Signalling method and conversion device for telecommunications networks

• US 6,684,073 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1999
• Issued: 01/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Original Assignee: Swisscom Mobile AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Inventors: Joss, Marcel, Hirzel, Werner
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHARMA, SUJATHA R
• Application Number:
  US09/386,299
• Time in Patent Office: 1,610 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432, 455/433, 455/435, 455/436, 455/426, 455/461, 455/552, 455/560
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A signalling method and conversion device for telecommunications networks, for example mobile networks such as GSM or UMTS networks, wherein at least certain subscribers can register in their home network, or in a telecommunications network having a roaming agreement with the operator of their home network, using a first subscriber identification from the number area of their home operator, certain of these subscribers being assigned a second subscriber identification from the number area of a partner network operator with which these subscribers can register in a visited network with which operator their home network operator does not have a roaming agreement, the signalling traffic concerning subscribers who have been registered in such a visited network with a second subscriber identification number being conducted to the partner network, being filtered there, and being rerouted to their home network, and signalling traffic concerning such subscribers received in said partner network from said home network being rerouted to this said visited network.

Claims

1. A signaling method for telecommunications networks in which a multiplicity of subscribers communicate using telecommunications terminals, at least one of the subscribers using a first subscriber identification assigned to the subscriber from the number area of an operator of a home network to register in the home network or in a telecommunications network whose operator has a roaming agreement with the operator of the home network, comprising:

assigning a second subscriber identification to the subscriber from the number area of an operator of a partner network;

the subscriber registering in a visited network with the second subscriber identification, the operator of the home network having no roaming agreement with the operator of the visited network;

passing the signaling traffic concerning the subscriber registered with the second subscriber identification in the visited network to the partner network;

filtering the signaling traffic concerning the subscriber registered in the visited network with the second subscriber identification and conducted to the partner network;

rerouting the filtered signaling traffic to the home network including replacing, for the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the home network, the second subscriber identification contained in a signaling message protocol data unit by the first subscriber identification; and

rerouting the partner network signaling traffic to the visited network, including replacing, for the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the visited network, the first subscriber identification contained in a signaling message protocol data unit of the partner network signaling traffic received from the home network concerning the subscriber registered in the visited network with the second subscriber identification.

2. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein, during the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the home network, addresses of network units of the visited network contained in signaling message protocol data units are replaced by addresses of network units of the partner network or forwarded transparently, and, during the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the visited network, addresses of network units of the home network contained in signaling message protocol data units are replaced by addresses of network units of the partner network.

3. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein, during the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the home network, an address of a called network unit of the partner network contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit is replaced by an address of a network unit of the home network, and, during the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the visited network, an address of a calling network unit of the home network contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit is replaced by an address of a network unit of the partner network.

4. The signaling method according to claim 3, wherein the signaling connection control message protocol data units are SCCP protocol data units.

5. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein, during the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the home network, an address of a calling network unit of the visited network contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit is replaced by an address of a network unit of the partner network or forwarded transparently, and, during the rerouting of the signaling traffic to the visited network, an address of a called network unit of the partner network contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit is replaced by an address of a network unit of the visited network.

6. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein, during the replacement of the subscriber identifications, a replacement value is determined from a corresponding value to be replaced according to at least one predefined procedure.

7. The signaling method according to claim 6, wherein the at least one predefined procedure to be used for replacing a value is determined through comparison of the value to be replaced with at least one predefined mask.

8. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein the signaling message protocol data units are MAP protocol data units.

9. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second subscriber identifications for a subscriber are stored in different identification modules.

10. The signaling method according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second subscriber identifications for a subscriber are stored in a common identification module.

11. A conversion device for telecommunications networks, which can be connected to a signaling system of a first telecommunications network via a first signaling connection and to a signaling system of a second telecommunications system via a second signaling connection, comprising:

a procedure selection table which stores masks and numbers of procedure tables associated with the masks,

a comparison module which compares the masks with addresses of network units contained in signaling protocol data units received via the first and the second signaling connections and selects one of the numbers corresponding to a procedure table based on the result, of the comparison,

a conversion module which applies a conversion procedure described by the procedure table identified through the selected number to convert signaling parameters contained in the signaling protocol data units, and

a rerouting module which forwards signaling protocol data units with converted signaling parameters via the second and the first signaling connection, and

a subscriber identification mapping function, which replaces, when forwarding signaling protocol data units from the first telecommunications network via the second signaling connection to the second telecommunications network, a first subscriber identification from the number area of the first telecommunications network contained in signaling message-protocol data units from the first telecommunications network with a second subscriber identification from the number area of the second telecommunications network, and replaces, when forwarding signaling protocol data units from the second telecommunications network via the first signaling connection to the first telecommunications network, a second subscriber identification from the number area of the second telecommunications network contained in signaling message-protocol data units from the second telecommunications network with a first subscriber identification from the number area of the first telecommunications network.

12. The conversion device according to claim 11, further comprising an address mapping function for signaling messages, which replaces addresses of network units of a visited network, contained in signaling message protocol data units, or forwards the addresses transparently, and replaces addresses of network units of the first telecommunications network, contained in signaling message protocol data units, with addresses of network units of the second telecommunications network.

13. The conversion device according to claim 11, further comprising an address mapping function for signaling connection control messages, which replaces an address of a called network unit of the second telecommunications network, contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit, with an address of a network unit of the first telecommunications network, and replaces the address of a calling network unit of the first telecommunications network, contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit, with an address of a network unit of the second telecommunications network.

14. Conversion device according to claim 13, wherein the signaling connection control message protocol data units are SCCP protocol data units.

15. The conversion device according to claim 11, further comprising an address mapping function for signaling connection control messages, which replaces the address of a calling network unit of a visited network, contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit, with an address of a network unit of the second telecommunications network or forwards the address contained in the signaling connection control message protocol data unit transparently, and replaces the address of a called network unit of the second telecommunications network, contained in a signaling connection control message protocol data unit, with an address of a network unit of the visited network.

16. The conversion device according to claim 11, wherein the procedure tables comprise predefined procedures, according to which each replacement value is selected based on the value to be replaced during replacement of subscriber identifications and addresses of network units.

17. The conversion device according to claim 16, wherein the procedure tables comprise predefined masks, which are used to compare with values to be replaced in order to select a modification procedure to be used in replacing the values.

18. The conversion device according to claim 12, wherein the signaling message protocol data units are MAP protocol data units.