IP communication in a cellular telecommunications system

• US 20030050051A1
• Filed: 09/17/2002
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Vilander, Harri Tapani
• Granted Patent: US 7,193,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/385 Uniform resource identifier for session initiation protocol [SIP URI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5076 Update or notification mechanisms, e.g. DynDNS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5084 Providing for device mobility network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A method of alerting a mobile wireless subscriber (11) registered with a mobile wireless communication network (1) to a session initiation request sent by a calling party (7). The method comprises receiving a SIP Invite message at a Home SIP server (8) of the mobile network (1), the SIP Invite message containing a SIP URL identifying said mobile subscriber (11). Using the SIP URL, the identity of a ACP (3) with which the mobile subscriber (11) is currently registered is identified and a paging message broadcast to said mobile subscriber (11) from said ACP (3).

Claims

1. A method of alerting a mobile wireless subscriber registered with a mobile wireless communication network to a session initiation request sent by a calling party, the method comprising:

receiving a SIP Invite message at a SIP server of the mobile network, the SIP Invite message containing a SIP URL identifying said mobile subscriber;

using the SIP URL to determine the identity of a second SIP server of a Access Control Point (ACP) serving the mobile subscriber;

sending a SIP Invite message to said second SIP server; and

causing a paging message to be broadcast to said mobile subscriber,

wherein an IP address, for use in providing the service to which the SIP Invite message relates, is allocated to the mobile wireless subscriber only after receipt of the SIP Invite message at said second SIP server.

2. A method according to claim 1 and comprising the step of identifying a mobile subscriber identity corresponding to a SIP URL contained in the SIP Invite message, said mobile subscriber identity and said SIP URL identifying the called mobile subscriber.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein an association between SIP URLs and mobile subscriber identities is maintained by a location register of the mobile network.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the location register maintains information on the current location of mobile subscribers.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein, upon receipt of a SIP invite message at the SIP server, the SIP server sends a query, containing the SIP URL of the called mobile subscriber, to the location register which responds by returning the associated mobile subscriber identity and the current location of the mobile subscriber.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the current location is the identity of said second SIP server.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the location register returns to the SIP server the current location of the called subscriber, and the ACP subsequently sends a query to the location register in order to retrieve the mobile subscriber identity.

8. A method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein, when the SIP server receives the called mobile subscriber'"'"'s current location from the location register, the SIP server sends a SIP invite message to said second SIP server.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said subscriber identity is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and the IMSI is included in the SIP Invite message sent to said second SIP server.

10. A method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said second SIP server buffers the received message whilst a paging message is sent over the air interface to the called subscriber.

11. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein, in the event that a connection is established between the called subscriber and the ACP, the ACP allocates an IP address to the called subscriber.

12. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the SIP Invite message is sent to the called subscriber from the serving ACP'"'"'s SIP server in association with the paging message.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the SIP Invite message is sent over a paging channel or a separate broadcast channel.

14. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein said ACP allocates an IP address to the called mobile subscriber following receipt by the ACP of an accept message from the subscriber, sent in response to the broadcast paging message.

15. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein an IP address is allocated to the called subscriber upon registration with the network.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the IP address is derived from a temporary International Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) allocated to the mobile subscriber.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of using the SIP URL to determine the identity of an Access Control Point (ACP) with which the mobile subscriber is currently registered comprises:

identifying a mobile subscriber identity corresponding to a SIP URL contained in the SIP Invite message, said mobile subscriber identity and said SIP URL identifying the called mobile subscriber;

sending a query containing said mobile subscriber identity to a location register which maintains information on the current location of mobile subscribers; and

returning the identity of the ACP SIP server to the enquiring SIP server.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein, once the SIP Invite message has been received by the SIP server of the mobile wireless communication network and an associated mobile subscriber identified, the method proceeds according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 18.

18. A method of initiating an IP session between a calling party and a called mobile wireless subscriber registered with a mobile wireless communication network, the method comprising:

receiving a SIP Invite message at a SIP server of the mobile network, the SIP Invite message containing a SIP URL identifying said mobile subscriber;

identifying a mobile subscriber identity corresponding to a SIP URL contained in the SIP Invite message, said mobile subscriber identity identifying the called mobile subscriber within the mobile network;

broadcasting a paging message to said mobile subscriber; and

allocating to the mobile subscriber an IP address following receipt by the network of a paging response message sent by the mobile subscriber.

19. A method of initiating an IP communication session between a calling party and a called mobile wireless subscriber registered with a mobile wireless communication network, the method comprising:

receiving a SIP Invite message at a SIP server of the mobile network, the SIP Invite message containing a SIP URL identifying said mobile subscriber;

using the SIP URL to determine the identity of a second SIP server of an ACP with which the mobile subscriber is currently registered;

identifying a mobile subscriber identity corresponding to a SIP URL contained in the SIP Invite message, said mobile subscriber identity identifying the called mobile subscriber within the mobile network;

sending the SIP Invite message from the SIP server to the identified ACP SIP server; and

identifying an IP address allocated to the called subscriber at the ACP and broadcasting a paging message to the called subscriber together with the SIP message.

23. A method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the association between the first and second subscribers at the SIP server of the mobile communication network is created by the second mobile subscriber sending an association request to that SIP server.

20. A method of forwarding a call to a first subscriber of a communications network, to a second, mobile wireless subscriber of a mobile wireless communication network, the method comprising:

receiving a SIP Invite message at a SIP server of said communication network, the SIP Invite message containing a SIP URL identifying said first subscriber;

sending the SIP Invite message to a SIP server of the mobile wireless communication network;

identifying at the SIP server of the mobile wireless communication network whether an association has been created between the first and second subscribers

determining the identity of a SIP server of an Access Control Point (ACP) with which the second subscriber is currently registered;

sending the SIP Invite message to the ACP'"'"'s SIP server; and

broadcasting a paging message to said second subscriber.

22. A method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein, in order to initialise the call forwarding procedure, the first subscriber sends a call forwarding instruction to the SIP server of the communications network, notifying the server that subsequent SIP Invite messages destined for the first subscriber are to be forwarded to said mobile communication network