Cellular telephone system that uses position of a mobile unit to make call management decisions

• US 6,324,404 B1
• Filed: 03/21/1996
• Issued: 11/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: EMSAT Advanced Geo-Location Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Sycord Limited Partnership
• Inventors: Pharis, Albert H. Jr., Pauley, Gregory T, Duffy, Timothy J., Dennison, Everett, Jones, Scott L., Williamson, Warren P. IV
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAUNG, NAY AUNG
• Application Number:
  US08/848,082
• Time in Patent Office: 2,077 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/432, 455/436, 455/440, 455/456, 455/405-409, 455/445
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18541 for handover of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18552 using a telephonic control signal and a second ranging satellite determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location G01S5/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/32 by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/322 by location data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A cellular telephone system has call management decisions made based on the exact geographic location of the mobile unit. These call management decisions include billing and taxing decisions, cell site selection, frequency selection and even cellular system selection. The decisions are continuously updated during a call whereby decisions can be made and changed regardless of where a call originated. Cell site location, and even cellular system selection, can be made in a specific manner to best serve the needs of the mobile user, the cellular system as well as the public. It is even possible for a cellular system to locate one or more of its cell sites in the geographic area served by another cellular system. In some cases, cellular systems might even share cell sites.

Claims

1. A wireless over-the-air communications system that includes a plurality of CMR (cellular mobile radio) systems, one or more cell sites shared by the CMR systems, an MTSO in at least one of said plurality of CMR systems, locating means in the cellular communications system for determining the exact geographic location of a mobile unit involved in a call and for providing a position signal of said exact geographic location, means in the MTSO for recognizing the position signal and using that position signal to establish the exact geographic location of the mobile unit involved in the call, and data means in the MTSO responsive to the locating means for directing a communication process to a specific CMR system based on the exact geographic location of the mobile unit regardless of a location of a cell site handling the call, said data means including tables containing positional data for service boundaries associated with each CMR system and means for comparing the exact geographic location of said mobile unit to the tables and automatically selecting a specific CMR system to handle the communication process and bill said mobile unit for services provided by said specific CMR system based on said exact geographic location of the mobile unit regardless of which cell site handled the communications process and without further input from a user of the mobile unit.

2. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 1 wherein said data means includes means for generating a communication process record for each communication process.

3. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 1 wherein said data means includes means for redirecting a communication process to a second service provider.

4. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 1 wherein said data means further includes means for redirecting a communication process to another cellular system.

5. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 1 wherein said data means further includes means for altering the frequency of a communication process during the communication process.

6. The communication system defined in claim 1 wherein said locating means includes a satellite communication system for establishing an exact geographic location of said mobile unit.

7. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 1 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

8. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 1 further including means for updating the location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

9. A method of making communication process management decisions in a wireless over-the-air communications system having a plurality of service providers and an MTSO comprising:

A) establishing an exact geographic location for a mobile unit;

B) establishing override criteria from a group consisting of billing, taxing, CP (communications process) rating, service requested by a user of a mobile unit and CMR (cellular mobile radio) system; and

C) directing the communication process to a specific service provider associated with the service requested by the user of the mobile unit based on the override criteria without further input from the user of the mobile unit.

10. The method defined in claim 9 further including a step of changing cell sites which handle the communication process from among cell sites owned by two different wireless over-the-air communications systems.

11. The method defined in claim 9 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

12. The method defined in claim 9 further including a step of updating the exact geographic location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

13. The method defined in claim 12 further including a step of updating the exact geographic location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

14. A method of making communication process management decisions in two wireless over-the-air communications systems comprising:

A) establishing an exact geographic location for a mobile unit;

B) matching the geographic location of the mobile unit to service boundary information for each communications system, and selecting one of the communications systems based on such matching;

C) using the selected communication system to handle communication processes associated with the mobile unit;

D) using the geographic location of the mobile unit for billing;

E) directing the billing to the selected wireless over-the-air communications system; and

F) continuously updating the geographic location of the mobile unit during the communication process whereby each of the communications systems will bill for any portion of the communication process carried out in its territory regardless of where the communication process originated.

15. The method defined in claim 14 further including a step of using a satellite to determine the exact geographic location of the mobile unit.

16. The method defined in claim 14 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

17. A method of making communication process management decisions in two wireless over-the-air communications systems service providers each of which has a plurality of cell sites at various locations and a service boundary, comprising:

A) locating at least one cell site from one of the wireless over-the-air communications systems service providers in the geographic area of the service boundary of the other wireless over-the-air communications system service provider;

B) establishing an exact geographic location for a mobile unit involved in a call;

C) matching the geographic location of the mobile unit to service boundary information, and selecting a cell site based on such matching regardless of the ownership of the selected cell site;

D) using the selected cell site to handle communication processes associated with the mobile unit;

E) using the geographic location of the mobile unit for billing;

F) directing the billing of the call to the wireless over-the-air communications system service provider which the service boundary matching has indicated is the provider for the call; and

G) continuously updating the geographic location of the mobile unit during the communication process whereby each of the wireless over-the-air communications systems service providers will bill for any portion of the communication process carried out within its service boundaries regardless of where the communication process originated.

18. The method defined in claim 17 further including a step of using a satellite to determine the exact geographic location of the mobile unit.

19. The method defined in claim 17 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

20. The method defined in claim 17 further including a step of updating the exact geographic location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

21. A method of making communication process management decisions in two wireless over-the-air communications systems service providers each having a plurality of cell sites each of which has service boundary information associated therewith comprising:

A) establishing at least one shared cell site;

B) sharing the cell site by both of the wireless over-the-air communications systems service providers;

C) establishing an exact geographic location for a mobile unit;

D) matching the geographic location of the mobile unit to service boundary information, and selecting a cell site based on such matching;

E) using the selected cell site to handle communication processes associated with the mobile unit regardless of which service provider owns the selected cell site;

F) using the geographic location of the mobile unit for billing regardless of which cell site was selected to handle the call;

G) directing the billing to the wireless over-the-air communications system authorized to handle communication processes in the particular geographic location of the mobile unit; and

H) continuously updating the geographic location of the mobile unit during the communication process whereby each of the wireless over-the-air communications systems service providers will bill for any portion of the communication process carried out in its territory regardless of where the communication process originated even if the shared cell site is used.

22. The method defined in claim 21 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

23. The method defined in claim 21 further including a step of updating the exact geographic location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

24. A method of making communication process management decisions in two neighboring wireless over-the-air communications systems each having its own cell sites, comprising:

A) maintaining signal strength in cell sites at borders between two neighboring wireless over-the-air communications systems at a maximum level;

B) establishing an exact geographic location for a mobile unit;

C) matching the geographic location of the mobile unit to a wireless over-the-air communication system, and selecting a service provider based on such location matching; and

D) using the selected service provider to handle communication processes associated with the mobile unit and automatically completing a call made by the mobile unit.

25. The method defined in claim 24 further including a step of using a satellite to determine the exact geographic location of the mobile unit.

26. The method defined in claim 24 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

27. The method defined in claim 24 further including a step of updating the exact geographic location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

33. The improvement defined in claim 27 further including means for updating the location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

28. A wireless over-the-air communications system that includes a plurality of CMR (cellular mobile radio) systems, one or more cell sites shared by the CMR systems, an MTSO in at least one of said plurality of CMR systems and a locating means for determining the exact geographic location of a mobile unit and for providing a position signal of the exact geographic location, and means responsive to said position signal to establish the exact geographic location of the mobile unit comprising:

geographic location data stored in the communications system MTSO;

means in the communications system MTSO for matching the exact geographic location of the mobile unit to said location data stored in the communications system MTSO;

means in the communications system MTSO for making call management decisions based on the matching of the exact geographic location of the mobile unit to the location data, said call management decisions being selected from the group consisting of billing rates, taxes, CP (communications process) rating, customer service requested, call routing, and CMR system selection and automatically setting one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of billing rates, taxes, CP rating, call routing and CMR system selection associated with the mobile unit based on the management decisions made in the MTSO and completing and maintaining the call based solely on said management decisions made in the MTSO regardless of the location of a cell site handling the call and without input from a user of the mobile unit.

29. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 wherein the means for making call management decisions includes means for updating billing information as the mobile unit moves during a communication process.

30. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 wherein the MTSO further includes means for changing the service provider during the communication process.

31. The improvement defined in claim 28 wherein said locating means includes a satellite communication system for establishing an exact geographic location of said mobile unit.

32. The improvement defined in claim 28 wherein the cell sites include at least one wireless system communications satellite.

34. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 further including means for updating the location of the mobile unit at selected intervals.

35. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 in which said call management decision made by the means in the communications system are made exclusive of signal strength and hand-offs are made regardless of signal strength.

36. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 wherein said service provider includes a second wireless communications system.

37. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 wherein the billing rates include special rate plans specific to the mobile unit making the call.

39. The wireless over-the-air communications system defined in claim 28 wherein said service provider includes an emergency service provider.

38. A method of communicating using a wireless over-the-air communications system comprising:

A) establishing an exact geographic location for a mobile unit making a call;

B) communicating the geographic location to a call management control center in the communications system;

C) storing geographic location data in the control center;

D) matching the exact geographic location of the mobile unit to the geographic location data;

E) making call management decisions for the mobile unit based on the matching of the exact geographic location of the mobile unit to the geographic data, said call management decisions being selected from the group consisting of billing rates, taxes, CP (communications process) rating, call routing, customer service requested and CMR system selection used for the call being made by the mobile unit; and

D) automatically selecting one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of billing rates, taxes, call routing, CMR system selection and CP (communications process) rating associated with the call being made by the mobile unit based on said call management decisions to complete or maintain the call based solely on the call management decisions made in the MTSO regardless of the location of a cell site handling the call and without input from a user of the mobile unit.

40. The method defined in claim 38 wherein the billing rates include special rate plans specific to the mobile unit making the call.

41. The method defined in claim 38 further including a step of recording post communication information.