Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Usage measurement
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2003-02-04
Vo, Nguyen T. (Department: 2682)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Usage measurement
C455S456500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06516190
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the calculation of charges for calls made from a mobile communications device in a cellular mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a wired network, the charge assessed for a call depends on whether the call is a local call, a trunk call or an international call—i.e. a geographically defined call—or is, on the other hand, a call to a service number. Thus, when dialing the number of a called subscriber, the calling subscriber already knows the principles or basis on which the cost or price of the call will be calculated.
The rules or principles used in a wired network for calculating the call price cannot be directly applied in mobile telephone networks. This is because the mobile subscriber is not tied to a given locality, whereas the called subscriber may be a locality-dependent wired network subscriber, or a mobile subscriber in the same mobile communication network, or a mobile subscriber in another operator's mobile communication network. Within the mobile communication network, no distinction is made between local and long-distance calls in respect of pricing; moreover, in contrast to the wired network, the called subscriber may in some cases or systems be required to pay a portion of the price of a received call.
In mobile communication networks, a difficulty in locality-dependent determination of call pricing is that the exact locality of neither the calling subscriber nor the called subscriber is known. To provide an understanding of the principles by which call pricing is calculated, the call setup process in a mobile communication network will now be described in general outline form by reference to FIG.
1
.
When a calling subscriber in cell a
1
within location area
1
under mobile switching center MSC
1
initiates a call to a subscriber in location area
2
under another mobile switching center MSC
2
, he or she will dial the MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber International ISDN) number of the called subscriber on his or her mobile station MS-A, which sends it in a message to the base transceiver station
1
(step 1). Upon receiving the message, MSC
1
determines whether the request can be accepted. As a part of this determination, the subscriber data of the calling subscriber are retrieved from the visitor location register VLR
1
associated with MSC
1
at which they have been stored in conjunction with the standard location updating procedure. If the request is accepted, the mobile switching center MSC
1
will send to the home location register HLR an enquiry containing the called subscriber's MSISDN number (step 2). Based on that number, the HLR retrieves the data for the called subscriber, which indicates that the called subscriber has roamed to visitor location register VLR
2
. Next, the HLR sends the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) data to visitor location register VLR
2
, asking the latter to provide it with the roaming number (step 3), whereupon VLR
2
sends the roaming number MSRN (Mobile Subscriber Roaming Number) to the home location register HLR (step 4), from which it is further sent to MSC
1
(step 5).
After this, the call can be routed from mobile switching center MSC
1
to mobile switching center MSC
2
on the basis of the MSRN received from VLR
2
(step 6). Upon receipt of the start message, the mobile switching center MSC
2
of the called subscriber retrieves the subscriber data for the called subscriber from the associated VLR
2
. From that subscriber data, MSC
2
learns the location area LAI-
2
of the called subscriber, so that MSC
2
is able to send a paging message tot he called subscriber's mobile station via the appropriate base station controller
2
(step 7) for the cells b
1
, b
2
, b
3
of the location area in question. After the called subscriber's mobile station MS-B has responded to the paging message, the call to the called subscriber is finally set up. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that only after the called subscriber's mobile station has responded to the paging message is the relevant mobile switching center MSC
2
informed of the called subscriber's current cell level location.
The mobile switching center may also be linked to a service switching point SSP of an intelligent network IN to allow connections from the mobile communication network to the intelligent network. Through an intelligent network, a wide variety of services can be offered to the subscribers of the mobile communication network, including services such as “follow-me” call diversion, call rerouting distribution, premium rate call pricing, etc.
In a state-of-the-art mobile communication network, the most basic rule of call charging is that the calling subscriber is charged for the connection between him or her and the home network of the called subscriber, while the called subscriber is charged for the connection between his or her current locality and his or her home network.
To increase flexibility in connection with the application and assignment of billing rules and principles, a known method is to set a special billing parameter that allows calls made from the subscriber number associated with the parameter to be billed at a lower rate than normal at times when the load on the mobile communication network is low and, correspondingly at a higher rate when the load on the mobile communication network is high. This parameter thus creates a time-dependent call charging principle, but in other respects the pricing of calls follows the above-mentioned principles.
Another known practice is to charge a lower price for calls between a mobile station and a specified wired network telephone than for normal calls. The latter can be implemented by assigning for all subscribers to the service a common service number, e.g. 020100, as the called subscriber number which directs the call to an intelligent network. In the intelligent network, a service program searches a database to find the called subscriber number that is associated with the calling subscriber number, and the call is then automatically routed to the database-stored number.
A comparison of the principles of call price calculation used in mobile communication networks with those used in wired networks reveals certain problems. Since all cells are the same as concerns call charging within to the mobile communication network, it is difficult to offer various user groups any other principles of call price calculation than, for example, the aforesaid price variations based on time-of-day. At present, there are no special call price calculation principles applicable to calls within the same cell or to calls between specific cells. However, it would be attractive for a mobile telephone network operator to be able to provide various services dependent on the locality from which the call originates and/or where it terminates. Such services may for example include locality-dependent pricing schemes.
Patent specifications WO-96/20570 and WO-96/20571 disclose solutions for determining the principles of call price calculation. The price calculation principles can for example be improved by identifying a specified or predetermined cell or number of cells of a mobile telephone network as a special cell group. During call setup, the mobile switching center or a service control point SCP in an intelligent network analyses the call to determine whether the cell in whose area the calling subscriber is located and/or the cell in whose area the called subscriber is located belong(s) to the group of such “special” cells. When the calling and called subscribers are located in cells belonging to different switching centers, data regarding the cell of the called subscriber is transmitted to the switching center of the calling subscriber, or to an intelligent network, before a voice connection is established. In this way it is possible to vary the call charging rates to be applied on the basis of whether the subscribers are or are not located in a group of these special cel
Cohen & Pontani, Lieberman & Pavane
Sonera Oyj
Vo Nguyen T.
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