System, apparatus and method for paging optimization using sub-location areas

• US 6,185,421 B1
• Filed: 07/09/1998
• Issued: 02/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Borg, Gunnar, Alperovich, Vladimir
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bhattacharya, Sam
• Application Number:
  US09/112,663
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432, 455/433, 455/435, 455/456, 455/457, 455/445, 455/422, 455/517, 455/524
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

A telecommunications system, apparatus and method is disclosed for optimizing the use of paging channels within the network by dividing location areas (LAs) into sub-location areas (sub-LAs) and providing a more efficient and flexible method of paging mobile subscribers. The amount of usage of the paging channels and the number of location updates performed by a mobile subscriber can be monitored by the network to determine either statistical data or a subscriber category, e.g., heavy-user or light-user, which can be stored within the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card within the mobile station (MS). The sub-LA information along with the LA information for the cell that the mobile terminal is in is broadcast and monitored by the SIM card within the MS, which can then perform location updates based upon the category or data. The Mobile Switching Center/Visitor Location Register can also use the data or category for paging purposes, e.g., either page within the entire LA or within only the sub-LA, for more focused paging.

Claims

1. A telecommunications system for optimizing the use of paging channels within a cellular network, said telecommunications system comprising:

at least one location area within said cellular network, said location area being divided into at least two sub-location areas;

a mobile terminal in wireless communication with a mobile switching center within said cellular network, said mobile terminal being located within a given one of said sub-location area; and

a memory having threshold information and paging and updating information associated with said mobile terminal stored therein, said paging and updating information comprising a ratio of the number of pages attempted by said mobile switching center to said mobile terminal to the number of location updates attempted by said mobile terminal to said mobile switching center;

wherein said mobile switching center pages said mobile terminal on said paging channels within said given sub-location area and not on said paging channels within at least one other of said at least two sub-location areas when the value of said ratio is above said threshold information;

wherein said mobile switching center pages said mobile terminal on said paging channels within said location area when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information.

2. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with the amount of usage of said paging channels by said mobile terminal.

3. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said memory is within said mobile terminal.

4. The telecommunications system of claim 3, wherein said memory is a Subscriber Identity Module card.

5. The telecommunications system of claim 3, wherein said paging and updating information is determined by said memory within said mobile terminal.

6. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with a predefined time period, said paging and updating information being updated at the end of said predefined time period.

7. The telecommunications system of claim 1, further comprising at least one base station in wireless communication with said mobile terminal and connected to said mobile switching center, said base station being located within said given sub-location area, said paging channels being associated with said base station, said base station broadcasting information associated with said location area and said given sub-location area.

8. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said mobile terminal performs a location update to said mobile switching center when said mobile terminal enters said location area but not when said mobile terminal enters one of said at least two sub-location areas when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information.

9. The telecommunications system of claim 1, further comprising a home location register connected to said mobile switching center, said memory being within said home location register.

10. The telecommunications system of claim 9, wherein said home location register sends, via said mobile switching center, said paging and updating information to said mobile terminal to be stored in a memory therein.

11. The telecommunications system of claim 9, wherein said home location register sends paging and updating information to said mobile switching center, said mobile switching center using said paging and updating information to determine whether to page said mobile terminal within said location area or within said given sub-location area.

12. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said memory is within said mobile terminal, said paging and updating information being determined and sent to said mobile terminal by said mobile switching center.

13. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein each of said sub-location areas are further divided into at least two additional sub-location areas.

14. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said memory stores a location update threshold and wherein said mobile terminal performs a location update to said mobile switching center when said mobile terminal enters said given sub-location area but not when said mobile terminal enters said location area when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information and the number of location updates attempted by said mobile terminal is above said location update threshold.

15. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with at least one subscriber category, said paging and updating information resulting in sub-location area paging when said subscriber category is set to heavy-user, said paging and updating information resulting in location area paging when said subscriber category is set to light-user.

16. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein said mobile terminal performs a location update to said mobile switching center when said mobile terminal enters said given sub-location area but not when said mobile terminal enters said location area when the value of said ratio is above said threshold information.

17. A method for optimizing the use of paging channels within a cellular network, said method comprising the step of:

dividing at least one location area within said cellular network into at least two sub-location areas;

determining paging and updating information associated with a mobile terminal in wireless communication with a mobile switching center within said cellular network, said mobile terminal being located within a given one of said sub-location areas, said paging and updating information comprising a ratio of the number of Pages attempted by said mobile switching center to said mobile terminal to the number of location updates attempted by said mobile terminal to said mobile switching center;

paging, by said mobile switching center, said mobile terminal on said paging channels within said given sub-location area and not paging said mobile terminal on said paging channels within at least one other of said at least two sub-location areas when the value of said ratio is above threshold information; and

paging, by said mobile switching center, said mobile terminal on said paging channels within said location area when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with the amount of usage of said paging channels by said mobile terminal.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said paging and updating information and said threshold information are stored in a memory within said mobile terminal.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said memory is a Subscriber Identity Module card.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said step of determining is performed by said memory within said mobile terminal.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein said step of determining is performed with a predefined time period.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising, after said step of determining, the step of:

broadcasting, by at least one base station in wireless communication with said mobile terminal and connected to said mobile switching center, information associated with said location area and said sub-location area, said base station being located within said given sub-location area, said paging channels being associated with said base station.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

performing, by said mobile terminal, a location update to said mobile switching center when said mobile terminal enters said location area but not when said mobile terminal enters one of said at least two sub-location areas when the value of said ratio is below said threshold.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein said paging and updating information is stored in a home location register connected to said mobile switching center.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising, after said step of determining, the step of:

sending, by said home location register, via said mobile switching center, said paging and updating information to said mobile terminal to be stored in a memory therein.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising, after said step of determining, the step of:

sending, by said home location register, said paging and updating information to said mobile switching center, said mobile switching center using said paging and updating information to determine whether to page said mobile terminal within said location area or within said given sub-location area.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein said step of determining is performed by said mobile switching center, and further comprising, after said step of determining, the step of:

sending, by said mobile switching center, said paging and updating information to said mobile terminal for storage in a memory therein.

29. The method of claim 17, further comprising, after said step of dividing, the step of:

further dividing each of said sub-location areas into at least two additional sub-location areas.

30. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

performing, by said mobile terminal, a location update to said mobile switching center when said mobile terminal enters said given sub-location area but not when said mobile terminal enters said location area when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information and the number of location update attempts by said mobile terminal is above a location update threshold.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with at least one subscriber category, said paging and updating information resulting in sub-location area paging when said subscriber category is set to heavy-user, said paging and updating information resulting in location area paging when said subscriber category is set to light-user.

32. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

performing, by said mobile terminal, a location update to said mobile switching center when said mobile terminal enters said given sub-location area but not when said mobile terminal enters said location area when the value of said ratio is above said threshold information.

33. A mobile terminal within a cellular network, said cellular network having at least one location area therein, said location area being divided into at least two sub-location areas, said mobile terminal comprising:

a memory for storing paging and updating information associated with said mobile terminal and threshold information, said paging and updating information comprising a ratio of the number of Pares attempted towards said mobile terminal to the number of location updates attempted by said mobile terminal;

sending means for sending a location update message to a mobile switching center in wireless communication with said mobile terminal within said cellular network, said mobile terminal sending said location update message when said mobile terminal enters one of said at least two sub-location areas but not when said mobile terminal enters said location area when the value of said ratio is above said threshold information; and

receiving means for receiving a paging message from said mobile switching center, said mobile switching center transmitting said paging message on paging channels within one of said at least two sub-location areas but not in at least one other of said at least two sub-location areas when the value of said ratio is above said threshold information.

34. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said memory is a Subscriber Identity Module card.

35. The mobile terminal of claim 33, further comprising determining means for determining said paging and updating information.

36. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said determining means determines said paging and updating information within a predefined time period.

37. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with the amount of usage of said paging channels within said cellular network by said mobile terminal.

38. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said mobile terminal sends said location update message when said mobile terminal enters said location area but not when said mobile terminal enters one of said at least two sub-location areas when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information.

39. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said mobile switching center transmits said paging message on paging channels within said location area when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information.

40. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said mobile switching center sends said paging and updating information to said mobile terminal for storage in said memory therein.

41. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said receiving means receives a broadcast message from at least one base station in wireless communication with said mobile terminal and connected to said mobile switching center, said broadcast message containing information associated with said location area and one of said at least two sub-location areas, said sending means using said information to send said location update message, said paging channels being associated with said at least one base station.

42. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said memory further stores a location update threshold, said mobile terminal sending said location update message when said mobile terminal enters one of said at least two sub-location areas but not when said mobile terminal enters said location area when the value of said ratio is below said threshold information and the number of location updates attempted by said mobile terminal is above said location update threshold.

43. The mobile terminal of claim 33, wherein said paging and updating information is associated with at least one subscriber category, said paging and updating information resulting in sub-location area paging when said subscriber category is set to heavy-user, said paging and updating information resulting in location area paging when said subscriber category is set to light-user.