Method of identifying visited public land mobile network and related communication device

• US 9,521,540 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2015
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Liao, Ching-Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, CONGVAN
• Application Number:
  US14/754,657
• Publication Number:
  US 20160007187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 455/435.1, 455/432.3, 455/433, 455/435.2, 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 455/432.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/50 for cross-charging network operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

A method of identifying a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) comprises a proximity service (ProSe) function in a home PLMN (HPLMN) of an announcing user equipment (UE) receiving a match report message comprising a ProSe Application Code from a ProSe function in a HPLMN of a monitoring UE; and the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE transmitting a match response message comprising a ProSe Application ID Name of the ProSe Application Code and a PLMN ID of a VPLMN registered by the announcing UE to the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the monitoring UE to respond to the match report message.

Claims

1. A method of identifying a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN), the method comprising:

a proximity service (ProSe) function in a home PLMN (HPLMN) of an announcing user equipment (UE) receiving a match report message comprising a ProSe Application Code from a ProSe function in a HPLMN of a monitoring UE;

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE determining whether a ProSe Application ID of the ProSe Application Code is PLMN specific and whether the announcing UE is roaming; and

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE transmitting a match response message comprising a ProSe Application ID Name of the ProSe Application Code and a PLMN ID of a VPLMN registered by the announcing UE to the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the monitoring UE to respond to the match report message, if the ProSe Application ID of the ProSe Application Code is PLMN specific and the announcing UE is roaming.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the monitoring UE transmitting a match report info message to a ProSe function in the VPLMN of the announcing UE according to a charging policy, after receiving the PLMN ID of the VPLMN of the announcing UE;

wherein the match report info message comprises at least one ProSe application ID and UE identity of the monitoring UE.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the match report info message is transmitted for generating a charging record of the ProSe between the announcing UE and the monitoring UE.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the PLMN ID of the VPLMN of the announcing UE is stored in a UE context of the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE transmitting a request message for a discovery authorization to a home subscriber server (HSS); and

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE receiving the PLMN ID of the VPLMN of the announcing UE in a message for responding to the request message from the HSS.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE transmits the request message to the HSS, after receiving an announce request message from the announcing UE for obtaining authorization of an announcement in a direct discovery procedure.

7. A method of identifying a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN), the method comprising:

a proximity service (ProSe) function in a home PLMN (HPLMN) of an announcing user equipment (UE) receiving a match report message comprising a ProSe Application Code from a ProSe function in a HPLMN of a monitoring UE;

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE determining whether a ProSe Application ID of the ProSe Application Code is PLMN specific and whether the announcing UE is roaming; and

the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE transmitting a match response message comprising a ProSe Application ID Name of the ProSe Application Code but not comprising a PLMN ID of a VPLMN registered by the announcing UE to the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the monitoring UE to respond to the match report message, if the ProSe Application ID of the ProSe Application Code is not PLMN specific and the announcing UE is roaming.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the ProSe function in the HPLMN of the announcing UE uses the ProSe Application ID and UE identity for generating a charging record of the ProSe between the announcing UE and the monitoring UE.