Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A Telecommunications System and a Method of Providing Services to
TerInin~lR in such a System
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a telecommunications system and
particularly to a telecommllniç~tion.~ system providing a number of
different types of services, e.g. voice telephony, fax, data transfer, paging,
video, etc. to a number of different types of termin~ls, and to a method
10 therefor.
Background of the Invention
Telecommunications systems are offering an incre~Rin~ly
15 sophisticated set of services to end users. For example in the Global
System for Mobile Communications (G~M), many new services, such as
high speed circuit switched data, packet data services, etc., are planned
for introduction in the next few years. The next generation of
telecommunications systems, e.g. the Universal Mobile
20 Telecommunications System (UMTS), is expected to have even more
services available to the end user. The end user will be able to subscribe
to a large number of different services and may require a plurality of
different terrnin~lR for use with different services or sets of services. For
example the end user may choose to have one terminal (mobile phone) for
25 voice telephony services, a different terminal (fax m~hinf~) for fax services and yet another terminal (laptop computer) for packet data services. Of
course, it is also possible to provide access to more than one service at one
terminal.
It is desirable for the user to have one ~ lF,hle number for all his
30 telecommunications needs. In co-pending UK application number
9~16870.4 filed by the present applicant there is disclosed a system in
which a single user identifier is associated with a User Identity Module
(UIM) in order to access a particular set of services by a particular
terminal, the UIM is associated with the terminal and the user chooses
35 the services to be available at the terminal. The user can then select a
mode of operation of the terminal where the terminal will maintain that
av~ hility when the UIM is withdrawn from the terminal and repeat the
process at a different terminal for a different set of services.
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In known systems, when a service provider intends to deliver a
service to a user, the service provider sends a paging message with a
single identifier to locate the receiving terminal. Since in the above
described system, there is a single user identity associated with a number
5 of terrnin~lR offering different services, if the service provider seeks to
deliver a service to that user identity, all the termin~ql.q will respond to thepaging message. Thus the service provider will not know to which of the
termin~l~ the service should be provided.
Furthermore, if the different terrninAl~ have different mobilities,
10 ~ e.g. one terminal, such as a fax terrninal, is f~ed in one location, and other
terminzll~, such as mobile phones or pagers, are movable to other
locations, then if the mobile terminal re-locates to a diferent cell from that
where the fixed terminal is located, then the service provider will not
know to which cell the pag~ng message should be sent.
Sllmm~ry of the Invention
Accortlingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a
telecoInmunications system comprising:
a service provider providing a plurality of services;
a controller having a user identifier stored therein associated with a
user;
at least one terminal for receiving one or more of the plurality of
services, the terminal having:
2~; a reader for reading the user identifier,
a first storage means coupled to the reader for storing the
read user identifier,
a selector ~or selecting one or more of the plurality of services
to be associated with the user identifier as a first set of selected services,
a second storage Ineans coupled to the selector for storing the
first set of selected services,
a transmitter coupled to the first and second storage means
for transmitting to the service provider user-service information
corresponding to the user identifier and information as to the first set of
selected services;
wherein the service provider comprises:
a receiver for receiving the user-service information from the
terminal,
.
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a first storage means coupled to the receiver for storing the
user-service information,
a locating means coupled to the receiver for determining from
which service provision area the user-service information was~ transmitted,
a service provision controller for determining that a
particular service is to be provided to the user,
determining means coupled to the service provision controller
and to the first storage means for determining whether the particular~0 service is included in the first set of selected services, and
transmitting means coupled to the first storage means, the
locating me~nq and the determining means for transmitting to the service
provision area determined by the locating means a paging message having
paging information corresponding to the user-service information, and~5 wherein the terminal COlll~l ises:
receiving means for receiving that paging message, and
responding means coupled to the receiving means for
responding to the service provider that it can accept the service.
In one embodiment, the service provider further comprises issuing
20 me~nq for issuing an alias identifier which is unique for the user-service
information received from the terminal, and said transmitting m~zln.q
transmits the alias identifier to the terminal receiving me~nq, wherein the
paging message includes the alias identifier if the determining me~nR
determines that the particular service is included in the first set of
2~ selected services, the terminal receiving means recogniRing the alias
identifier when the paging message is received.
Alternatively or additionally, the paging message can include
information as to the particular service to be provided to the user, and the
terminal further comprises a determinator for determining whether the
30 particular service is included in the first set of selected services, wherein the respon~ling means responds only if the determinator determines that
the particular service is included in the first set of selected services.
In a further embodiment, the terminal further comprises issuing
m~nR for issuing a terminal identifier which is unique for the user-
3~ service information, and the terminal transmitting means transmits theterminal identifier to the service provider, wherein the service provider
receiver receives the terminal identifier and the paging mes,q~ge includes
the terminal identifier if the determining means determines that the
particular service is included in the first set of selected services.
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In a second aspect, the invention provides a method of providing
one or more of a plurality of services to a terminal in a
telecommunications system having a service provider providing the
plurality of sel~ices, the method comprising the steps of:
associating a controller having a user identifier stored therein with
the terminal;
re~ling, by the terminal, the user identifier from the
controller,
selecting, by the terminal, one or more of the plurality of
services to be associated with the user identifier as a first set of selected
services,
transmitting, by the terminal, to the service provider user-
service information correspon~ing to the user identifier and information
as to the first set of selected services;
1~; receiving, by the service provider, the user-service
information transmitted from the terminal,
determining, by the service provider, from which service
provision area the user-service information was transmitted,
determining, by the service provider, that a particular service
is to be provided to the user,
determining, by the service provider, whether the particular
service is included in the first set of selected services,
transmitting, by the service provider, to the service provision area a
paging message having paging information corresponding to the user-
2~ service information,
receiving, by the terminal, that paging message, and
responding, by the terminal, to the service provider that it
can accept the service.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of:
issuing, by the service provider, an alias identifier which is unique for the
user-service information received from the terminal, the alias identifier
being transmitted by the transmitting means to the terminal receiving
means, wherein the paging m~?.qs~ge includes the alias identifier if the
service provider determines that the particular service is included in the
first set of selected services, the terminal reco~ni~in~ the alias identifier
when the ps~ging message is received.
Alternatively or additionally, the paging message may include
information as to the particular service to be provided to the user, and the
method preferably further comprises the step of: determining, by the
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terminal, whether the particular service is included in the first set of
selected services, wherein the terminal responds only if it determines that
the particular service is included in the first set of selected services.
In a further embodiment, the method further co~ lises the steps
fi of: issuing, by the terminal, a terminal identifier which is unique for the
user-service information, transmitting, by the terminal, the terminal
identifier to the service provider, receiving, by the service provider, the
terminal identifier, wherein the paging message includes the terminal
identifier if the terminal determines that the particular service is included
10 in the first set of selected services.
Brief Description of the Drawings
One embodiment of the invention will now be more fully described,
15 by way of ~rAmple, with reference to the drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 shows a telecommunications system according to one
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows in more detail a first embodiment of a terminal used
in the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows in more detail a first embodiment of a service provider
used in the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 shows in more detail a second embodiment of a terminal
which can be used in a system .~imilAr to that of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 shows in more detail a second embodiment of a service
provider which can be used in a system similAr to that of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing the operation of the second
embodiment of the terminal and service provider;
FIGS. 8 and 9 are flow charts showing the operation of the first
embodiment of the system;
FIG. 10 shows in more detail a third embodiment of a terminal
which can be used in a system ~imil~r to that of FIG. 1; and
FIGS. 11 and 12 are flow charts showing the operation of the third
embodiment of the terminal and a service provider Rimil~r to that of the
first embodiment.
Detailed ~escription of the Drawings
Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, a telecu~ ullications system 100
includes at least one service provider 200, a user set of termin~l~ 400, 401
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and 402 for use by an end user to use one or more services provided by the
service provider~s) and a controller 300, which can be a so-called
smartcard having a microprocessor 310 and a memory 320, having a
single user identifier for the end user embedded therein.
The service provider 200 might choose to add more and more
services as a means to compete for revenue and market share. In these
circumstances, it is likely that an end user might purchase more than one
terminal. Perhaps the user initially starts off with a basic voice terminal
401, such as a cellular telephone, and, not wishing to throw away his
investment in the voice terminal, he subsequently decides to purchase a
fax terminal 400 and also a voice and data terminal 402, such as a lap-top
computer, rather than to buy a single more expensive terminal which
supports all of the services. These three termin~l~ together fulfil the same
function as a more expensive integrated-services terminal.
Each terminal, for ~mple a first embodiment of the terminal 400
shown in FIG. 2, includes a reader 410 for reading the user identifier that
is stored in the memory 320 of the controller 300 and a first storage means
420, coupled to the reader 410, for storing the read user identifier. The
reader 410 can be a contactless reader or can require contact with the
controller 300, for ~ mple by inserting the controller 300 into a slot ~not
shown) in the terminal. The terminal also includes a transmitter 460,
coupled to the first storage means 420, for communicating the stored
information to the service provider via an antenna 455. A services
selector 430, for selecting one or more of the plurality of services to be
associated with the user identifier, is provided so that the user can choose
which services, of those offered by the service provider, are required. The
services selector 430 can be menu driven, if the terminal has a display, or
can simply re~uire the user to press buttons corresponding to services to
be selected. Information regarding the selected services is coupled to and
stored in a second storage means 440 coupled to the transmitter 450 for
transmittal to the service provider together with the user identifier. In
addition, the terminal 400 includes a receiver 460 for receiving paging
messages from the service provider via the antenna 455 and a responding
means 470, coupled to the receiver 460, which transmits a response to the
service provider when the paging mesq~ge is used to indicate that one of
the services associated with the user identifier at this terminal is being
invoked.
As shown in FIG. 3, a first embodiment of the service provider 200
includes a receiver 210 for receiving, via antenna 205, the user identifier
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and information regarding selected services transmitted from the antenna
455 of the terminal 400 and a memory 220, coupled to the receiver 210 for
storing the received user identifier and information regarding which
services are currently selected for the particular user identifier. A locator
5 Z30 is also coupled to the receiver 210, for determining which service
provision area the terminal was in when the user identifier and selected
services was received at the receiver 210. A service provision controller
240 determines whether or not a particular service for which a service
invocation is being attempted is to be provided to the user. A processor
250 is coupled to the service provision controller 240, the locator 230 and
the memory 220. The processor 250 determines whether a particular
service is included in the set of currently selected services. A transmitter
260 is coupled to the processor 250, the locator 230 and the memory 220
for transmitting paging messages to the terminal 400 via antenna 205.
A second embo(liment of this invention is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
As shown in FIG. 4, the service provider 200, which includes the same
elements as the embodiment of FIG. 3 with the same reference numerals,
also ccnt.z~in~ an alias generator 270, coupled to the memory 220, for
generating a unique alias identifier which corresponds to the user
identifier and one associated set of user services. This unique alias
identifier is stored in the memory 220 of the service provider and is
transmitted to the terminal 400 via the antenna 205. The terminal 400,
shown in FIG. 5 with the same elements as the embo(liment of FIG. 2
having the same reference numerals, also contains an alias store 480,
coupled to the receiver 460 and responding means 470, for storing the
alias identifier.
In the second embodiment of this invention, the configurations
shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 are employed using the steps illustrated by the
flow chart shown in FIG. 6. In step 600, a registration attempt is made
for a selected set of services and the service provider 200 determines that
a valid registration attempt has been made, for example as described in
co-pen-ling UK application number 9516870.4 mentioned above. In step
606, the alias generator 270 generates a unique alias identifier to
correspond to the set of selected services for which the registration
attempt is successful. In step 610, the unique alias identifier and the
corresponding set of selected services and the corresponding user identity
are stored in the memory 220 of the service provider 200 such that the
correspondances are retained. In step 615, the unique alias identifier and
the successful status of the registration attempt is transmitted to the
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terminal 400 using the tranmitter 260. In step 620, the unique alias
identifier and the successful status of the registration attempt is received
by the terminal 400 using the receiver 460. In step 625, the alias
identifier is stored in the alias store 480. This sequence can be repeated
for further sets of selected services at other termin~l~, as shown by step
630.
In this second embodiment, the alias identifier is used during the
location update procedures of the system. These location update
procedures are well known in the art. As a result of location update
10 procedures, the service provider can retain accurate information as to the
present location of each terminal associated with each respective alias
identifier. This function is provided by the locator 230 in the service
provider 200.
In this embodiment, the a~loL~iate terminal 400 needs to be
15 accessed by the service provider 200 in order to deliver one of the services
in one of the sets of selected services to that terminal in accordance with
the steps shown in FIG. 7. Upon receiving an incoming call ~ttempt, as
shown by step 700, for a particular service and a particular called user
identity, the service provision controller 240 tests to see whether the user
20 is authorised to receive this type of call, as shown by step 705. If not
authorised, then the service provider 200 rejects the call, as shown in step
710. If authorised, the processor 250 reads the memory 220, as shown in
step 715, to recover the alias identity which is associated with the service
set for this user identity which contains the requested service. In step
26 720, the processor 260 retrieves the present location of the terIninal
associated with the alias identifier from the locator. In step 725, the
terminal 400 is paged at the correct location by the trSln~mitter 260
transmitting at least the alias identifier to the cell in which the terminal
400 is located. In step 730, the r~m:~ining call setup procedure is
30 completed according to methods which are widely known in the art.
In the first embodiment, the service provider is configured in the
same manner as in the second embodiment, with the exception that no
alias generator 270 is present, as shown in FIG. 3. The terminal 400 is
configured in the same m~nner as in the second embodiment with the
35 exception that no alias store 480 is presentas shown in FIG.2.
In this first embodiment of the invention, the steps illustrated by
the flow chart shown in FIG. 8 are used to register the various sets of
selected services. In step 800, a registration ~ttempt is made for a
selected set of services and the service provider 200 deterrninec. that a
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valid registration attempt has been made, for f~ mpl e as described in co-
p~n~ling UK application number 9616870.4 mentioned above. In step 810,
the set of selected services and the corresponding user identity are stored
in the memory 220 of the service provider 200 such that the
correspondances are retained. In step 815, the successful status of the
registration attempt is transmitted to the terminal 400 using the
tranmitter 260. In step 820, the successful status of the registration
attempt is received by the terminal 400 using the receiver 460. This
sequence can be repeated for further sets of selected services at other
10 termin~l~, as shown by step 830.
In this first embodiment, the a~ iate terminal 400 needs to be
accessed by the service provider 200 in order to deliver one of the services
in one of the sets of selected services to that terminal in accordance with
the steps shown in FIG. 9. Upon receiving an incoming call attempt, as
shown in step 900, for a particular service and a particular called user
identity, the service provision controller 240 tests to see whether the user
is authorised to receive this type of call, as shown in step 905. If not
authorised, then the service provider 200 rejects the call, as shown by step
910. If authorised, the processor 2~0 retrieves the present location of the
terminal 400 associated with the service from the locator 230, as shown in
step 920. In step 925, the terminal 400 is paged at the correct location by
the transmitter 26Q transmitting a paging message inr.lll-ling at least the
called user identifier and the service being invoked to the cell in which the
terminal is located. In step 927, each terminal which receives the paging
message checks to see whether the paging message is, firstly, for a user
identifier associated with that terminal, and secondly, whether the service
being invoked is one of the set(s) of selected services associated with that
user identifier at this terminal. If this test fails, then the paging mes.s~ge
is ignored, if the test passes, the paging message is responded to by the
terminal. Where the terminal responds to the paging message, this is
followed by step 930 in which the r~mzlining call setup procedure is
completed according to methods which are widely known in the art.
In a third embodiment, the service provider 200 is co~figured in the
same way as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, with a terminal
identifier being stored in the memory 220. The terminal 400 is configured,
as shown in FIG. 10, in the same m~nn~r as in the second embodiment
with the exception that instead of the alias store 480, there is provided a
terminal ID store 490, which stores a perm~nent terminal identifier.
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In the third embodiment of this invention, steps illustrated by the
flow chart shown in FIG. 11 are used to register for service access. In step
1000, a registration attempt is made for a selected set of services and the
service provider 200 determines that a valid registration attempt has been
made, for example as described in co-pçn-ling UK application number
9516870.4 ment.ioned above. As part of this registration procedure, the
terminal identifier is tranmitted to the service provider 200. In step 1010,
the terminal identifier and the corresponding set of selected services and
the corresponding user identity are stored in the memory 220 of the
service provider 200 such that the correspon-l~n~es are retained. In step
1015, the terminal identifier and the successful status of the registration
attempt is transmitted to the terminal 400 using the tr~nmitter 260. In
step 1020, the terminal identifier and the successful status of the
registration attempt is received by the terminal 400 using the receiver
16 460. This sequence can be repeated for further sets of selected services at
other termin~ , as shown by step 1030.
In this third embodiment, the appropriate terminal 400 needs to be
accessed by the service provider 200 in order to deliver one of the services
in one of the sets of selected services to that terminal in accordance with
the steps shown in FIG. 12. Upon receiving an incoming call attempt, as
shown in step 1100, for a particular service and a particular called user
identity, the service provision controller 240 tests to see whether the user
is authorised to receive this type of call, as shown by step 1105. If not
authorised, then the service provider 200 rejects the call, as shown by step
1110. If authorised, the processor 250 reads the memory 220 to recover
the terminal identifier which is associated with the service set for this
user identity which contains the requested service, as shown by step 1115.
In step 11Z0, the processor 250 retrieves the present location of the
terminal associated with the alias identifier from the locator 230. In step
1125, the terminal 400 is paged at the correct location by the transmitter
260 transmitting at least the terminal identifier to the cell in which the
terminal 400 is located. In step 1130, the r~m~ining call setup procedure
is completed according to methods which are widely known in the art.
It will be appreciated that although only three particular
embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, various
modifications and improvements can be made by a person skilled in the
art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
