Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Zoned or cellular telephone system
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-15
2003-04-08
Maung, Nay (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Zoned or cellular telephone system
C455S419000, C455S437000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06546246
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to cellular, Personal Communications Services (PCS) and other wireless network systems, and mobile stations having intelligent roaming and over-the-air programming features.
2. Related Application Information
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/828,172 filed on Mar. 18, 1997, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,130 on Sept. 7, 1999, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
3. Background and Material Information
The use of wireless or mobile communication devices has increased greatly in recent years. Mobile and cellular telephones have enabled mobile station users to roam over large geographic areas while maintaining immediate access to telephony services. Mobile stations include portable units, units installed in vehicles and fixed subscriber stations. Mobile stations comprising cellular telephones or wireless handsets are operable in cooperation with cellular or Personal Communications Services (PCS) communications systems. Cellular communication systems (wireless carriers) typically provide service to a geographic market area by dividing the area into many smaller areas or cells. Each cell is serviced by a radio transceiver (i.e., a transmitter-receiver base station or cell site). The cell sites or base stations may be connected to Mobile Telephone Switching Offices (MTSOs) or Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) through landlines or other communication links, and the MTSOs may, in turn, be connected via landlines to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
FIG. 1
illustrates the basic components of a conventional cellular network. As shown in
FIG. 1
, a mobile station
38
may place or receive calls by communicating with a cell site
30
or a cell site
40
, depending upon the geographic location of the mobile station and the cell coverage area that is provided by each cell site (i.e., cell coverage area
35
of cell site
30
or cell coverage area
45
of cell site
40
). For purposes of illustration, mobile station
38
is depicted in
FIG. 1
as being able to communicate with either cell site
30
or cell site
40
, even though the mobile station is not illustrated as being located within cell coverage area
35
or cell coverage area
45
. Under normal operating conditions, the extent to which mobile station
38
will be able to communicate with cell site
30
or cell site
40
will depend on the geographic location of the mobile station and the size of the cell coverage area of each cell site. Further, although only two cell sites are depicted in
FIG. 1
, the entire cellular network may include, for example, more than two cell sites. In addition, more than one cell site may be connected to each MTSO.
Mobile station
38
may include a conventional cellular telephone unit with a transceiver and antenna to communicate by, for example, radio waves with cell sites
30
and
40
. Various air-interface technologies may be implemented to facilitate communication between the mobile station and the cell sites. In addition, various service offerings may be made available to mobile station users. Cell sites
30
and
40
may both include a radio transceiver and be connected by landlines
16
or other communication links to MTSOs
24
and
28
. The PSTN
12
is also connected to each MTSO
24
and
28
by landline
16
or other communication links.
The MTSOs
24
and
28
may be conventional digital telephone exchanges that control the switching between the PSTN
12
and the cell sites
30
and
40
to provide wireline-to-mobile, mobile-to-wireline and mobile-to-mobile call connectivity. The MTSOs
24
and
28
may also (I) process mobile station status data received from the cell site controllers; (ii) handle and switch calls between cells; (iii) process diagnostic information; and (iv) compile billing information. The transceiver of each cell site
30
and
40
provides communications, such as voice and data, with mobile station
38
while it is present in its geographic domain. The MTSOs
24
and
28
may track and switch mobile station
38
from cell site to cell site, as the mobile station passes through various coverage areas. When mobile station
38
passes from one cell to another cell, the MTSO of the corresponding cell may perform a “hand-off” that allows the mobile station to be continuously serviced.
In the current North American cellular system, any given market area may be serviced by up to two competing service providers of cellular air time communication services (wireless carriers). By Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, the two competing wireless carriers are assigned different groups of frequencies through which services are provided. A frequency set typically includes control channels and voice channels. The control channels are used for preliminary communications between a mobile station and a cell site for setting up a call, after which a voice channel is assigned for the mobile station's use on that call. The assigned frequency sets are generally referred to as “A band frequencies” and “B band frequencies”. Typically, the A band frequencies are reserved for non-wireline service providers, while the B band frequencies are reserved for the incumbent wireline service providers. While each frequency set for a given cellular service market area is assigned to only one service provider, in different market areas the same frequency set may be assigned to different service providers or companies.
Depending upon which wireless carrier the user of the mobile station subscribes to, the home frequency set of the user may correspond to the A frequency band or the B frequency band. Whenever a call is placed by the mobile station, the unit will ordinarily attempt to use the home frequency set to establish the call. If a call is handled outside of the user's home market area, then the unit is said to be “roaming” and service will be attempted through a frequency set of a non-home service provider. Typically, the user's home service provider will have a roaming agreement or reciprocal billing arrangement with the non-home service provider to permit service to be extended to the user's mobile unit when it is roaming in the non-home service provider's market area.
Whereas cellular typically operates in the 800-900 MHZ range, PCS is expected to operate in the 1.5 to 1.8 GHz range. In North America, the FCC has awarded PCS licenses in six additional bands (i.e., the A-F carrier blocks or bands). PCS covers a broad range of individualized telecommunication services that let users communicate irrespective of where they are located. With PCS, personalized numbers are assigned to individuals rather than to the mobile stations, and call completion is performed regardless of the location of the user. PCS may be implemented through conventional macro-cellular techniques or through Personal Communications Networks (PCN) that utilize light, inexpensive handheld handsets and communicate via low-power antennas that are intended to operate in a similar fashion to that of large scale cellular telephone networks, but operate within small geographic or microcellular areas. It is anticipated that PCNs will operate within the same frequency band in most countries (e.g., 1850-1990 MHZ), while cellular systems will operate in different frequency bands in various countries.
The mobile station may include a memory device, such as a number assignment module (NAM), in which an assigned phone number and a system identification code (SID) and/or System Operator Code (SOC) is stored to uniquely identify the home service provider for the unit. In the North American cellular system, each provider within a market area is assigned a distinct, fifteen bit SID. IS-136 service providers are also assigned a 12-bit SOC for use throughout all their market areas. In Europe, on the other hand, the Global System for Mobile C
Bridges Jesse Bradley
Coursey Cameron Kelly
Wuthnow Mark Steven
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Maung Nay
Persino Raymond
SBC Technology Resources Inc.
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