System and method for providing configurable, dynamic multimedia message service pre-transcoding

• US 8,037,206 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2009
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sybase 365 Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Sybase 365 Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Kit Tam, Derek Hung, Farrow, James C., Beggerly, Brian Jeffery, Dudley, William H., Lovell, Robert C. Jr., Rusche, Thilo
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong; Oanh
• Application Number:
  US12/502,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20090291697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/238, 709/239, 709/246, 709/249, 379/88.13, 379/93.01, 455/412, 455/414.4, 455/466
• US Class Current: 709/246
• 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 8/28 Number portability ; Network address portability

Abstract

System and methods for providing multimedia message service (MMS) interoperability between an initiating carrier and a destination carrier. A transcoding facility receives an MMS message from an initiating carrier and accesses a number portability database to determine an identity of a destination carrier to which the MMS message is intended to be sent and a carrier profile repository to obtain a carrier profile for the destination carrier, the carrier profile including information regarding an MMS format acceptable to the destination carrier. The transcoding facility determines, based on the carrier profile and a format of the MMS message received from the initiating carrier, whether the format of the MMS message received from the initiating carrier must be modified to be effectively received by the destination carrier and, if so, transcodes the MMS message in accordance with the carrier profile to generate a transcoded MMS message, and thereafter sends one of (i) the MMS message received from the initiating carrier and (ii) the transcoded MMS message to the destination carrier.

Claims

1. A method for providing Multimedia Message Service (MMS) interoperability between a first mobile telephone service provider and a second mobile telephone service provider, comprising:

receiving via MM4 an incoming MMS message from a Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC) of the first mobile telephone service provider, the incoming MMS message (a) having originally been initiated by a user of a mobile telephone and (b) comprising content and a destination address;

querying, using the destination address of the incoming MMS message, a number portability repository to determine an identity of the second mobile telephone service provider to which the incoming MMS message is intended to be sent;

querying, using the identity of the second mobile telephone service provider, a carrier profile repository to access a previously-stored carrier profile for the second mobile telephone service provider, the carrier profile comprising information regarding content acceptable to the second mobile telephone service provider;

performing, responsive to at least aspects of the carrier profile and the content of the incoming MMS message, one or more of the following processing steps;

a) if the second mobile telephone service provider can accept the incoming MMS message as is then sending via MM4 the incoming MMS message to a MMSC of the second mobile telephone service provider, or

b) if transcoding is applicable then (i) transcoding the incoming MMS message, in accordance with aspects of the carrier profile, to generate a transcoded MMS message and (ii) sending the transcoded MMS message to a MMSC of the second mobile telephone service provider, or

c) (i) sending the incoming MMS message to a legacy facility of the second mobile telephone service provider or (ii) sending via Short Message Peer-to-Peer a Short Message Service message to a Short Message Service Center of the second mobile telephone service provider.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the carrier profile repository contains carrier profiles for a plurality of carriers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending an email message to the second mobile telephone service provider to alert an intended recipient of a received MMS message.

4. A system for providing Multimedia Message Service (MMS) interoperability between a first mobile telephone service provider and a second mobile telephone service provider, comprising:

a transcoding facility configured to receive an incoming MMS message from a Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC) of the first mobile telephone service provider, the incoming MMS message (a) having originally been initiated by a user of a mobile telephone and (b) comprising a content and a destination address;

a number portability repository in communication with the transcoding facility and configured to determine, based on the destination address of the incoming MMS message, an identity of the second mobile telephone service provider to which the incoming MMS message is intended to be sent;

a carrier profile repository also in communication with the transcoding facility and configured to access, based on the identity of the second mobile telephone service provider, a previously-stored carrier profile for the second mobile telephone carrier, the carrier profile comprising information regarding content acceptable to the second mobile telephone service provider;

the transcoding facility, responsive to at least aspects of the carrier profile and the content of the incoming MMS message, configured to perform one or more of the following processing steps;

a) if the second mobile telephone service provider can accept the incoming MMS message as is then send via MM4 the incoming MMS message to a MMSC of the second mobile telephone service provider, or

b) if transcoding is applicable then (i) transcode the incoming MMS message, in accordance with aspects of the carrier profile, to generate a transcoded MMS message and (ii) send via MM4 the transcoded MMS message to a MMSC of the second mobile telephone service provider, or

c) (i) send via MM3 the incoming MMS message to a legacy facility of the second mobile telephone service provider or (ii) send via Short Message Peer-to-Peer a Short Message Service message to a Short Message Service Center (SMSC) of the second mobile telephone service provider.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the carrier profile repository contains carrier profiles for a plurality of carriers.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising sending an email message to the second mobile telephone service provider to alert an intended recipient of a received MMS message.

7. A method for providing Multimedia Message Service (MMS) interoperability between a first mobile telephone service provider and a second mobile telephone service provider, comprising:

receiving an incoming MMS message from a Multimedia Message Service Center of the first mobile telephone service provider, the incoming MMS message (a) having originally been initiated by a user of a mobile telephone and (b) comprising content and a destination address;

querying, using the destination address of the incoming MMS message, a number portability repository to determine an identity of the second mobile telephone service provider to which the incoming MMS message is intended to be sent;

querying, using the identity of the second mobile telephone service provider, a carrier profile repository to access a previously-stored carrier profile for the second mobile telephone service provider, the carrier profile comprising information regarding content acceptable to the second mobile telephone service provider;

transcoding the incoming MMS message, in accordance with aspects of the carrier profile, to generate a transcoded MMS message, the transcoded MMS message taking the form of an email message; and

sending the transcoded MMS message to the second mobile telephone service provider.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the carrier profile repository contains carrier profiles for a plurality of carriers.

9. A system for providing Multimedia Message Service (MMS) interoperability between a first mobile telephone service provider and a second mobile telephone service provider, comprising:

a transcoding facility configured to receive an incoming MMS message from a Multimedia Message Service Center of the first mobile telephone service provider, the incoming MMS message (a) having originally been initiated by a user of a mobile telephone and (b) comprising content and a destination address;

a number portability repository in communication with the transcoding facility and configured to determine, based on the destination address of the incoming MMS message, an identity of the second mobile telephone service provider to which the incoming MMS message is intended to be sent;

a carrier profile repository also in communication with the transcoding facility and configured to access, based on the identity of the second mobile telephone service provider, a previously-stored carrier profile for the second mobile telephone carrier, the carrier profile comprising information regarding content acceptable to the second mobile telephone service provider;

the transcoding facility (a) transcoding the incoming MMS message, in accordance with aspects of the carrier profile, to generate a transcoded MMS message, the transcoded MMS message taking the form of an email message, and (b) sending via MM3 the transcoded MMS message to the second mobile telephone service provider.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the carrier profile repository contains carrier profiles for a plurality of carriers.