IMS and MMS interworking

• US 9,426,635 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2015
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pandey, Vinod, Stafford, Matthew W., Schlieber, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Tiv, Backhean
• Application Number:
  US14/595,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20150126150A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/57 for integrated multimedia messaging subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/10 adapted for application session management, e.g. SIP [Session Initiation Protocol] connection management H04W76/00; arrangements for session management H04L67/14

Abstract

Providing multimedia message service (MMS) in an Internet protocol (IP) multimedia subsystem (IMS) network can include establishing a first session initiation protocol (SIP) session between a source IMS device and a next generation multimedia message service center (NG MMSC), encapsulating, at the source IMS device, an MMS message in a message session relay protocol (MSRP) message, transmitting the MSRP message from the IMS device to the NG MMSC; and storing the MMS message at the NG MMSC for further delivery to the destination device. Proving the multimedia message service can further include transmitting the MMS message to a destination legacy device via legacy MMS protocols or transmitting the MMS message to a destination IMS device via MSRP. Furthermore, providing the multimedia message service can include receiving a legacy MMS message and delivering the MMS message to a destination IMS device via MSRP.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

in response to receiving a multimedia message service message that has been directed to a destination device, determining, by a device comprising a processor, a communication protocol that is compatible with the destination device;

storing, by the device, the multimedia message service message for communication pending registration of the destination device with a subscriber device; and

in response to determining that the destination device has been registered with the subscriber device, sending, by the device based on the communication protocol, a short message service message directed to the destination device, wherein the short message service message comprises a uniform resource locator link for retrieval of the multimedia message service message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending comprises:

establishing, by the device, a session initiation protocol session between the device and the destination device;

including, by the device, the short message service message in a session initiation protocol message; and

sending, by the device via the session initiation protocol session, the session initiation protocol message directed to the destination device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the protocol comprises a short message service message protocol.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, by the device, whether the destination device is associated with a pre-paid billing account before the sending of the short message service message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the destination device has been registered comprises:

determining whether the destination device corresponds to a registered subscriber identity.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating, by the device, a call record; and

sending, by the device, the call record directed to a billing system.

7. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

determining, based on a multimedia message service message that has been directed to a destination device, a protocol compatible with the destination device;

storing the multimedia message service message pending a determination that the destination device been registered with a subscriber device; and

in response to determining that the destination device has been registered with the subscriber device, sending, based on the protocol, a short message service message directed to the destination device, wherein the short message service message comprises a uniform resource locator link for retrieval of the multimedia message service message.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

establishing a session initiation protocol session with the destination device;

encapsulating the short message service message in a session initiation protocol message; and

sending, via the session initiation protocol session, the session initiation protocol message directed to the destination device.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the protocol comprises a short message service message protocol.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the destination device is associated with a pre-paid billing account.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the determining that the destination device has been registered comprises determining whether the destination device corresponds to a registered subscriber identity.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating a call record; and

sending the call record directed to a billing system.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the protocol is a diameter protocol.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

determining, based on a multimedia message service message that has been addressed to a destination device, a protocol accepted by the destination device;

storing the multimedia message service message pending registration of the destination device in a subscriber service device; and

in response to determining that the destination device has been registered in the subscriber service device, sending a text message comprising a uniform resource locator link for retrieval of the multimedia message service message directed to the destination device according to the protocol.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

querying a data store of pre-paid account information to determine whether the destination device is associated with a pre-paid billing account.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the subscriber service device comprises

a home subscriber server device.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating a call record; and

sending the call record to a billing system for billing a subscriber account corresponding to the destination device.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

initiating a session initiation protocol session with the destination device in response to the protocol being determined to be a message session relay protocol.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the sending comprises sending the text message based on a diameter protocol.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the destination device is associated with a pre-paid billing account before the sending of the text message.