User controlled home location register

• US 7,149,516 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 12/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Armbruster, Peter J., Schaefer, Bradley R., Magee, Stephen D.
• Primary Examiner(s): D AGOSTA, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/997,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20030100302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/418, 455/419, 455/432.1, 455/432.3, 455/433, 455/435.1, 370/310.2, 370/328, 370/331, 707/10, 707/102, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• 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 personal home location register (HLR) (10 –20) is modifiable directly by a user. The personal HLR then communicates with a telecommunications service provider (30) to directly affect changes in the personal HLR. The network HLR (70) of the telecommunications service provider simply points to the personal HLR of the user.

Claims

1. A distributed home location register (HLR) comprising:

a personal home location register (HLR) located in a processor of a user, but not located with a telecommunication services provider;

an interface to the personal home location register for a user to select services;

a link to an operations support system of the telecommunication services provider for obtaining services;

a network home location register (HLR) coupled to the operations support system of the telecommunications service provider

a plurality of users, each user of the plurality of users having an individual HLR within the network HLR indicating said services which are available to each user, wherein the individual HLR for a particular user includes a pointer to the personal HLR.

2. An arrangement for distributing a home location register (HLR) from a telecommunications service provider, said arrangement comprising:

processor means including the home location register, said processor means operating independent of the telecommunication service provider and located with a particular subscriber, and said processor means coupled to said telecommunications service provider for communication; and

database means for storing subscriber information for a plurality of subscribers, said database means coupled to said telecommunication service provider, said telecommunication service provider operating in response to a request from said processor means to obtain said subscriber information for said Particular subscriber, wherein said database means includes a database for storing roaming information, and wherein said particular subscriber inputs change to the HLR to modify the roaming information within the distributed HLR.

3. An arrangement for a distributed home location register (HLR) comprising:

a personal home location register (HLR) located within a processor means of a particular user; and

a telecommunications service provider including a network home location register (HLR), said telecommunications service provider coupled to said processor means, said network HLR pointing to said personal HLR, wherein the telecommunications service provider includes a traditional network HLR for other users wherein the particular user is charged a first rate for the personal HLR, and wherein the other users are charged a second rate for the traditional network HLR.