METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR THE DELIVERY OF SHORT MESSAGES

• US 20090131087A1
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile International AG (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile International AG (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: JOHAN, ALEXANDER
• Granted Patent: US 8,099,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• 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 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

The invention relates to a method an system for forwarding a short message from a sender to a recipient within a telecommunication network, comprising the steps of sending the short message from the sender via at least one network node to the recipient, determining in the network node whether the recipient has activated a forwarding unconditional of the short message to a predefined forwarding destination, and if true, forwarding the short message to the predefined forwarding destination.

Claims

1. A method for forwarding a short message from a sender to a recipient within a telecommunication network, comprising the steps of:

sending the short message from the sender via at least one network node to the recipient;

determining in the network node whether the recipient has activated a short message service forwarding unconditional to a predefined forwarding destination, and

if the recipient has activated a short message service forwarding unconditional, forwarding the short message to the predefined forwarding destination.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of

intercepting a SMS routing request signaling message, SRI_for_SM, in the network node,

forwarding the SRI_for_SM message to a local Mobile application part, MAP, layer,

performing a manipulation of the SRI_for_SM message within the MAP layer by means of a specialized MAP service logic in case the recipient has activated the SMS FORWARDING UNCONDITIONAL service,

replacing the recipients primary B-number with a forward to number, FTNO of a secondary B-subscriber,

routing the manipulated SRI_for_SM message to the home location register HLR where the secondary B-subscriber record resides,

sending a SRI_for_SM Acknowledge message with a secondary B-IMSI number and a VMSC address where the B-subscriber is currently residing from the HLR to the SMSC, and

forwarding the SMS message from the SMSC to the VMSC and the forwarding destination based on the B-IMSI and VMSC address.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network node includes a central signaling switch.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the central signaling switch is a stand alone signaling transfer point SA-STP.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network node includes a short message service router.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recipient is able to activate the short message forwarding unconditional service in order to redirect all incoming short messages to a predefined forwarding destination.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predefined forwarding destination is a telephone number.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predefined forwarding destination is a network address.

13. A computer-readable medium embodying a data processing software program comprising a program code which performs a method according to claim 1 when it is executed on a suitable data processing system.

14. A computer-readable medium embodying a data processing program product comprising a program code which is executable on a data processing system for performing a method according to claim 1.

15. The method according to claim 2, wherein the network node includes a central signaling switch.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the central signaling switch is a stand alone signaling transfer point SA-STP.

17. The method according to claim 2, wherein the network node includes a short message service router.

18. A computer-readable medium embodying a data processing software program comprising a program code which performs a method according to claim 2 when it is executed on a suitable data processing system.

19. A computer-readable medium embodying a data processing program product comprising a program code which is executable on a data processing system for performing a method according to claim 2.

9. A system for forwarding a short message from a sender to a recipient, the system being included in a telecommunication network and comprising:

means for sending the short message from the sender to the recipient;

a network node for determining whether the recipient has activated a short message service forwarding unconditional to a predefined forwarding destination, and

means for forwarding the short message to the predefined forwarding destination, if the recipient has activated a short message service forwarding unconditional.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the network node includes a central signaling switch.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the central signaling switch is a stand alone signaling transfer point SA-STP.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the network node includes a short message service router.