Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Programming control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-26
2003-04-15
Chin, Vivian (Department: 2682)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Programming control
C455S418000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06549770
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The concepts involved in the present invention relate to a new approach for management of subscribers' mobile, digital devices, such as digital cellular telephones, through over-the-air downloads of data contained within such devices.
BACKGROUND
Mobile digital communication is becoming increasingly popular, particularly for voice-grade telephone services, and more recently for data communication services. As a result, there is an increasing demand for development of mobile, digital devices with ever more sophisticated features. As digital devices become more complex, managing subscribers' mobile, digital devices is likewise becoming more complex, resulting in system administrator errors and inefficient use of digital communication network resources.
At present, manufacturers build wireless, mobile digital devices with a complete set of hardware and read-only software to support a full set of desired features. Some capability exists today to download service-related information over-the-air to existing digital cellular telephones (“digital telephones” or “telephones”). However, this capability has been limited to data needed to provision a new unit or to provision an existing unit for a new service. During initial provisioning, for example, the carrier loads into the memory of the telephone necessary parameter data that relates to characteristics of a digital telephone, i.e., something that affects how the digital telephone operates such as the mobile identification number (MIN) assigned to the unit. Essentially, these programming techniques turn on or off available features by setting bits to toggle features on/off or by loading necessary parameter data that relates to characteristics of a digital telephone. However, the desired feature functionality, other than the necessary parameter data that relates to characteristics of a digital telephone, such as the MIN, is present in the unit as manufactured and sold to the user.
Mobile device programming is typically a manual process. Some drawbacks to manual programming are the time and resources required, and the opportunity for error. Because of limited resources, this process is limited to minimal programming of required parameters. Additional parameters, such as Preferred Roaming Lists (PRLs), may be pre-programmed into the device by the manufacturer. Since many parameters are network specific, custom pre-programming requires a special arrangement between the carrier and manufacturer.
After the initial programming of a subscriber's digital device, parameter updates may be required. If the customer requests a new Mobile Telephone Number or area codes are reassigned in a service area, the subscriber device must be reprogrammed. There are other occasions when parameter updates are desired to enhance digital device performance or network efficiency. An example is the Preferred Roaming List, which may change as the result of a merger between wireless service providers, or through the creation and termination of service contracts between wireless service providers, etc.
Because of the limited actions that can currently be taken, there should not be a lot of complexity in maintaining parameter data that relates to characteristics of a digital telephone in existing digital telephones. Actions are limited because updates to MINs are infrequently needed, and preferred roaming list updates are simply run as batch jobs to update as many digital cellular telephones as possible with an entirely new master PRL for the local in which subscribers reside. Toggling features on or off is only performed by a carrier in response to subscriber requests to do so, further limiting the actions a carrier needs to initiate.
However, as simple as current parameter data that relates to characteristics of a digital telephone maintenance appears, it is inefficient and provides multiple opportunities for operators to introduce error, particularly when applied to increasingly large numbers of mobile digital devices. As one example, consider the problems that arise primarily relating to PRL updates.
Preferred roaming lists are programmed into subscribers' digital devices, either by the manufacturer or by the carrier. A PRL enables each digital device to select preferred wireless communication service providers to use when a subscriber is outside of the carrier's wireless communication network. Preferred roaming lists essentially contain system identifications (SIDs) for each wireless communication service provider that the carrier has arrangements with to provide the lowest rates when the carrier's subscribers are using their digital devices outside of the carrier's network. Through mergers, the creation and termination of contracts, and other business procedures, a carrier's relationships with other wireless communication service providers is going to change. As a result of changing business relationships, PRLs change. Optimally, a carrier is able to program the latest version of the PRL into new subscribers' digital devices, and is able to update existing subscribers' digital devices with the latest version of the PRL as well. This allows the carrier to be charged the lowest rates when its subscribers are roaming outside of the carrier's network.
After a carrier updates its master preferred roaming list with new SIDs, the carrier would like its subscribers' mobile, digital devices to contain the updated PRL. Currently, PRLs are updated by sending a copy of the entire master PRL to all subscribers' digital telephones.
In a typical batch processing routine, an operator creates a list of digital telephones from a pool of digital telephones that do not contain the most recent PRL. The carrier's equipment then attempts to contact the predefined list of digital devices each day, typically during an off-peak time period, i.e., very late at night or early in the morning when traffic volume is low. However, any listed digital devices that are off-line during the off-peak interval can't receive the new list. Typically, they are skipped and put back into the pool of digital telephones that need to be updated.
This is an inefficient use of the carrier's network resources because of the volume of information that is sent. It also takes up a lot of memory on each subscribers' digital telephone, and may cause digital cellular telephones to be slow when searching for a preferred communications provider while the subscriber is roaming. There are also opportunities for operator errors because operators must identify the various types of digital cellular telephones that the carrier's subscribers have, and send appropriate copies of the updated master PRL according to the make and model of digital cellular telephones used on the network. Not only is it possible for operators to misidentify which version of a master PRL should be sent to which digital telephones, but operators may simply forget to update any number of digital telephones.
Costs of development of new models of digital devices, with ever more sophisticated features, are high and continue to spiral upward. At the same time, driven by a long decline in consumer electronic prices, the price that the market will bear for such telephones has remained steady or even declined, in spite of the high demand. New digital devices with basic functionality encoded by the manufacturer and large amounts of available memory, so users may select various features and download software for those features to the unit, have been proposed. An example is commonly-assigned co-pending provisional application 60/185,131, entitled
OVER
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THE
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AIR PROGRAMMING OF WIRELESS TERMINAL FEATURES,
incorporated herein by reference.
Along with more complex digital devices comes more complex management of those devices by the carrier. Although subscribers will initiate provisioning of features, the carrier will now have to manage more complex parameter data that relates to characteristics of a digital telephone on subscribers' digital te
Cellco Partnership
Chin Vivian
McDermott & Will & Emery
Nguyen Tu X
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