CZ2000691A3 - Process and system for processing calls in communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for processing calls for a communication device subscriber number transferred from the first communications network (I) a first operator to a second second communications network (II) operator where a database is created in each communication network (HLR1, HLR2, HLR ') of the converted numbers available from at least one GMSC, and in which they are subscriber numbers stored from one operator to another another operator, along with information about the network to which subscriber numbers belong to, and during an incoming call (10) to the network for a particular subscriber number, the subscriber number is called compared to subscriber numbers in the database and based on the result of this comparison are routing information for further call processing.

Description

A method and system for processing calls from a communication device f by a subscriber number transferred from a first operator to a second operator particularly suitable for use in mobile communication systems.

Technical field

The present invention relates to a method of processing calls for a communication device with a subscriber number being transferred from a first communications network of a first operator to a second communications network of a second operator. The present invention further relates to a communication system suitable for practicing the method of the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

If the subscriber has a choice between more than one telephone service provider, hereinafter referred to as an operator, then the subscriber also has the option of switching from one operator to another. It would be frustrating for a subscriber to switch between the old subscriber numbers and the new subscriber number. Also, with regard to the greatest possible freedom of competition, experts have reservations about this procedure as it can prevent a participant from switching operators.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method that allows a subscriber to retain the original telephone number even when switching operators. In a fixed telephone network, it is relatively easy to create options for keeping a number, since the subscriber is always in the same position and is always connected to the same telephone exchange. However, this is not the case with mobile telephone networks. A subscriber with a mobile phone can be very far away in many places and is difficult to track if he has fefe · fe · • fefe fefe

-2 • »fe *» • fe fefefe • fefe • fefe ·· fefe for example a subscriber number that was originally provided by another operator. Furthermore, it is clear that the cost and processing of mobile telephone traffic must be attributed to the right operators.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide, for said needs and in general, a method that redirects phone calls effectively from or to mobile phones with a number redirected from one operator to another. This number will continue to be referred to as the "number being transferred."

According to the invention, the method of the type described above is characterized in that in each communication network a database of numbers to be transferred is available, which is accessible from at least one gateway and which stores subscriber numbers transferred from one operator to another together with the network information. which subscriber numbers belong; so that during an incoming network call for a given subscriber number, the called subscriber number is compared with the user numbers in the database; and based on the results of this comparison, routing information for further call processing is generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically shows the problem to which the invention provides a solution;

Giant. 2 schematically illustrates how a mobile phone call is normally routed to the correct phone number within a telephone network;

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Fig. 3 shows schematically an example of a telephone network according to the invention associated with a second similar network of a second operator;

Giant. 4 shows schematically a variant with a routing request originating from a foreign exchange;

Fig. 5 shows schematically a second variant with a routing request originating from a foreign exchange and comprising a switched subscriber;

Fig. 6 shows an example flow diagram of the function of a special storage device for use in the method of the invention; and

Fig. 7 shows a modification of Fig. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 schematically shows the problem to which the invention provides a solution. The call sent by subscriber A from the fixed or mobile device intended for subscriber's mobile device B reaches the telephone network of the first operator by one of the existing routes designated for this purpose. The reason why the call reaches the .1 network is because Subscriber A has dialed a mobile phone number which, as it appears from a certain characterizing part of the number, belongs to the number database of the NPP network. Thus, for example, a mobile phone number beginning with 06 53 belongs to the PTT Telecom database, while 06 54 belongs to the Libertel database.

Accordingly, in the situation described above, subscriber A, or anyone handling his call, assumes that subscriber B is to be on network I. However, if subscriber B, while retaining the original mobile phone number, switches to another operator creating network II as indicated by arrow 1, then special precautions are required to still establish a connection with subscriber B, although subscriber B now belongs to the database Network II. Therefore, the call coming to the network I must be sent • 9 «· ··· • 9 ·· • 9 9 • 9 9 • 9 V ·· 99

-4directly (arrow 2) or indirectly to network II. For this reason, it should be possible to detect in network I that subscriber B no longer belongs to the network database and also to which other operator subscriber B has switched.

Fig. 2 first shows, for clarity, how a connection to a mobile telephone is normally established. The call from subscriber A to mobile subscriber B comes to the telephone exchange 5 (the gateway usually indicated by the abbreviation GMSC (Gateway Mobile Switching Center)). It is assumed that Subscriber B has a phone number that is not transferred and with which, in fact, a contact can be established in the network to which the PBX 5 belongs. However, it may not be easy to establish direct contact with Subscriber B based on Subscriber number B selected by subscriber A since subscriber B has a mobile device and must therefore be traced first. For this reason, the control panel 5 sends a routing request, i.e. a request for routing information, to a special position register (>, usually indicated by the abbreviation HLR (= Home Location Register)). The routing request is symbolically indicated by the RE (Routinq Enquiry) arrow,

The location register contains information about the location of the called party or, in any case, their mobile phone. This information is available to all mobile phones that have not been turned off because each mobile phone sends its presence signal at predefined intervals (currently 18 minutes) that contains information identifying the device or subscriber and is received by a network receiver. Since the location of all receivers is known, it is also known in which area the telephone is located and through which exchange subscriber B can be reached. This information is sent to the position register. There is a clear possibility that the phone is located completely out of reach of the network. In this case (temporarily) no contact with the phone is possible.

Accordingly, the location register contains information about the location of the called telephone in the form of the address of the host PBX 7, which is currently searching for subscriber B's cell phone. The location register requests the host PBX 7 for a temporary roaming number RN. The gateway 5 finally forwards the call to the receiver of subscriber B in a normal manner.

Fig. 3 shows schematically an example of a method in which, according to the invention, a connection can be established with a mobile telephone with a converted number.

The call indicated by the arrow 10 for the mobile phone reaches directly or indirectly the gateway exchange (GMSC) for the mobile phones 11, for example the GMS network. Then, a routing polling signal is generated and sent to the special storage device 12 via link 13. referred to as a signaling port or a signaling port for NP (numerical portability), contains information about all numbers to be transferred, whether inward or outward, and all associated operators and networks associated therewith. Preferably, the mobile phone number to be retrieved can be used as the address for the routing polling signal. If the target number is the network number itself or the number to be converted, then the memory device 12 sends back a signal via link 14. This signal contains position register information. Typically, the mobile network includes more than one location register, each location register containing information about a specific set of numbers. The memory device 12 knows which location register contains information about a particular mobile phone number. In the example shown, two position registers HLR1 and HLR2 are represented. Each position register has a specific address number and the memory device 12 adds this number to the routing interrogation signal so that * 999

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9, the control panel 11 can send this signal to the correct position register via link 15. The position register, in this case HLR1 or HLR2, then creates a temporary number ("roaming number") that corresponds to the mobile device being sought. The temporary number includes, inter alia, the number ("global name" or "point code") of the host PBX and is sent via link 16 to the gateway 11, which takes care of the link 17 to the host PBX 18. device.

In the case where the called subscriber is served by another network of another operator, the memory device 12 itself creates a temporary number, which may consist, for example, of the called subscriber's mobile ISDN number preceded by a so-called prefix indicating which network the called subscriber is servicing. The temporary number thus created is returned via link 14 to the gateway panel 11. The panel 11 recognizes the prefix and transmits the temporary number to the associated network II via an inter-network link

Similarly, the control panel 11 can receive signals over the interconnection 21 from the network II, which is constructed similarly to the network I. The corresponding parts of the network II are indicated by the same numbers as in the NPP network but are indicated by a comma.

Depending on the configuration, the prefix may or may not be forwarded to another network. Then, in a network II in a manner similar to that described above, using the memory device 12 and the location register HLR ', a connection can be established with the corresponding host exchange 18' and subsequently with the called mobile phone.

In the practical application of the described method, number portability (transmission of subscriber numbers from one operator to another) can be realized in a simple manner. No additional connections between the different networks are required. Obviously, all participating networks must include a special storage device 12 or 12 ', which may indicate either a relevant location register or a relevant other network.

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Note that a similar method is applicable to fax and data transmission. The method according to the invention is further applicable to routing queries originating from other networks (SOR) and to so-called SMS (Short Message Service) messages.

If a routing request is received from the exchange in another network, for example in a foreign network, the exchange 11 may forward the routing information obtained as described above to the foreign exchange, which may then establish a connection with the target subscriber in the most optimal manner. An example is shown schematically in FIG. The control panel 30 in a foreign country F transmits via link 31 a request for routing information to the control panel 11 in the home country H. The control panel 11 obtains the required information by means of a special memory device 12 and a position register HLR, and sends the information via the link 31 back to the control panel 30. it then establishes, directly or indirectly, a connection between Participant A and Target Participant B.

Fig. 5 shows schematically a variant example where the foreign exchange 30 requests the exchange 11 in the network I in the home country H for routing information. A search of the special storage device 12 shows that the target subscriber is switched to network II in home country H. Therefore, the control panel 11 further sends a routing information request to the network II control panel 11 'which uses the special storage device 12 and the location register HLR' to and sends it over the direct link 32 to the interrogator 30 abroad.

Note that technically speaking it is irrelevant whether the panels 30 and 11 are located or not in different countries or whether the panels 11 and 11 'are located or not in the same country.

Obviously, the exchange 11 'could also send the required routing information to the foreign exchange 30 via the network exchange 11.

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In a similar manner to the above, so-called SMS (= Short Message Service) messages can be transmitted. In these circumstances, the gateway, in the case where the target subscriber is a subscriber belonging to the PBX own network (whether transferred or not), may forward the SMS signal, either directly or via the PBX, to the PBX serving the target subscriber.

If the subscriber is a switched subscriber, it is also possible, after finding the correct HLR in the second network, to send the requested information via the gateway of the first network, directly or via the PBX, whether foreign or not, to the PBX serving the target subscriber. . Alternatively, the gateway of the second network may also transmit the requested information to the interrogator or directly to the subscriber control panel.

For the sake of completeness, Figure 6 in the form of a flow chart shows an example of the function of the special storage device 12. After the speech signal is input, it is first determined in step 40 whether the address number ("global name") contains the network prefix itself. If so, then the global name is replaced by a number indicating the relevant HLR (step 41). If not, then in step 42 it is determined whether the MSISDN number (Mobile Subscriber ISDN) contained in the received name belongs to the subscriber itself. If so, a number is created with the address of the relevant HLR (step 43). If this is not the case, it is determined in step 44 whether the calling subscriber is serviced by its own network. If not, then the service network prefix is added to the MSISDN number (step 45). If so, then at step 46 it is determined whether the received message is a routing information query. If so, then at step 47, an MSISDN number is provided with a prefix as a temporary number and sent. If not, the process proceeds to step 45.

Fig. 7 shows a flow chart similar to Fig. 6, but using blocking of SMS messages that do not originate from "fefe".

-9the network subscriber. Accordingly, in this example, in step 50, it is first determined whether the received message is an SMS message intended for the SMS of the network itself. If so, it is determined in step 51 whether the calling MSISDN number is the number of the subscriber itself. If not, the message is rejected (step 52) because this subscriber is not authorized to use the SMS Short Message Service of this network. This is reported to the calling number. If so, the message is provided with a PBX service SMS address (step 53).

According to the method described above, a call can be processed for the mobile subscriber regardless of whether the mobile subscriber is or is not a subscriber to the network itself, or whether it is transferred to or out of a subscriber having a converted number. Also, according to this method, it is no longer necessary to have some connection between, for example, subscriber telephone, fax and data traffic numbers, as has often been the case so far. Even if the subscriber switches their telephone number from the first operator to the second operator and switches their fax number to the third operator, this will not cause any problems.

It is further noted that calls from mobile devices to fixed lines with or without numbers being transferred can also be correctly routed using the method of the special storage device of the invention.

Claims (10)

A method for processing calls for a communication device having a subscriber number transferred from a first communications network of a first operator to a second communications network of a second operator, characterized in that in each communications network a database of transferred numbers is provided that is accessible from at least one gateway; which stores subscriber numbers transferred from one operator to another operator, together with information about the network to which the subscriber numbers belong; and during an incoming call to the network for a particular subscriber number, the called subscriber number is compared to the subscriber numbers in the database, and based on this comparison, routing information for further call processing is generated. The method of claim 1 for use in a mobile communications network comprising at least one location register, wherein the routing information includes an address of the relevant location register if the called subscriber number belongs to the network itself, and in that the routing information includes an address of another if the called number belongs to another network. The method of claim 2, characterized in that the routing information is transmitted via the gateway to relevant location registers or other networks. The method of claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the relevant position register supplements the routing information, and in that the call is assigned a temporary subscriber number which is sent via the gateway to the exchange in the area where the mobile device is located. Ft • ft • * * * * * * -11V 000 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 « 444 · «* 4,444 4 Method according to any one of the preceding claims 2-4, characterized in that the routing information provided with the address of another network is transmitted to another respective network, and in the other network, after being compared with the database of numbers to be converted, is added and sent back to the gateway of the first network. Method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that the routing information provided with the address of another network is transmitted to another relevant network, and in the other network, after being compared with the database of numbers to be converted, is supplemented and transmitted directly to the service network or the control panel. 7. A communication system comprising a communication network, a plurality of PBXs, and a communication device equipped with subscriber numbers, wherein the communication network comprises at least one storage device accessible from at least one gateway and which includes a database of ported numbers in which stored subscriber numbers transferred from one operator to another operator, together with information about the network to which the subscriber numbers belong; and in that the gateway is arranged to compare the called subscriber number with the database of numbers to be transferred and, depending on the result of the comparison, decide whether the call is for a subscriber number belonging to the network itself or to another network. A communication system according to claim 7, arranged for mobile communications and equipped with at least one location register, characterized in that the storage device is arranged to equip the gateway with the location register address relevant to the subscriber number in the case of a subscriber number belonging to the network itself. -11 * «« · Communication system according to claim 7 or 8, arranged for processing at least telephone traffic and equipped with a short message service (SMS), characterized in that the storage device is arranged to detect whether the SMS message originates from a subscriber of the network itself or from another subscriber . 10. The communication system of claim 9 including blocking means for blocking SMS messages originating from a subscriber belonging to another network.