Method and system for supplying services to mobile stations in active mode

• US 7,184,771 B1
• Filed: 04/05/2000
• Issued: 02/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Fauconnier, Denis, Mouly, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Gary, Erika A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PEREZ, JULIO R
• Application Number:
  US09/958,588
• Time in Patent Office: 2,519 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/422, 455/428, 455/436, 455/33.1, 455/419, 455/432, 455/466, 455/477, 370/329, 370/458, 370/466, 370/465, 370/477
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information

Abstract

A radiocommunication infrastructure includes a core network comprising switches and subscriber management means and an access network comprising a plurality of base stations capable of communicating by radio with the mobile stations and base station control means. Messages pertaining to services of an idle mode type are: broadcast by one or more of the base stations to be received by mobile stations in idle mode; and/or transmitted by the base station towards at least one mobile station in active mode, for which the base station control means store radio link management information, if said management information includes references relating to the services to which the service messages pertain. These references are received by the control means during a setup procedure which has caused the mobile station to enter the active mode.

Claims

1. A method for supplying services to mobile stations from a radiocommunication infrastructure, said services including at least one idle mode service supplied in connection with mobile stations in an idle mode, said infrastructure including a core network and an access network, the core network comprising switches and subscriber management means, the access network comprising a plurality of base stations capable of communicating by radio with the mobile stations and base station control means storing radio link management information for mobile stations in an active mode, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving service references at the control means during a setup procedure which causes a mobile station to enter an active mode, the received service references including references relating to at least one idle mode service;

including said service references in the management information stored for said mobile station; and

transmitting messages pertaining to at least some of the services an idle mode service from at least one of the base stations towards at least one recipient mobile station in active mode if the management information stored for said recipient mobile station includes service references relating to the services to which said idle mode service messages pertain.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of said messages are further broadcast by at least one of the base stations to be received by mobile stations in idle mode.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the references relating to at least one of the services the idle mode service are supplied to the control means from said mobile station through a signaling radio link with the base station.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the references relating to at least one of the services the idle mode service are supplied in enciphered form by the mobile station.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the references relating to at least one of the services the idle mode service are supplied to the control means from a switch of the core network.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the references relating to at least one of the services the idle mode service are supplied to the control means in response to an interrogation of a server effected by identifying said mobile station.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the references relating to at least one of the services the idle mode service for a mobile station comprise an address identifying said mobile station in active mode or a group of mobile stations to which said mobile station belongs, and wherein said address is included by a switch of the core network in a message dispatched to the control means to control the broadcasting and/or transmission of a message pertaining to said idle mode service.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the messages pertaining to at least one the idle mode service for which the control means of the base station store references comprising an address are transmitted by the base station to said mobile station in active mode without being broadcast.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the messages pertaining to at least one of the services an idle mode service are broadcast by the base station and also transmitted to each mobile station in active mode for which the base station control means store references relating to said idle mode service.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mobile station in active mode comprises a mobile equipment supporting a plurality of subscriptions, and wherein, the mobile station being active with regard to one of said subscriptions, said messages transmitted by the base station towards the mobile station comprise messages pertaining to at least one idle mode service affiliated to another of said subscriptions.

11. A method as claimed in any one of claim 1, further comprising the step of returning, from a mobile station in active mode receiving a message pertaining to one of the services an idle mode service, a response to said message on a communication resource set up during the setup procedure which has caused the mobile station to enter the active mode.

12. An access network equipment for a radiocommunication infrastructure, comprising means for controlling at least one base station of the infrastructure, the control means comprising radio link supervision means arranged to store information elements respectively associated with mobile stations in active mode served by the base station, and means for controlling the broadcasting by the base station of messages pertaining to at least one idle mode service supplied in connection with mobile stations in idle mode, for which the radio link supervision means do not store any information, wherein the information to be stored by the radio link supervision means comprise, for at least one mobile station in active mode, a list of references relating to idle mode services supplied in connection with mobile stations in idle mode, said list being addressed to the radio link supervision means in a setup procedure causing the mobile station to enter the active mode, and the equipment further comprising means for controlling transmission by the base station, specifically towards a mobile station in active mode for which the radio link supervision means store a list of references, of messages pertaining to idle mode services to which references from said list refer.

13. The equipment as claimed in claim 12, wherein, for at least one of the idle mode services, the stored references comprise an address identifying the mobile station in active mode or a group of mobile stations to which said mobile station in active mode belongs, and wherein the supervision means are arranged to receive, from a switch of a core network of the radiocommunication infrastructure, control messages regarding said idle mode service each including an address comparable with the stored addresses and to control the transmission of a message pertaining to said idle mode service when the address included in a control message received matches the stored address identifying the mobile station in active mode.

14. The equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein said address is a permanent mobile subscriber identity.

15. The equipment as claimed in claim 12, wherein, said mobile station in active mode comprising a mobile equipment supporting a plurality of subscriptions, and being active in regard to one of said subscriptions, said messages transmitted by the base station specifically towards the mobile station comprise messages pertaining to at least one idle mode service affiliated to another one of said subscriptions.

16. A mobile radiocommunication station, comprising means for transmitting, to a radiocommunication infrastructure during a setup procedure which causes said mobile station to enter an active mode, a list of references relating to idle mode services normally supplied to mobile stations in an idle mode, so that an access network in the infrastructure can take account thereof to transmit towards the mobile station in active mode messages pertaining to idle mode services for which references appear in the list and, for receiving, in an active mode, messages pertaining to idle mode services for which references appear in the list.

17. The mobile station as claimed in claim 16, wherein the references relating to at least one of the idle mode services comprise an address, so that the access network can compare said address with an address which it receives in a request to send a message pertaining to the referenced idle mode service so that the message is transmitted when the addresses match.

18. The mobile station as claimed in claim 17, wherein said address is a permanent mobile subscriber identity.

19. The mobile station as claimed in claim 16, wherein said transmission means comprise means for enciphering the transmitted list of references.

20. A mobile station as claimed in claim 19, wherein the list of references is included in the first message sent in enciphered form in the setup procedure.

21. The mobile station as claimed in claim 19, in the list of references is included in a non priority message sent in the setup procedure.

22. The mobile station as claimed in claim 16, comprising a mobile equipment supporting a plurality of subscriptions, and wherein the list of references sent during the setup procedure which causes said mobile station to enter the active mode with respect to one of said subscriptions comprises at least one reference relating to a an idle mode service affiliated to another one of said subscriptions.