Devices and methods for information about PLMN ID

• US 9,532,206 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2015
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Bergstrom, Andreas, Molander, Anders, Schliwa-Bertling, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): GHOWRWAL, OMAR J
• Application Number:
  US14/963,877
• Publication Number:
  US 20160094978A1
• Time in Patent Office: 384 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

A mobile station (110) for use in a Radio Access Network, RAN (102), connected to a core network (101) in which there is one or more Public Land Mobile Networks, PLMNs (103, 104, 105). The mobile station (110) is arranged to select one of said PLMNs (103, 104, 105), and is arranged to communicate with its RAN (102) by means of Radio Link Control, RLC, data blocks. The mobile station is arranged to include the identity, ID, of its selected PLMN in an RLC data block, and to inform the RAN (102) of the presence of the ID of the chosen PLMN in the RLC data block by means of including a reserved or pre-defined value in the length indication field of the RLC data block.

Claims

1. A mobile station for use in a Radio Access Network (RAN), the RAN being connected to a core network in which there is one or more Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), the mobile station comprising:

an interface to communicate with the RAN using Radio Link Control (RLC) data blocks;

a processor to;

select one of said PLMNs when accessing a Packet Switched (PS) domain in the RAN;

generate an RLC data block, the RLC data block comprising;

an ID of the selected one of the PLMNs; and

inform the RAN by including a reserved or pre-defined value in a length indicator field of the RLC data block, the reserved or pre-defined value indicating the presence of the ID of the selected one of the PLMNs, the ID of the selected one of the PLMNs placed in a field following the length indicator field of the RLC data block,

wherein the processor is operable to use a length indicator value of 123 or 62 as the reserved or pre-defined value.

2. The mobile station of claim 1, wherein the processor is operable to use different RAN modes and being arranged to use different reserved or pre-defined values to indicate the presence of the ID of the selected one of the PLMNs depending on the RAN mode used.

3. The mobile station of claim 2, wherein the processor is operable to use different reserved or pre-defined values for RAN modes GPRS and EGPRS.

4. A Control Node arranged to be part of a Radio Access Network (RAN), which is connected to a Core Network (CN) which comprises one or more Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), the Control Node comprising:

an interface to communicate with the RAN using Radio Link Control (RLC) data blocks;

a processor to;

receive a Radio Link Control (RLC) data block from a mobile station in a cell in the RAN, the RLC data block comprising;

an ID of a particular one of the PLMNs that has been selected by the mobile station; and

a reserved or pre-defined value in a length indicator field of the RLC data block;

inspect the length indicator field in the RLC data block;

determine that the reserved or pre-defined value indicates that the RLC data block includes the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs selected by the mobile station in a field of the RLC data block following the Length Indicator field; and

forward the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs to a node in the RAN or in the CN, and

wherein the processor is operable to use a length indicator value of 123 or 62 as the reserved or pre-defined value.

5. The Control Node of claim 4, in which said node to which the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs is forwarded to is an SGSN.

6. The Control Node of claim 4, wherein the processor is operable to handle more than one RAN mode, and being arranged to handle different

reserved or pre-defined values which indicate the presence of the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs, depending on an associated RAN mode.

7. The Control Node of claim 6, wherein the processor is operable to handle different reserved or pre-defined values which indicate the presence of a the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs for the RAN modes GPRS and EGPRS.

8. A method for operating a Mobile Station in a Radio Access Network (RAN) which is connected to a core network in which there is one or more Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), the method comprising:

selecting one of said PLMNs when accessing a Packet Switched (PS) domain in the RAN; and

generating a Radio Link Control data block, the RLC data block comprising;

one of the PLMNs; and

a reserved or pre-defined value in a length indicator field of the RLC data block, the reserved or pre-defined value indicating the ID of the selected one of the PLMNs in a field following the length indicator field of the RLC data block, wherein a length indicator value of 123 or 62 is used as the reserved or pre-defined value; and

sending said RLC data block to the RAN.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising arranging the mobile station to use different RAN modes and to use different reserved or pre-defined values to indicate the presence of the ID of the selected one of the PLMNs, depending on the RAN mode used.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising the use of different reserved or pre-defined values for RAN modes GPRS and EGPRS.

11. A method for operating a Control Node which is arranged to be part of a Radio Access Network (RAN), which is connected to a Core Network (CN), which comprises one or more Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), the method comprising:

receiving a Radio Link Control (RLC) data block from a mobile station in a cell in the RAN, the RLC data block comprising;

an ID of a particular one of the PLMNs that has been selected by the mobile station; and

a reserved or pre-defined value in a length indicator field of the RLC data block, wherein a length indicator value of 123 or 62 is used as the reserved or pre-defined value;

inspecting the length indicator field in the RLC data block;

determining that the reserved or pre-defined value indicates that the RLC data block includes the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs selected by the mobile station in a field of the RLC data block following the length indicator field; and

forwarding the ID of the particular one of the PLMNs to a node in the RAN or in the CN.

12. The method of claim 11, according to which said node to which the ID of the selected one of the PLMNs is forwarded to is a SGSN an SGSN.

13. The method of claim 11, comprising handling more than one RAN mode, and handling different reserved or pre-defined values which indicate the presence of an ID of the selected PLMN, depending on an associated RAN mode.