Method and system for mobile number portability service

• US 20040053610A1
• Filed: 09/04/2003
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG-Ericsson Company Limited (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Hyung-Jo
• Granted Patent: US 7,139,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/432.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/28 Number portability ; Network address portability

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and system for mobile number portability service in an asynchronous mobile communication network. More particularly, the present invention has advantages in that system performance is improved and the number of NPDB, which should be provided as many as the number of service networks in the related art, can be reduced into one NPDB, by storing whether mobile subscriber changes his mobile service provider and an address of an NPDB in a service network presently providing the mobile subscriber with mobile service and by performing mobile number portability inquiry only for a mobile subscriber who practically changed his mobile service provider, in the NPDB in the service network presently providing the mobile subscriber with mobile service.

Claims

1. A method for mobile number portability service, wherein information of the mobile number portability for a mobile subscriber who changed his mobile service provider is stored in an HLR and the HLR responds to location information inquiry for the mobile subscriber by transferring the mobile number portability information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile number portability information is a mobile number portability indicator indicating that the mobile subscriber changed his mobile service provider and address of the NPDB in the service network where the mobile subscriber presently subscribes.

3. A method for mobile number portability service, comprising:

obtaining mobile number portability information of a mobile subscriber who changed his mobile service provider through location information inquiry;

obtaining a routing number of the mobile subscriber by using the mobile number portability information; and

connecting a call with the mobile subscriber by using the routing number.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the mobile number portability information is a mobile number portability indicator indicating that the mobile subscriber changed his mobile service provider and address of the NPDB in the service network where the mobile subscriber presently subscribes.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the mobile number portability information is stored in the HLR that stores location information of the mobile subscriber.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said obtaining mobile number portability information, comprises:

requesting information inquiry for location of the mobile subscriber and performing the information inquiry for location of the mobile subscriber in an HLR; and

transferring the mobile number portability information of the mobile subscriber, stored in the HLR, from the HLR to a GMSC in a service network previously providing the mobile subscriber with mobile service in response to the request.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said obtaining a routing number of the mobile subscriber by using the mobile number portability information, comprises:

checking address of an NPDB in a service network where the mobile subscriber presently subscribes among the mobile number portability information; and

obtaining a routing number of the mobile subscriber by performing routing information inquiry in the NPDB.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein said connecting a call with the mobile subscriber by using the routing number, comprises:

requesting call termination to the GMSC in a service network where the mobile subscriber presently subscribes using the obtained routing number; and

terminating the call to the mobile subscriber using the routing number.

9. A system for mobile number portability service, comprises:

an HLR for storing address of an NPDB in a current service network and responding the address of the NPDB in response to request of information for the mobile subscriber'"'"'s location; and

a GMSC for receiving the address of the NPDB by requesting the information for the mobile subscriber'"'"'s location to the HLR when receiving request of call termination to the mobile subscriber, for receiving a routing number of the mobile subscriber by inquiring about routing information in the NPDB and for requesting the call termination to the current service network.