Method and apparatus by which a home network can detect and counteract visited network inbound network traffic redirection

• US 20060252423A1
• Filed: 03/15/2006
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mobileum, Incorporated fka Roamware
• Original Assignee: Mobileum, Incorporated fka Roamware
• Inventors: Jiang, John Yue Jun
• Application Number:
  US11/375,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20060252423A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/432.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks

Abstract

The present invention provides methods, systems and apparati by which a home common carrier telecommunications network (such as an HPMN) or other concerned parties can detect and defeat technological measures employed by a visited common carrier telecommunications network (such as a VPMN) to direct telecommunications traffic by subscribers to that home network towards that visited network while roaming within the coverage area of that visited network.

Claims

1. A method for countering a traffic redirection of an inbound roaming mobile station in a Visiting Public Mobile Network (VPMN) by a Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN), the method comprising the steps of:

holding a second registration message from a second VPMN on an outbound roamer of the HPMN, on detecting that the status of an immediately previous message sent from the HPMN to the second VPMN on the outbound roamer was a location cancellation and the second registration message from the second VPMN on the outbound roamer is received while a first registration message from a first VPMN for the outbound roamer is being processed at the HPMN,

detecting the status of the first registration message, and

routing the second registration message for processing only on detecting a failure of the first registration message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the status of the first and the second registration messages comprises passively monitoring the exchange of registration messages between the VPMN and the HPMN.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the status of the first and the second registration messages comprises actively monitoring (i.e. in the signaling path of roaming messages) the exchange of registration messages between the VPMN and the HPMN.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the registration message is a Location Update (LUP) message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the failure of the first registration message includes aborting the registration message, rejecting the registration message with error and time-out of the registration message.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting that the immediately previous message sent from the HPMN to the second VPMN of the second registration message is a location cancellation.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising failing the second registration message on detecting a success of the first registration message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the failure of the second registration message includes aborting the registration message, rejecting the registration message with error and time-out of the registration message.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising failing the second registration message on detecting that the status of an immediately previous registration message on the first VPMN was a success.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the VPMN and the HPMN are a part of a wireless network.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the probing block intercepts a signaling link between the HPMN and an international STP.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the probing block is coupled to the HPMN Roaming STP.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein the probing block monitors the registration messages exchanged between the VPMN and a HPMN STP.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, comprising computer readable program code configured for detecting the status of the first and the second registration messages comprises passively monitoring the exchange of registration messages between the VPMN and the HPMN.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, comprising computer readable program code configured detecting the status of the first and the second registration messages comprises actively monitoring the exchange of registration messages between the VPMN and the HPMN.

21. The computer program product of claim 17, comprising computer readable program code configured for failing the second registration message on detecting a success of the first registration message.

22. The computer program product of claim 17, comprising computer readable program code configured for failing the second registration message on detecting that the status of an immediately previous registration message on the first VPMN was a success.

10. A system for countering a traffic redirection of an inbound roaming mobile station in a Visiting Public Mobile Network (VPMN) by a Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN), the system comprising:

a probing block for observing at least one registration message exchanged between the VPMN and the HPMN,

a holding block for holding a second registration message from a second VPMN for an inbound roamer, while a first registration message from a first VPMN for the inbound roamer is being processed,

a detecting block for detecting the status of the at least one registration message exchanged between the VPMN and the HPMN, and

a routing block for routing the second registration message for processing.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless network includes GSM, GPRS, 3G, CDMA, WCDMA, TDMA, WLL, WiFi, WiMax and VoIP networks.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the probing block passively monitors the registration messages exchanged between the VPMN and the HPMN.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the probing block actively monitors the registration messages exchanged between the VPMN and the HPMN.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium including a computer readable program code for countering a traffic redirection of an inbound roaming mobile station in a Visiting Public Mobile Network (VPMN) by a Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN), the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code configured for holding a second registration message from a second VPMN for an inbound roamer, on detecting that the status of an immediately previous registration message from the second VPMN for the inbound roamer was a failure and the second registration message is received while a first registration message from a first VPMN for the inbound roamer is being processed,

computer readable program code configured for detecting the status of the first registration message, and

computer readable program code configured. for routing the second registration message for processing only on detecting a failure of the first registration message.