Method and system for international dialing over a CDMA air interface

• US 8,467,794 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2005
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Yacobi, Eitan, Nagaraj, Thadi M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beamer, Temica M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ajayi, Joel
• Application Number:
  US11/254,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20070087754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,799 Days
• Field of Search: 455/421
• US Class Current: 455/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27485 Appending a prefix to or inserting a pause into a dialling sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

A telecommunications system is described that includes a first interface configured to receive a first call message according to a CDMA air interface format. This system also includes a message translator configured to determine if the first call message includes an indicator associated with an international telephone call and, if so, is further configured to generate a second call message that includes an international prefix. Also included is a second interface configured to transmit the second call message having a particular core network format.

Claims

1. A telecommunications system, comprising:

a first interface at a network switching node configured to receive a first call origination message from a mobile communication device, wherein the first interface comprises a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface, wherein the first call origination message comprises a request for a call according to a CDMA air interface format, including a telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, and wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to the CDMA format and is generated by the mobile communication device based on a received indicator having a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format;

a message translator configured to;

identify the separate identifier associated with the first call origination message;

retrieve, in response to identifying the separate identifier, an international prefix corresponding to a location of the network switching node; and

translate, at the network switching node, the first call origination message according to the CDMA air interface format to a second call origination message requesting the call according to a core network interface format comprising the GSM format, wherein the second call origination message includes the telephone number and the international prefix formatted according to the GSM format; and

a second interface, comprising the GSM communication interface, configured to transmit the second call origination message from the network switching node to the core network according to a core network format for completing the requested call.

2. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the core network comprises a GSM core network.

3. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the identifier comprises at least one field within the first call origination message having a particular, respective value.

4. The telecommunications system of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory configured to store the international prefix; and

wherein the message translator is further configured to retrieve the international prefix from the memory and insert the international prefix within the second call message.

5. The telecommunications system of claim 1, further comprising:

a processor and associated memory; and

wherein the message translator further comprises a software application stored within the associated memory and executable by the processor.

27. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the identifier is different from the indicator.

32. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the identifier is a precursor to the first call origination message.

37. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the identifier is removed from the first call origination message when the first call origination message is translated to the second call origination message.

42. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the network switching node is configured to translate the first call origination message to the second call origination message independent of the mobile communication device.

47. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the location of the network switching node comprises a fixed location.

6. A mobile communications device, comprising:

a user interface configured to accept input requesting a call related to a telephone number, the user interface comprising an input element selectable by a user to indicate the telephone number is an international telephone number, wherein selection of the input element adds an international telephone number indicator according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) core network format to the input, wherein the international telephone number indicator represents an absence of a required international prefix;

a message generator configured to generate a message according to a CDMA format of a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface based on the input, the message generator further configured to include the telephone number and a separate international telephone number identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate international telephone number identifier indicates the absence of the required international prefix in the message, wherein the separate international telephone number identifier is formatted according to the CDMA air interface and is based on the separate international telephone number indicator having the GSM core network format, wherein the international telephone number identifier is operable to trigger a network switching node operable to communicate with both the CDMA air interface and the GSM core network to add the required international prefix and to reformat the message into a format of the GSM core network, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

a first transceiver configured to transmit the message over the CDMA air interface to the network switching node.

7. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the network switching node is connected to the GSM core network.

8. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the international telephone number indicator comprises an individual symbol.

9. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the message generator further comprises:

a symbol detector configured to determine if the input includes the international telephone number indicator; and

a message formatter configured to provide the international telephone number identifier by setting a value of one or more fields of the message to a predetermined value if the input includes the international telephone number indicator.

10. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the message is a call origination message.

19. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the international telephone number indicator comprises a non-numeric symbol, and wherein the international telephone number identifier comprises a numeric value.

28. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the international telephone number identifier is different from the international telephone number indicator.

33. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the international telephone number identifier is a precursor to the message.

38. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the international telephone number identifier is removed from the message when the message is reformatted by the network switching node into the format of the GSM core network.

43. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the network switching node is configured to reformat the message into the format of the GSM core network independent of the mobile communication device.

11. A method for handling international calls comprising:

receiving a first call origination message via a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface at a network switching node from a mobile communication device, wherein the first call origination message comprises a request for a call according to a CDMA air interface format, including a telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, and wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to the CDMA format and is generated by the mobile communication device based on a received indicator having a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) core network format and corresponding to the telephone number;

determining if the first call origination message includes the separate identifier;

identifying the international prefix corresponding to the separate identifier, wherein the international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

generating, at the network switching node, a second call origination message requesting the call in the GSM core network format for transmission to a core network, wherein the second call origination message includes the international prefix formatted according to the GSM format and the telephone number.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the core network format is compatible with a GSM core network.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the identifier comprises one or more fields within the first call origination message having a respective value.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the second call origination message further comprises:

retrieving the international prefix from a memory store; and

inserting the international prefix within the second call origination message.

29. The method of claim 11, wherein the identifier is different from the indicator.

34. The method of claim 11, wherein the identifier is a precursor to the first call origination message.

39. The method of claim 11, wherein the generating the second call origination message comprises translating the first call origination message into the second call origination message, and wherein the identifier is removed from the first call origination message when translating the first call origination message into the second call origination message.

44. The method of claim 11, wherein the network switching node is configured to generate the second call origination message independent of the mobile communication device.

15. A method for initiating an international telephone call, comprising:

receiving, via a user interface of a communication device configured to communicate with a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) core network via a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface, input requesting a call related to a telephone number;

receiving, via the user interface, an input element according to a GSM format that indicates the telephone number is an international call and represents an absence of a required international prefix;

generating, at the communication device, a call origination message requesting the call formatted according to a CDMA air interface format that, based on the input element, includes the telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates the absence of the required international prefix, wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to the CDMA air interface and is based on the input element having the GSM format, wherein the separate identifier triggers a network switching node operable to communicate with both the CDMA air interface and the GSM core network to add the required international prefix and to reformat the call origination message into a format of the GSM core network, wherein the international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

transmitting the call origination message to the network switching node over the CDMA air interface.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the input element comprises an individual symbol selectable via the user interface.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the call origination message further comprises:

setting a respective value of one or more fields in the call origination message to a respective predetermined value.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the input element further comprises receiving a non-numeric symbol, and wherein generating the call origination message further comprises generating the indicator comprising a numeric value.

30. The method of claim 15, wherein the identifier is different from the input element.

35. The method of claim 15, wherein the identifier is a precursor to the call origination message.

40. The method of claim 15, wherein the identifier is removed from the call origination message when the call origination message is reformatted by the network switching node into the format of the GSM core network.

45. The method of claim 15, wherein the network switching node is configured to reformat the call origination message into the format of the GSM core network independent of the communication device.

18. A mobile communications device, comprising:

a memory configured to store a plurality of telephone numbers and a respective setting associated with each of the plurality of telephone numbers, wherein each respective setting has a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format and indicates whether its associated telephone number is an international telephone number;

a user interface configured to request a call by selecting one of the plurality of telephone numbers;

a message generator configured to generate a message requesting the call according to a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface format based on the selected one of the plurality of telephone numbers, the message generator further configured to include a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to the CDMA air interface and is based on the respective setting having the GSM format, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix within the message if the respective setting indicates the selected one of the plurality of telephone numbers is an international telephone number, wherein the separate identifier is operable to trigger a network switching node that is configured to communicate with both the CDMA air interface and the GSM core network to add the required international prefix and to reformat the message into a format of the GSM core network, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

a first transceiver further configured to transmit the message to the network switching node over the CDMA air interface.

31. The mobile communications device of claim 18, wherein the identifier is different from the respective setting.

36. The mobile communications device of claim 18, wherein the identifier is a precursor to the message.

41. The mobile communications device of claim 18, wherein the message is translated at the network switching node into a format of the GSM core network, and wherein the identifier is removed from the message when the message is translated at the network switching node into the format of the GSM core network.

46. The mobile communications device of claim 18, wherein the network switching node is configured to reformat the message into the format of the GSM core network independent of the mobile communication device.

21. An apparatus for initiating an international telephone call, comprising:

means for receiving input requesting a call related to a telephone number;

means for receiving an input international indicator according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format that represents an international prefix;

means for generating a call origination message requesting the call that, based on the input international indicator, includes the telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface and is based on the input international indicator having the GSM format, said call origination message formatted according to the CDMA air interface format, wherein the separate identifier is operable to trigger a network switching node operable to communicate with both an air interface and a core network to add the international prefix and to reformat the call origination message into the GSM format of the GSM core network, wherein the international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

means for transmitting the call origination message to the network switching node via the CDMA air interface.

22. At least one processor for initiating an international telephone call, comprising:

a first module for receiving, via a user interface, input requesting a call related to a telephone number;

a second module for receiving, via the user interface, an input element according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) core network format that indicates the telephone number is an international call, wherein the input element represents an absence of a required international prefix;

a third module for generating a call origination message requesting the call that, based on the input element, includes the telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface and is based on the input element having the GSM core network format, said call origination message formatted according to the CDMA air interface format, wherein the separate identifier is operable to trigger a network switching node operable to communicate with both the CDMA air interface and the GSM core network to add the required international prefix and to reformat the call origination message into the GSM format of the GSM core network, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

a fourth module for transmitting the call origination message to the network switching node via the CDMA air interface.

23. A computer product for initiating an international telephone call, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising;

a first executable software operable to cause a computer to receive, via a user interface of a communication device, input requesting a call related to a telephone number;

a second executable software operable to cause the computer to receive, via the user interface, an input element according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format that indicates the telephone number is an international call, wherein the input element represents an absence of a required international prefix;

a third executable software operable to cause the computer to generate, at the communication device, a call origination message requesting the call that, based on the input element, includes the telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface and is based on the input element having the GSM format, said call origination message formatted according to the CDMA air interface format, wherein the separate identifier is operable to trigger a network switching node operable to communicate with both the CDMA air interface and a core network to add the required international prefix and to reformat the call origination message into the GSM format of the GSM core network, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

a fourth executable software operable to cause the computer to transmit the call origination message to the network switching node via the CDMA air interface.

24. An apparatus for handling international calls, comprising:

means for receiving a first call origination message via a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface at a network switching node from a mobile communication device, wherein the first call origination message comprises a request for a call in a CDMA air interface format, wherein the first call message is generated by the mobile communications device and comprises a telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, and wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to the CDMA air interface and is generated by the mobile communications device based on an indicator according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format corresponding to the telephone number;

means for determining if the call origination message includes the separate identifier;

means for generating, at the network switching node, a second call origination message requesting the call in a core network format, wherein the second call origination message includes the required international prefix and the telephone number if the first call origination message includes the separate identifier, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

means for transmitting the second call origination message to the core network for completing the requested call.

25. At least one processor for handling international calls, comprising:

a first module for receiving a first call origination message via a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface at a network switching node from a mobile communication device, wherein the first call origination message comprises a request for a call in a CDMA air interface format, wherein the first call origination message is generated by the mobile communications device and comprises a telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, and wherein the separate identifier is formatted according, to the CDMA air interface and is generated by the mobile communications device based on indicator according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format corresponding to the telephone number;

a second module for determining if the call origination message includes the separate identifier;

a third module for generating, at the network switching node, a second call origination message requesting the call in a core network format, wherein the second call origination message includes the required international prefix and the telephone number if the first call origination message includes the separate identifier, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

a fourth module for transmitting the second call origination message to the core network for completing the requested call.

26. A computer product for handling international calls, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising;

a first executable software operable to cause a computer to receive a first call origination message via a code division multiple access (CDMA) air interface at a network switching node from a mobile communication device, wherein the first call origination message comprises a request for a call according to a CDMA air interface format, wherein the first call message is generated by the mobile communications device and comprises a telephone number and a separate identifier comprising a DIGIT_MODE field or a NUMBER_TYPE field, wherein the separate identifier indicates an absence of a required international prefix, and wherein the separate identifier is formatted according to the CDMA air interface and is generated by the mobile communications device based on indicator according to a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) format corresponding to the telephone number;

a second executable software operable to cause the computer to determine if the call origination message includes the separate identifier;

a third executable software operable to cause the computer to generate, at the network switching node, a second call origination message requesting the call in a core network format, wherein the second call origination message includes the required international prefix and the telephone number if the first call origination message includes the separate identifier, wherein the required international prefix corresponds to a location of the network switching node; and

a fourth executable software operable to cause the computer to transmit the second call origination message to the core network for completing the requested call.