Method for applying different charge rates and for indicating location of mobile station in cellular mobile telecommunication system

• US 6,836,653 B1
• Filed: 03/22/2000
• Issued: 12/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kang, Myung-Seok
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yun, Eugene
• Application Number:
  US09/533,643
• Time in Patent Office: 1,742 Days
• Field of Search: 455/406, 455/407, 455/408, 455/432, 455/433, 455/435, 455/414
• US Class Current: 455/408
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18545 Arrangements for managing station mobility, i.e. for station registration or localisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8033 location-dependent, e.g. business or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7435 Location dependent, e.g. Bussiness or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for applying different charge rates and indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system. Location information for the major service zone of the mobile station is monitored in the home-zone list to apply different charge rate to the mobile station in the home zone and the non-home zone. By applying the different charge rates according to the location of the mobile station, it is possible to provide a low-priced charge system in which the charge rate is lower than that of the mobile telecommunication network or equal to or slightly higher than that of the PSTN. Moreover, the mobile station indicates its present location by a specific message or a specific tone, so that the subscriber knows both the present location and the type of the charge rate that is currently applied.

Claims

1. A method for indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system, comprising the steps of:

(a) sending, by a mobile station, a location registration request to a visitor location register (VLR) of a mobile switching center (MSC) through a base station serving an area where the mobile station is located and through a base station controller (BSC);

(b) sending the location registration request of the mobile station from the visitor location register (VLR) to a home location register (HLR);

(c) receiving a subscriber information included in the home-zone list of the home location register (HLR) in the visitor location register (VLR), wherein the home-zone list includes a location information of a home zone of the mobile station;

(d) storing the subscriber information of the mobile station from the home location register (HLR) in the visitor location register (VLR) and informing the mobile station of the receipt of the location registration request;

(e) determining whether the mobile station moves between the home zone and a non-home zone based on a determination from the home-zone list in the visitor location register (VLR);

(f) requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the mobile station to indicate a present location of the mobile station if the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone; and

,

(g) indicating the present location at the request of the visitor location register (VLR) by the mobile station, and requesting the mobile station to display the present location with a string of characters stating “

HOME ZONE”

or “

NON-HOME ZONE”

,

wherein the present location information for the home zone comprises;

an identification (ID) of a base station servicing the home zone;

an identification (ID) of a base station controller (BSC) controlling the base station;

an identification (ID) of the mobile switching center (MSC) controlling the base station controller (BSC); and

,

an identification (ID) of each sector if a service zone of the base station is divided into a plurality of sectors by a plurality of sector antennas.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

sending, by the mobile station, the present location information of the mobile station to the visitor location register (VLR) prior to the step (f) of requesting the present location; and

,

sending, by the visitor location register (VLR), the present location information of the mobile station to the home location register (HLR) prior to the step (b) of sending the location registration request of the mobile station to the home location register (HLR).

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step (e) of determining whether the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone comprises the steps of:

determining, by the visitor location register (VLR), whether the present location information of the mobile station is included in the home-zone list;

setting a home-zone flag to “

1”

(True) if the present location information of the mobile station is included in the home-zone list, wherein the home-zone flag indicates whether the present location of the mobile station belongs to the home zone or non-home zone;

setting the home-zone flag to “

0”

(False) if the present location information of the mobile station is not included in the home-zone list;

determining whether the home-zone flag of the mobile station is changed;

deciding that the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone if the home-zone flag of the mobile station is changed; and

,

deciding that the mobile station has not moved between the home zone and the non-home zone if the home-zone flag of the mobile station is not changed.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the present location information of the mobile station includes an identification of the mobile switching center, the base station controller (BSC), and the base station.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step (f) of requesting the present location of the mobile station comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the mobile station to display a string of characters, “

NON-HOME ZONE,”

if the mobile station moves from the home zone to the non-home zone; and

,

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the mobile station to display a string of characters, “

HOME ZONE,”

if the mobile station moves from the non-home zone to the home zone.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location indication requesting step comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the mobile station to display a string of characters, “

HOME ZONE”

, if the mobile station moves between the non-home zone and the home zone; and

displaying the character, “

HOME ZONE”

, in the mobile station at the request of the visitor location register (VLR).

7. A method for indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system, comprising the steps of:

(a) sending, by a mobile station, a call origination request to a mobile switching center (MSC) through a base station serving a home zone where the mobile station is located and through a base station controller (BSC);

(b) upon receiving the call origination request, sending, by the mobile switching center, a home-zone list including a location information of the home zone to the base station controller (BSC),

(c) searching, by the base station controller (BSC), the home-zone list to determine whether the mobile station is located in the home zone or a non-home zone and requesting the mobile station to display its present location;

(d) displaying, by the mobile station, the present location at the request of the base station controller (BSC);

(e) requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), a home location register (HLR) to provide a home-zone list of the mobile station after sending the home-zone list; and

,

(f) storing the home-zone list of the mobile station received from the home location register (HLR) in the visitor location register (VLR).

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), a home location register (HLR) to provide a home-zone list of the mobile station after sending the home-zone list; and

,

storing the home-zone list of the mobile station received from the home location register (HLR) in the visitor location register (VLR).

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of requesting the mobile station to display the present location in step (e) comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the mobile station to display a string of characters, “

HOME ZONE”

, if the present location information of the mobile station is included in the home-zone list; and

,

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the mobile station to display a string characters, “

NON-HOME ZONE”

, if the present location information of the mobile station is not included in the home-zone list.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the present location information of the mobile station includes an ID of the mobile switching center, an ID of the base station controller (BSC), and an ID of the base station.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the present location information for the home zone comprises:

an identification (ID) of a base station servicing the home zone;

an identification (ID) of a base station controller (BSC) controlling the base station; and

,

an identification (ID) of the mobile switching center (MSC) controlling the base station controller (BSC).

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the present location information for the home zone further comprises an identification (ID) of each sector if a service zone of the base station is divided into a plurality of sectors by a plurality of sector antennas.

13. A method for indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, by a mobile switching center, a request for call termination to a mobile station;

(b) upon receiving the call termination request, paging, by the mobile switching center, the mobile station through a base station and a base station controller (BSC);

(c) receiving, by the mobile switching center, a paging response from the mobile station through the base station controller (BSC) and the base station;

(d) upon receiving the paging response, sending, by the mobile switching center, a home-zone list of the mobile station to the base station controller (BSC), wherein the home-zone list includes a location information for a home zone of the mobile station;

(e) searching, by the base station controller (BSC), the home-zone list to determine whether the mobile station is located in the home zone or a non-home zone and requesting the mobile station to indicate a present location of the mobile station;

(f) indicating, by the mobile station, the present location at the request of the base station controller (BSC);

(g) requesting, by the mobile switching center, a visitor location register (VLR) to provide a home-zone list of the mobile station after receiving the call termination request; and

,

(h) sending, by the visitor location register (VLR), the home-zone list of the mobile station to the mobile switching center.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), a home location register (HLR) to provide a home-zone list of the mobile station after sending the home-zone list; and

,

storing the home-zone list of the mobile station received from the home location register (HLR) in the visitor location register (VLR).

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step (e) of requesting the mobile station to display the present location of the mobile station comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the mobile station to display a string of characters, “

HOME ZONE”

, if the present location of the mobile station is included in the home-zone list; and

,

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the mobile station to display a string of characters, “

NON-HOME ZONE”

, if the present location information of the mobile station is not included in the home-zone list.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the present location information of the mobile station includes an ID of the mobile switching center, an ID of the base station controller (BSC), and an ID of the base station.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the present location information for the home zone comprises:

an identification (ID) of a base station servicing the home zone;

an identification (ID) of a base station controller (BSC) controlling the base station; and

,

an identification (ID) of the mobile switching center (MSC) controlling the base station controller (BSC).

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the present location information for the home zone further comprises an identification (ID) of each sector if a service zone of the base station is divided into a plurality of sectors by a plurality of sector antennas.

19. A method for indicating the location of the mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a call origination request from a first mobile station of a first mobile switching center (MSC) to a second mobile station of a second mobile switching center (MSC);

requesting a visitor location register (VLR) of the second mobile switching center (MSC) to provide a subscriber information including a home-zone list of the second mobile station, wherein the home-zone list includes a location information for a home zone of the second mobile station;

sending the subscriber information including the home-zone list of the second mobile station to a visitor location register (VLR) of the second mobile switching center (MSC);

requesting, by the first mobile switching center, the base station controller (BSC) servicing a zone where the second mobile station is located by paging the second mobile station through the second mobile switching center;

paging, by the base station controller (BSC), the second mobile station through a base station servicing an area where the second mobile station is located;

sending, by the second mobile station, a paging response to the first mobile switching center (MSC) through the base station, the base station controller (BSC), and the second mobile switching center;

ordering, by the first mobile switching center, the second mobile switching center (MSC) to process a call termination;

sending, by the second mobile switching center, a home-zone list of the second mobile station to the base station controller (BSC);

determining, by the base station controller (BSC), whether the present location information of the second mobile station is included in the home-zone list;

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the second mobile station to display a string of characters, “

HOME ZONE”

, if the present location information of the second mobile station is included in the home-zone list;

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the second mobile station to display a string of characters, “

NON-HOME ZONE”

, if the present location information of the second mobile station is not included in the home-zone list; and

,

displaying, by the second mobile station, the characters “

HOME ZONE”

or “

NON-HOME ZONE”

on a display unit at the request of the base station controller (BSC).

20. A method for applying different charge rates and indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system, comprising the steps of:

generating, in a home location register (HLR), a home-zone list including a location information including a unique identification code of each base station servicing a home zone of a mobile station;

sending, by the mobile station, a location registration request to a visitor location register (VLR) of a mobile switching center (MSC) through the base station and a base station controller (BSC);

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the home location register (HLR) to provide the home-zone list of the mobile station;

storing, by the visitor location register (VLR), the home-zone list received from the home location register (HLR) and informing the mobile station of the acceptance of the location registration;

determining, in the visitor location register (VLR), whether the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone based on a determination from the home-zone list;

requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the mobile station to display a zone of the present location if the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone;

displaying, in the mobile station, a zone of the present location at the request of the visitor location controller;

sending, by the mobile station, a request for call origination to the mobile switching center (MSC) through the base station and the base station controller (BSC);

sending, by the mobile switching center, a home-zone list request to the visitor location register (VLR);

sending, by the mobile switching center, the home-zone list received from the visitor location register (VLR) to the base station controller (BSC);

storing the home-zone list in the base station controller (BSC);

searching, by the base station controller (BSC), the home-zone list to determine whether the mobile station is located in the home zone or the non-home zone, and requesting the mobile station to display a zone of the present location;

displaying, by the mobile station, a zone of the present location at the request of the base station controller (BSC);

establishing, by the mobile station, a call with the mobile switching center (MSC) through the base station and the base station controller (BSC);

periodically sending, by the mobile station in service, the present location information to the base station controller (BSC);

determining, by the mobile station, whether the mobile station has moved from the home zone to the non-home zone based on a determination from the location information and the home-zone list;

requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the mobile station to generate a specific tone if the mobile station has moved from the home zone to the non-home zone;

generating, by the mobile station, the specific tone at the request of the base station controller (BSC);

calculating, by the mobile station, a call time performed in the home zone and a call time performed in the non-home zone based on a determination from the location information and the home-zone list and sending the calculated call time to the mobile switching center; and

,

applying, by the mobile switching center, a first charge rate for the call time performed in the home zone and a second charge rate for the call time performed in the non-home zone.