Lucent Technologies Inc.

Alcatel Lucent

Alcatel-lucent USA Inc.

Chung-Zin Liu

Kenneth Wayne Strom

Michael F Dolan

Jeffrey Ross Light

Charles Varvaro

Yigang Cai

Richard P Ejzak

Jin Wang

Randall Joe Wilson

Omar Salvador

Stephen Clifford Goss

Harold Aaron Lassers

Mark Kevin Stockert

Gitesh P Shah

Lily H Zhu

Harvey Rubin

Edward Grinshpun

Stinson Samuel Mathai

Thomas Wayne Anderson

Douglas Norman Knisely

Eric Harold Henrikson

Subhasis Laha

Hong Xie

Thomas Towle

Jin Yang

Milo Orsic

Young-fu Chang

Robert Shaw Sellinger

Dan Anthony Balogh

Simon S Ou

John Peter Menard

The present invention provides methods of inter-technology handoff of a multi-mode mobile unit in a packet-switched communication system. One embodiment of the method includes establishing a call from a first application layer client in the first mobile unit using a first wireless communication link that operates according to a first wireless access technology. The method also includes sending, in response to detecting changing conditions of the first wireless communication link, a request to form a conference call including the first application layer client and inviting a second application layer client in the first mobile unit to join the conference call. The second application layer client uses a second wireless communication link that operates according to a second wireless access technology. The method further includes handing off the call from the first application layer client to the second application layer client.

Method of call conferencing to support session continuity for multi-mode clients

An apparatus in one example has: at least one access network operatively coupled to an access and data network; and a controller in the access and packet data network, the controller determining access of data flow from the access network through the access and data network. Embodiments allow access or packet data service providers to control which types of services are allowed over their respective access and packet data networks.

Approach for quality of service control on un-wanted services (e.g. voice over internet protocol or multimedia) over wireline and wireless IP network

The present invention provides a method for supporting handoffs of a first mobile unit in a wireless communication system that supports multiple vocoder technologies. The method includes allocating, prior to completion of a handoff of the first mobile unit, a transcoder function to the first mobile unit. The method also includes detecting a change in a format of at least one packet received from the first mobile unit. The change indicates that the vocoder technology used by the first mobile unit to form packets has changed. The method also includes transcoding packets in response to detecting the change in the format.

Method of providing transcoding during voice-over-internet protocol handoff

Communication networks and methods are disclosed for performing online charging credit control in a visited network when a user is roaming. The visited network which is providing service to a roaming user includes a proxy online charging system (OCS) that communicates with a home OCS in a home network of the user. The proxy OCS transmits an online charging request message to a home OCS in a home network for the roaming user requesting charging information for the roaming user. The proxy OCS receives an online charging response message from the home OCS that includes the charging information for the roaming user. The proxy OCS then processes the charging information to perform credit control for one or more network elements in the visited network that is serving the session.

Online charging for roaming users in a proxy online charging system of a visited network

Communication networks and methods are disclosed for performing charging in LTE/EPC communication networks. In an LTE/EPC communication network, a PCRF stores charging rules for online and offline charging. To perform charging for a session, LTE network elements that are serving the session request charging rules from the PCRF. The PCRF identifies the charging rules, and assigns a unique LTE charging identifier for the session across all network elements in the LTE/EPC communication network. The LTE network elements receive the charging rules from the PCRF along with the LTE charging identifier for the session. The LTE network elements generate charging messages for the session, and insert the LTE charging identifier in the charging messages. The LTE network elements then transmit the charging messages to a charging system, such as an OCS or an OFCS. The OCS/OFCS may then correlate the charging messages for the session based on the LTE charging identifier.

Charging in LTE/EPC communication networks

The method provides for a first network controller, operating according to a first radio technology, to form and send a relay message to a second network controller, operating according to a different, second radio technology. The relay message includes an embedded message for the second network controller. The embedded message may be a transition message requesting transition of a packet switched call for a mobile station handled by the first network controller to a call for the mobile station handled by the second network controller. The method further provides selection of another wireless element for service at a wireless unit, using a current wireless element. A wireless unit receives a message identifying at least one other wireless element, available to the wireless unit and to which a wireless element currently in communication with the wireless unit is also in communication with and the wireless unit selects another wireless element for possible future service based on the message.

Method of transferring call transition messages between network controllers of different radio technologies

A method of supporting access to a selected Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia application via an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is provided for a roaming mobile node (MN)&#x2014;i.e., user equipment (UE)served by a wireless telecommunications system. The method includes: includes establishing a first IP tunnel between the UE and a local access gateway of a visited network, the first tunnel being anchored at the local access gateway; establishing a second IP tunnel between the UE and a home gateway of a home network, the second tunnel being anchored at the home gateway; receiving data packets at the local access gateway for the UE; filtering the packets received at the local access gateway to suitably classify corresponding traffic into one of a plurality of data flows supported within the first tunnel at varying Quality of Service (QoS) levels; and filtering the received packets.

Packet filtering/classification and/or policy control support from both visited and home networks

The apparatus and method are fast network SIP/SDP (Session Initiation Protocol/Session Description Protocol) procedures for conference operations upon request from end user with optimization of network resources. The apparatus has an SIP/SDP based network controller that, upon a received request, joins first and second calls into a conference call with at least a third call. The SIP/SDP based network controller is structured to negotiate, allocate and re-configure network resources.

Fast network SIP/SDP procedures for conference operations upon request from end user with optimization of network resources

An architecture to support service features for wireless calls in a wireless telecommunication system is disclosed. Service feature administration for a wireless terminal is provided by a packet data feature server in a home network that is connected to a packet data network. During call setup on behalf of the wireless terminal, the feature server is accessed via the packet data network to manage service features that are specific to the wireless terminal.

Architecture to support service features for wireless calls in a wireless telecommunication system

Apparatus and a method for establishing a cellular mobile call. If no radio traffic (voice or data) channels are available for a calling Mobile Station (MS), then a test is made to determine the expected wait time before a channel becomes available. If the expected wait time is less than a first threshold, then the call request is queued. If a channel does not become available before a second time threshold, then the caller is notified that the call has been queued and is expected to be established in a short time. A control message is sent to the MS to trigger an indication of the queued status to the user. The indication may be one or more tones, a data display, or the playing of a pre-recorded announcement. If the expected wait time is more than the first threshold, the caller is given the opportunity to be called back when a radio channel becomes available. Advantageously, the number of failed calls because of unavailable traffic channels is reduced, and the caller's annoyance level is reduced.

Queuing for radio channel availability

Apparatus and a method for establishing a cellular mobile call. If no radio traffic (voice or data) channels are available for a calling or called mobile station (MS), then a test is made to determine the expected wait time before a channel becomes available. If the expected wait time is less than a first threshold, then the call or the call request is queued. If a channel for an incoming call to an MS does not become available before a second time threshold, then the caller is notified by an announcement that the call has been queued and is expected to be established in a short time. If the caller of an incoming call to the MS does not disconnect, then the MSC waits for an available channel and establishes a connection to the MS over that available channel. For an outgoing call from an MS, a control message is sent to the MS to trigger an indication of the queued status to the user. The indication may be one or more tones, a data display, or the playing of a pre-recorded announcement. Advantageously, the number of calls blocked because of unavailable traffic channels is reduced. Advantageously, the same arrangement can be used to reduce blocking of calls because of unavailability of trunks for a link of a call connection.

Enhanced wireless radio channel utilization

The cellular call processor having concurrent instances of call models supports mixed media communication connections. The cellular call processor processes each of the media components of the mixed media communication connection in an independent, yet coordinated manner. Thus, each of the media components of the mixed media communication connection can be processed in an efficient media-specific manner and even directed to different destinations. The cellular call processor can implement this capability in a plurality of ways, one of which is to maintain the existing voice call model and create a new call model for each of the other call components in a media-specific manner. Alternatively, multiple instances of the same call model can be used, with each call component being served by a separate instance of the call processing code. Communications among the various instances of the call models occur only at the call setup and release and the call models can be implemented in the same physical network element or can be implemented in separate network elements that are customized for the type of call component being processed.

Cellular call processor having concurrent instances of call models to support mixed media communication connections

A telecommunication system routs real-time information traffic from an originating digital radio unit served by an originating network to a terminating unit served by a terminating network via an intermediate network interconnecting the originating and terminating networks. The originating digital radio unit has an encoder/decoder (e.g., a vocoder) for generating digital wireless frames from information that is input thereto. The originating network includes an originating node with an encoder/decoder for performing wireless-specific conversion of the digital wireless frames to digital wireline (e.g., PCM) traffic. The intermediate network includes an originating-end interface node with an encoder/decoder for compressing the digital wireline traffic for transport across the intermediate network. Optimization of communications routed between the originating and terminating units is achieved by routing the digital wireless frames without wireless-specific conversion being performed at the originating node of the originating network nor compression conversion being performed at the originating-end interface node of the intermediate network, such that the rate of information traffic throughput is maximized.

Method for optimizing mobile wireless communications routed across plural interconnected networks

Implementing and selecting between virtual private wireless telecommunications networks

A telecommunication system routes wireless-specific digital frames from a first wireless communication device across a data-oriented network, without vocoding, for information delivery to a second communication device while implementing multi-party conferencing and tone/announcement generating functionality. Tone and announcement generation services are provided while the call path retains the wireless-specific digital frame format between the first wireless communication device and the terminating gateway. When tones are generated by the first wireless communication device, signaling messages are sent directly to the terminating gateway vocoder to initiate the generation of full rate DTMF tones at the terminating network. When tones and announcements are sent to the first wireless communication device, a resource server, working together with a feature server, generates a wireless-encoded version of the tone or announcement. This wireless-encoded version is then sent to the first wireless communication device, where an audible version of the tone or announcement is produced. When multi-party conferencing is initiated, the first call is established via wireless-specific digital frame communication. The first call is placed on hold while the second call is completed using a digital wireline format (e.g., PCM). Through vocoding, the first call's connection is re-negotiated to match the digital wireline format of the second call. To complete the conference call, the two calls are combined in the conference circuit as a composite digital wireline traffic stream.

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Naperville, IL, United States of America

Chung-Zin Liu