Enhancements to wireless networks to support short message service (SMS) communication in the packet switched domain

• US 9,634,810 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Jain, Puneet K., Gupta, Vivek
• Primary Examiner(s): Mered, Habte
• Application Number:
  US14/259,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20140235283A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2657 Carrier synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0051 of dedicated pilots, i.e. pilots destined for a single user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• 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 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/16 Involving different core network technologies, e.g. a packet-switched [PS] bearer in combination with a circuit-switched [CS] bearer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Technology for communicating a short message service (SMS) communication in a packet switched (PS) domain of a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node SGSN in a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). In one embodiment, a PS support module is configured to receive a request message from a mobile station (MS), the request message including an Additional Update Type information element (IE), the Additional Update Type IE including information to indicate that the MS is to support a PS based short messaging service (SMS).

Claims

1. A mobile station (MS) to communicate in a wireless network with a packet switched (PS) based short messaging service (SMS), the MS comprising:

a processor operably coupled to a nonvolatile memory wherein;

the processor is operable to configure the MS to send a request message to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), the request message including an Additional Update Type information element (IE), the Additional Update Type IE including a selected bit set to indicate whether or not the MS is configured to support the PS based SMS and performs circuit switched (CS) registration only to receive SMS service via a CS domain, wherein the SGSN is configured to send a request for CS registration received from the MS to a mobile switching center (MSC) when the MS does not support PS based SMS; and

the processor is operable to configure the MS to receive, from the SGSN, an accept message containing an information element (IE) that uses a selected bit to indicate whether the SGSN is configured to support SMS over NAS via GPRS or not support SMS over NAS via GPRS.

2. The MS of claim 1, wherein the request message is an attach request message.

3. The MS of claim 1, wherein the request message is a routing area update request message.

4. The MS of claim 1, wherein the accept message received from the SGSN is either an attach accept message or a routing area accept message.

5. The MS of claim 1, wherein the EPS network feature supported IE or the EPS extended network feature supported IE in the accept message includes a bit to identify if the SMS via GPRS is supported or is not supported by the SGSN network.

6. The MS of claim 1, wherein the accept message comprises a GPRS mobility management (GMM) message, the GMM message being configured to include a reason of a GMM request from the MS being rejected by the SGSN.

7. A method for adapting a wireless network for a packet switched (PS) based short messaging service (SMS), the method comprising:

sending a request message from a mobile station (MS) to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), the request message including an Additional Update Type information element (IE), the Additional Update Type IE including a selected bit set to indicate whether or not the MS supports the PS based SMS and performs circuit switched (CS) registration only to receive SMS service via a CS domain, wherein the SGSN is configured to send a request for CS registration received from the MS to a mobile switching center (MSC) when the MS does not support PS based SMS; and

receiving, at the MS, an accept message from the SGSN containing an extended network feature supported information element (IE) that uses a selected bit to indicate whether SMS over NAS via GPRS is supported by the SGSN or SMS over NAS via GPRS is not supported by the SGSN.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the request message is an attach request message.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the request message is a routing area update request message.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the accept message received from the SGSN is either an attach accept message or a routing area accept message.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the EPS network feature supported IE or the EPS extended network feature supported IE in the accept message includes a bit to identify if the SMS via GPRS is supported or is not supported by the SGSN network.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the accept message comprises:

receiving a GPRS mobility management (GMM) message, which includes a reason of a GMM request from the MS being rejected by the SGSN.

13. A product including a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a machine, result in a method for adapting a wireless network for a packet switched (PS) based short message service (SMS), wherein the instructions result in:

sending a request message from a mobile station (MS) to a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), the request message including an Additional Update Type information element (IE), the Additional Update Type IE including a selected bit set to indicate whether or not the MS supports the PS based SMS and performs circuit switched (CS) registration only to receive SMS service via a CS domain, wherein the SGSN is configured to send a request for CS registration received from the MS to a mobile switching center (MSC) when the MS does not support PS based SMS; and

receiving, at the MS, an accept message from the SGSN containing an extended network feature supported information element (IE) that uses a selected bit to indicate whether SMS over NAS via GPRS is supported by the SGSN or SMS over NAS via GPRS is not supported by the SGSN.

14. The product of claim 13, wherein the request message is an attach request message.

15. The product of claim 13, wherein the request message is a routing area update request message.

16. The product of claim 13, wherein the accept message is either an attach accept message or a routing area accept message.

17. The product of claim 13, wherein the EPS network feature supported IE or the EPS extended network feature supported IE in the accept message includes a bit to identify if the SMS via GPRS is supported or is not supported by the SGSN network.

18. The product of claim 13, wherein the accept message comprises a GPRS mobility management (GMM) message configured to indicate a reason of a GMM request from the MS being rejected by the SGSN.

19. A serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) to perform short messaging service (SMS) only service provisioning in a wireless network, the SGSN comprising one or more processors and memory configured to:

receive a request message from a mobile station (MS), the request message including an Additional Update Type information element (IE), the Additional Update Type IE including a selected bit set to indicate whether or not the MS supports a PS based short messaging service (SMS) and performs circuit switched (CS) registration only to receive SMS service via a CS domain, wherein the SGSN is configured to send a request for CS registration received from the MS to a mobile switching center (MSC) when the MS does not support PS based SMS; and

send an accept message to the MS containing an extended network feature supported information element (IE) that uses a selected bit to indicate whether SMS over NAS via GPRS is supported by the SGSN or SMS over NAS via GPRS is not supported by the SGSN.

20. The SGSN of claim 19, wherein the request message is an attach request message.

21. The SGSN of claim 19, wherein the request message is a routing area update request message.

22. The SGSN of claim 19, wherein the accept message received from the MS is either an attach accept message or a routing area accept message.

23. The SGSN of claim 19, wherein the EPS network feature supported IE or the EPS extended network feature supported IE in the accept message includes a bit to identify if the SMS via GPRS is supported or is not supported by the SGSN network.

24. The SGSN of claim 19, wherein the accept message comprises a GPRS mobility management (GMM) message configured to indicate a reason of a GMM request from the MS being rejected by the SGSN.