NETWORK INITIATED USSD IN MIXED NETWORKS

• US 20100190485A1
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Engelhart, Robert Lee SR.
• Granted Patent: US 7,974,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/147 Signalling methods or messages providing extensions to protocols defined by standardisation
• 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 80/10 adapted for application session management, e.g. SIP [Session Initiation Protocol] connection management H04W76/00; arrangements for session management H04L67/14

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides systems and/or methods that facilitate sending a network initiated USSD message via a mixed network to user equipment. An application server component can communicate to user equipment. A location component can aggregate location data associated with the user equipment, wherein the location component can utilize the last known location data to send a network initiated USSD message to the user equipment via a mixed network.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates communicating with user equipment configured to communicate utilizing a plurality of communication transmission techniques in a mixed network, comprising:

an intelligence component configured to receive a location history comprising, for at least one location, a history of user equipment activity and communication transmission technique employed at the at least one location, and configured to infer, based at least in part upon the location history, an inferred location of the user equipment and a communication transmission technique to be utilized to communicate with the user equipment at the inferred location.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mixed network comprises a global system for mobile communications (GSM) component and an Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) component.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location history relates to at least one of a last known location, a current location, an inferred location, a predicted location, a portion of data related to a location of user equipment, or previous activity data associated with user equipment.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a location component configured to compile the location history.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the location component is further configured to utilize the location history to send a network initiated unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) message to the user equipment via the mixed network.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the location component is integrated into an application server.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the location component is further configured to transmit the network initiated USSD message directly to at least one of a last known visitor location register (VLR), or a last known serving call session control function (S-CSCF) address, of the user equipment, as indicated by a previous user equipment initiated message.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the location component is further configured to utilize at least one of a VLR E.164 address, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, an address that refers to a location of the system utilizing an identity appropriate for the type of network, or an S-CSCF E.164 address to determine the communication transmission technique.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the communication transmission technique is at least one of a transmission utilizing a normal GSM defined by 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), or a transmission utilizing S-CSCF using session initiated protocol (SIP) extensions to encapsulate the USSD message.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the communication transmission technique includes a message protocol based on the at least one address.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the message protocol is a mobile application part (MAP) message or an SIP message.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one address includes a format that indicates over which network the USSD message is to be sent.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one address is associated with a transmission range that corresponds to a particular network type.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the transmission range corresponds to at least one of a GSM protocol, an IMS protocol, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) transmission range, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) transmission range.

15. A method that facilitates communicating data in a mixed network utilizing a plurality of communication transmission techniques comprising:

compiling a history of locations having activity for a mobile communication device from at least one message initiated by the mobile communication device, wherein the at least one message includes at least an address and a communication path employed by the mobile communication device communicating in the mixed network;

inferring from the history of locations a current location of the mobile communication device;

inferring from the history of locations a transmission technique to be employed to transmit an unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) message.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining a mixed network communication transmission technique based on the location history and transmitting a network initiated unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) message to the mobile communication device via the determined communication transmission technique, wherein the mixed network comprises a global system for mobile communications (GSM) component and an Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) component.

16. The method of system 15, further comprising sending the USSD message to the mobile communication device based on the inferred current location and transmission technique.

18. A system that facilitates communicating data in a mixed network, comprising:

means for receiving a history of locations associated with user equipment communicating in the mixed network at the locations;

means for inferring from the history of locations a current location of the mobile communication device;

means for inferring from the history of locations a transmission technique to be employed to transmit an unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) message; and

means for utilizing at least the current location and the transmission technique to send a USSD message to the mobile communication device.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the history of locations includes an address of the at least one address as indicated by a previous user equipment initiated message, the address is associated with a communication technology that supports the USSD message.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising means for receiving the history of locations associated with the user equipment communicating in the mixed network at the locations.