APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ENABLING OPTIMIZED GATEWAY SELECTION FOR INTER-WORKING BETWEEN CIRCUIT-SWITCHED AND INTERNET TELEPHONY

• US 20100091765A1
• Filed: 12/15/2009
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Xiong, Ming, Lennox, Jonathan Michael, DOSHI, PARAG M., Murakami, Kazutaka, Haase, Oliver
• Granted Patent: US 8,509,221 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/106 across networks, e.g. mapping telephone numbers to data network addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4535 using an address exchange platform which sets up a session between two nodes, e.g. rendezvous servers, session initiation protocols [SIP] registrars or H.323 gatekeepers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4588 containing mobile subscriber information, e.g. home subscriber server [HSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1285 Details of finding and selecting a gateway for a particular call
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

An optimized gateway selection process of the present invention is based on a universal mobility manager (UMM), a component for inter-technology location management. The UMM is capable of holding location information for diverse cellular networks, as well as for Internet telephony systems. For cellular networks, UMM acts as a traditional HLR; for an Internet telephony network, it acts as the entities that are responsible for user/terminal registration (registrar in SIP, gatekeeper in H.323) and address resolution (proxy server in SIP, gatekeeper in H.323). An optimal gateway selection is possible based on location related information provided by the UMM which had not previously been available. Utilizing the newly available information enables a gateway to be selected which may, for example, enable the circuit switched portion of a call to now be minimized.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a gateway to support a call from a user of a first network to a user of a second network, the method comprising the steps of:

querying a unified location management device having stored therein location information associated with the user of the second network; and

selecting the gateway based on the location information provided by the unified location management device;

wherein

in the case of an internet telephony device calling a mobile device, the unified location manager operates as an inbound proxy for a given IP domain to allow selection of a location dependent routable temporary phone number such that a call path from the internet telephony device to the mobile device bypasses the mobile device'"'"'s home MSC or gateway MSC.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the case of a PSTN originated call to an internet telephony user, a cellular number is used to denote the internet telephony telephone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of selecting is optimized by providing a selection that minimizes any one of triangle routing, a PSTN call leg or an Internet call leg.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selection of said gateway is optimized by selecting a gateway that minimizes a circuit switched portion of a call.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said location related information is used to assign a location dependent routable temporary telephone number for use in said gateway selection.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said internet telephony accounts are SIP accounts.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said mobile location information can correspond to an internet telephony user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said location related information provides assignment of a GSM/UMTS temporary phone number.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said unified location manager is operable as a home location register for cellular networks and as a user registration and address resolution device for internet telephony networks.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said universal location manager uses a current Care-of-Address for providing said location related information for a mobile Internet telephony user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein one of said first and second networks is circuit switched network and one of said first and second networks is an internet telephony network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second networks utilize different ones of a plurality of network protocols, the plurality of network protocols comprising any of ANSI-41, GSM MAP, SIP, and H.323.