Systems and methods for mobility management in overlaid mobile communications systems

• US 7,974,619 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2010
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ATC Technology Corporation (FedEx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ATC Technology Corporation (FedEx Corporation)
• Inventors: Dutta, Santanu
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Lana
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsieh; Ping Y
• Application Number:
  US12/960,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20110077002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 211 Days
• Field of Search: 455/435.1, 455/12.1, 455/427, 455/428, 455/433, 455/436, 455/552.1, 455/553.1
• US Class Current: 455/428
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18545 Arrangements for managing station mobility, i.e. for station registration or localisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18563 Arrangements for interconnecting multiple systems data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers

Abstract

Communications of a mobile station with a satellite mobile communications system and a terrestrial mobile communications system are coordinated. The mobile station is registered with the terrestrial mobile communications system and, responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system, the mobile station is concurrently registered with the satellite mobile communications system. The concurrent registration may include implicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system, e.g., by storing information identifying the mobile station may be stored in a location register of the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system, and maintaining synchronization between the two registrations. Authentication tokens may be pre-generated for quick re-registration with a satellite mobile communications system.

Claims

1. A method of coordinating communications of a mobile station with a satellite mobile communications system and a terrestrial mobile communications system, the method comprising:

registering the mobile station for service at a terrestrial mobile communications system, wherein such registration for service includes registering location information about the mobile station at a home location register belonging to the terrestrial mobile communications system;

authenticating the mobile station with an authentication center belonging to the terrestrial mobile communications system;

concurrently registering the mobile station for service at the satellite mobile communications system, responsive to the registration of the mobile station for service with the terrestrial mobile communications system, wherein such registration also includes registering location information about the mobile station at a home location register belonging to the satellite mobile communications system;

concurrently authenticating the mobile station with an authentication center belonging to the satellite mobile communications system;

maintaining synchronization between location information about the mobile station at the location registers, as the location information changes due to movement of the mobile station so that the mobile station is concurrently enabled to communicate over each of the terrestrial mobile communications system and the satellite mobile communications system; and

switching the mobile station from communicating with the terrestrial mobile communications system to being enabled to communicate with the satellite communications system using the location information at the home location register belonging to the satellite mobile communications system that was maintained synchronized with the location information at the home location register belonging to the terrestrial mobile communications system and without performing a location update of the home location register belonging to the satellite mobile communications system, and using the authentication of the mobile station with the authentication center belonging to the satellite mobile communications system that was concurrently authenticated, without retrieving additional authentication data.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the home location register of the terrestrial mobile communications system and the home location register of the satellite mobile communications system using a direct data interconnecting data link.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the home location register of the terrestrial mobile communications system and the home location register of the satellite mobile communications system by performing direct location updates from the mobile station to the satellite mobile communications system.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein performing direct location updates comprises performing a direct location from the mobile station to the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the mobile station detecting a change in a beam identification parameter received from the satellite mobile communications at the mobile station while the mobile station is registered with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein concurrently registering comprises implicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein implicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system comprises storing information identifying the mobile station in a location register of the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the information identifying the mobile station comprises information identifying a spot beam of the satellite mobile communications system.

8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising generating the information identifying a spot beam of the satellite mobile communications system responsive to a location update for the mobile station in the terrestrial mobile communications system.

9. A method according to claim 6, wherein storing information identifying the mobile station in a location register of the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system is preceded by transferring the information identifying the mobile station from a location register of the terrestrial mobile communications system to the location register of the satellite mobile communications system.

10. A method according to claim 5, wherein implicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system comprises concurrently registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system without performing a location update for the mobile station in the satellite mobile communications system.

11. A method according to claim 5, wherein implicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system is followed by terminating implicit registration of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to passage of a predetermined interval without a location update for the terminal.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein concurrently registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system comprises explicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein explicitly registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system comprises initiating a registration request from the mobile station to the satellite mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system without detecting a loss of communications between the mobile station and the terrestrial mobile communications system.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

generating respective copies of a set of authentication tokens at respective ones of the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system; and

then

performing successive registrations of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using successive ones of the authentication tokens.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein each of the successive registrations of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system comprises:

communicating an authentication token from the mobile station to the satellite mobile communications system; and

determining whether the communicated authentication token matches an authentication token generated by the satellite mobile communications system.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein performing successive registrations of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using successive ones of the authentication tokens comprises:

registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using a first one of the authentication tokens;

establishing communications between the mobile station and the terrestrial mobile communications system;

re-establishing communications between the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system; and

re-registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using a second one of the authentication tokens.

17. A method according to claim 16, further comprising communicating security data for the mobile station from the terrestrial mobile communications system to the satellite mobile communications system, and wherein generating respective copies of a set of authentication tokens at respective ones of the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system comprises generating the respective copies of the set of authentication tokens at respective ones of the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system from the communicated security data.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein re-registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using a second one of authentication tokens comprises re-registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system without retrieving additional security data from the terrestrial mobile communications system.

19. A method according to claim 17, wherein the communicated security data comprises a plurality of triplets, each including a random number, an encrypted value generated from the random number according to a key associated with a subscriber, and a cipher key, and wherein generating respective copies of a set of authentication tokens at respective ones of the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system from the communicated security data comprises:

communicating the random numbers from the satellite mobile communications system to the mobile station; and

generating matching triplets at the mobile station from the communicated random numbers.

20. A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

communicating new security data from the terrestrial mobile communications system to the satellite mobile communications system responsive to detecting that a predetermined number of the previously generated authentication tokens have been used;

generating respective copies of a new authentication token at respective ones of the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system from the communicated new security data entity; and

re-registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using the new authentication token.

21. A method of coordinating communications of a mobile station with first and second overlaid mobile communications systems, the method comprising:

registering the mobile station with the first mobile communications system;

authenticating the mobile station with the first mobile communications system;

concurrently registering the mobile station with the second mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the first mobile communications system;

concurrently authenticating the mobile station with the second mobile communications system, so that the mobile station is concurrently enabled to communicate over each of the terrestrial mobile communications system and the satellite mobile communications system; and

switching the mobile station from communicating with the first mobile communications system to being enabled to communicate with the second mobile communications system using the registration of the mobile station with the second mobile communications system that was currently performed responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the first mobile communications system and without performing a location update, and using the authenticating of the mobile station with the second mobile communication that was concurrently performed with the authenticating the mobile station with the first mobile communications system and without retrieving additional authentication data.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein concurrently registering comprises implicitly registering the mobile station with the second mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the first mobile communications system.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein implicitly registering the mobile station with the second mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the first mobile communications system comprises concurrently registering the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system without performing a location update for the mobile station in the second mobile communications system.

24. A method according to claim 22, wherein implicitly registering the mobile station with the second mobile communications system responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the first mobile communications system is followed by terminating implicit registration of the mobile station with the second mobile communications system responsive to passage of a predetermined interval without a location update for the terminal.

25. A mobile communications system, comprising:

a satellite mobile communications system that supports registration and authentication of a mobile station therewith concurrent with registration and authentication of the mobile station with a terrestrial mobile communications system, so that the mobile station is concurrently enabled to communicate over each of the terrestrial mobile communications system and the satellite mobile communications system;

the satellite mobile communications system being further configured to switch the mobile station from communicating with the terrestrial mobile communications system to being enabled to communicate with the satellite mobile communications system using the registration and authentication of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system that was concurrently performed with the registration and authentication of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system and without performing a location update or retrieving additional authentication data.

26. A system according to claim 25, wherein the satellite mobile communication system is operative to implicitly register the mobile station therewith responsive to registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

27. A system according to claim 26, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is operative to store information identifying the mobile station in a location register thereof responsive to the registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

28. A system according to claim 27, wherein the information identifying the mobile station comprises information identifying a spot beam of the satellite mobile communications system.

29. A system according to claim 28, further comprising means for generating the information identifying a spot beam of the satellite mobile communications system responsive to a location update for the mobile station in the terrestrial mobile communications system.

30. A system according to claim 27, further comprising means for transferring the information identifying the mobile station from a location register of the terrestrial mobile communications system to the location register of the satellite mobile communications system.

31. A system according to claim 26, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is operative to concurrently register the mobile station therewith without performing a location update for the mobile station in the satellite mobile communications system.

32. A system according to claim 25, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is operative to accept explicit registration of the mobile station concurrent with maintenance of registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

33. A system according to claim 25, wherein the satellite mobile communications system supports generation of respective copies of a set of authentication tokens at respective ones of the mobile station and the satellite mobile communications system, and is further operative to subsequently accept successive registrations of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system using successive ones of the authentication tokens.

34. A system according to claim 33, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is operative to receive security data for the mobile station from the terrestrial mobile communications system and to generate the copy of the set of authentication tokens from the received security data.

35. A system according to claim 34, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is further operative to transfer at least a portion of the received security data to the mobile terminal to support generation of the copy of the set of authentication tokens at the mobile station.

36. A system according to claim 34, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is operative to re-register the mobile station therewith without retrieving additional security data from the terrestrial mobile communications system.

37. A system according to claim 34, wherein the received security data comprises a plurality of triplets, each including a random number, an encrypted value generated from the random number according to a key associated with a subscriber, and a cipher key.

38. A system according to claim 34, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is further operative to receive new security data from the terrestrial mobile communications system responsive to detecting that a predetermined number of the previously generated authentication tokens have been used and to generating a copy of a new authentication token from the received new security data.

39. A system according to claim 38, wherein the satellite mobile communications system is further operative to transfer at least a portion of the received new security data to the mobile terminal to support generation of a copy of the new authentication token at the mobile station.

40. A system, comprising:

a terrestrial mobile communications system that supports registration and authentication of a mobile station therewith concurrent with registration and authentication of the mobile terminal with a satellite mobile communications system, so that the mobile station is concurrently enabled to communicate over each of the terrestrial mobile communications system and the satellite mobile communications system, the terrestrial mobile communications system being further configured to support switching of the mobile station from communicating with the terrestrial mobile communications system to being enabled to communicate with the satellite mobile communications system using the registration and authentication of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system that was concurrently performed with the registration and authentication of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system and without performing a location update or retrieving additional authentication data.

41. A system according to claim 40, wherein the terrestrial mobile communications system supports implicit registration of the mobile station with the satellite mobile communications system responsive to registration of the mobile station with the terrestrial mobile communications system.

42. A system according to claim 41, further comprising means for transferring information identifying the mobile station from a location register of the terrestrial mobile communications system to a location register of the satellite mobile communications system.