Call routing in a telecommunication system

• US 7,606,261 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Issued: 10/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Salovuori, Heikki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Robert W
• Application Number:
  US10/153,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,707 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A method of routing calls in a telecommunication system including a mobile services switching center (MSC) and a base station connected thereto, and mobile stations wherefrom a telecommunication connection is established by using a first predetermined protocol on a radio connection. The telecommunication system further includes a packet data network, a server communicating with the MSC and the packet data network, wherefrom a telecommunication connection is established through the packet data network and the server to the MSC. In the server, messages according to the first protocol supplied from the MSC are as such arranged into data packets of data network protocol to be forwarded through the packet data network to the terminal. The terminal transmits and receives the messages according to the first protocol arranged as such into the data packets of the packet data network protocol and emulates a mobile station using the first protocol.

Claims

1. A method of routing calls in a telecommunication system comprising:

a mobile communication system comprising at least one mobile services switching center and at least one base station connected thereto, and mobile stations wherefrom a telecommunication connection is established to the mobile services switching center through the base station by using a first predetermined telecommunication protocol on a radio connection,

a packet data network, external to said mobile communications system, wherein data to be transmitted is transmitted in data packets, according to a packet data network protocol specified for the packet data network, the packet data network protocol being other than the first predetermined telecommunication protocol,

a server communicating with the mobile services switching center and said packet data network, the server being configured to arrange messages according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol arranged as such into data packets according to said packet data network protocol and supplied from the mobile communication system to be forwarded through said packet data network to a terminal, the server being further configured to decompress messages according to the first telecommunication predetermined protocol arranged as such in the data packets according to said packet data network protocol and supplied from the terminal through the packet data network to be forwarded to the mobile communication system, and

at least one terminal of a second wireless communication system, other than said mobile communication system, said terminal being arranged to support said packet data network protocol, the terminal being other than one of said mobile stations in the mobile communication system,

the method comprising;

establishing a telecommunication connection from said terminal to the mobile communication system by establishing a first part of said telecommunication connection from said terminal to said packet data network by using a second predetermined telecommunication protocol, other than said packet data network protocol and other than said first predetermined telecommunication protocol, through which a first part of the data packets according to said packet data network protocol are configured to be transmitted, the telecommunication connection comprising a second part from said packet data network to the mobile communication system via the server, through which the second part of the messages according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol can be transmitted;

transmitting and receiving by said terminal over said telecommunication connection established using the second predetermined telecommunication protocol the messages according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol as the data in said data packets, the messages being arranged as such into the data packets according to said packet data network protocol; and

emulating, by the terminal of said second wireless communication system, a mobile station of said mobile communication system.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising establishing from said server a data transmission connection between the mobile services switching center and said packet data network, and authenticating, by said server, said terminal in response to a connection setup request transmitted by the mobile station or the terminal.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said packet data network protocol is an IP protocol, whereby information on IP addresses of the terminals is maintained by said server, and data transmission directed to the terminals is routed according to said IP addresses.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising connecting said terminal to a group call according to the mobile communication system using said first predetermined telecommunication protocol.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising activating, from said server, said terminal into a group by establishing a connection to the terminal, and transmitting necessary group call numbers to the terminal in response to an activation request issued by the mobile communication system or the terminal.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising connecting the terminal to the group call by transmitting a call setup message from said server to an IP address of the terminal.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising initiating group call setup from said terminal by transmitting a call setup message to an IP address of the server.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising

transmitting a request for a speech item in the group call as fast signaling including a short message or a wireless application protocol (WAP) message, from said terminal to said server in response to a press of a push to talk (PTT) button specified in the terminal.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising connecting to the group call several terminals which have established a telecommunication connection from said server to said packet data network by using the second predetermined telecommunication protocol.

10. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising connecting said terminal to several at least partly simultaneous group calls.

11. A telecommunication system for routing calls, the system comprising:

a mobile communication system comprising at least one mobile services switching center and at least one base station connected thereto, and mobile stations arranged to establish a telecommunication connection to the mobile services switching center through the base station by using a first predetermined telecommunication protocol on a radio connection,

a packet data network, external to said mobile communication system, wherein data to be transmitted is arranged to be transmitted in data packets according to a protocol specified for the packet data network, the packet data network protocol being other than the first predetermined telecommunication protocol,

a server configured to communicate with the mobile services switching center and said packet data network, said server being configured to arrange messages according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol supplied from the mobile services switching centre as such into data packets according to said packet data network protocol to be forwarded through said packet data network, the server being further configured to decompress messages according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol arranged as such in the data packets according to said packet data network protocol and supplied from the packet data network to be forwarded to the mobile switching center, and

at least one terminal of a second wireless communication system, other than said mobile communication system, arranged to establish a telecommunication connection to said mobile communication system through the packet data network and the server to the mobile switching center, said terminal being other than a mobile station of the mobile communication system, wherein

said terminal is arranged to establish a first part of the telecommunication connection to said packet data network by using a second predetermined telecommunication protocol, other than said packet data network protocol and said first predetermined telecommunication connection, through which first part the data packets according to said packet data network protocol are configured to be transmitted,

said terminal is arranged to transmit and receive in said data packets the messages according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol arranged as such into the data packets according to said packet data network protocol, and

the terminal of said second wireless telecommunication system is arranged to emulate a mobile station of said mobile communication system.

12. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said server is arranged to establish a data transmission connection between the mobile services switching center and said packet data network, and to authenticate said terminal in response to a connection setup request transmitted by the mobile station or the terminal.

13. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said packet data network protocol is an IP protocol, and said server is arranged to maintain information on IP addresses of the terminals and route data transmission directed to the terminals according to said IP addresses.

14. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the maintenance of said IP addresses is arranged to be carried out according to a protocol supporting the mobility of the IP addresses.

15. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said terminal is arranged to be connected to a group call according to the mobile communication system using said first predetermined telecommunication protocol.

16. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 15, wherein said server is arranged to activate said terminal into a group by establishing a connection to the terminal and to transmit necessary group call numbers to the terminal in response to an activation request issued by the mobile communication system or the terminal.

17. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said terminal is arranged to transmit a request for a speech item in the group call as fast signaling to said server in response to a press of a push to talk (PTT) button specified in the terminal connected to the group call.

18. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said server is arranged to connect to the group call several terminals which have established a telecommunication connection to said packet data network by using the second predetermined telecommunication protocol.

19. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said mobile communication system is a terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) system and said terminal is configured to emulate a mobile station of the terrestrial trunked radio system, the terminal being one of the following:

a global system for mobile (GSM) terminal supporting general packet radio service (GPRS),

a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) terminal,

a workstation of a local area network,

a terminal according to a wireless network, including IEEE 802.11, or

a terminal of a satellite telephone system.

20. A terminal configured to establish a telecommunication connection to a mobile communication system through a packet data network of a first communication system and a server instead of a direct connection to the mobile communication system, the telecommunication connection comprising a first part between the terminal and the packet data network for transmitting and, receiving data in data packets, and a second part between the packet data network and the mobile communication system, the terminal comprising:

a transceiver configured to use a packet data network protocol of the first communication system to receive and transmit data in data packets over the packet data network on the first part of the connection; and

an emulator configured to emulate a mobile station of the mobile communication system by transmitting and receiving in said data in data packets messages according to a first predetermined telecommunication protocol of the mobile communication system, the first predetermined telecommunication protocol being other than said packet data network protocol and used in the mobile communication system to receive and transmit data, wherein the terminal is further configured;

to perform call control signaling through said packet data network to said server,

to decompress speech frames and signaling messages according to said first predetermined telecommunication protocol in data packets according to said protocol specified for the packet data network,

to decrypt encryption in the received frames according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol, to encrypt the frames to be transmitted according to the first predetermined telecommunication protocol,

to block de-interleave and unmix the decrypted frames, to block interleave and mix the frames to be transmitted, and

to encode and decode channel and speech coding.

21. The terminal as claimed in claim 20, wherein

the terminal is further configured to be connected to a group call according to the mobile communication system using said first predetermined telecommunication protocol.

22. The terminal as claimed in claim 21, wherein

the terminal is further configured to issue an activation request to said server for participating in the group call and to receive necessary group call numbers.

23. The terminal as claimed in claim 20, wherein

the terminal is further configured to be connected to several at least partly simultaneous group calls.

24. The terminal as claimed in claim 20, wherein

the emulator is configured to emulate a mobile station of a terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) system, and the terminal is one of the following:

a global system for mobile (GSM) terminal supporting general packet radio service (GPRS),

a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) terminal,

a workstation of a local area network,

a terminal according to a wireless network, or

a terminal of a satellite telephone system.