Intermediary network system and method for facilitating message exchange between wireless networks

• US 7,154,901 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2003
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sybase 365 Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Mobile 365 Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Tsai, Kirk, Zimmern, Christian, Lovell, Robert, Chava, Venkatesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Huy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MATTIS, JASON E
• Application Number:
  US10/426,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20040156495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 370/401, 370310-350, 370/351, 370352-356, 370/400, 370/422
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• 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 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

Network System and Method for facilitating message exchange between mobile subscribers belonging to the same or different public land mobile networks, possibly incorporating different standards. Message exchange between two subscribers of the same or different networks may involve one or more lookups on subscription data, zero or more message transformations, one or more routing decisions including application of costing functions, and, storage and propagation of the message in one or more Core or Intermediary networks. The messages may be of type, among others, SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Message Service), or EMAIL.

Claims

1. An intermediary network system for interconnecting multiple networks, comprising:

first and second intermediary networks each comprising

an input unit selectably connectable to an entity from which a message is received, the input unit including at least one transformation unit that transforms the message from a Short Message Peer to Peer format to an internal format usable by the intermediary network;

at least one output unit selectably connectable to an entity via which the message can reach a destination address, the at least one output unit including at least one transformation unit that transforms the message from the internal format usable by the intermediary network to a Short Message Peer to Peer format;

said input unit and said at least one output unit also being operable to perform character mapping; and

,

a first routing unit that checks the validity of a destination number and, when necessary, adds digits to the destination number;

a second routing unit, employed when an error occurs in the first routing unit, that generates an error message intended for a source telephone number to inform a subscriber that a message failed due to a numbering error, the second routing unit operable to route the error message to the at least one output unit;

a third routing unit, employed when the second routing unit is not employed, that resolves a delivery method for the message based, at least in part, on solving a cost function;

a filter unit that, in accordance with a decision made by the entity via which the message can reach the destination address, selectably blocks binary messages from being passed to the entity via which the message can reach the destination address,

wherein the first intermediary network is in communication with at least a first carrier;

wherein the second intermediary network is in communication with at least a second carrier and the first intermediary network,

wherein messages are exchanged between the first and second carriers via the first and second intermediary networks,

wherein the first and second intermediary networks have a predetermined peering relationship with each other such that it is known before a message is passed from the first intermediary network to the second intermediary network which transformation and routing actions, if any, are to be performed by the first and second intermediary networks, and

wherein an interconnection between the first and second intermediary networks is via a distributed queuing system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first intermediary network performs all transformation and routing actions.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second intermediary network performs all transformation and routing actions.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second intermediary networks are in communication with a plurality of carriers.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the predetermined peering relationship is based on carriers between which the messages are being exchanged.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the entity is at least one of a gateway and another network.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the gateway comprises at least one of a SMSC gateway, an MMSC gateway, an email gateway, an IWMSC gateway and a GMSC gateway.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based on a content of the message.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based on an interface through which the message was received.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based on predetermined business rules associated with a message originating network and a message destination network.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based on a dynamic analysis of available interconnection links.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based on network subscription and access information of the message destination network.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based, at least in part, on determining whether a destination telephone number is at least one of (i) part of a contaminated range and (ii) ported.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein a third party provider provides information to the intermediary network system regarding contaminated ranges and ported numbers.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the third party provider operates an NPAC database.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the routing unit determines the next hop address for the message based, at least in part, on whether an intended recipient of the message is roaming.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the transformation unit is connected to an external service provider to provide outsourced message transformations services.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a message detail record (MDR) database.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein an MDR is used to reconcile message exchange volumes between networks connected to the intermediary network system.