Satellite delivery of short message service (SMS) messages

• US 6,223,045 B1
• Filed: 02/05/1999
• Issued: 04/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Valentine, Eric, Davidson, Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jackson, Blane J.
• Application Number:
  US09/245,637
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/466, 455/414, 455/412, 455/413, 455/560, 455/12.1, 455/458, 379/88.22, 379/88.25
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18567 Arrangements for providing additional services to the basic mobile satellite telephony service
• 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 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

A method of sending a short message service (SMS) message to a mobile station operating within a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) radio telecommunications network which utilizes a satellite air interface link. A paging server is implemented in the network and interfaced with a mobile switching center/visitor location register (MSC/VLR) serving the mobile station. When a SMS service center receives a mobile-terminating SMS message, it sends the message to the paging server. The paging server stores a copy of the message and sends the message from the paging server to the MSC/VLR. The MSC/VLR makes a first attempt to deliver the message to the mobile station via the satellite air interface radio link. If the SMS service center times out before receiving an acknowledgment that the message was delivered, the service center sends the message to the paging server a second time. Upon receipt, the paging server determines whether the message received the second time has already been sent to the MSC/VLR. If so, the paging server discards the message received the second time. If the message received the second time is a new message, the paging server forwards the message to the MSC/VLR for delivery.

Claims

1. A method of sending a short data message to a mobile station operating in a radio telecommunications network, said network including a mobile switching center/visitor location register (MSC/VLR) serving the mobile station, said method comprising the steps of:

sending the message from a message service center to a paging server associated with the MSC/VLR;

storing a copy of the message in the paging server;

sending the message from the paging server to the MSC/VLR;

making a first attempt to deliver the message from the MSC/VLR to the mobile station via an air interface radio link;

sending the message a second time from the message service center to the paging server;

determining in the paging server whether the message received the second time has already been sent to the MSC/VLR; and

discarding by the paging server, the message received the second time upon determining that the message received the second time has already been sent to the MSC/VLR.

2. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 1 further comprising, after the step of sending the message from the message service center to the paging server, the step of starting an acknowledgment timer in the message service center which times a maximum time period for receiving an acknowledgment in the service center that the message was delivered.

3. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 2 further comprising, after the step of making a first attempt to deliver the message from the MSC/VLR to the mobile station, the step of determining in the message service center that the acknowledgment timer has expired.

4. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 1 further comprising, after the step of making a first attempt to deliver the message from the MSC/VLR to the mobile station, the steps of:

starting a paging timer in the MSC/VLR which times a maximum time period for receiving an acknowledgment from the mobile station that the message was received;

determining in the MSC/VLR that the paging timer expired before receiving an acknowledgment from the mobile station that the message was received; and

making a second attempt to deliver the message from the MSC/VLR to the mobile station.

5. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 4 wherein the air interface radio link includes a satellite having a radio link with the mobile station, and the step of making a second attempt to deliver the message from the MSC/VLR to the mobile station includes sending a high powered page attempt from the satellite to the mobile station.

6. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 5 wherein the step of sending a high powered page attempt from the satellite to the mobile station includes sending a high powered page with an indication that the mobile station has a message waiting for delivery.

7. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 6 further comprising, after sending a high powered page with an indication that the mobile station has a message waiting for delivery, the steps of:

waiting for an extended time period to allow a subscriber time to change the mobile station to an advantaged mode;

receiving a page response from the mobile station; and

sending the message to the mobile station on a low powered traffic channel.

8. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 1 wherein the short data message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message, and the step of sending the message from a message service center to a paging server includes sending the message from a SMS Service Center (SMS-SC) to the paging server.

9. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 8 wherein the step of sending the message from the SMS-SC to the paging server includes routing the message through the MSC/VLR to the paging server.

10. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 8 wherein the step of sending the message from the SMS-SC to the paging server includes routing the message through a SMS Gateway Mobile Switching Center (SM-GMSC) directly to the paging server.

11. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 4 further comprising the step of integrating the paging server into the SM-GMSC.

12. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 1 further comprising the step of integrating the paging server into the MSC/VLR.

13. The method of sending a short data message to a mobile station of claim 1 further comprising the step of interfacing the paging server with the MSCNLR via a Mobile Application Part (MAP) interface.

14. A paging server in a radio telecommunications network having a Short Message Service (SMS) service center, a mobile switching center/visitor location register (MSC/VLR) which serves a mobile station, and an air interface radio link between the MSC/VLR and the mobile station, said paging server comprising:

means for receiving a SMS message from the SMS service center, said SMS message being directed to the mobile station;

a memory for storing the received SMS message;

interface means for interfacing with the MSC/VLR, said interface means including;

means for sending the received SMS message to the MSC/VLR; and

means for receiving messages from the MSC/VLR indicating whether the SMS message was successfully delivered to the mobile station;

means for comparing received SMS messages with SMS messages already stored in the memory; and

means for discarding received SMS messages that are already stored in the memory.

15. The paging server of claim 14 further comprising means for notifying the SMS service center whether the SMS message was successfully delivered to the mobile station.