Method and apparatus in a telecommunications system
First Claim
1. A communications system comprising:
- at least one communications server associated with at least one communications network;
at least one communications terminal connected to the communications network to form a client-server relationship with the at least one communications server;
at least one policy definition point associated with said at least one communications server, said policy definition point defining policies for services, authentication, authorization, and accounting; and
at least one policy enforcement point associated with said at least one communications terminal, wherein said policy enforcement point is operable to enforce on said communications terminal the policies defined in said policy definition point.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to methods for providing access independent global roaming between heterogeneous networks. The invention solves this problem and provides policy enforcement and service transparency when terminals roam between different heterogeneous networks. By providing a policy enforcement point associated with the terminal, and by concerning the transport mechanism between terminals and servers as a packet pipe, adding no extra value except transport and Quality of Service classification thereof. The payment for access and services can be separated and access may be paid in real-time by an anonymous payment method. In accordance with the invention, the terminal becomes more like a personal profile manager, managing rights to services and access. The ability to purchase access opens the possibility for the terminal to act as an e-commerce platform, and the subscriber can access any network any time since access is paid for in real time.
34 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A communications system comprising:
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at least one communications server associated with at least one communications network;
at least one communications terminal connected to the communications network to form a client-server relationship with the at least one communications server;
at least one policy definition point associated with said at least one communications server, said policy definition point defining policies for services, authentication, authorization, and accounting; and
at least one policy enforcement point associated with said at least one communications terminal, wherein said policy enforcement point is operable to enforce on said communications terminal the policies defined in said policy definition point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for global roaming in a communications system, said method comprising the steps of:
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forming a client-server relationship between at least one communications terminal and at least one communications server associated with at least one communications network;
defining policies pertaining to services authentication, authorization, and accounting in a policy definition point within said communications network; and
enforcing the defined policies at a policy enforcement point associated with the communications terminal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification