Mobile telephone for roaming using dual mode/band equipment including SIM cards
First Claim
1. A mobile station which can communicate with at least one first type of radio communication network that uses digitally modulated radio signals and at least one second type of radio communication network that uses analog modulated radio signals, said mobile station comprising:
- a transceiver for transmitting and receiving both analog and digitally modulated signals;
a subscriber identity module (SIM) for storing a roaming selection list at a first predetermined memory location, said roaming selection list including;
a first entry including a first pointer to a second predetermined memory location in said SIM wherein an identity of a home network of said first type is stored;
a second entry including an identity of a home network of said second type; and
a third entry including a second pointer to a third predetermined memory location in said SIM wherein at least one identity of other networks of said first type are stored;
wherein said first, second and third entries are ordered in said roaming selection list according to their respective selection priority; and
a processor for scanning control channels associated with networks which provide radio communication coverage in an area in which said mobile station is currently located, wherein said processor selects a highest priority network pointed to by said roaming selection list that is available in said area.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, mobile stations are provided with a preferred roaming selection list at a predetermined memory location in a subscriber identity module (SIM). The preferred roaming selection list identifies and prioritizes network operators to which that mobile station can be connected. Pointers are provided in the preferred roaming selection list to memory locations in the SIM where lists of networks associated with each entry in the list are stored. The memory locations are specified to be compatible with existing standards. The preferred roaming selection list can be modified over the air interface, e.g., via SMS class 2 messages, or by the user via the keypad of the mobile station.
281 Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A mobile station which can communicate with at least one first type of radio communication network that uses digitally modulated radio signals and at least one second type of radio communication network that uses analog modulated radio signals, said mobile station comprising:
-
a transceiver for transmitting and receiving both analog and digitally modulated signals; a subscriber identity module (SIM) for storing a roaming selection list at a first predetermined memory location, said roaming selection list including; a first entry including a first pointer to a second predetermined memory location in said SIM wherein an identity of a home network of said first type is stored; a second entry including an identity of a home network of said second type; and a third entry including a second pointer to a third predetermined memory location in said SIM wherein at least one identity of other networks of said first type are stored; wherein said first, second and third entries are ordered in said roaming selection list according to their respective selection priority; and a processor for scanning control channels associated with networks which provide radio communication coverage in an area in which said mobile station is currently located, wherein said processor selects a highest priority network pointed to by said roaming selection list that is available in said area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A mobile station which can communicate with different types of radio communication networks, said mobile station comprising:
-
a transceiver for transmitting and receiving both analog and digitally modulated signals; a subscriber identity module (SIM) for storing a roaming selection list at a first predetermined memory location, said roaming selection list including; a first pointer to a second predetermined memory location in said SIM wherein an identity of at least one network of a first type is stored; and a second pointer to a third predetermined memory location in said SIM wherein an identity of at least one network of a second type is stored; wherein said first and second pointers are ordered in said roaming selection list according their respective selection priority; a processor for scanning control channels associated with networks which provide radio communication coverage in an area in which said mobile station is currently located, wherein said processor selects a highest priority network pointed to by said roaming selection list that is available in said area. - View Dependent Claims (17)
-
Specification