Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Auxiliary data signaling
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-26
2004-11-16
Gary, Erika (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Auxiliary data signaling
C455S414100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06819932
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to methods and systems for preventing the delivery of unwanted short message service (SMS) messages to a subscriber in a mobile communications network. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and systems for intercepting and discarding unwanted SMS messages at an SMS message routing node, thereby preventing the delivery of unwanted SMS messages to an SMS subscriber.
BACKGROUND ART
Short message service, which was first introduced by European wireless network operators in 1991, enables mobile subscribers to easily send and receive text messages via a wireless handset. As the convergence of wireless communication networks and Internet data networks has increased, the sending and receiving of SMS messages via computer terminals has also become commonplace. Although specifications and industry standards related to SMS are constantly evolving and being modified, SMS messages have traditionally been used to convey readable text information, where the text can include any combination of alphanumeric characters. After the initial text messaging application, service providers began focusing on using SMS as a means of eliminating alphanumeric pagers by permitting two-way, general-purpose, messaging and notification services. One service that was provided was voice mail notification. As technology and networks continued to mature, a variety of services were introduced, including electronic mail (email) and fax integration, paging integration, interactive banking, and information services, such as stock quotes, news highlights, etc.
SMS delivery service provides a mechanism for transmitting “short” messages to and from SMS-capable terminals (e.g., wireless handsets, personal computers, etc.) via the signaling component of the wireless communication network. With particular regard to the sending and receiving of SMS messages by a wireless handset, a wireless network provides the transport facilities necessary to communicate short messages between a short message service center (SMSC) and a wireless handset. A short message service center functions as a store and forward platform for short messages. In contrast to earlier text message transmission services, such as alphanumeric paging, SMS technology is designed to provide guaranteed delivery of an SMS message to a destination. That is, if a temporary network failure prohibits the immediate delivery of an SMS message, then the short message is stored in the network (i.e., at an SMSC) until the destination becomes available. Another of the key and distinguishing characteristics of SMS service with respect to previously available message communication services is that an active mobile handset is able to receive or transmit a short message at any time, regardless of whether or not a voice or data call is in progress.
SMS can be characterized as an out-of-band packet delivery technique with low per-message bandwidth requirements. Hence, SMS services are appealing to network owners and operators.
FIG. 1
is a network diagram illustrating an SMS implementation in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) wireless network. It will be appreciated that a functionally similar SMS architecture could also be employed in non-GSM wireless networks. In any event,
FIG. 1
includes a wireless communication network, generally indicated by reference numeral
100
. Wireless network
100
includes a sending mobile terminal
110
that formulates and sends an SMS message and a base station system
112
that manages the network-to-air interface and reliably transmits the SMS message into the core wireless network. In this particular example, the receiving end of the network includes a base station system
126
and a receiving mobile terminal
128
. Wireless network
100
also includes a pair of mobile switching centers (MSCs)
114
and
124
, a pair of signal transfer points (STPs)
116
and
122
, a short message service center (SMSC)
118
and a home location register (HLR)
120
.
As mentioned previously, SMSC
118
is responsible for relaying, storing, and forwarding short messages between sending and receiving SMS terminals. HLR
120
is a database platform used for permanent storage and management of mobile service subscriptions, mobile subscriber profiles, and mobile subscriber location information. HLR databases permanently store information about subscribers that belong to the same network as the HLR. A database element, known as a visitor location register (VLR), is used to temporarily store information about subscribers who are currently “roaming” in the area serviced by that VLR. The VLR may belong to the subscriber's home network or to a non-home network. Typically, VLR databases are integrated within MSC network elements, and, as such, an explicit VLR node is not shown in FIG.
1
. The HLR and VLR store information needed to correctly route voice calls or data communications to the mobile subscriber. This may include international mobile station identification (IMSI), mobile identification number (MIN), mobile directory number (MDN), and mobile station international ISDN number (MSISDN), as well as the IDs of the VLR and MSC with which the subscriber is currently associated.
With particular regard to short message service operations, HLR
120
provides SMSC
118
with network routing information for the receiving mobile subscriber or mobile terminal
128
. In certain cases, HLR
120
may also inform SMSC
118
, which has previously initiated unsuccessful short message delivery attempts to a specific mobile station, that the mobile station is now recognized by the mobile network to be accessible.
MSC
114
is sometimes referred to as an SMS interworking MSC (SMS-IWMSC) because it is capable of receiving a short message from a wireless network and submitting it to the appropriate SMSC. In practice, SMS-IWMSC nodes are typically integrated with an MSC in the network but may also be integrated with the SMSC. In a similar manner, MSC
124
is sometimes referred to as an SMS gateway MSC (SMS-GMSC) because it is capable of receiving a short message from an SMSC, interrogating a home location register for routing information, and delivering the short message to the “visited” MSC of the recipient mobile station.
FIG. 2
illustrates a communications network
150
, which is a variation of the wireless network
100
described above. In place of a sending base station system and sending wireless terminal, network
150
contains a sending email client
152
and an email server
154
. Email server
154
formulates SMS messages based on email messages and forwards the SMS messages to SMSC
118
. As such, an email message may be generated by a wireline computer terminal residing within a data network (e.g., the Internet) and sent to a mobile terminal within a wireless network as a SMS message.
The signaling infrastructure of wireless network
100
illustrated in
FIG. 1
is based on signaling system no. 7 (SS7), a telecommunications industry standard signaling protocol. SMS service makes use of the SS7 mobile application part (MAP), which defines the methods and mechanisms of signaling communication in mobile or wireless networks. The MAP protocol utilizes the transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) component of the SS7 protocol. Both North American and international standards bodies have defined a MAP layer using the services of the SS7 TCAP component. The North American standard is published by Telecommunication Industry Association and is referred to as IS-41 MAP, while the international standard is defined by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute and is referred to as GSM MAP.
FIG. 3
is a sample message flow diagram associated with the delivery of a short message (SM) to a mobile subscriber or terminal in GSM wireless network. This diagram assumes the IWMSC and the GMSC node are both integrated into the SMSC node. The messages illustrated in
FIG. 3
are GSM MAP protocol messages. However, a similar call flow is used for the IS-41 MAP protocol. In step
1
, a sho
Allison Rick L.
Marsico Peter J.
Gary Erika
Jenkins & Wilson & Taylor, P.A.
Tekelec
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