Method and System for Authenticating Short Message Calling Party

• US 20070149225A1
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tong, Guofan, Chen, Youjun, Li, Zujian, Ding, Weihua
• Granted Patent: US 7,957,754 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

A method for authenticating a Short Message (SM) calling party, including: if a Signal Relay Function for support of Mobile Number Portability (MNP-SRF) module detects a calling party number carried in an SM belongs to its serving network after receiving a Mobile Originated (MO) SM, the MNP_SRF module adds an identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network to the calling party number. A Short Message Serving Center (SMSC) determines whether the SM passes calling party authentication according to the fact that whether the calling party number carries an identifier of the SMSC'"'"'s network. The invention provides a system for authenticating an SM calling party, including: a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a calling MNP_SRF module, a Number Portability Database (NPDB) and a Short Message Serving Center (SMSC). The invention may avoid a mobile number having subscribed to a new network from using resources of the SMSC of a network to which the subscription has been canceled.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a Short Message (SM) calling party, comprising:

receiving, by a Signal Relay Function for support of Mobile Number Portability (MNP-SRF) module, a Mobile Originated (MO) SM from a Mobile Switching Center (MSC);

determining whether a calling party number carried in the SM is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network, if the calling party number carried in the SM is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network, adding an identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network to the calling party number;

sending, by the MNP_SRF module, the SM to a Short Message Serving Center (SMSC);

determining, by the SMSC, whether the calling party number in the SM carries the identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network, if the calling party number in the SM carries the identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network, determining that the SM passes calling party authentication;

if the calling party number in the SM does not carry the identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network, determining that the SM fails to pass calling party authentication.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring and storing, by the MNP_SRF module, a Number Portability (NP) state of the mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network from an NP Database NPDB) at a pre-configured interval;

wherein the step of determining whether a calling party number carried in the SM is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network by the MNP_SRF module comprises;

determining, by the MNP_SRF module according to the NP state of the mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network stored in the MNP_SRF module, whether the NP state of the calling party number shows that the calling party number is a mobile number carried into the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from a foreign network or is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network that has not been carried to a foreign network;

if the NP state of the calling party number shows that the calling party number is a mobile number carried into the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from a foreign network or is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network that has not been carried to a foreign network, determining that the calling party number is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network;

if the NP state of the calling party number does not show that the calling party number is a mobile number carried into the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from a foreign network or is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network that has not been carried to a foreign network, determining that the calling party number is not a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether a calling party number carried in the SM is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network by the MNP_SRF module comprises:

inquiring, by the MNP_SRF module, the NPDB about the NP state of the calling party number, if the NP state of the calling party number returned by the NPDB shows that the calling party number is a mobile number carried into the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from a foreign network or is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network that has not been carried to a foreign network, determining that the calling party number is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network;

if the NP state returned by the NPDB does not show that the calling party number is a mobile number carried into the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from a foreign network or is a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network that has not been carried to a foreign network, determining that the calling party number is not a mobile number of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s home network.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting, by the MSC, subscription data of the MS from a Visited Location Register (VLR) after receiving the SM from the MS;

sending, by the MSC, the calling party number in the subscription data returned by the VLR and the SM from the MS to the MNP?_SRF module.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adding an identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network to the calling party number by the MNP_SRF module comprises:

taking, by the MNP_SRF module, the identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network as prefix information or postfix information of the calling party number.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adding an identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network to the calling party number by the MNP_SRF module comprises:

adding the identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network to a location of the calling party number predetermined by the SMSC.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after determining by the SMSC the SM passes calling party authentication, sending, by the SMSC, the SM and the calling party number to a MNP_SRF module to which the called party belongs;

removing, by the MNP_SRF module to which the called party belongs, the identifier of the MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from the calling party number, and sending the calling party number and the SM to the called party.

8. A system for authenticating a Short Message (SM) calling party, comprising:

a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a calling Signal Relay Function for support of Mobile Number Portability (MNP_SRF) module, a Number Portability Database (NPDB) and a Short Message Serving Center (SMSC);

wherein

the MSC is configured to send an SM submitted by a Mobile Station (MS) and a mobile number of the MS, i.e., a calling party number, to the calling MNP_SRF module;

the calling MNP_SRF module is configured to obtain from the NPDB a Number Portability (NP) state of the calling party number sent by the MSC, and determine according to the NP state whether the calling party number is a number of a network where the calling MNP_SRF module located, if the calling party number is a number of the calling MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network, add an identifier of the calling MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network to the calling party number and send the calling party number and the SM to the SMSC;

if the calling party number is not a number of the calling MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network, directly send the SM and the calling party number sent by the MSC to the SMSC;

the NPDB is configured to send the NP state of a mobile number of its own network to the calling party MNP_SRF module according to a request of the MNP_SRF module;

the SMSC is configured to determine whether the calling party number sent by the calling MNP_SRF module carries the identifier of the SMSC'"'"'s network, if the calling party number sent by the calling MNP_SRF module carries the identifier of the SMSC'"'"'s network, determine that the SM from the calling MNP_SRF module passes calling party authentication, if the calling party number sent by the calling MNP_SRF module does not carry the identifier of the SMSC'"'"'s network, determine that the SM from the calling MNP_SRF module fails to pass calling party authentication.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the calling MNP_SRF module is located in a Signaling Transfer Point (STP).

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a called MNP_SRF module, configured to remove the identifier of the SMSC'"'"'s network from the calling party number after receiving the calling party number from the SMSC, and send the SM sent by the SMSC and the calling party number to the called party.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the calling MNP_SRF module is further configured to remove the identifier of the calling MNP_SRF module'"'"'s network from the calling party number after receiving the calling party number from the SMSC, and send the SM sent by the SMSC and the calling party number to the called party.