Location dependent service for mobile telephones

• US 6,556,823 B2
• Filed: 07/09/1998
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Clapton, Alan J, Pettifor, James D
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, John J
• Application Number:
  US09/101,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20020025821A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/456, 455/419, 455/422, 455/455, 455/432, 455/414, 455/423, 455/410, 455/403, 379/59, 379/58, 379/89
• US Class Current: 455/432.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A mobile telephone system provides a subscribe with services, for instance call barring and call forwarding, in dependence on the circumstances of the subscriber'"'"'s mobile station. For instance, if the mobile station has a first network as its home network, the services provided are modified if it is detected that the mobile station has registered with a second network. In particular, international calls may be barred when on the home network, but permitted when on the second network so that the user may call his home country. This is carried out by having a number of different service profiles stored in the home network, for controlling the interactions between the mobile telephone and the current network, these service profiles being selected according to which network the mobile telephone is currently working to.

Claims

1. A method of selective service provision in a mobile telephone system including at least one mobile station and at least a first mobile telephone network, and at least one further mobile telephone network, the first mobile telephone network comprising a plurality of home storage means respectively associated with each mobile telephone for storing data relating to the services to be provided to the mobile telephone, the method comprising:

in one of the storage means associated with one of the mobile telephones, storing a plurality of service profiles, and retrieving one of the service profiles from the home storage means for transmission to a temporary storage means for controlling the operation of the mobile telephone,

wherein the service profile to be retrieved is selected in accordance with the identity of the mobile network with which the mobile station is registered, the identity being detected by or communicated to the first mobile telephone network, and

wherein a service function is implemented selectively in a first component type or a second component type of the home network in dependence on the identity of the mobile network with which the mobile station is registered.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein:

the first service profile is selected if the mobile telephone is registered with its home network, and

the second service profile is selected if the mobile telephone is registered with a network other than its home network.

3. A method as in claim 1 wherein the temporary storage means is associated with the network with which the mobile telephone is registered.

4. A method as in claim 3 wherein:

the first component type is a mobile switching centre, and

the second component type is an independent service processing system.

5. A method as in claim 4 wherein:

the mobile switching centre associated with the home network comprises service means accessible using either a first dialed number recognizable only by the home network as providing access to said service means, or a second dialed number recognizable by the at least one further network, and

when a mobile telephone currently served by one of the further networks calls the first dialed number, the serving network identifies that the first dialed number is not recognized as relating to a service capable of provision to the mobile unit by the serving network, and invokes the independent processing system to translate the first number to the second dialed number, thereby allowing access to the service means provided by the home network.

6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the service means provides access to a voice-mail service maintained by the home network.

7. A method as in claim 5, wherein the second dialed number is recognizable by all networks to which the mobile telephone has access.

8. A method as in claim 1 wherein:

the first component type is a mobile switching centre, and

the second component type is an independent service processing system.

9. A method as in claim 1, arranged such that the first service profile is selected if the detection means identifies that the mobile telephone is registered with its home network, and the second service profile is selected if the mobile telephone is registered with a network other than the home network.

10. A method as in claim 1, wherein two or more of the service profiles are arranged to cause the network or networks to operate in different manners, appropriate to the current circumstances, to provide the same service as perceived by the user.

11. A method as in claim 10, wherein one or more of the service profiles invokes a number translation process.

12. A subscriber information processing system of a mobile telephone network including:

for each subscriber, a respective database record including data defining a plurality of service profiles to be provided to the subscriber,

detection means for detecting a characteristic of the circumstances of the subscriber'"'"'s mobile telephone,

means for selecting one of the plurality of service profiles of the subscriber'"'"'s database record in accordance with the circumstance detected, and

means for transmitting the selected service profile to a temporary store for controlling the operation of the mobile station,

wherein the database record comprises a first service profile in which a specified service function is implemented in a first component type, and a second service profile in which the specified service function is implemented in a second component type.

13. A mobile telephone system comprising a plurality of interconnected mobile telephone networks, at least one of said networks having a subscriber information processing system according to claim 12, wherein each mobile telephone network comprises:

a temporary store for storing control information relating to mobile telephones currently registered with that network,

means for identifying a home network for a mobile telephone, being the network whose subscriber information processing system has the database record for the said mobile telephone subscriber;

means for transmitting to the detection means of said network the identity of said mobile telephone, and

means for receiving from the subscriber information processing system of said network a service profile selected by said subscriber information processing system, for storage in said temporary store for controlling the operation of said telephone.

14. A system as in claim 12, wherein two or more of the service profiles are arranged to cause the network or networks to operate in different manners, appropriate to the current circumstances, to provide the same service as perceived by the user.

15. A system as in claim 12, wherein at least one of the service profiles has access means to accessing a service means associated with another mobile telephone network.

16. A system as in claim 15, wherein the access means comprises number translation means invocable by one or more of the service profiles.

17. A system as in claim 16, comprising a plurality of interconnected mobile telephone networks, the subscriber information processing system of at least a first network having number recognition means for identifying whether a number dialed by a mobile unit currently served by the first network relates to a service capable of provision to the mobile unit by the first network;

the mobile switching centre of a second network comprising service means accessible using either a first dialed number recognizable by at least the first network as providing access to said service means, or a second dialed number recognizable only by the mobile switching centre of the second network,

the number translation means being responsive to the number recognition means, and arranged to translate the second number to the first number, to allow access from the first network to the service means associated with the mobile switching centre using the second number.

18. A system as in claim 15, wherein the service means is a voice-mail system.

21. A system as in claim 12, wherein the characteristic of the circumstances of the subscriber'"'"'s mobile telephone that is detected is the identity of which mobile telephone network the subscriber'"'"'s mobile telephone is currently registered to such that the first service profile is selected by the means for selecting and transmitted by the means for transmitting when the subscriber'"'"'s mobile telephone is currently registered with said mobile telephone network and the second service profile is selected by the means for selecting and transmitted by the means for transmitting when the subscriber'"'"'s mobile telephone is currently registered with another mobile telephone network.

19. A system for processing information relating to a mobile telephone, the system comprising:

a home mobile telephone network which establishes wireless communication with the mobile telephone when the mobile telephone has a location such that the mobile telephone is registered with the home mobile telephone network; and

a visitor mobile telephone network which establishes wireless communication with the mobile telephone when the mobile telephone has a location such that the mobile telephone is registered with the visitor mobile telephone network;

wherein the home mobile telephone network includes a database record having a first service profile for the mobile telephone and a second service profile for the mobile telephone which is different than the first service profile; and

one of the first and second service profiles is automatically selected for controlling operation of the mobile telephone based on which one of the home and visitor mobile telephone networks the mobile telephone is currently registered to so that the first service profile is automatically selected if the mobile telephone is currently registered to the home mobile telephone network and the second service profile is automatically selected if the mobile telephone is currently registered to the visitor mobile telephone network.

20. A method of processing information relating to a mobile telephone, the method comprising:

establishing wireless communication between a home mobile telephone network and the mobile telephone when the mobile telephone has a location such that the mobile telephone is registered with the home mobile telephone network; and

establishing wireless communication between a visitor mobile telephone network and the mobile telephone when the mobile telephone has a location such that the mobile telephone is registered with the visitor mobile telephone network; and

storing a first service profile for the mobile telephone and a second service profile for the mobile telephone which is different than the first service profile in a database record, the database record being a part of the home mobile telephone network; and

wherein one of the first and second service profiles is automatically selected for controlling operation of the mobile telephone based on which one of the home and visitor mobile telephone networks the mobile telephone is currently registered to so that the first service profile is automatically selected if the mobile telephone is currently registered to the home mobile telephone network and the second service profile is automatically selected if the mobile telephone is currently registered to the visitor mobile telephone network.