Method and arrangement in communication networks for...

Details Method and arrangement in communication networks for... Method and arrangement in communication networks for...

1999-11-29

2004-06-01

Yao, Kwang Bin (Department: 2667)

Multiplex communications

Diagnostic testing

Determination of communication parameters

C370S389000, C379S088230, C379S244000, C709S203000, C709S250000, C455S445000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06744737

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for managing the configuration and/or operation of various features of telecommunication networks. The invention relates further to an arrangement for accomplishing the managing operations of the telecommunication network features.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modern telecommunication networks provide various sophisticated features and/or services available to subscribers. These services are in most cases provided and run by the telephone companies (operators) and include features such as call forwarding, wake-up calls, answering services, directory services, text and voice mails etc. These services may be implemented, e.g. in a so-called Intelligent Network (IN).
Conventionally these services have been relatively difficult to use. In particular, the configuration thereof, e.g. the installation/removal and activation/deactivation and/or other changes thereof, requires in most cases the assistance of the telephone company. Some of the configurations are also such that they can be accomplished only by the telephone company, e.g. by a service person or an authorised clerk of the telephone company. To receive this kind of assistance, the subscriber has either to visit an office of the telephone company or at least to make a telephone call to them to order the desired configuration of services.
One of the reasons for this is the substantially unsophisticated and limited user interface of conventional telephone terminals (a simple keypad with numbers 0 . . . 9 and hash (#) and star (*)) The required key combinations are often long and hard to remember, and the lack of guidance to the user causes mistakes, or even dissuades the user from even trying. In addition, the conventional telephone systems and terminals do not give much feedback, if at all, after the subscriber has keyed in the instructions through the keypad. The nature of the user interface also limits the number and flexibility of the services that can be effectively and readily used.
To overcome the above problems, improved network arrangements and/or telephone terminals have been suggested. For instance, the performance of conventional POTS connections (Plain Old Telephone Service) is improved, e.g. by the so-called ISDN connection (Integrated Services Digital Network). Improved telephone terminals are also suggested, especially in connection with advanced connections such as the ISDN. These are intended to provide the user with an improved interface for setting, configuring, and modifying operations of the various features and/or services.
It is characteristic of ISDN that the user may utilise several communications services either separately or simultaneously. Different applications, which consist of a terminal device, a group of terminal devices, a multiservice switch, a local network, another private network etc., are connected to the ISDN by a limited user access group. The ISDN network enables the development of the conventional telephone to form a part of a multiservice terminal, such as a combination of a telephone and a PC, which enables simultaneous transfer of speech and data. The ISDN interface between the user and the network comprises various types of channels which can be used between the subscriber and the network for information transfer.
The ISDN B-channel is a channel operating at a rate of 64 kbit/s and is provided with timing—it is used for transferring all kinds of information, e.g. in different manners coded speech or data. The ISDN D-channel, which has a transfer rate of either 16 kbit/s or 64 kbit/s, is primarily intended as a signalling channel for circuit switched connections. By combining the different channel structures user accesses are provided. A basic access has a 2B+D structure and a basic system access has a 30B+D structure. By using the basic access system, one or several terminal devices may be connected directly to the ISDN network, whereas the basic system access is used for connecting large switches and local networks to the ISDN network.
The additional features/services referred to above are usually adapted to conventional telephone terminals. It is therefore difficult to introduce more advanced features/services, or their introduction is at least difficult and/or expensive to accomplish as it is necessary to provide subscribers with more advanced terminals. This cost factor has been one of the reasons for the slow introduction of advanced features/services in telecommunications networks, especially amongst home users.
There are arrangements utilising open communications networks, such as the Internet or MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) or similar, which provide for the transmission of telephone communications. The skilled person is familiar with these, and understands that the Internet is a global open communications network connecting through PSTNs (Public Switched Telephone Network) and suitable gateways to a great number of local area networks, such as networks of various companies, universities and other organisations. The skilled man also understands that the MAN is a network covering a geographically limited area, such as a city or a province. The MAN can also be a subnet of the Internet.
The two most often used communication protocols for the Internet are TCP and IP protocols (Transport Control Protocol and Internet Protocol respectively). In most cases, various services are provided utilising so called WWW service protocol (World Wide Web), which provides a graphical Internet interface for a data processing device, such as a microcomputer. The WWW contains HTML documents (HyperText Markup Language), i.e. “hyperdocuments”, one such document forming one entity which can contain text, pictures, even moving pictures, sound and links to other documents. One such document may also include several pages. A hyperdocument usually has a so-called “web master” which updates the document data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above explained graphical interface could give a wide range of possibilities for managing the different features and/or services available in a communications network. Features that could be controlled, e.g. by a WWW server, could, for instance, consist of the following: call forwarding and status information thereof, selection of a new feature and/or deletion of an existing feature, browsing of various available services, advance information and inspection of telephone bills, setting and removing charging limits, preventing calls from and/or to unwanted telephone numbers, telephone directory searches, additional services, such as secretary services and short messages (text or voice), etc.
In the Internet environment the access calls are usually transmitted to a modem pool of some Internet Service Provider (ISP), such as EUnet Oy in Finland. As the traffic in the Internet rapidly increases, it will become necessary to separate the Internet traffic from the other telephone communications, and to terminate the call, e.g. within a local exchange or somewhere else than at the ISP. However, the present telephone networks are not capable of terminating Internet access calls.
There remain problems which have prevented the large scale utilisation of various open communications networks for the provision, management and control of various services relating to the use and utilisation of telephone and other telecommunication arrangements. One of the main problems is the lack of reliable way to identify and authenticate the users of the networks. The other problem has relied on the privacy guarantees of the users when using the networks.
The present suggestions for providing authorisation and privacy in open networks, such as in the global Internet, usually require an agreement between the communicating parties. This has to be done beforehand, and by some other means than through the open network in question, e.g. by visiting the telephone company's office. The agreement contains in most cases an individual key (number and/or characteristic sequence) or similar identification to be dialled-in, to

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