords. The costing functional units in the communication system record the actual use of the functionality and services, convert the actual use into quantities that can be charged, and send the charging information to the billing system, which can be inside or outside the communication system.

Communication systems at the current level contain many parties that offer services and functionality to users of a communication system. These parties are designated by the term "Suppliers". Suppliers provide competing services and features.

When a wireless communication network is spread over a wide geographic area, it is denoted by the term “Terrestrial Public Mobile Network (PLMN)”. Examples of PLMN are GSM, GPRS, and UMTS. A mobile terminal that has access through the PLMN is usually referred to by the term “Mobile Station” (MS).

In order to process multiple Mobile Stations, the PLMN is geographically divided into one or more Service Areas (SA) of the Visitor Location Register (VLR) (hereinafter - VLR-SA). Typically, a VLR-SA, in turn, may contain one or more Location Service Areas (LSAs). Separation in VLR-SA is valid for all users (Mobile Stations). LSA can only provide the user with various access rights. In general, a service area is subdivided into many smaller geographical areas called service cells.

The user may also be subscribed to special or specialized geographic areas or service areas, which are usually referred to by the term “zone”. The zone provides the ability to provide specialized services to the user and / or to adapt the provision of services and functionalities or the calculation of their cost, for example, according to the special requirements of a particular user or group of users. A zone may contain one or more PLMN cells, and the zone may be located within the LSA. Examples of a user zone are a home zone and an office zone. The home area contains a cell or cells PLMN that cover the user's home, and the office area contains a cell or cells that cover the area of the user's workplace. In addition, time zones can be defined, such as for a festival or major sporting events, etc.

Zones provide providers with the ability to distinguish between offering services and features, as well as their cost, for example.

In the prior art, the concept of specialized areas or service areas, as well as the implementation of the concept of a zone, is widely known. However, the main drawback of existing systems and methods is that each service and functionality individually monitors the mobile stations to determine if a mobile station is present in the zone and to provide appropriate specialized services.

Accordingly, it is often necessary to interrogate administrative functional units in a communication system. This causes an excessive and inappropriate load on these administrative functional nodes, such as the Private Subscriber Location Register (HLR).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for determining whether a mobile station is present in a specialized area or service area of a mobile communication system without causing undue strain on existing administrative functional units of the mobile communication system.

In a second aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for indicating whether a mobile station is receiving a service from a specialized service area.

In a third aspect, the present invention relates to a system and method for implementing and using the method of the present invention.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining the presence of a mobile station in at least one specialized service area of a mobile communication system providing service in a plurality of geographically distributed service areas, the method comprising the steps of:

a) determine whether the mobile service station receives from a communication system providing service to this or each specialized service area;

b) determine whether the mobile station receives service from a service area containing this or each specialized service area, and if the determination is positive;

c) actuating the mobile station to provide location information related to the presence of the mobile station in a location receiving service from a service area that contains this or each specialized service area; and

d) determine the presence of the mobile station in a given or each specialized service area by comparing the location information provided by the mobile station with the stored location information related to this or each specialized service area.

The method according to the present invention prevents the network administrative function node, such as HLR, from being overloaded with location polling requests to determine the presence of a mobile station by providing location information by the mobile station if and only if the mobile station receives service from a service area containing a specialized service area. The method according to the present invention applies the adaptive control details of mobile communications, so that location information is provided if there is a real possibility that the mobile station will enter a specialized area or service area. Since the location information is provided to the mobile station, the method according to the present invention is very flexible in terms of implementation in a variety of services that operate inside or outside the mobile communication system, such as, but not limited to, the Virtual Private Network (VPN) service provided by the network operator or service provider.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the service area comprises a plurality of geographically distributed service cells, the mobile station provides location information upon receipt of service from another cell. To prevent overloading, location information is provided only when the mobile station crosses cell boundaries. Those skilled in the art will recognize that cell identification information is available to the mobile station during its operation, and cell identification information is mainly used to determine if the service of the mobile station changes as it moves from one cell to another.

In the case where the mobile station no longer receives service from the service area containing the specialized service area, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the mobile station is activated to stop providing location information. In such a case, the above steps a) to d) are performed in reverse order.

If a mobile station is present in a specialized service area and receives service from a mobile communication system that is adapted to provide services for such a specialized service area, then at least one specialized service to which the mobile station is entitled or to which the mobile station is subscribed is provided by the system mobile communications automatically.

This or each specialized service can be allocated to at least one group containing a specific mobile station, a specific group of mobile stations, in at least one specialized service area. That is, a particular service or services may be provided to a group of mobile stations in an office zone, a single subscriber’s mobile station in a home zone, or in a temporary service area serving a particular event, for example.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the mobile station is present in a given or each specialized service area and the mobile station receives service from a mobile communication system that is not adapted to provide the mobile station with this or each specialized service, then the mobile station is forcibly activated to receive service from a mobile communication system that is adapted to provide a mobile station to a given or each joint venture personalized services. With this so-called enforcement feature of the zone of the present invention, a mobile station always receives specialized services in a specialized service area, regardless of whether the mobile station enters this or each specialized service area from a mobile communication system adapted to provide specialized services for such specialized service areas or service areas.

In practice, a specialized service area is assigned to a mobile station on a subscription basis using mobile station identification.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a specialized service area is assigned to a unique International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI), which is provided by the mobile station along with location information. IMSI is located on the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), which forms the removable part of the mobile station.

In yet another embodiment of a method according to the present invention, obtaining service from a service area containing a given or each specialized service area is determined by registering the mobile station with an administrative functional node, such as a VLR of a mobile communication system.

Typically, a mobile station subscribes to a particular mobile communication system called a home communication network. Regardless of whether the mobile station is located in the service area to which the home system provides services, or in another guest communication system, the mobile station registers with the home system of the administrative function node, which is called the HLR.

Accordingly, in yet another embodiment of the present invention, obtaining a service from a communication system providing service to a given or each specialized service area is determined from registering a mobile station with an administrative functional node, such as a register of locations of own subscribers of a mobile communication system.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the presence of a mobile station in a given or each specialized service area is indicated to the user of the mobile station. Such an indication preferably contains at least one action from the group that includes:

- displaying the name of the specialized mobile communication system on the display of the mobile station;

- display of a specialized icon on the display of a mobile station; and

- providing a specialized sound signal by a mobile station.

The sound signal, for example, may be different for various specialized services provided, such as, for example, a special sound signal for calls, the answer to which will be free for the user.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for determining the presence of a mobile station in at least one specialized service area of a mobile communication system providing service to a plurality of geographically distributed service areas, the system comprising processing means that are connected:

- with a database tool for storing location information defining a given or each specialized service area;

- with means for exchanging location information, identification information and command information with the mobile station;

- with a means for exchanging administrative information, such as a register of locations of its own subscribers, mobile communication systems,

moreover, the processing means is adapted to operate in accordance with the method according to the present invention disclosed above.

The processing means may reside within and / or outside the mobile communication system, for example, in a suitably programmed zone server.

Preferably, in yet another embodiment of the system of the present invention, the processing means is connected to a means for exchanging administrative information, such as a register of locations of own subscribers, a plurality of mobile communication systems. For this embodiment, the forced use of the zone can be easily implemented, since the processing means or the server of the zone can directly communicate with the administrative functional nodes to register the mobile station in the corresponding administrative functional node to receive specialized services, if the mobile station is present in a specialized service area, but does not receive service from a mobile communication system adapted to provide a specialist connected mobile station services, such as HLR.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the processing means is connected to a means that implements functionality and services to determine the presence of a mobile station in a given or each specialized service area described by a unique identifier of the mobile station. Functionality and services, among other things, can be arranged to interrogate the zone server for the actual presence in the zone or the presence in any zone of a particular mobile station described by its IMSI. In addition, they can start or stop subscribing to changes in the presence state of a particular combination of zone, PLMN, and IMSI.

For control and monitoring purposes, in yet another embodiment of the present invention, the processing means or zone server also has a connection to a terminal for editing, deleting, or creating new zone records in the zone database, for example.

The present invention further relates to a mobile station for use in the method and system disclosed above, the mobile station comprising means for providing location information.

The present invention is described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

LIST OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 - diagram of the relationship of the geographical areas of PLMN;

2 is a diagram of a communication system of the present invention;

Figure 3 - diagram of the zone server;

4 is a diagram of data stored in a zone server;

5 is a state diagram of a zone state sequence determination unit;

6 is a flowchart of a request processing process in a zone server;

7 is a schematic message flow between a zone server and a mobile station for a zone in a home PLMN;

Fig. 8 is a schematic message flow between a zone server and a mobile station for a shadow zone in a guest PLMN;

9 is an illustration of a state diagram of a zone application in a mobile station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Without any limitation, the present invention is described with reference to its example implementation in a cellular mobile communication environment.

Figure 1 illustrates the geographical relationship between PLMN, VLR-SA, LSA and zones. Two PLMNs of the same type, for example GSM, usually have only a small common boundary region (III). When the mobile station is in the boundary region, it can access both PLMNs, otherwise it can only access one of the PLMNs. If the PLMNs are of a different type, for example GSM and UMTS, then these PLMNs can completely or partially overlap each other. The geographical area of the PLMN is divided into one or more VLR-SAs. Within the geographic area of the VLR-SA, one or more LSAs (I) are located. Inside the LSA (I) are one or more zones (II), which form a geographic area covered by honeycombs (A, B, C and D).

A mobile station registers with one or more PLMNs as a home PLMN. When a mobile station moves into the geographical area of other PLMNs, there it will be registered as a visitor. Zones can be defined in the PLMN when it is the home PLMN for the mobile station, or in the guest PLMN owned by the same operator that owns the home PLMN.

2 illustrates a communication system comprising one or more PLMNs (23a, 23b, 23c). The communication system further comprises a zone server (20), which is connected to the zone data base (21). The zone server is connected to the administrative function node (25) in each PLMN. For PLMNs of type GSM or UMTS, the administrative function node is referred to as HLR. The zone server is also connected to mobile stations (28) through access points (27) and a gateway (26). Both of these connections provide the zone server with information about the geographical area of the mobile station. The zone database contains one registration record for each specific zone for each PLMN for each IMSI mobile station. Each registration record stores the presence state of the mobile station in a specific area.

The zone server is also connected to functional nodes (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) that implement the functionality and services. These functional nodes can query the zone server for the actual presence in the zone or the presence in any zone of a particular mobile station described by its IMSI. In addition, they can start or stop subscribing to changes in the presence state of a particular combination of zone, PLMN, and IMSI.

The zone server also has a connection to the terminal (29) for editing, deleting, or creating new registration records in the zone database. The terminal is connected to the communication system through one of the access points (30) of the communication system. The transport network of the communication system establishes a connection between the access point and the zone server.

An advantage of the zone server of the present invention is that it can serve multiple PLMNs. Accordingly, an operator having multiple PLMNs can serve zones in all of these PLMNs with only one zone server and zone database.

In addition, it is an advantage that the zone server according to the present invention notifies the user of the mobile station of the presence of a mobile terminal in the zone.

A zone server according to the present invention can enforce a zone. Force enforcement of a zone is required when the mobile terminal is in the boundary region or overlapping region of two different PLMNs. The first PLMN is the home PLMN of the mobile terminal, and it contains a zone located inside an overlapping or boundary region. If the mobile terminal is located in the second PLMN in which he is a visitor, then when entering the zone, there is no switching to the home PLMN, since the connection with the guest PLMN is maintained. An advantage of the zone server according to the present invention is that it automatically forcibly switches the mobile terminal to the home PLMN so that it is registered as being present in the zone .

Zone Database

The server (20) of the zone uses the database (21) of the zone data to store administrative and operational data. The stored data is divided into 4 groups. The contents of the zone database are outlined in FIG. 4.

The first group is the general administrative data (40) used to start the zone server.

The second group is a table (41) of the zone with registration records (42) of the zone. The fields of the zone registration record include: ID (Zone Registration Identifier), IMSI, STATE (Presence Status), PLMN (home PLMN in which the zone is located), VLR (VLR-SA in which the zone is located), LSA (LSA, which the zone is located), ZONE (the name of the zone in the form in which it is displayed on the user terminal), Cells (a list of cells that form the zone).

Using a unique zone ID provides the advantage of creating multiple zones of the same type for a user, such as multiple office zones. The STATUS field can have the following values: OUT (the current location of the mobile station is outside the home PLMN for this zone), PLMN (the mobile station is in the home PLMN for this zone, but not yet in the VLR-SA containing this zone), VLR (mobile the station is located in the VLR-SA containing this zone, but not yet in the LSA containing this zone), LSA (the mobile station is in the LSA containing this zone, but not in the zone itself), Zone (the mobile station is in this zone ) The PLMN, VLR, and LSA fields contain the actual PLMN, VLR, and LSA in which the zone is located. Advantageously, the credentials PLMN, VLR and LSA can be replaced with the destination address by the responsible administrative functional node, for example, PLMN = destination address HLR.

To enforce a zone in the zone table, there is a shadow zone record entry. The shadow registration entry has the same fields as the zone registration entry. The content is nonetheless slightly different. LSA is blank because the shadow zone is defined in the guest PLMN. A functional mobility node may not be available, and if it is present, then it may not be available because it belongs to another operator. The PLMN field does not contain an HLR address, but instead it contains a VLR address describing the VLR-SA in the guest network. Therefore, the fields PLMN and VLR-SA contain the same value. The VLR address of the VLR-SA region where the mobile station is located is held in the HLR of the mobile terminal.

Since the zone table is accessed very often, it is indexed by both the ID field and the IMSI field. This gives the advantage of faster access, since these fields are the only two fields that are used for direct access.

The third group is a subscription table (43), which contains one subscription registration record (44) for each service or functionality, which subscribes to an IMSI entry or exit notification to / from the zone. The subscription registration record contains the zone ID, as well as the target details of the subscribed service or functionality.

The fourth group is a table (45) with authentication records (46). Each registration record describes details on a terminal with service access. This includes at least the credentials of a user with a password to log in, but there can also be an extension to include elements such as a certificate for a unique terminal with service access.

As an option, the zone server or its individual functional nodes can have a local cache that is read at startup from the zone database and is updated in parallel with zone database updates. This option has the advantage that the read speed is increased, and the requirements regarding the speed of access to the zone database are kept within the established limits.

Figure 3 illustrates in detail the zone server. The zone server consists of three sections (I, II, III). Section 1 (I) tracks the presence of the mobile station in geographic areas. Section 2 (II) processes requests for presence information from services and features. Section 3 (III) processes service access to create, edit, or delete zone descriptions.

Section 1 contains a comparator (means of comparison) (31), an intermediate block (32) operating on a first-come-first-served basis (FIFO) and a block (33) for determining the sequence of zone states. The comparator receives messages of the current geographic area and geographic area change messages for mobile stations. Messages related to the current state or change of the PLMN or VLR-SA are received from the HLR via connection (108). Messages related to the current state or LSA change are received from the mobility management function in the HLR through the connection (109). Messages related to the current or changed cell are received from mobile stations. Each message contains the IMSI of the mobile station, as well as the type and value of the geographical area in which the mobile station is present or in which it has moved. For each message received, the comparator retrieves those zone records from the zone database in which the IMSI matches. Retrieving and processing multiple matches provides the ability to process adjacent zones and multiple PLMNs, as well as enforcing the zone.

The comparator modifies each zone registration record and writes it to the intermediate FIFO block. The modification includes replacing the list of cells of the zone registration record with a field of a geographical area (containing 'PLMN', 'VLR', 'LSA' or 'Zone') and a match field (containing '=' or '≠'). The geographic area field takes on the type of geographic area indicated in the received message. The match field takes on a value by comparing the value of the geographic area indicated in the message with the value in one of the fields of the geographic area in the zone record of the same type as the geographic area indicated in the received message. The comparator has additional functionality for inclusion in the current state when two fields have the same value. If PLMN and VLR-SA have the same value, then the comparator takes the PLMN field for comparison when the status field contains the value OUT. The comparator receives the VLR-SA field for comparison when the current state field contains PLMN or VLR. This functional unit facilitates the enforcement of the zone.

The zone state sequence determination unit (33) performs a hierarchical region method for tracking the presence of mobile stations in geographical regions. This method has the advantage that it further reduces the load on the administrative functional node of the mobile networks. The basis of the method is that the subscription to the administrative functional node for changes in the geographical area is performed only when the mobile station enters the geographical area of higher order. For example, an LSA change subscription for a specific mobile station is only performed when the mobile station enters the VLR-SA containing the zone. When the mobile station leaves the VLR-SA containing the zone, the subscription stops.

An additional advantage is gained by the border processing method. When an area such as a zone, LSA or VLR-SA is located at the boundary of the PLMN, the mobile station can go not only to the aforementioned PLMN, but also simultaneously to a lower-order geographical area. Therefore, the border processing method requests the current value of the first type of the lower order region when the mobile station enters the higher order region. For example, when the mobile station enters the home PLMN, a request is made for the current VLR-SA.

Both of these methods are also useful when starting a zone server. In this case, the initialization procedure executes the initial HLR subscriptions for PLMN / VLR changes and executes requests for the current PLMN / VLR for each IMSI for which the zone registration is present in the zone database.

The zone state sequence determination unit reads the modified zone registration records from the intermediate FIFO block. As input, it uses the contents of the status field and LSA field in the modified zone registration record along with the geographic area field and the match field, which are determined by the comparator. The contents of the status field determine the current state, and the other three fields determine which next state to go to. Before entering the next state, the state sequence determination unit performs one or more possible procedures. These procedures can provide messages that are redirected via connections (111, 112, and 113). Since multiple zone registrations are processed for one IMSI, multiple messages for this IMSI can also be generated. Therefore, the state sequence determination unit temporarily stores the message to the same IMSI until it becomes necessary to transmit the message to another IMSI. Messages are sorted to ensure the correct order, for example, deactivation messages are transmitted primarily (as, for example, when leaving a zone), and then activation messages are transmitted (as, for example, when simultaneously entering another zone in the same LSA).

After performing the procedures, the state sequence determination unit writes (104) the next state back to the zone database in the zone registration record indicated by the ID in the modified zone registration record. The state changes are illustrated in FIG. The line numbers in FIG. 5 correspond to Table 1 below, which includes procedures executed for a particular state change.

Table 1 Table of the block for determining the sequence of zone states:
(X = indifferent state) Line Current state Condition LSA Actions Next state one OUT New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones X No action OUT 2 OUT New PLMN = PLMN Zones X Request an active MS application for the current VLR Plmn

3 OUT New VLR ≠ VLR Zone X Execute error handling procedure OUT four OUT New VLR = VLR Zone X Execute error handling procedure OUT 5 OUT New LSA ≠ LSA Zones X Execute error handling procedure OUT 6 OUT New LSA = LSA Zones X Execute error handling procedure OUT 7 OUT New Sota ≠ Sota Zone X Execute error handling procedure OUT 8 OUT New Cell = Zone Cell X Execute error handling procedure OUT 9 Plmn New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones X Deactivate the MS application OUT 10 Plmn New PLMN = PLMN Zones X Execute error handling procedure Plmn eleven Plmn New VLR ≠ VLR Zone > 0 No action Plmn 41 Plmn New VLR ≠ VLR Zone = 0 Deactivate the MS application OUT 12 Plmn New VLR = VLR Zone > 0 Request current LSA to subscribe to LSA changes Vlr 42 Plmn New VLR = VLR Zone = 0 Put the MS application in cell signaling mode Vlr 13 Plmn New LSA ≠ LSA Zones X Perform error handling procedure Plmn fourteen Plmn New LSA = LSA Zones X Perform error handling procedure Plmn fifteen Plmn New Sota ≠ Sota Zone X Perform error handling procedure Plmn 16 Plmn New Cell = Zone Cell X Perform error handling procedure Plmn 17 Vlr New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones > 0 Unsubscribe for LSA changes OUT 43 Vlr New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones = 0 Deactivate the MS application OUT eighteen Vlr New PLMN = PLMN Zones X Perform error handling procedure Vlr 19 Vlr New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones > 0 No action Plmn 44 Vlr New VLR ≠ VLR Zone = 0 Turn MS application into expectations.
Request current VLR Plmn twenty Vlr New VLR = VLR Zone > 0 Execute error handling procedure Vlr 21 Vlr New VLR ≠ VLR Zone X No action Vlr 22 Vlr New VLR = VLR Zone X Put the MS application in cell update mode LSA 23 Vlr New LSA ≠ LSA Zones > 0 Execute error handling procedure Vlr 24 Vlr New LSA = LSA Zones > 0 Execute error handling procedure Vlr 45 Vlr New Sota ≠ Sota Zone = 0 No action Vlr 46 Vlr New Cell = Zone Cell = 0 MS pushes the network Vlr 25 LSA New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones > 0 Unsubscribe for LSA changes.
Put the MS in standby mode OUT 26 LSA New PLMN = PLMN Zones > 0 Execute error handling procedure LSA

27 LSA New VLR ≠ VLR Zone > 0 Unsubscribe for LSA changes.
Put the MS in standby mode Plmn 28 LSA New VLR = VLR Zone > 0 Execute error handling procedure LSA 29th LSA New LSA ≠ LSA Zones > 0 Put the MS in standby mode Vlr thirty LSA New LSA = LSA Zones > 0 Execute error handling procedure LSA 31 LSA New Sota ≠ Sota Zone > 0 No action LSA 32 LSA New Cell = Zone Cell > 0 Notification to MS user
Change S3 / S4 to the request handler ZONE 47 LSA X = 0 Execute error handling procedure Vlr 33 ZONE New PLMN ≠ PLMN Zones > 0 Unsubscribe from LSA changes.
Put the MS in standby mode.
Change S3 / S4 to the request handler OUT 34 ZONE New PLMN = PLMN Zones > 0 Execute error handling procedure ZONE 35 ZONE New VLR ≠ VLR Zone > 0 Unsubscribe from LSA changes.
Put the MS application in standby mode.
Change S3 / S4 to the request handler Plmn 36 ZONE New VLR = VLR Zone > 0 Execute error handling procedure ZONE 37 ZONE New LSA ≠ LSA Zones > 0 Put the MS application in standby mode.
Change S3 / S4 to the request handler Vlr 38 ZONE New LSA = LSA Zones > 0 Execute error handling procedure ZONE 39 ZONE New Sota ≠ Sota Zone > 0 Change S3 / S4 to the request handler
Notification to MS user LSA 40 ZONE New Cell = Zone Cell > 0 No action ZONE 48 ZONE X = 0 Execute error handling procedure Vlr

The procedures mentioned in Table 1 are described in more detail below.

No action

Without action, in essence, it is not a procedure, but only an indication in the state table so as not to take any action. This also implies a failure to record the next state to the zone record.

Request current VLR-SA

This procedure records a message requesting the current VLR-SA for a specific IMSI (Mobile Station) via connection (111) to the HLR. The request is executed when the mobile station enters the home PLMN. The purpose of this routine procedure is to handle situations when the mobile station not only enters the home PLMN, but also simultaneously enters the VLR-SA containing the zone. Subscribing to VLR-SA changes will not work, as this will only mean logging out of VLR-SA, into which you logged in simultaneously with logging into PLMN. IMSI is retrieved from the modified zone entry.

Request Current LSA

This procedure records a message requesting the current LSA for a specific IMSI (Mobile Station) via connection (112) to the mobility management function in the HLR. The request is executed when the mobile station enters the VLR-SA containing a specific area for this mobile station. The purpose of this procedure is to handle situations when a mobile station not only enters a VLR-SA containing a specific zone, but also simultaneously into an LSA containing a zone. Subscribing to LSA changes will not work, since this will only mean exiting the LSA into which you were logged in at the same time as you entered the VLR-SA containing a certain zone. IMSI is retrieved from the modified zone entry.

Subscribe to LSA changes

This procedure transmits a message for subscribing to LSA changes for the IMSI (Mobile Station) to the mobility management functional node in the HLR via connection (112). IMSI is retrieved from the modified zone entry. This message is generated only when the mobile station logs into the VLR-SA containing a specific area for the mobile station. The purpose of this procedure is to obtain changes in the LSA of the mobile station to determine whether the mobile station enters or leaves the LSA containing a specific area for this mobile station.

Unsubscribe from LSA changes

This procedure transmits a message to the mobility management functional node in the HLR through the connection (112) to stop subscribing to LSA changes when the mobile station leaves the VLR-SA containing a specific area for this mobile station. This message contains IMSI as a description of the mobile station for which the subscription should be stopped. The purpose of this routine procedure is to reduce the load on the HLR, since LSA changes are not required, provided that the mobile station is not in the VLR-SA containing a specific area for the mobile station. IMSI is retrieved from the modified zone entry.

Activate the mobile station application

This procedure processes an interactive message sequence in which the current version of the mobile station application is checked, and a new version is downloaded if the current version is not available or if it is not suitable for the PLMN in which the mobile station is located, and the state of the mobile station application changes to standby mode. The message sequence begins when the mobile station enters the PLMN. All messages are forwarded through the interface (113).

Deactivate the mobile station application

This message is transmitted when the mobile station leaves the PLMN. This message is transmitted through the interface (113), and it causes the application of the mobile station to become inactive.

Switching the mobile station application to cell change mode

This procedure transmits a message through connection (113) to start a notification of a cell change or a change of access point to which the mobile station has access. The purpose of this procedure is to check whether a mobile station enters or leaves one of the cells within a specific area. The message contains the IMSI of the mobile station, as specified in the modified zone record.

Transitioning the mobile station application to cell alarm mode

This procedure transmits a message through connection (113) to switch from standby to cell alarm mode. The cell signaling mode causes a mobile station to check to determine if the current cell or access point corresponds to a cell or access point identified in the line contained in the message. The message also contains the IMSI of the mobile station, as specified in the modified zone record.

Putting the mobile application in standby mode

This procedure transmits a message through connection (113) to switch to standby mode, stopping either the cell alarm mode or the cell change mode. The purpose of this procedure is to reduce the load on the radio network, since cell change notifications are only necessary when the mobile station is in the LSA containing a specific area for this mobile station. The message contains the IMSI of the mobile station, as specified in the modified zone record.

Notify mobile station user

This procedure transmits a notification message (M7) to the mobile station via connection (113) via the gateway (26). When the current state corresponds to the LSA, the message contains the zone name and IMSI of the mobile station, as specified in the modified zone registration record. The mobile station will display the name of the zone on the display as a notification to the user that he is in this zone. When the current status corresponds to the Zone value, the transmitted message contains an instruction for deleting the zone name from the display.

Mobile station pushes network

This procedure transmits a message through connection (113) in order to switch to another network identified in the message. The message contains the name of the network you want to connect to, and the IMSI of the mobile station, as specified in the modified zone registration record.

Passing state changes 3-4 to the request handler

The LSA-Zone and LSA-Zone state changes are signaled to the request handler.

This procedure is executed when the mobile station enters or leaves a specific area. The zone state sequence determination unit transfers the ID / state pair to the request handler in section 2. The ID is a copy of the ID field in the zone registration record. The state is the current state as specified in the modified zone registration record.

Routine error handling

The error handling procedure is performed for two main situations. The first situation is the reception of a message about a change in a geographical area at a lower hierarchical level when the mobile station is not yet at the correct hierarchically higher level in a geographical area. An example of this situation is the receipt of a VLR-SA change message when the mobile station is not in the home PLMN. Since these messages only occur when they are subscribed to, for some reason the subscription does not stop properly. Accordingly, the error processing procedure again transmits the applicable stop message (VLR-SA, LSA or cell change), as described above.

The second situation is when a geographical area change message is received, when the current state indicates that the mobile station is already in that area. For example, receiving a shift message to enter the VLR-SA when the mobile station is already in that VLR-SA. There may be a number of reasons why this is the case. One of them is that the mobile station was turned off or was temporarily out of access while leaving the geographical area, and now it is again entering this area. Another reason may be that messages for receiving the current geographic area are received later than the subscription for changing the geographic area accepted by the administrative functional unit. In the second situation, the error handling procedure does not take any additional actions.

Optionally, errors can be recorded in the zone database for subsequent analysis.

Section 2 contains a request handler (34) and an FIFO input block (35). Incoming requests from services and functionalities received via the connection (106) are stored in the FIFO input unit (35). The request handler reads incoming requests from the input FIFO block and processes them one at a time. All responses are sent back to the requesting service or functionality through the connection (105). The request processor has a connection (102) with the zone database for reading and writing subscription registration records to the subscription table, as well as for reading zone registration records from the zone table. The query processor also receives (114) ID / status pairs of zone records from the state sequence determination unit (33) when a state changes from 'LSA' to 'Zone' or from 'Zone' to 'LSA'. The request handler performs a single process for processing requests, which is interrupted by the received ID / state pairs.

The request has a standard format containing the following fields:

IMSI, Zone, Subscription and Destination. IMSI, Zones, and Subscriptions fields may be left blank. The subscription field may have a value of 'start' or 'stop'. The zone field contains the name of the zone. The destination field contains the destination to which replies should be sent. The types of queries depend on the fields left blank, as shown in Table 2.

table 2 IMSI Zone Subscription Inquiry Is empty Is empty Is empty No requests Is empty Is empty TO BEGIN Is not allowed Is empty Is empty STOP Stop all subscriptions for a requesting feature or service Is empty Name Is empty Check for the presence of any IMSI in the zone Is empty Name TO BEGIN Start subscribing to the entry / exit of any IMSI to / from the zone Is empty Name STOP Stop subscribing to the entry / exit of any IMSI to / from the zone room Is empty Is empty Check for IMSI in any zone room Is empty TO BEGIN Start subscribing to IMSI I / O to / from a zone room Is empty STOP Stop subscribing to IMSI I / O to / from a zone room Name Is empty Check for IMSI in the zone room Name TO BEGIN Start subscribing to IMSI I / O to / from the zone room Name STOP Stop IMSI in / out subscription to / from a zone

The request processing process is shown in FIG. 6. After retrieving the next request from the requesting service or functionality from the FIFO input unit, the request handler performs a first check (D1) to determine if the IMSI field and the Zone field in the request are empty.

If yes, then the request handler proceeds to the second check (D5), where it is determined whether the subscription field in the request contains the value “stop”. If not, the request handler proceeds to action (A11), sending back an error message stating that the request is invalid to the requesting service or functionality. After the request processing is completed, the process begins for the next request from the input FIFO block.

If the result of the second check (D2) is positive, then the request handler performs action (A9), in which all subscription registration entries in the subscription table corresponding to IMSI, Zone and destination are deleted. Since both the IMSI field and the Zone field are empty, this means that each corresponding destination field causes the subscription to be deleted. After that, the processing is completed, and the process begins for the next request from the input FIFO block.

If the result of the first check is negative, then a check is performed again to determine if the subscription field in the request contains the value “stop”. If so, the request handler proceeds to action (A9), in which it deletes all subscriptions corresponding to the IMSI, Zone and destination. If any one of the IMSI or Zone fields is empty, then any subscription registration record corresponding to the other fields is deleted. After action (A9), processing ends and the process begins for the next request from the input FIFO.

If both checks (D1) and (D2) fail, then check (D3) is performed, which determines whether the subscription field is empty in the request. If yes, then action (A8) is performed, on which all zone records corresponding to the IMSI and Zone values in the request are read from the Zone table. In step (A10), a response is prepared for each received registration record, which is transmitted to the requesting service or functionality. Each response contains an IMSI and a Zone, as indicated in the zone registration record, as well as an indicator that has a value of "inside" when the status field has a value of "zone", or an value of "outside" if the status field has any other value. Responses are sent to the destination as indicated in the request. After processing is complete, the process begins for the next request from the input FIFO block.

If all checks (D1), (D2) and (D3) fail, then check (D4) is performed, in which it is determined whether the subscription field in the request contains the value "start". If not, then action (A11) is performed in which an error message stating that the request was invalid is sent back to the requesting service or functionality. After the request is completed, the process begins for the next request from the input FIFO.

If the result of check (D4) is positive, then action (A6) is performed, which is comparable to the action (A8) described above. Next, action (A7) is performed in which a subscription registration record is created for each received zone registration record. The values of the ID, IMSI, and Zone fields are copied from the zone registration record to the subscription registration record. The value of the destination field is copied from the request. The subscription table does not allow multiple registrations with the same values of ID, IMSI, Zone and destination. In such cases, the subscription registration record is overwritten. As described above, after action (A7), action (A10) is performed. This directly provides the requesting services and functionality with an initial value for the presence of the mobile station in a particular area. After transmitting a message for each zone entry, the request processing ends, and the process begins for the next request from the FIFO input block.

The request processing process is interrupted when an ID / Status pair is received through the connection (114) from the zone state sequence determination unit. The zone state sequence determination unit transmits an ID / state pair when a state changes from 'Zone' to 'LSA' or from 'LSA' to 'Zone'. The state in the ID / Status pair is the current state.

When an ID / Status pair is received, the request handler interrupts the request processing and starts the subscription process. The ID of the ID / Status pair is compared with the ID field of each subscription registration record. Where a match is found, the request handler prepares a message with IMSI, the zone, and the value 'input' or 'output'. IMSI and zone are copied from the subscription registration record. The input or output is determined based on the status in the ID / Status pair. If the state has a value of 'Zone', then the value of 'input' is applied, if the state has a value of 'LSA', then the value of 'output' is applied. The message is sent to the destination indicated in the destination field of the subscription registration record. When the verification of all subscription registration entries is completed, the routine subscription procedure is completed and the request processing process continues.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments of Section 2 are possible in which the presence and variations of presence expand to higher order geographical areas.

Section 3 contains a service processor (36), which is connected (103) with the zone database and (107) with one or more service terminals via the transport network of the communication system. The operator who wants to perform zone maintenance, first, performs a connection request with the service handler. The service handler begins a logical login procedure in which the user ID and password are requested. When they are received from the operator, the service handler extracts from the table with identification records the registration record identified by the user identifier from the zone database. The service handler compares the provided password with the password stored in the authentication account. Optionally, it also verifies the identity of the terminal and / or the destination address of the terminal. If all checks succeed, then access is granted.

After that, the operator can select the options for changing the password or editing the zone description.

When requesting editing descriptions of zones, the operator, as a user, is prompted to enter IMSI, by which the service handler reads all registration records with the corresponding IMSI in the zone database from the zone table. This list is provided to the user, who can select one zone description from the list to delete or edit it, or the user does not select any description and creates a new zone description. The service handler confirms the user input and performs the required updates in the zone table. When the user deletes the zone description, the service handler also checks the subscription table. If a subscription has been made for this zone description, then it is also deleted. If the user enters a new zone description, the service handler checks to see if there is any other zone description for this IMSI. If not, the service handler performs an initial HLR subscription for change messages when PLMN / VLR changes occur. The service handler also requests the HLR to transmit the current PLMN / VLR in which the mobile station is located.

In the case where only specific IMSI sets are allowed to serve by multiple users, an optional IMSI check can be implemented. Therefore, an additional table containing registration records with pairs of user identifier and IMSI is part of the zone database. When the user enters IMSI, an optional check is first performed by confirming that the registration record with the user ID and IMSI is present in the additional table. This is especially useful when different providers use a single operator zone server.

Another option is the automatic generation of shadow zones. Based on the list of overlapping access points and cells, a shadow zone record is automatically created with the creation of a zone registration record.

Mobile station application

The zone server communicates with the zone application in mobile terminals. This communication is performed through the gateway (26) to the PLMN (23a, 23b and 23c) in which the mobile terminal is present, as well as through the access point (27). This communication uses modern transport mechanisms available for a given type of PLMN, for example, USSD, SMS-0, OTA or SIP. The zone application itself is also transported using the same transport mechanisms. Accordingly, the user of the mobile terminal does not need to download and install the zone application, and the zone server performs this procedure completely automatically. This has the added benefit that the zone server controls the version of the zone application, and it can update the zone application if necessary.

The zone server activates the zone application in each terminal, which is known to the zone server by its IMSI when it is turned on inside the PLMN coverage area or when it enters the PLMN coverage area. When the mobile terminal leaves PLMN, the zone server deactivates the zone application again. This procedure also applies if the server covers a zone of multiple PLMNs, as well as for guest PLMNs with shadow zones. This is an additional advantage, since it provides the opportunity to use different versions of applications for different PLMNs.

9 illustrates the application of a zone in its various states, as well as the messages that it receives and generates in these states. If the zone application is constantly in the mobile terminal but inactive, then it is in the Inactive State (I). When the mobile terminal is turned on inside the PLMN covered by the zone server, the version check message (M1) is transmitted to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal responds with messages (M2) versions indicating the version of the application area located in the mobile terminal. If the version is correct for the given PLMN where the mobile station is located, then the zone server transmits an activation message (M5). Upon receipt, the zone application transitions (L101) from the Inactive state to the Standby state (S). If there is no zone application in the mobile terminal or if it does not have the correct version, then the zone server sends a packet message (M3) that contains the correct version of the zone application. This package is self-installing, and it generates a ready message (M4) when the installation is completed. When a ready message is received, the zone server sends an activation message. Installing a version involves removing other versions of the zone application.

The activated zone application has 3 different operating modes. The idle state (S), the cell update state (U), and the signaling state of the cell (A). The zone server issues state change commands by sending special messages to the zone application. When the zone application is in the standby state and a message (M6) is received to transition to the cell update state, the zone application switches (L103) to the cell update state (U). When the message (M8) goes into standby mode, the zone application returns (L104) to the standby state. In the cell update state, the zone application transmits a cell change message (M9) each time the mobile station enters another cell or switches to another access point. This message includes the identifier of the access point to which the mobile station has joined, or the identifier of the cell into which the mobile station has entered. The zone server may transmit a notification message (M7) when the zone application is in a cell update state, which will change the text of the operator / network on the display of the mobile terminal. Thus, the zone server can indicate to the user of the mobile terminal that the mobile terminal is located in or connected to this zone, so that the user will be notified that certain functionalities are available. The same message can be used to notify the user that he has left the zone.

When the mobile terminal enters a standby state after entering the guest PLMN, which has a shadow zone of a certain zone in the home PLMN, the zone server can send the change message (M10) to the cell alarm mode. Then, the zone application transitions (L105) to the cell signaling state (A). The cell alarm transition message contains a string of identifiers of access points or cells in the guest PLMN. In the cell alarm state, the zone application will generate a cell match message (M12) if the identifier of the access point to which the mobile terminal is attached or the identifier of the cell in which the mobile terminal is located matches one of the identifiers of access points or cells indicated in the line. The cell match message contains the identifier of the matching cell or access point.

Based on the received cell match message, the zone server may transmit a network push message (M11). The zone application will perform the action of switching the connection of the mobile station to the correct network. If a connection is made to the correct network, the zone application automatically switches (L106) back to the standby state.

When the mobile terminal leaves a specific PLMN, the zone server deactivates the zone application by transmitting a deactivation message (M14) that causes the zone application to be deactivated (L102).

7 illustrates interactions between a zone server and a zone application for the case when a mobile terminal joins inside a PLMN or enters a PLMN containing a specific zone, passes through that zone, and then leaves the PLMN again.

In the off position or in the absence in the PLMN containing this zone, the status field of the zone registration record is OUT. The zone application is inactive or not yet present in the mobile terminal. When the mobile terminal turns on or enters into the PLMN, which is reported to the zone server by the administrative function node in the PLMN, the zone server sends a version check message (M1) and changes the zone record status field to PLMN. Based on the received messages (M2) of the version, the zone server either immediately transmits an activation message (M5) or first transmits a packet message (M3) and waits for a readiness message (M4) from the zone application. After receiving the activation message, the zone application enters the standby state.

The zone application retains a wait state until the mobile terminal transitions to the LSA containing the zone. The zone server receives a notification from the mobility functional node in the administrative functional node PLMN. It transmits a cell update message (M6) to the zone application to the cell update mode and sets the zone status to the LSA. The zone application enters the cell update state. Then it starts transmitting the cell change message (M9) to the zone server. If the identifier in the cell change message matches one of the identifiers of the zone cells, the zone server sets the zone status field to the Zone value and transmits a notification message (M7) to the zone application, notifying the user about the presence in the zone. Meanwhile, the zone application continues to transmit cell change messages. As long as they all coincide with the description of the zone, the state of the zone remains in the value of Zone.

When the zone server receives the first cell change message, which does not match the zone description, the zone server again sends notification messages notifying the user that he has left the zone. The zone status changes again to LSA. The zone application continues to transmit cell update messages until the zone server receives a notification from the mobility functional node in the PLMN administrative functional node that the mobile terminal has left the LSA. The zone server sends the standby message (M8) to the zone application and sets the state of the zone to VLR. Upon receipt of this message, the zone application goes into standby mode and informs the zone server of this by transmitting the standby message (M13). If the terminal ultimately leaves the PLMN radio coverage area, then the zone server is notified of this via the administrative functional node of this PLMN. The zone server acts by transmitting a deactivation message (M14) to the zone application, which goes into an inactive state without further notice.

FIG. 8 illustrates another case where a mobile terminal enters a guest PLMN containing a shadow zone and enters a shadow zone.

Upon entering the guest PLMN, the basic actions are the same as those described for the previous case. The version is checked, and it adapts as necessary, the zone server instructs the zone application to activate and enter the standby state. The zone application acknowledges the receipt of this message by means of a standby message (M13).

The zone application remains idle until the terminal enters the VLR containing the shadow zone. The zone server is notified of this through administrative functional units in the home PLMN of the mobile terminal. The zone server now transmits a message in the signaling mode of the cell with the identifiers of access points and cells that form the shadow zone. The status of the shadow zone registry entry becomes VLR.

The zone application goes into a cell alarm state. In this state, the zone application continuously checks if a match exists. If so, a cell signaling message (M12) is sent to the zone server. The zone server transmits a network push message (M11) to the zone application containing the identifier of the network containing the valid zone. A zone application performs an action to switch to another network. When switching, the zone application transmits a standby message (M13) to the zone server and enters standby mode. By connecting to another network, the mobile terminal actually enters the PLMN containing the actual zone. Processing for the registration record of this zone proceeds as described for the previous case.

The effect of switching to another PLMN also means that the zone server is notified of this and sends a deactivation message (M14) to the zone application, which accordingly switches to the inactive state. The status of the shadow zone registry entry becomes OUT.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention represent one of the possible ways of implementing the invention, which will allow specialists in the art to understand the main ideas of the present invention.

Claims (19)

1. A method of providing a mobile station with at least one specialized service by means of a mobile communication system that comprises at least one mobile communication network, each of which at least one mobile communication network comprises a plurality of higher order geographic service areas adapted to provide service a mobile station, wherein at least one of said plurality of higher order geographic service areas comprises at least one g a lower-order geographic service area adapted to provide service to a mobile station, wherein the specialized service area is in a higher-order geographic service area and a lower-order geographic service area, the method comprising the steps of:
a) monitor whether the mobile station receives services from a higher level geographical service area;
b) determining the presence of a specialized service area in said higher order geographic service area when it is detected that the mobile station is receiving service from said higher order geographic service area;
c) monitor whether the mobile service station receives from a lower-level geographic service area when establishing the presence of a specialized service area in the current higher-order geographic service area;
d) determining the presence of a specialized service area in said lower-level geographical service area when it is detected that the mobile station is receiving service from said lower-level geographical service area;
e) operating a mobile station to provide location information when establishing the presence of a specialized service area in said lower-level geographic service area;
f) provide location information by the mobile station after being activated by the mobile station to provide location information;
g) monitor for the presence of the mobile station in a specialized service area based on location information provided by the mobile station;
h) provide the mobile station with said at least one specialized service upon detecting the presence of the mobile station in said specialized service area. 2. The method according to claim 1, additionally containing phase, in which:
i) determine the lower-level geographic service area from which the mobile station receives the service upon detecting that the mobile station receives the service from the higher-order geographic service area. 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising stages in which:
j) establish the absence of a specialized service area in a higher order geographic service area when it is detected that a mobile station is receiving service from a higher order geographic service area;
k) power the mobile station to stop providing location information. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising stages in which:
l) detects the presence of a mobile station in an alternative specialized service area located in an alternative overlapping geographic service area of a higher order when establishing the presence of a mobile station in a specialized service area based on location information provided by the mobile station;
m) transmitting to the mobile station identification data of said alternative geographical service area of higher order;
n) by a mobile station, switching the service to said higher order alternative geographical service area;
o) provide the mobile station with an alternative specialized service. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of establishing the presence of the mobile station in the specialized service area based on the location information provided by the mobile station, comparing the location information received from the mobile station with previously stored location information related to the specialized service area. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one communication network comprises a plurality of cells, of which the mobile station receives service, the specialized service area comprising at least one cell. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of providing location information after the mobile station is activated to provide location information relates to providing identification data of a cell from which the mobile station receives service. 8. The method according to claim 7, in which, at the stage of providing location information after activating the mobile station to provide location information, the identification data of the cell from which the mobile station receives the service is provided when the mobile station is switched to another cell. 9. The method according to claim 1, in which the user indicate the presence of a mobile station in a specialized area of service. 10. The method according to claim 9, in which at the stage of indicating to the user about the presence of said mobile station in a specialized service area, at least one of the following is performed:
displaying the name of the communication network, wherein said specialized service area is indicated on the display of said mobile station;
display a specialized icon on the display of the mobile station; and
provide a specialized sound signal through a mobile station. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of higher order service areas comprises at least one Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), at least one of which is a home PLMN of the Mobile Station, and at least one Region Services of the Visitor Location Register (VLR-SA), and at the monitoring stage, whether the mobile station receives services from a new geographical area of higher order service:
a1) register in the administrative function of the Own Subscriber Location Register (HLR) of said at least one PLMN mobile station to receive a notification of a change in a mobile station receiving service from PLMN or VLR-SA;
a2) receive a change notification indicating the PLMN or VLR-SA providing the mobile station service from the administrative function PLMN of the mobile station. 12. The method according to claim 11, in which the lower-level geographic service area may include a Location Service Area (LSA), while at the stage of monitoring to determine whether the mobile service station receives from the lower-level geographic service area:
c1) register in the HLR mobility function of the home PLMN of the mobile station to receive a notification of a change in the mobile station receiving service from the LSA;
c2) receive from the mobility function of the home PLMN a change notification indicating the LSA that provides service to the mobile station. 13. The method according to claim 1, additionally containing stages in which:
p) verify in the presence in the mobile station a current computer application program containing computer-executable instructions for providing location information when it detects that the mobile station is receiving service from a top-level geographic service area; and
q) download the aforementioned current computer application program to provide location information to the mobile station and install the current computer application program at the mobile station when it detects that there is no current computer computer application present at the mobile station to provide location information. 14. A mobile communication system for providing a specialized service mobile station, comprising:
at least one mobile communication network, wherein each of said at least one mobile communication network comprises a plurality of higher order geographic service areas adapted to provide service to a mobile station, wherein at least one of said plurality of higher order geographic service areas contains at least at least one lower-level geographic service area adapted to provide service to a mobile station, moreover, specialized the service area is in a higher order geographic service area and a lower order geographic service area;
means for storing location information;
processing means operatively connected to means for storing location information related to a specialized service area and identification data of a mobile station, the processing means being operatively connected to the mobile station via said at least one communication network, while the processing means is connected to at least one the administrative functional unit of said at least one mobile communication network and the processing means is arranged to carry out tapas of the method according to claim 1. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the means for storing location information comprises a database containing service area information associated with the identity of the mobile station. 16. Processing means for providing a specialized service mobile station that is operatively connected to means for storing location information related to the specialized service area and mobile station identification data, the processing means being operatively connected to the mobile station through at least one mobile communication network, wherein said at least one mobile communication network further connects the processing means to the administrative functional units said at least one mobile communication network, wherein each of said at least one mobile communication network comprises a plurality of higher order geographic service areas adapted to provide service to a mobile station, and at least one of said plurality of higher order geographic service areas contains at least one lower-level geographic service area adapted to provide service to a mobile station, wherein ializirovannaya service area is a geographic area of service and of higher order in a lower order geographical service area, wherein the processing means is adapted to perform the method steps of claim 1. 17. A mobile station adapted to receive specialized services in a specialized service area, which is functionally connected to the processing means according to clause 16 through at least one mobile communication network, each of the at least one mobile communication network contains many geographical areas of higher an order adapted to provide service to a mobile station, wherein at least one of said plurality of higher order geographic service areas comprises at least one lower-level geographic service area adapted to provide service to a mobile station, wherein the specialized service area is located in a higher-order geographic service area and in a lower-order geographic service area, wherein the mobile station is configured to provide location information to the processing means via a communication network after actuation of the mobile station by means of processing. 18. The mobile station of claim 17, further configured to be activated by the processing means to enter the standby mode when the processing means detects that the mobile station is receiving service from a higher order geographical service area. 19. The mobile station of claim 18, further configured to download and install a current-location computer application for providing location information containing computer-executable instructions when the processing means detects in the mobile station that there is no current-time computer application for providing location information .

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