WO2013104913A1

WO2013104913A1 - Telecommunications systems and methods

Info

Publication number: WO2013104913A1
Application number: PCT/GB2013/050048
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeffrey Wilson
Original assignee: Intellprop Limited
Priority date: 2012-01-13
Filing date: 2013-01-11
Publication date: 2013-07-18
Also published as: GB2498521A; GB201200553D0

Abstract

A method of handling a telephone call request received from a calling party in a wireless telecommunications network is described. The method comprises receiving from a calling party a request to establish a telephone call with an intended recipient party; generating a routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party; receiving the routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party at a service apparatus associated with a call-handling service of the wireless telecommunications network; sending a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus; identifying an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party; obtaining routing information associated with the intended recipient party from a home location register; and routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party. Thus a scheme is provided that allows two parties to work together to manage incoming calls for one of the parties in wireless telecommunications network.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS AND METHODS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to systems and methods for use with mobile telecommunications networks, such as GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) networks. The invention is particularly concerned with the provision of additional service functions in mobile telecommunications networks.

The use of mobile telecommunications networks is becoming ever more ubiquitous. Indeed, in some regions of the world mobile networks support the majority of telecommunications. For example, in countries with limited landline infrastructure, mobile networks may provide the only practical means for telecommunications.

One drawback of mobile telecommunications networks, at least in some respects, is a reduced flexibility in services that can be provided to end users as compared to landline systems.

For example, in the context of a landline telecommunications network it is relatively common for an organisation to link various telephone points associated with various personnel to assist in the handling of telephone calls. For example, a telephone point associated with an executive may be linked to a telephone point associated with an assistant to the executive to allow the assistant to help manage the executive's calls. For example, a system may be configured so that telephone calls placed to a telephone number associated with the executive may be answered at the executive's telephone point or at the assistant's telephone point. Furthermore, the manner in which the telephone call is handled, for example which telephone(s) ring, is easily configurable and selectable according to the user's needs. This flexibility stems from the ability to centrally manage phone calls received at the organisation on landlines. However, in a situation where telecommunications are primarily based on mobile networks it is not generally possible to provide the same level of flexibility in call-handling. This is because calls placed to an individual's mobile telephone are not generally routed through any central point where they can be processed by end users in the same way as described above for landline networks. Accordingly, an executive receiving a call on his mobile phone is generally obliged to answer the call himself or to reject the call outright.

There is currently no simple mechanism that provides the flexibility to control the manner in which the delivery of a telephone call is handled. For example in the case where there is an executive and an assistant, which telephone or telephones ring, and when they ring, and to also offer call transfer between the executive and assistant at any time, in either direction. Accordingly, there is a desire to provide this kind of functionality in association with mobile telephone communications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a wireless telecommunications network comprising: a mobile switching centre arranged to receive from a calling party a request to establish a telephone call with an intended recipient party and to generate a routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party in dependence thereon; and a service apparatus associated with a call-handling service of the wireless telecommunications network, wherein the service apparatus is operable to receive the routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party, to send a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus; to identify an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party, to obtain routing information associated with the intended recipient party; and to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to connect a telephone call between the calling party and an initial recipient party, the initial recipient party being one of the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is further operable to connect a telephone call between the calling party and the other recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is further operable to connect a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to connect a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party in response to signalling received from the initial recipient.

In accordance with some embodiments the signalling is associated with a keypress on a telephone keypad associated with the initial recipient. In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to connect a telephone call between the calling party and one of the initial recipient party and the other recipient party in response to the other one of the initial recipient party and the other recipient party initiating termination of the telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to transfer a telephone call between the calling party and one or other of the initial recipient party and the alternative recipient party in response to signalling received from the initial recipient party or the alternative recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and to the alternative recipient party such that alert mechanisms associated with incoming call requests are active for both the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party at the same time.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to an initial recipient party selected from the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party, and to subsequently route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party from the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party if the initial recipient party rejects a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party if a telephone call is not established between the calling party and the initial recipient party within a predetermined time.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to receive configuration information in association with the intended recipient party for the call-handling service in the wireless telecommunications network, and to route the request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party in a manner that depends on the configuration information.

In accordance with some embodiments the service apparatus is operable to receive configuration information by text message and / or from a handset application and / or via a web interface and / or via a voice call.

In accordance with some embodiments the wireless telecommunications network is a Global System for Mobile communications, GSM, based network.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of handling telephone call requests received from calling parties in a wireless telecommunications network associated with intended recipient parties, the method comprising: receiving from a calling party a request to establish a telephone call with an intended recipient party; generating a routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party; receiving the routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party at a service apparatus associated with a call-handling service of the wireless telecommunications network; sending a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus; identifying an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party; obtaining routing information associated with the intended recipient party; and routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party.

It will be appreciated that features and aspects of the invention described above in relation to the various different aspects of the invention are equally applicable and may be combined with other aspects of the invention as appropriate. For example, features corresponding to those identified above in relation to aspects of the invention implemented as an apparatus embodiment may equally be provided in embodiments of the invention implemented as a method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference is now made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 schematically shows a wireless telecommunications network according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 schematically shows a signalling ladder diagram representing a mode of operation of the wireless telecommunications network of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 schematically shows a signalling ladder diagram representing a further mode of operation of the wireless telecommunications network of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There follows a summary of some of the terms and acronyms which are used in this description. As will be readily understood, some of these terms and acronyms are established terms and acronyms in the art while some of the terms and acronyms relate more particularly to the description of embodiments of the present invention.

Term / Acronym Meaning

alternative recipient party An alternative party that calls may be redirected to.

(Also referred to as the assistant)

associated party A party (either the intended recipient party or

alternative recipient party) that is not currently involved in the call .

call setup message Signalling messaging associated with call setup

calling party A party that made the call

configuration database Part of a service apparatus that contains subscriber profiles

connected party A party that is currently connected to the call that was made by a calling party

intended recipient party A party that was called by the calling party. (Also

referred to as an executive.)

media resource An element configured to provide audio tones and announcements (may be part of the service apparatus or external to the service apparatus)

mobile telecommunications network A mobile network

service apparatus Equipment providing a service in accordance with an embodiment of the invention (may also be called "ICS") voice switch element Part of a service apparatus that provides voice switching capabilities

ACM Acronym: Address Complete Message - An ISUP message to indicate that the called party's phone is ringing.

ANM Acronym: Answer Message - An ISUP message to

indicate that the called party has answered their call .

CAMEL Acronym: Customised Applications for Mobile networks Enhanced Logic - A means of providing non-standard services over a GSM network. DTMF Acronym: Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency- A method of indicating key presses by means of tones that are sent down the audio channel .

G-MSC Acronym: Gateway Mobile Switching Centre - A GSM network device responsible for the delivery and routing of signalling messages and calls in a GSM network. gsmSCF Acronym: GSM Service Control Function - A GSM device that contains CAMEL service logic.

HLR Acronym: Home Location Register- A GSM network device that contains the subscriber's network profile and location information.

1AM Acronym: Initial Address Message - An ISUP call setup message.

ICS Acronym: Inbound Call Services - The platform providing the services in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

ISUP Acronym: ISDN User Part- An SS7 signalling interface used for the management of calls.

MAP Acronym: Mobile Application Part- A GSM signalling interface that is used for the management on mobile phone mobility services.

MSRN Acronym: Mobile Station Roaming Number- A temporary number assigned to a mobile phone (or other equipment) that allows calls to be routed to it via a Mobile Switching Centre.

REL Acronym: Release Message - An ISUP message that indicates that one of the parties in a call has disconnected .

RLC Acronym: Release Complete Message - An ISUP message that indicates that the other party has acknowledged the release of the call by the other party.

SRI Acronym: Send Routing Information - A MAP signalling message which is used by the G-MSC in orderto retrieve location information from the HLR for the purposes of establishing a call .

T-CSI Acronym: Terminating CAMEL Subscription Information - A GSM message parameter that provides an indication of any CAMEL services that need to be applied to incoming (terminating) calls. Acronym: Visitor Location Register- A GSM database containing details of all mobile phones that are currently connected to the MSC associated with it.

Referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of the invention will now be described in the context of a wireless telecommunications network 38 which is based on a conventional GSM network that has been modified, by the introduction of a service apparatus 30 described further below, to provide call-handling services in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The service apparatus 30 may sometimes be referred to herein by the acronym ICS deriving from the phrase "inbound call services". The service apparatus is described below in largely functional terms and it will be appreciated that once the desired functionality of the service apparatus is appreciated, the service apparatus may be readily implemented using conventional techniques, for example using a suitably programmed processor having associated memory means, communication interfaces, and so forth.

Operational aspects and functional elements of the network 38 which are not shown in Figure 1 and not described herein may be implemented in any conventional manner.

In this first example embodiment it is assumed a calling party 20 wishes to establish a telephone call (e.g. a voice call) with an intended recipient party 22 who is a subscriber of the wireless telecommunications network 38. Furthermore, it is assumed the intended recipient party 22 is an executive having an assistant 24 who helps the executive 22 manage his incoming telephone calls. As will be appreciated from the description below, the exact manner in which calls are handled to allow the assistant 24 to support the executive 22 in handling his telephone calls is configurable according to each user's wishes. In this example, it is assumed the executive 22 wishes all requests to establish a telephone call with his mobile handset to be connected through to his mobile handset in the first instance (i.e. so his handset 22 rings to alert him to the incoming call request), but to be additionally connected through to a mobile handset associated with his assistant 24 if the executive does not answer the call within a given time, for example within 10 seconds. Thus, in this scenario, if the predefined time (e.g. 10 seconds) passes without the executive 22 answering the request to establish a telephone call with the calling party both the executive's and the assistant's telephone handsets will end up ringing at the same time. Whichever party then answers first may then be connected through to the calling party 20.

In Figure 1 the intended recipient party (executive) 22 is a subscriber of the wireless telecommunications network 38 and the wireless telecommunications network 38 may be referred to as the executive's "home network". The assistant 24 may or may not be a subscriber of the wireless telecommunications network 38. In this example, the assistant 24 is shown as being outside the wireless telecommunications network 38 for the purposes of generality. Furthermore, the executive 22 is shown in Figure 1 as being within the dotted boundary of the wireless telecommunications network 38 to schematically represent that the executive 22 is not roaming (although again, this need not necessarily be the case). The calling party 20 is schematically shown in Figure 1 as being outside the wireless telecommunications network 38 (i.e. the calling party is an off-network caller). However, it will be appreciated the underlying operation of the network 38 in terms of providing the functionality described herein is not significantly affected by whether or not the calling party 20 or the assistant 24 are subscribers of the network providing the services, or if they are in their home network or roaming onto another mobile network.

The network 38 is shown in Figure 1 as comprising a gateway mobile switching centre (G-MSC) 26, a home location register (HLR) 28, and the service apparatus (30). In this example the G-MSC 26 is wholly conventional. The HLR 28 is largely conventional but with some modifications as described further below. The service apparatus 30 is an element which is not found in a conventional GSM network and is provided in the network 38 shown in Figure 1 to provide functionality in accordance with embodiments of the invention as described herein.

The service apparatus 30 in this example further comprises a voice switch element 32, a configuration database 34 and a media resource 36. The voice switch 32 component of the service apparatus may be configured to operate according to broadly conventional principles, although in accordance with embodiments of the invention this is done under the control of the service apparatus. In some other example implementations the service apparatus may not include its own voice switch but may instead be coupled to an existing voice switch in the network and provide control signalling to the existing voice switch to cause it to operate to provide the functionality of an embodiment of the invention in accordance with the principles discussed herein. The database 34 is provided to maintain configuration information relating to various subscribers of the services provided by the service apparatus 30. The media resource 36 stores various audio tones (e.g. "comfort music") and announcements which may be played to various parties at various times as described further below.

As noted above, the assistant 24 is schematically represented in Figure 1 as being outside the network 38. In this example it is assumed the assistant 24 is associated with a mobile handset on an arbitrary network accessible via a conventional G-MSC 26a (other aspects of the assistant's network, e.g. HLR, are not shown for simplicity). In the case the assistant 24 is a subscriber of the same network as the executive 22 (i.e. network 38 shown in Figure 1), the G-MSC 26 shown within the executive's home network 38 and the G-MSC 26a associated with the assistant 24 in Figure 1 may in fact be the same network element. In another example, the assistant may be associated with a land-line telephone handset, in which case there would be no G-MSC 26a associated with the assistant 24. Instead the assistant 24 would be associated with elements of a conventional land-line telephone architecture.

Also shown in Figure 1 are a number of arrows representing signalling associated with an embodiment of the invention in which the calling party 20 seeks to establish a telephone connection with the intended recipient party 22 but is ultimately passed to his assistant 24. In this respect, the assistant 24 may also be referred to as an alternative recipient party 24.

Figure 2 is a signalling ladder diagram providing another representation of the signalling shown in Figure 1. This signalling will now be described with reference to both Figure 1 and Figure 2.

In the first instance the calling party operates their telephone handset 20 in a conventional manner to initiate a request to establish a telephone call with the intended recipient party (e.g. by dialling a conventional telephone number for the intended recipient party in the normal way). In accordance with conventional techniques, this results in an ISDN User Part (ISUP) initial address message (IAM) (i.e. an ISUP-IAM signal) being routed from the calling party 20 to the G-MSC 26 of the intended recipient party's telecommunications network 38. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 1 in Figures 1 and 2. It will of course be appreciated that this signalling is represented in simplified form in the figures. For example, this ISUP-IAM signal 1 will in practice pass through various nodes associated with the calling party's telephone system before being delivered to the G- MSC 26.

In accordance with conventional techniques, the G-MSC 26 on receiving the ISUP-IAM signal 1 originating from the calling party 20 generates a Mobile Application Part (MAP) send routing information (SRI) message (i.e. a MAP-SRI signal) which is routed to the intended recipient party's ULR 28. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 2 in Figures 1 and 2. As is well known, the purpose of the MAP-SRI signal 2 is to allow the G-MSC to determine information regarding the current location of the intended recipient party (for example the mobile switching centre to which they are attached) to allow onward routing of the incoming request to establish a telephone call to the desired destination.

In a conventional network the ULR 28 would respond to the MAP-SRI signal 2 from the G-MSC 26 by establishing the current location of the intended recipient party 22 from the information stored in association with the ULR 28 (e.g. an address of a mobile switching centre to which the intended recipient party is currently attached), retrieving an MSRN from the mobile switching centre to which the intended recipient party is currently attached, and returning a message to the G-MSC 26 providing an indication of this information. However, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention the HLR 28 is modified to determine whether or not the MAP-SRI signal 2 received from the G-MSC 26 is associated with an intended recipient party who is a subscriber of the call-handling service provided by this embodiment of the invention. This determination may be based on conventional service-provisioning techniques, for example based on service level information for the intended recipient party stored in the network 38. In this example, it is assumed the intended recipient party 22 is a subscriber of the call-handling service.

In response to determining that the intended recipient party is a subscriber of the call-handling service provided in accordance with embodiments of the invention, the HLR 28 does not respond to the G-MSC 26 by sending the requested routing information, but instead forwards the routing information request (MAP- SRI) onto the service apparatus ("ICS") 30. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 3 in Figures 1 and 2.

On receiving the MAP- SRI signal 3 the service apparatus 30 provides a response to the G-MSC 26 on behalf of the HLR 28. However, instead of providing routing information identifying the location of the intended recipient party, the service apparatus 30 instead provides routing information which identifies itself. That is to say, the service apparatus provides a "false" response (i.e. a response that does not identify routing information for the intended recipient party) to the request for routing information from the G-MSC 26 in order to cause ("trick") the G-MSC into forwarding subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish the telephone call to the service apparatus 30. This may be achieved, for example, by using a temporary MSRN associated with the service apparatus 30 and at storing this mapping from the temporary MSRN back to the intended recipient party's MSISDN in the service apparatus 30, or by invoking the known Call Forwarding Unconditional service. The response from the service apparatus 30 to the G-MSC 26 may thus follow the general format of a conventional MAP- SRI Response signal that the G- MSC 26 would be expecting to receive from the HLR 28. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 4 in Figures 1 and 2.

On receiving the MAP- SRI Response signal 4 from the service apparatus 30 the G-MSC 26 is not aware that anything different from conventional GSM routing has occurred. That is to say, the G-MSC 26 will simply assume the MAP-SRI Response signal 4 has been received from the HLR 28 to which the MAP-SRI signal 2 was sent and properly identifies a network node associated with the current location of the intended recipient party 22. Accordingly, the G-MSC 26 operates in a conventional manner to forward the request to establish a telephone call received from the calling party 20 (i.e. the ISUP-IAM signal 1) onto the network node identified by the MAP-SRI Response signal 4 it has received. The G-MSC 26 is unaware that the identified network node is in fact the service apparatus 30, and not a network node associated with the current location of the intended recipient party 22. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 5 in Figures 1 and 2.

The service apparatus 30 proceeds to determine from configuration data stored in the configuration database 34 how the call-handling service is to be provided on behalf of the intended recipient party. The service apparatus 30 may do this by retrieving information from the configuration database 34 stored in association with an identifier for the intended recipient party (e.g. his phone number) to determine service configuration settings for the intended recipient party. In this example implementation, the configuration data associated with the intended recipient party will identify information such as the identity of the assistant 24 who is linked to the intended recipient party (i.e. the configuration data may contain a telephone number associated with the assistant) and parameters of how the call-handling services to be provided. These parameters may include, for example, an indication of whether the intended recipient party subscriber would prefer for incoming requests to establish a telephone call with his handset to be sent initially to him, or to his assistant, or to both parties simultaneously (such that alert mechanisms for an incoming call, e.g. handset ringing / vibration, are simultaneously active for both parties). The configuration data may also include information identifying various potential callers so that the call- handling service may be performed differently in dependence on the calling party identity. For example, a user may define a list of family member numbers so that calls from these numbers are directed to his telephone first, while calls from other numbers are directed to his assistant's telephone first. Furthermore, the configuration data may specify parameters such as a length of time for which the executive's or his assistant's telephone may ring before the other, and then whether or not both handsets should ring together or whether the initially ringing handset should stop ringing when the other starts. Thus, in accordance with the desired operating scenario as set out above, in this example the configuration data reflects the intended recipient party's desire for requests to establish a telephone call to be routed to his handset 22, and if he does not answer within 10 seconds, to be also routed to the handset 24 of his assistant such that after 10 seconds both the intended recipient party's handset and the alternative recipient party's handset ring in parallel (that is to say, both handsets may end up ringing, but with one handset delayed relative to the other). It will be appreciated the phrase "ringing" is used here to indicate the activation of an alerting mechanism on a telephone handset. In some cases there may not be an actual audible ring associated with this, for example if a handset is on "silent".

Returning to Figures 1 and 2 the provision of the call-handling service in accordance with the intended recipient party's example configuration preferences as set out above is now described. That is to say, the service apparatus 30 operates to initially call out to the intended recipient party 22, and, if the recipient party does not answer within 10 seconds, the service apparatus operates to call out to the assistant (alternative recipient party) in parallel (such that both telephone handsets are ringing the same time). As noted above, this is merely one example scenario for how the call handling service may be configured.

In order for the service apparatus 30 to forward the request to establish a telephone call with the calling party 20 to the intended recipient party 22, the service apparatus obtains relevant routing information for the intended recipient party. The relevant routing information may, for example, be an indication of which mobile switching centre is currently supporting the intended recipient party user 22. In accordance with standard GSM techniques, routing information for the intended recipient party is stored in the home location register 28. To obtain this information the service apparatus 30 sends a standard-format routing information request (MAP- SRI) message identifying the intended recipient party to the HLR 28. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 6 in Figures 1 and 2. The MAP-SRI signal 6 identifying the intended recipient party which is sent from the service apparatus 30 to the HLR 28 thus broadly corresponds with the MAP-SRI signal 2 initially sent from the G-MSC 26 to the HLR 28, except for the difference in origin.

On receiving the MAP- SRI signal 6 identifying the intended recipient party from the service apparatus, the HLR 28 is configured to determine that the request comes from the service apparatus 30 and not from a G-MSC of the network 38. The HLR 28 takes this as a cue to respond to the MAP-SRI signal 6 by providing routing information for the intended recipient party in the normal way. That is to say, the HLR 28 is configured to recognize that the routing information request comes from the service apparatus 30 and so does not route the request back to the service apparatus in the same way as it forwarded the initial MAP-SRI signal 2 received from the G-MSC 26.

Thus, the HLR 28 sends to the service apparatus 30 a conventionally- formatted response (MAP- SRI Response) to the request for routing information which contains information regarding the location of the intended recipient party 22. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 7 in Figures 1 and 2.

Having obtained the routing information required to contact the intended recipient party subscriber 22 from the HLR 28, the service apparatus 30 in accordance with this configuration example first forwards a request to establish a telephone call to the intended recipient party subscriber 22. This request may take the form of a conventional ISUP-IAM message of the kind that would normally be forwarded to the intended recipient party from a G-MSC that had obtained routing information for the intended recipient party from a home location register in a conventional GSM system. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 8a in Figures 1 and 2. It will of course again be appreciated that the signalling is represented in simplified form in the figures for ease of representation. In practice this ISUP-IAM signal 8a will pass through various nodes that are not shown in the figures, for example one or more mobile switching centres.

As is conventional, the MSC to which the intended recipient party handset is attached responds to the ISUP-IAM signal 8a received from the service apparatus 30 by returning an acknowledgement signal (ISUP-ACM) indicating that the ISUP-IAM signal 8a has been received, and the process of alerting the user of the intended recipient party handset has begun (for example the telephone is ringing). This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 8b in Figure 2 (it is not shown in Figure 1 for simplicity).

On receiving the ISUP-ACM signal 8b from the intended recipient party 22, the service apparatus is configured to forward this on to the G-MSC 26. The G-MSC 26 in turn is configured to forward it back to the calling party 20 in accordance with standard techniques. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numerals 8c and 8d in Figure 2. The receipt of the ISUP-ACM signal 8d by the calling party 20 indicates the request to establish a telephone call has reached the intended recipient party 22 and this typically results in the calling party handset playing a ringing tone from the ear speaker. As is conventional, the ringing tone played from the ear speaker of the calling party's handset comes from the network to which the calling party's handset is connected. In this case, the service apparatus 30 provides the ear speaker ringing tone having retrieved the tone from the media resource 36. This aspect of the network operation may follow broadly conventional principles, the only difference being that the tone is provided by the service apparatus 30 itself rather than by other network element (in other examples the network may be configured such that the service apparatus is operable to instruct an existing network element for providing this functionality to supply the ear speaker ringing tone which is routed back to the calling party).

Thus, at this stage of the process represented in Figure 2 the intended recipient party handset 22 is ringing (or otherwise alerting according to the handset settings, for example vibrating), and the calling party handset is indicating to its user that it is awaiting call pick-up. This situation is schematically shown in Figure 2 in the upper representation of the calling party 20, service apparatus 30, intended recipient party 22, and alternative recipient party 24 on the right-hand side of the figure.

In this example scenario it is assumed the intended recipient party 22 does not pick up the call. For example the user of the handset 22 may decide he is too busy to take the call and so ignore it knowing it will shortly be passed to his assistant 24.

After sending the ISUP-IAM signal 8a to the intended recipient party 22 the service apparatus 30 in accordance with this configuration example is configured to start a counter to determine when a pre-defined time has elapsed. In this example the pre-defined time is assumed to be 10 seconds based on configuration data for the intended recipient party 22 stored in the configuration database 34. If the intended recipient party does not answer the telephone call request within the pre-defined time, the service apparatus proceeds to seek to establish a telephone call between the calling party and the alternative recipient party 24.

There are a number of different ways in which the service apparatus could initiate a telephone call to the alternative recipient party which could ultimately be connected through to the calling party 24. In this example the service apparatus 30 is configured to simply place a conventional-type telephone call to the telephone number of the alternative recipient party 24 (e.g. as established from the configuration data associated with the intended recipient). Thus in this example where the alternative recipient party is a mobile handset associated with G-MSC 26a, the service apparatus 30 may initiate a call request to the alternative recipient party 24 by forwarding a conventionally-formatted request which is routed to the G-MSC 26a associated with the alternative recipient party using conventional signalling. Ahe G- MSC 26a may then handle the routing request to establish a call in a conventional manner, i.e. as if the G-MSC 26a had received a request from a conventional telephone handset rather than from the service apparatus 30.

Thus, after the pre-defined time (10 seconds in this example) has elapsed without the intended recipient party answering the call request, the service apparatus 30 initiates a conventionally-formatted ISUP-IAM message of the kind that would originate from a conventional telephone exchange and which identifies the alternative recipient party 24 as the target for the routing information. In accordance with conventional routing techniques this message will be naturally routed to the G-MSC 26a associated with the alternative recipient party 24. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 9a in Figures 1 and 2. It will be appreciated the signalling is represented in simplified form in the figures for ease of representation and in practice this ISUP-IAM signal 9a will pass through various nodes that are not shown in the figures. The G-MSC 26a on receiving the ISUP-IAM signal 9a from the service apparatus 30 will forward it on to the alternative recipient party in accordance with standard techniques. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 9b in Figures 1 and 2 and it will again be appreciated the signalling is represented in simplified form (i.e. without showing various intervening network nodes through which the ISUP-IAM signal 9b will pass to get to the alternative recipient party 24, or any MAP-SRI messages in the case of a call to a mobile phone). The ISUP-IAM signal 9b may be associated with a CLI identifying the service apparatus. In this way, the alternative recipient party will recognize the incoming call as originating from the service apparatus, thereby realizing it is a call that has been originally placed to the intended recipient party.

As is conventional, the local exchange or MSC that the alternative recipient party 24 is connected to responds to the ISUP-IAM signal 9b received from the G- MSC 26a by returning an acknowledgement signal (ISUP-ACM) indicating that the ISUP-IAM signal 9b has been received and the process of alerting the user of the alternative recipient party handset has begun (for example the phone is ringing). This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 9c in Figure 2 (it is not shown in Figure 1 for simplicity).

On receiving the ISUP-ACM signal 9c from the alternative recipient party 24, the G-MSC 26a acts in a conventional manner and forwards it on to the source of the call-request, namely the service apparatus 30. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 9d in Figure 2 (it is not shown in Figure 1 for simplicity). On receiving the ISUP-ACM signal 9d from the G-MSC 26a the service apparatus is aware the call request has been successfully placed to the alternative recipient party 24, but does not forward this ISUP-ACM signal back towards the calling party.

At this stage of the process for the specific configuration example represented in Figure 2 the intended recipient party handset 22 continues to ring (or otherwise alert) as before, the alternative recipient party handset 24 has additionally started ringing (alerting), and the calling party handset continues to indicate that it is awaiting call pick-up. The calling party 20 is unaware at this stage that the alternative recipient party handset has also now started ringing in response to his call request.

This situation is schematically shown in Figure 2 in the center representation of the calling party 20, service apparatus 30, intended recipient party 22, and alternative recipient party 24 on the right-hand side of the figure.

Thus, both the handset of the intended recipient party 22 and the handset of the alternative recipient party 24 are now ringing, and either one of them may answer the call. In this example it is assumed the alternative recipient party 24 is the first to pick up the call. This results in a conventional ISUP-A M signal 10a being routed from the alternative recipient handset back to the G-MSC 26a, and the G-MSC 26a in turn forwards a conventional ISUP-AKM signal 10b to the service apparatus 30.

On receiving the ISUP-AKM signal 10b from the alternative recipient party 24

(via the G-MSC 26a), the service apparatus 30 is configured to forward this on to the G-MSC 26. The G-MSC 26 is in turn configured to forward the signal back to the calling party 20 in accordance with standard techniques. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numerals 10c and lOd in Figure 2. The receipt of the ISUP-ACM signal lOd by the calling party indicates the request to establish a telephone call has been answered and an audio channel (telephone call) is opened (connected) between the calling party and the recipient party (schematically represented in Figure 2 by the double-headed arrow 13).

The audio channel 13 in this example is connected from the calling party 20 to the G-MSC 26 in the usual way, and from the G-MSC to the alternative recipient party 24 via the service apparatus 30, specifically via the voice switch 32 in the service apparatus 30. In other examples as described further below, this audio channel might not pass through the service apparatus itself but might pass instead through conventional voice switching elements of the network 38 under control of the service apparatus 30 (i.e. the service apparatus might not have its own voice switch).

Thus, in accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the call-handling service has been provided on behalf of the intended recipient party 22 such that a request to establish a telephone call from the calling party 20 is passed to an alternative recipient party 24 to answer on behalf of the intended recipient party 22. The calling party 20 and the alternative recipient party 24 may then converse to establish the nature of the telephone call and take further action as appropriate. For example, the calling party 20 may have called to arrange a meeting with the intended recipient party 22, and this request may be handled by the alternative recipient party 24 acting as an assistant to the intended recipient party. Of course the specific reason for the telephone call, and the information to be communicated, is not significant to the underlying principles of operation described above. What is significant, is that the above-described embodiment of the invention has provide a mechanism whereby an alternative recipient party can readily receive telephone calls on behalf of an intended recipient party who is a subscriber of a wireless telecommunications system. Furthermore, this can be done in a manner which relies on wholly conventional mobile telephone handsets and in a manner that is transparent to the calling party (i.e. requires no special steps to be performed by the calling party).

On establishing the audio channel 13 between the calling party and the alternative recipient party 24, the service apparatus 30 is configured to terminate the call request alert that is currently active for the intended recipient party 22. This is done by service apparatus 30 sending a conventionally formatted terminating message (ISUP-REL) of the kind that would be sent if the calling party had hung up and which causes the intended recipient party handset to stop ringing (alerting). This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 11a in Figure 2. On receiving the ISUP-REL signal 11a from the service apparatus 30, the intended recipient handset 22 returns a conventional release complete message (ISUP-RCL) and stops alerting. This aspect of the signalling is represented by reference numeral 1 lb in Figure 2.

Thus, at this stage of the process represented in Figure 2 the intended recipient party handset 22 has stopped ringing and the audio channel 13 is established between the calling party handset and the alternative recipient party handset, thereby allowing these parties to talk. This situation is schematically shown in Figure 2 in the lower representation of the calling party 20, service apparatus 30, intended recipient party 22, and alternative recipient party 24 on the right-hand side of the figure.

It will be appreciated that had the intended recipient party 22 responded to the alert instigated by ISUP-IAM message 8a by picking up the call before the 10 seconds had elapsed (i.e. before the alternative recipient party handset started alerting in parallel), the service apparatus would have established an audio channel between the calling party and the intended recipient party without subsequently alerting the alternative recipient party to the incoming call request. Similarly, the service apparatus would have established an audio channel between the calling party and the intended recipient party had the intended recipient party been first to answer the call request at the time both handsets were alerting. In this case, the service apparatus may additionally send alert-terminating signalling to the alternative recipient party 24 once an audio channel is established between the calling party and the intended recipient party 22 to stop the alternative recipient party handset from ringing.

Thus to recap, an embodiment of the invention may comprise various steps as follows.

Step A - The calling party makes a call to the intended recipient party. The call setup message is routed to a G-MSC in the intended recipient party's home network using standard techniques.

Step B - Upon receipt of the call setup message, the G-MSC queries the HLR by sending an SRI in order to find the location of the intended recipient party using standard techniques.

Step C - The HLR detects the intended recipient party has a special class of service, and rather than responding to the SRI, it forwards the SRI to the service apparatus ("Inbound Call Services" platform).

Step D - The Inbound Call Services platform responds to the SRI instructing the G-MSC to deliver the call setup message to itself. This may be achieved by either using a temporary MSRN, or by invoking the Call Forwarding Unconditional service.

Step E - The G-MSC routes the call setup message to the destination provided in the SRI response using standard techniques.

Step F - The Inbound Call Services platform applies call handling services to the call based on the intended recipient party's service configuration.

In the primary example described above the intended recipient party has the service configured to attempt to deliver calls to their mobile phone, and if unanswered within 10 seconds, additionally to attempt to deliver the call to their assistant (the alternative recipient party).

Step G - In order to deliver the call to intended recipient party, the Inbound Call Services platform sends a location query (SRI) to the HLR.

Step H - The HLR detects that the SRI has originated from the ICS platform, and responds to the SRI by returning an MSRN. (The HLR may obtain the MSRN from a destination VLR using standard techniques.) Step I - The call setup message is delivered to the intended recipient party using standard techniques.

Step J - The network receives an indication that the intended recipient party's phone is ringing.

Step K - The ICS sends an indication that the intended recipient party's phone is ringing to the calling party. At the same time the ICS platform instructs a media resource to play ringing tone to the calling party. This may be an internal or external media resource (in the above example media resource is internal to the service apparatus).

Step L - assuming the intended recipient party does not answer the call within

10 seconds, the ICS platform sends a call setup request to the alternative recipient party. Note, in this example, this is done by sending a call setup request to the network, and letting the network perform the HLR queries. In this embodiment, the network performs SRI HLR queries for the alternative recipient party. In alternative embodiments the ICS may query the HLR directly.

Step M - The network receives an indication that the Intended Recipient Party's phone is ringing.

Step N - Assuming the alternative recipient party is first to answer the call, the network receives an indication that the alternative recipient party has answered the call and this is routed to the ICS following standard principles.

Step O - The ICS sends an indication that the call has been answered to the calling party, and connects the audio channel between the alternative recipient party and the calling party.

Step P - The ICS sends a call release message to the intended recipient party using standard techniques, e.g., around the same time the audio channel between the alternative recipient party and the calling party established.

In the case of a network supporting the MAP Optimal Routing feature, the SRI message may be sent from an MSC in the network that the calling party is currently connected to, rather than the call setup message first being routed to a G-MSC in the intended recipient's home network. In the case of Optimal Routing, the MSC that sent the SRI message may be treated in the same way as the G-MSC in the non- Optimal Routing case.

The service apparatus 30 may provide various additional features associated with the call-handling service.

For example, suppose the alternative recipient party 24 on answering the telephone call and being connected through to the calling party 20 in accordance with the example described above realises the calling party wishes to discuss a matter that requires the personal attention of the intended recipient party. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the service apparatus is configured to provide the alternative recipient party 24 with a mechanism for transferring the call to the intended recipient party 22. For example, the service apparatus may comprise DTMF detection functionality (or receive corresponding signalling from another element of the network) and may be programmed to respond to a particular key press from a recipient of a phone call, for example a press of the "star" key to provide this function. For example, if during an on-going telephone call the alternative recipient party presses the "star" key on their telephone handset, the service apparatus may detect this (through tone detection or other out-of-band signalling) and respond by manipulating the voice switch 32 to temporarily interrupt the open channel from the calling party 22 to the alternative recipient party 24 so as to pause that telephone call. If desired, the service apparatus may provide the calling party with an audio announcement asking them to stay on the line, or play music, for example, to avoid the calling party thinking the call has simply been dropped. Such "comfort" announcement(s) / music may be stored in and retrieved from the media resource 36. The service apparatus may then seek to initiate a telephone call with the intended recipient party 22, e.g. by forwarding an ISUP-IAM signal that is associated with a CLI of the alternative recipient party 24 to the intended recipient party 22. This causes the intended recipient party handset to ring. The user of this handset 22 will see the call originates from the alternative recipient party (i.e. their assistant) and answer it if they are able to. When the service apparatus receives the conventionally-generated ISUP-A M signal from the intended recipient party indicating they have answered the call request, the voice switch may be manipulated to provide an open channel between the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party, thereby allowing the two parties to discuss the nature of the call from the calling party. If it is decided that the intended recipient party 22 should take over the call from the calling party 20, the alternative recipient party may simply hang up. This results in a conventional ISUP-REL message from the alternative recipient party's handset to the service apparatus 30. The service apparatus 30 is configured to respond to the receipt of this message by manipulating the voice switch 32 to connect the caller party 20 through to the intended recipient party 22. If on the other hand the intended recipient party decides he still does not wish to take the call, he can hang up. In this case, the service apparatus will respond to the receipt of an ISUP-REL message from the intended recipient party by manipulating the voice switch 32 to connect the caller party 20 back through to the alternative recipient party 22. That is to say, the service apparatus may be configured to re-connect the calling party to whichever of the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party does not hang up.

It will be appreciated that the same principles can be used to potentially transfer a call between either of the recipient parties at any time during an on-going telephone call according to whichever one is currently connected through to the calling party. For example, suppose in accordance with the above-described example scenario the alternative recipient party is the first to speak with the calling party and then decides to discuss whether to transfer the call with the intended recipient party by pressing the "star" key. If it is then decided between the two recipient parties that the intended recipient party should take over the call, the alternative recipient party can simply hang up, thereby causing the connection with the calling party to be transferred from the alternative recipient party to the intended recipient party. If subsequently the intended recipient party wishes to transfer the call back to the initial recipient party, for example to finalise organisational details associated with the call, the intended recipient party can himself simply press his "star" key. In accordance with the principles described above, the service apparatus may be configured to respond to receipt of this key press, or the signalling associated with this key press by interrupting the call between the calling party and the intended recipient party and connecting the intended recipient party through to the alternative recipient party. The intended recipient party can then explain to the alternative recipient party that he wishes him to transfer the call back. The intended recipient party can then simply hang up while the alternative recipient party remains on the line, resulting in the service apparatus transferring the call connection with the calling party to the alternative recipient party. That is to say, the service apparatus may connect the calling party through to whichever recipient party does not hang up.

Thus, in accordance with the above described principles, the two potential recipient parties can freely discuss an on-going call and transfer the on-going call between themselves as desired using a simple key press scheme. This provides a great deal of flexibility in how calls can be effectively handled because it allows an easy transfer of the call to whichever party can best deal with the needs of the calling party.

Thus, not only can embodiments of the invention provide a mechanism for allowing an alternative recipient party to support an intended recipient party in their handling of telephone calls in a wireless telecommunications network, embodiments of the invention can also provide a simple mechanism which allows switching between recipient parties according to their wishes.

In general, once the service apparatus has gained the ability to control the switching of voice connections between the calling party, the intended recipient party, and the alternative recipient party in accordance with the above described techniques, it can be configured to switch calls between the various parties in response to various triggers as desired. For example, a trigger may be defined (e.g. a currently connected recipient party pressing a particular key or sequence of keys on their handset) which results in the service apparatus manipulating the voice switch so that all three parties are connected together in a conference fashion.

Figure 3 is a signalling diagram which represents the principles of call transfers in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

It is assumed here an on-going telephone call has been established between the calling party 20 and one or other of the intended recipient party 22 and the alternative recipient party 24. It does not matter which recipient party is currently connected to the calling party, and as such the currently-connected recipient party will simply be referred to here as a connected party 25 (i.e. regardless of whether the connected party 25 is the intended recipient party or the alternative recipient party). The recipient party which is not currently connected to the calling party will be referred to here as an associated party 23 (i.e. the associated party 23 is the one of the intended recipient party 22 and the alternative recipient party 24 which is not currently the connected party 25).

Thus, and as indicated at the top of the signalling diagram shown in Figure 3, there is an audio channel 102 connecting between the calling party 20 and the connected party 25. This channel may have been established following application of the call handling service described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. This situation is schematically shown in Figure 3 on the right-hand side of the figure in the upper-most representation of the calling party 20, service apparatus 30, connected party 25, and associated party 23.

When a call is on-going between the calling party and the connected party, a request to perform a mid-call transfer may be made by the connected party pressing a key on their handset or using other techniques (e.g a menu that has been added to the phone). A mid-call transfer may then be made in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention as follows. Here it will be assumed that a press of the "star" key initiates the call-transfer request.

As schematically indicated in Figure 3 by reference numeral 104, the service apparatus 30 receives an indication that the connected party has pressed the "star" key indicating a desire to perform a mid-call transfer. For example, if the audio channel 102 is routed through a voice switch of the service apparatus, the service apparatus may be configured to detect a DTMF tone or other conventional out-of-band signalling associated with the key-press.

In response the service apparatus breaks the audio connection 102 between the calling party and the connected party and instructs the media resource to play comfort sounds to the calling party (for example, music or an announcement to prevent the calling party thinking the call has been dropped). This is schematically represented in Figure 3 by reference numeral 106.

The service apparatus 30 is configured to then route a call setup message to the associated party 23 using standard signalling, for example ISUP-IAM signal 108. In order to forward the ISUP-IAM signal 108 to the associated party 23, the service apparatus 30 in this example requires routing information for the associated party. The service apparatus may already have this information to hand, for example based on the information obtained during the initial provision of the call setup service such as described above. Alternatively, the service apparatus may obtain the information by querying the HLR 28, for example. This query process is schematically shown in Figure 3 by signalling identified by reference numerals 112 and 114. On receiving the ISUP-IAM signal 108, the handset of the associated party 23 starts alerting / ringing and responds with a conventional ISUP-ACM signal 110. At this time, the service apparatus may play the connected party a ringing tone in their ear piece such as would normally be heard when placing a conventional telephone call while waiting for it to be answered.

Thus at this stage of the processing the calling party is hearing a comfort tone / announcement from their handset's ear piece speaker, the connected party is hearing a ringing tone from their handset ear piece speaker, and the associated party's handset is alerting. This situation is schematically shown in Figure 3 in the second-from-top representation of the calling party 20, service apparatus 30, connected party 25, and associated party 23 on the right-hand side of the figure.

Assuming the associated party 23 answers the call alert, the service apparatus 30 receives a conventional ISUP-ANM signal 116 and is provided with access to an audio channel to the associated party. The service apparatus 30 then uses this to establish an audio channel between the associated party and the connected party, as schematically indicated in Figure 3 by reference numeral 118.

Thus at this stage of the processing the calling party continues to hear the comfort tone / announcement from their handset speaker, while the connected party and associated party are able to engage in a conversation to discuss who should carry on with the call. This situation is schematically shown in Figure 3 in the second-from- bottom representation of the calling party 20, service apparatus 30, connected party 25, and associated party 23 on the right-hand side of the figure.

Either one of the connected or associated party may then disconnect the call. In this example, it is assumed the initially connected party releases the call. This results in a call release (ISUP-REL) signal 120 being received by the service apparatus from the connected party 25, and this is acknowledged by a conventional format ISUP-RCL signal 122.

The service apparatus is then configured to connect the calling party with whichever one of the connected party and associated party remained on the line, this case the associated party 23, as schematically indicated in Figure 3 by reference numeral 124.

Thus, the call has been successfully transferred with a change in the recipient party connected to the calling party. Further transfers may be made back and forth between the two recipient parties in the same manner.

If following the ISUP-IAM signal 108 the attempted call set-up with the associated party 23 fails, or the associated party 23 does not answer within a predefined timeout period, the service apparatus may be configured to play an audio indication that the transfer has failed to the connected party 25, and then reopen the audio channel between the calling party and the connected party.

If following the ISUP-IAM signal 108 the connected party disconnects the call before the associated party has answered the call, then the call alert to the associated party may be allowed to continue and an audio connection established between the calling party and the associated party when the associated party answers the call.

Thus in accordance with embodiments of the invention, a simple mechanism for flexible call handling is provided by allowing easy transfer of calls between the intended recipient party and alternative recipient party irrespective of which of them is currently connected to the calling party.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention may be implemented in more advanced networks than that shown in Figure 1. For example embodiments of the invention could also be implemented in a network supporting Optimal Routing and / or CAMEL (Customised Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic) functions. For example, in a standard network supporting CAMEL functions a G- MSC will generate two routing information requests. The first routing information request will cause the network's home location register to respond with an indication of a service node (gsmSCF) in the network and a service key specifying which services may be applied. On receiving the terminating CAMEL triggers the G-MSC sends a CAMEL InitialDP message to the service node (gsmSCF). The service node has control over whether the call should proceed. If the service node informs the G- MSC that the call should proceed, the G-MSC sends another routing information request to the home location register. This second routing information request contains an indication that the G-MSC has already handled the terminating CAMEL triggers. These aspects of handling CAMEL signalling are wholly conventional. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the home location register may be configured on receipt of the second routing information request to forward this on to a service apparatus providing a call-handling service, such as the service apparatus 30 shown in Figure 1. Processing may then follow as described above in order to provide the call-handling service.

As noted above, the network 38 includes a configuration database 34 containing information on how the service should be applied different subscribers. The network 38, and in particular the service apparatus 30, may be adapted to allow subscribers to amend/update configuration data associated with the provision of the call-handling service on their behalf in any of a number of ways. For example, an Internet-based interface may be provided for the service apparatus to allow subscribers to modify their settings using a web browser and / or a dedicated handset application ("app"). Alternatively (or in addition), the settings may be configurable by the network operator, for example in response to a subscriber informing the network operator of his preferred settings, for example by telephone call or email. In some examples the service apparatus may support a configuration service that allows users to configure the call-handling service according to their personalized preferences using text messaging, e.g. SMS or MMS messaging. For example, the service apparatus may be associated with a short-code telephone number such that text messages addressed to the short-code telephone number are delivered to the service apparatus. The service apparatus may then be configured to extract relevant settings information from the text messages, for example using established techniques based on natural-language processing of the contents of the received text message, or by requiring subscribers to conform their configuration text messages to predefined syntaxes for setting various parameters associated with the call-handling service. The service apparatus may make use of a calling line identifier (CLI) associated with the received configuration text message to determine the subscriber to which the service settings are to be applied. For example, if the service apparatus receives a text message having CLI associated with a particular user of the call-handling service and containing the textual content "change my assistant phone number to + 00 1234 457 8910", the service apparatus may derive the updated configuration information from the text message content and amend the information stored in the configuration database 34 associated with the relevant subscriber accordingly.

One user configurable aspect of the service may be the option to turn-off (deactivate) the provision of the service, and subsequently to turn-on (re-activate) the service. For example, the network may be configured to allow a user to send a simple text message configuration message such as "assistant off" to an address associated with the service apparatus. The service apparatus may then establish a record in the configuration database indicating the service apparatus should not apply the service but should simple route signalling received for the user directly onto the user. In another example, when the service apparatus receives an indication that a user wishes the service to be deactivated, the service apparatus may pass an indication to the user's HLR informing the HLR to change the service provision flag associated with that user to indicate the user is a (temporary) non-subscriber. This means the HLR will respond to queries from the G-MSC in the normal way without involving the service apparatus. Accordingly this approach reduces the amount of signalling that the service apparatus needs to handle, and furthermore allows an easy way for a user to avoid using the service apparatus for a period if the service apparatus is having operating issues, e.g. due to an apparatus breakdown or failure.

It will be appreciated there are many variations and modifications to the above described embodiments of the invention which may be implemented, both in terms of the signalling flows, and the manner in which the services provided.

For example, in addition to obtaining routing information for the intended recipient party 22, the service apparatus 30 might also be configured to obtain corresponding routing information for the alternative recipient party 24. This would then allow the service apparatus to route call requests directly to the alternative recipient party rather than by placing a conventional-type of telephone call to the alternative recipient party. To obtain routing information for the alternative recipient party the service apparatus 30 may send a further routing information request to an HLR, but this time in respect of the alternative recipient party 24 (as identified in the configuration database 34 entry in association with the intended recipient party subscriber 22). On receiving such a MAP-SRI signal identifying the alternative recipient party from the service apparatus 30, the HLR may again determine the request comes from the service apparatus 30 and respond by providing routing information for the alternative recipient party in the normal way. Thus, the HLR 28 sends to the service apparatus 30 a conventionally-formatted response (MAP- SRI Response) to the request for routing information which contains information regarding the location of the alternative recipient party 24.

It will also be appreciated that the specific way in which the service is configured can depend on the preferences of the individual users. For example some users may prefer for calls directed to their telephone number to always be diverted to an alternative recipient number in the first instance. Other users may prefer a longer or shorter pre-defined time before a call is switched from an intended recipient party to an alternative recipient party (or vice versa). In some implementations the intended recipient party may also divert the call to the alternative recipient party by simply rejecting the call on their telephone handset in the normal way. This will result in a reject signal being sent back to the service apparatus, and the service apparatus can respond to this by seeking to establish contact with the alternative recipient party instead. In some cases an intended recipient party may wish his telephone to stop ringing while an attempt is made to establish contact with his associated alternative recipient party. In this case, referring to Figure 2, signalling corresponding to the ISUP-REL signal 11a may be sent from the service apparatus 30 to the intended recipient party 22 around the same time as the ISUP-IAM signal 9a is instigated.

One configuration that may frequently be desired is one in which an intended recipient party and an associated alternative recipient party are alerted to a request to establish a telephone call with a calling party at the same time. That is to say, in some scenarios the signalling represented in Figure 2 may be modified such that the ISUP- IAM signal 8a from the service apparatus 30 to the intended recipient party 22 and the ISUP-IAM signal 9a from the service apparatus 30 seeking to establish a call with the alternative recipient party 24 may be sent at the same time / in quick succession without sending an intervening ISUP-REL signal to either party. This will result in alert mechanisms (e.g. ringing / vibration etc.) associated with both the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party being activated around the same time - e.g. both telephones will start ringing together. In this case, ISUP-ACM signalling from the respective recipient parties will be received at the service apparatus 30 at similar times. The service apparatus may pass signalling corresponding to that identified in Figure 2 by reference numerals 8c and 8d back to the calling party in response to receiving the first of the ISUP-ACM signals to alert the calling party that his call request has been passed to a recipient party. The calling party will not know that in fact the call request has been routed to two potential recipients, or indeed if the intended recipient party 22 is unavailable, the call request may have only been forwarded to the alternative recipient party 24.

In a situation where both the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party are being alerted to an incoming call request at the same time (irrespective of whether they started being alerted at the same time or whether alerting for one started sometime after alerting for the other), either of them may answer the call request first. In this case the service apparatus will receive a conventional ISUP- ANM signal from whichever recipient party picks up (answers) first. The service apparatus may be configured to respond to this by establishing (connecting) a telephone call between the calling party and the recipient party from which the first ISUP-A M signal is received (i.e. the first party to pick up). In addition the service apparatus may be configured to route termination signalling to the other recipient party, for example corresponding to the ISUP-REL signal 11a shown in Figure 2 in respect of the intended recipient party 22. This will stop the alert mechanism activated on the handset of whichever recipient party does not first answer the call request. Once a telephone call has been established between the calling party and whichever recipient party is first to answer the call request, the call may be handled in accordance with any of the principles discussed herein. For example, the above- described mechanism for allowing the two recipient parties to speak with each other before potentially transfering of the call connection to the calling party between them may be adopted.

As noted above, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention a service apparatus might not comprise its own voice switch but may be integrated in a network in a way that allows the service apparatus to control existing mechanisms for call routing in the network such that an audio channel between calling party and a recipient party is not in itself routed through the service apparatus. This approach can help simplify the hardware requirements of the service apparatus. Thus in such a case call control signalling (i.e. signalling associated with requesting call set-up) may pass through the service apparatus broadly as described above, whereas audio information will not pass through the service apparatus but will be routed through the network's existing voice channel architecture. The network may be configured so that signalling associated with key presses on recipient handsets, e.g. associated with requests to transfer calls between them as discussed above, is passed to the service apparatus so the service apparatus can control the network's voice channel routing accordingly.

It will be appreciated that various other modifications and additions can be made in other embodiments of the invention.

As noted above, the alternative recipient party (assistant) may be a subscriber of the same wireless telecommunications network as the intended recipient party (executive) or may be a subscriber of a different wireless telecommunications network, or may be associated with a landline telephone. This does not impact the above-described modes of operation because the service apparatus providing the call- handling service can simply call out to the alternative recipient party as required regardless of the nature of their telephone.

Furthermore, in the above described examples the intended recipient party (executive) and alternative recipient party (assistant) are assumed to be not roaming. However, this will not necessarily always be the case. If one and / or other of the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party are roaming outside their home network(s), the service apparatus is able to provide the call-handling service by simply calling out to the roaming recipient party using conventional techniques for contacting roaming parties.

It will be appreciated that the above-described mobile assistant service may be provided by a network operator as an optional service enhancement so that some users / subscribers may benefit from the service while others may not. For example, the service may be provided on a subscription basis for users who choose to pay extra for the service. In other examples, all users of a network may be provided with the relevant functionality, e.g., because it is a "free" service provided to all users by the network operator. As noted above, in cases where only some users might have the service provisioned, the network can appropriately provide or block the service based on service provision levels managed in any conventional way, for example, based on subscriber information recorded in a home location register for the subscribers of the network.

It will also be appreciated that while the above-described examples have been described in the context of two recipient parties, namely an intended recipient party associated with a call from a calling party and an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party, in other examples there may be further potential recipient parties, for example, an executive may have more than one assistant and the service apparatus could be configured to route calls to any or all of these, that is to say, there may be a plurality of alternative recipients. In such a scenario call requests could be placed by the service apparatus to various ones of the alternative recipients in parallel or in a sequence. For example, if an intended recipient does not answer a call request within a given time, the service apparatus may be configured to first route a call request to a defined "primary" alternative recipient. Then if the "primary" alternative recipient does not answer within a defined time, the service apparatus may subsequently forward a call request to another alternative recipient (a "secondary" alternative recipient), and so on.

Furthermore, it will also be appreciated that in other examples other aspects of the routing of signals may be different from that described above. For example, in the above-described embodiments the home location register in the intended recipient party's network is responsible for determining whether or not the intended recipient party is a subscriber of the service, and then forwarding signalling onto the service apparatus as appropriate. However, in other examples, an HLR may simply forward all messages to the service apparatus, and then the service apparatus may decide whether or not the intended recipient party is a subscriber of the service and act accordingly (e.g. if the intended recipient party is not a subscriber of the service, the service apparatus may obtain routing information from the HLR and forward this back to the G-MSC on behalf of the HLR). In yet another architecture, a service apparatus element may be arranged to intercept routing information request messages from a G- MSC before they arrive at the HLR. The service apparatus can then decide whether the intended recipient party is a subscriber of the service and act accordingly (e.g. if the intended recipient party is not a subscriber of the service, the service apparatus may simply forward the request onto the HLR). Thus, various different architectures can be adopted to provide the above-described functionality. The preferred architecture for any given embodiment may depend on network operator preferences. For example, arranging a service apparatus to intercept signalling from a G-MSC before it reaches an HLR has the advantage of having minimal or no changes to the HLR, but this approach locates the service apparatus at the heart of the network architecture, which some network operators would prefer not to do.

It will be appreciated that in the context of embodiments of the invention, references to "to" or "from" a caller / recipient party and the like are generally to be interpreted as meaning "to" or "from" communication equipment / apparatus, such as a mobile telephone, associated with / being used by the caller / recipient party unless the context demands otherwise.

Networks in accordance with various embodiments of the invention have been described above and shown in the figures as comprising various functional blocks, some of which are conventional network elements. It will, however, be appreciated that these various elements are shown separately largely for ease of explanation, and in a some implementations of embodiment of the invention, the above-described functionality of various ones of the elements of a network may be provided by physically separate network elements or by a single network element providing the functionality of multiple ones of the functional blocks described above. Generally, the above-described functionality may be provided by one or more suitably programmed general purpose computers, or by application specific apparatus, as is generally conventional in telecommunications networks.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that whilst the above described embodiments have focused on a GSM-based network, embodiments of the invention may also be incremented in other types of network.

Thus in accordance with some embodiments a method of handling a telephone call request received from a calling party in a wireless telecommunications network is provided. The method comprises receiving from a calling party a request to establish a telephone call with an intended recipient party; generating a routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party; receiving the routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party at a service apparatus associated with a call-handling service of the wireless telecommunications network; sending a response to the routing information request message providing routing information for the service apparatus instead of for the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus; identifying an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party; obtaining routing information for the intended recipient party from a home location register; and routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party. Thus a scheme is provided that allows two parties to work together to manage incoming calls for one of the parties in wireless telecommunications network

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

Claims

1. A wireless telecommunications network comprising:

a mobile switching centre arranged to receive from a calling party a request to establish a telephone call with an intended recipient party and to generate a routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party in dependence thereon; and

a service apparatus associated with a call-handling service of the wireless telecommunications network, wherein the service apparatus is operable to receive the routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party, to send a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus; to identify an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party, to obtain routing information associated with the intended recipient party; and to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

2. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 1, wherein the service apparatus is operable to connect a telephone call between the calling party and an initial recipient party, the initial recipient party being one of the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

3. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 2, wherein the service apparatus is further operable to connect a telephone call between the calling party and the other recipient party.

4. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 2 or 3, wherein the service apparatus is further operable to connect a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party.

5. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 4, wherein the service apparatus is operable to connect a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party in response to signalling received from the initial recipient.

6. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 5, wherein the signalling is associated with a key-press on a telephone keypad associated with the initial recipient.

7. The wireless telecommunications network of any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the service apparatus is operable to connect a telephone call between the calling party and one of the initial recipient party and the other recipient party in response to the other one of the initial recipient party and the other recipient party initiating termination of the telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party.

8. The wireless telecommunications network of any of any preceding claim, wherein the service apparatus is operable to transfer a telephone call between the calling party and one or other of the initial recipient party and the alternative recipient party in response to signalling received from the initial recipient party or the alternative recipient party.

9. The wireless telecommunications network of any preceding claim, wherein the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and to the alternative recipient party such that alert mechanisms associated with incoming call requests are active for both the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party at the same time.

10. The wireless telecommunications network of any preceding claim, wherein the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to an initial recipient party selected from the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party, and to subsequently route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party from the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

11. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 10, wherein the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party if the initial recipient party rejects a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party.

12. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 10, wherein the service apparatus is operable to route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party if a telephone call is not established between the calling party and the initial recipient party within a predetermined time.

13. The wireless telecommunications network of any preceding claim, wherein the service apparatus is operable to receive configuration information in association with the intended recipient party for the call-handling service in the wireless telecommunications network, and to route the request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party in a manner that depends on the configuration information.

14. The wireless telecommunications network of claim 13, wherein the service apparatus is operable to receive configuration information by text message and / or from a handset application and / or via a web interface and / or via a voice call.

15. The wireless telecommunications network of any preceding claim, wherein the wireless telecommunications network is a Global System for Mobile communications, GSM, based network.

16. A method of handling telephone call requests received from calling parties in a wireless telecommunications network associated with intended recipient parties, the method comprising: receiving from a calling party a request to establish a telephone call with an intended recipient party;

generating a routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party;

receiving the routing information request message identifying the intended recipient party at a service apparatus associated with a call-handling service of the wireless telecommunications network;

sending a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus;

identifying an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party;

obtaining routing information associated with the intended recipient party; and routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising connecting a telephone call between the calling party and an initial recipient party, the initial recipient party being one of the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising connecting a telephone call between the calling party and the other recipient party.

19. The method of claim 17 or 18, further comprising connecting a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of connecting a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party is performed in response to signalling received from the initial recipient.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the signalling is associated with a key-press on a telephone keypad associated with the initial recipient.

22. The method of any one of claims 19 to 21, further comprising connecting a telephone call between the calling party and one of the initial recipient party and the other recipient party in response to the other one of the initial recipient party and the other recipient party initiating termination of a telephone call between the initial recipient party and the other recipient party.

23. The method of any of claims 16 to 22, further comprising transferring a telephone call between the calling party and one or other of the initial recipient party and the alternative recipient party in response to signalling received from the initial recipient party or the alternative recipient party.

24. The method of any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the step of routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party comprises routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and to the alternative recipient party such that alert mechanisms associated with incoming call requests are active for both the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party at the same time.

25. The method of any of claims 16 to 24, wherein the step of routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party comprises routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to an initial recipient party selected from the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party, and subsequently routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party from the intended recipient party and the alternative recipient party.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of subsequently routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party is performed in response to the initial recipient party rejecting a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of subsequently routing a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the other recipient party is performed in response to a telephone call not being established between the calling party and the initial recipient party within a predetermined time.

28. The method of any of claims 16 to 27, further comprising receiving configuration information in association with the intended recipient party for the call- handling service in the wireless telecommunications network, and wherein the step of routing the request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party is performed in a manner that depends on the configuration information.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the configuration information is received in the wireless telecommunications network by a text message and / or from a handset application and / or via a web interface and / or via a voice call.

30. The method of any of claims 16 to 29, wherein the wireless telecommunications network is a Global System for Mobile communications, GSM, based network.

31. A method of operating a service apparatus for providing a call-handling service in a wireless telecommunications network, the method comprising:

receiving a routing information request message identifying an intended recipient party of a request to establish a telephone call from a calling party;

sending a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of for the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus;

32. A service apparatus for providing a call-handling service in a wireless telecommunications network, wherein the service apparatus is operable to:

receive a routing information request message identifying an intended recipient party of a request to establish a telephone call from a calling party;

send a response to the routing information request message providing routing information associated with the service apparatus instead of the intended recipient party such that subsequent signalling associated with the request to establish a telephone call from a calling party is routed to the service apparatus;

identify an alternative recipient party associated with the intended recipient party;

obtain routing information associated with the intended recipient party; and route a request to establish a telephone call with the calling party to the intended recipient party and / or the alternative recipient party.