Providing telephone number data for international cellular roamer service

• US 6,587,688 B1
• Filed: 05/02/2000
• Issued: 07/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Teising, Charles C., Chambers, Michael Dwayne, Lee, Chee Keong, Nguyen, Tony Tuong
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh Cong
• Assistant Examiner(s): EWART, JAMES D
• Application Number:
  US09/561,623
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 455/403, 455/410, 455/414, 455/422, 455/432, 455/433, 455/445, 455/455, 455/461, 455/552, 455/560, 370/401, 370/466, 370/467, 379/219, 379/229, 379/230
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers

Abstract

Apparatus and a method for providing international numbers in order to implement international cellular roamer service. When a roamer registers, the Visitor Location Register (VLR) serving the roamer, queries the Home Location Register (HLR) record of the roamer. The HLR tests whether the VLR is in a foreign country. If so, the HLR provides numerical information, such as the roamer'"'"'s billing number, in international form, including the country code of the HLR. Advantageously, the VLR is provided with international numbers where appropriate, and the roamer can be accommodated outside the roamer'"'"'s home country.

Claims

1. For an international roaming mobile call from a mobile station, a method of providing to a serving mobile switching center (MSC), an appropriate telephone number for processing said call, comprising the steps of:

a mobile station (MS) requesting registration and providing its identification to said serving MSC;

said serving MSC requesting an associated Visitor Location Register (VLR) to create a record for said MS;

said VLR requesting data from a Home Location Register (HLR) serving the identified MS;

said HLR determining that the request was generated by a VLR of another country;

said HLR converting telephone numbers of an HLR record for said MS into a form acceptable to said VLR;

said HLR transmitting in a Mobile Application Part of a signaling message a record comprising the converted telephone numbers to said VLR; and

said VLR requesting said serving MSC to serve said mobile;

said mobile station originating a call; and

said MSC serving said mobile station to control establishment of said call using information stored in said VLR and said HLR.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of converting comprises the step of prefixing a country code of said HLR to telephone numbers stored in nationally significant public telephone numbers in said HLR record, to create a fully qualified international public telephone number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of serving said mobile station to control establishment of said call comprises the step of converting one of the received converted fully qualified international public telephone number from said VLR.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said VLR converts one of said received converted fully qualified international public numbers by deleting a country code from a converted number whose country code matches the country code of the VLR.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining that the request was generated by a VLR of another country, comprises the steps of:

extracting a wireless international number of said VLR from the request message received from said VLR;

identifying a mobile country code of said wireless international number;

comparing said mobile country code with a list of mobile country codes of said HLR; and

if said mobile country code is not on said list, determining that the request was generated by a VLR of another country.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said VLR converts received fully qualified international public hot line numbers by deleting prefixes when the prefixes to be deleted match the country code of the VLR.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said VLR converts received fully qualified nationally significant public restricted dialing numbers by deleting country code prefixes when the prefixes to be deleted match the country code of the VLR.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of controlling establishment of said call comprises the step of using one of said converted fully qualified international public telephone numbers for a billing record for said call.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said VLR converts received fully qualified international public calling number display data by deleting a calling number country code if that code matches a country code of the VLR.

10. For an international roaming mobile call from a mobile station, apparatus for providing to a serving mobile switching center (MSC), an appropriate telephone number for processing said call, comprising:

means for receiving from a mobile station (MS) a registration request providing its identification to said serving MSC;

said serving MSC comprising means for requesting an associated Visitor Location Register (VLR) to create a record for said MS;

said VLR comprising means for requesting data from a Home Location Register (HLR) serving the identified MS;

said HLR comprising means for determining that the request was generated by a VLR of another country;

said HLR comprising means for converting telephone numbers of an HLR record for said MS into a form acceptable to said VLR;

said HLR comprising means for transmitting in a Mobile Application Part of a signaling message a record comprising the converted telephone numbers to said VLR; and

said VLR comprising means for requesting said MSC to serve said mobile;

responsive to said mobile station originating a call;

said MSC serving said mobile station to control establishment of said call using information stored in said VLR and said HLR.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for converting comprises means for prefixing a country code of said HLR to telephone numbers stored in international public telephone numbers in said HLR record, to create a fully qualified nationally significant public telephone number.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means serving said mobile station to control establishment of said call comprises means for converting one of the received converted fully qualified international public telephone number from said VLR.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said VLR converts one of said received converted fully qualified international public numbers by deleting a country code from a converted number whose country code matches the country code of the VLR.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for determining that the request was generated by a VLR of another country, comprises means for:

extracting a wireless international number of said VLR from the request message received from said VLR;

identifying a mobile country code of said wireless international number;

comparing said mobile country code with a list of mobile country codes of said HLR; and

if said mobile country code is not on said list, determining that the request was generated by a VLR of another country.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said VLR comprises means for converting received fully qualified international public hot line numbers by deleting country code prefixes when the prefixes to be deleted match the country code of the VLR.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said VLR comprises means for converting received fully qualified international public restricted dialing numbers by deleting country code prefixes when the prefixes to be deleted match the country code of the VLR.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for controlling establishment of said call comprises means for using one of said converted fully qualified international public telephone numbers for a billing record for said call.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said VLR converts received fully qualified international public calling number display data by deleting a calling number country code if that code matches a country code of the VLR.