Providing a supplementary service in a mobile communications system

• US 6,801,781 B1
• Filed: 10/31/2000
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Provost, Curtis M., Mizell, Jerry L., Keeler, Donald B.
• Primary Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US09/703,182
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 455/405, 455/406, 455/408, 455/418, 455/419, 455/433, 455/414, 455/456, 370/328, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• 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 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A mobile communications system includes a system controller that provides access control for mobile stations within the network controlled, by the system controller. In one example, the mobile communications network is a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network. The system controller provides access to a packet-based data network. In addition, the system controller enables prepaid short message service (SMS), in which mobile stations can originate or receive short messages according to the prepaid SMS. A flag kept in a home location register (HLR) stores a field to indicate if the user has subscribed to prepaid SMS. In one embodiment, the field is an access point name (APN) field according to the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocol.

Claims

1. A system for use in a mobile communications system, comprising:

an interface to receive an access point name field from a home location register to indicate whether a user has subscribed to a prepaid short message service; and

a controller adapted to provide access to a packet-based network and to enable the prepaid short message service if the access point name field has a first state.

2. A system for use in a mobile communications system, comprising:

an interface to receive a predetermined field from a home location register to indicate whether a user has subscribed to a prepaid supplementary service; and

a controller adapted to provide access to a packet-based network and to enable the prepaid supplementary service if the predetermined field has a first state,

wherein the predetermined field comprises an access point name field for a General Packet Radio Service mobile communications system.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the prepaid supplementary service comprises a prepaid short message service.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is adapted to retrieve information from a database to determine if the user has a sufficient account balance for the prepaid supplementary service.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is part of a serving General Packet Radio Service support node.

6. The system of claim 2, further comprising a storage unit to store the access point name field, the access point name field assigned to indicate activation of the prepaid supplementary service.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the storage unit further stores a second access point name field to indicate an access point to the packet-based network.

8. The system of claim 2, further comprising an Internet Protocol layer to provide communications to the packet-based network.

9. The system of claim 2, further comprising a storage unit to store a mobile context for a mobile unit associated with the user, the mobile context containing the predetermined field.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile context comprises a mobility management context.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile context comprises a packet data protocol context.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile context contains at least a portion of subscription data containing the access point name field, the interface to receive the subscription data from the home location register.

13. The system of claim 4, wherein the access point name field comprises a domain name system (DNS) access point name field.

14. A method for use in a mobile communications system that provides access to a packet-based network, comprising:

receiving a predetermined field from a home location register to indicate if a mobile station is enabled for a prepaid supplementary service; and

performing, in a system that provides access to the packet-based network, the prepaid supplementary service if the predetermined field has a first state,

wherein receiving the predetermined field comprises receiving an access point name field.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the prepaid supplementary service is performed by a serving General Packet Radio Service system.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the access point name field comprises receiving the access point name field contained in subscription data stored in the home location register.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein performing the prepaid supplementary service comprises performing a prepaid short message service.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein performing the prepaid short message service comprises sending a short message to a short message service controller system.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a request from a mobile station to perform the prepaid supplementary service; and

detecting for a state of the predetermined field that is retrieved from a home location register, wherein performing the prepaid supplementary service is based on the detecting.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the access point name field comprises receiving a domain name system (DNS) access point name field.

21. A method for use in a mobile communications system that provides access to a packet-based network, comprising:

receiving a short message request from a mobile station;

receiving an access point name field from a home location register to indicate if the mobile station is enabled for a prepaid short message service; and

performing, in a system that provides access to the packet-based network, the prepaid short message service if the access point name field has a first state; and

accessing a database to determine if the mobile station has a sufficient account balance for the prepaid short message service.

22. An article comprising at least one storage medium containing instructions for controlling communications in a mobile communications system, the instructions when executed causing a controller to:

receive a request from a mobile unit to establish a link, the link enabling communications with a packet-based network;

send a request to a home location register for subscription data associated with the mobile unit, the subscription data containing an access point name field to indicate that the mobile unit is enabled for a prepaid supplementary service; and

store the access point name field to indicate that the mobile unit is enabled for the prepaid supplementary service.

23. The article of claim 22, wherein the instructions when executed cause the controller to further store a second access point name field to indicate an access point to the packet-based network.

24. The article of claim 22, wherein the instructions when executed cause the controller to further receive a request from the mobile unit to perform the supplementary service.

25. The article of claim 24, wherein the instructions when executed cause the controller to further detect for presence of the access point name field and to perform the prepaid supplementary service if the access point name field is present.

26. The article of claim 24, wherein the instructions when executed cause the controller to further determine if the access point name field has a first state and to perform the prepaid supplementary service if the access point name field has the first state.

27. The article of claim 22, wherein the prepaid supplementary service comprises a prepaid short message service.

28. The article of claim 22, wherein the access point name field comprises a domain name system (DNS) access point name field.

29. A data signal embodied in a carrier wave and comprising instructions for controlling communications in a mobile communications system, the instructions when executed causing a controller to:

receive a predetermined an access point name field from a home location register to indicate if a mobile unit is enabled for a prepaid short message service;

provide access to a packet-based network for the mobile unit;

receive a request to perform the prepaid short message service

access a database to determine whether the mobile unit has a sufficient account balance for the prepaid short message service; and

enable performance of the prepaid short message service based on the access point name field and whether the mobile unit has a sufficient account balance.