Nokia Corporation

Nokia Telecommunications Oy

Heikki Lindholm

Juha B&auml;ck

Khiem Le

Serge Haumont

Heikki Juhani Einola

Lauri Kalevi Lahtinen

Seppo Huotari

Jari Hartikainen

Juha T Timonen

Lauri S&ouml;derbacka

Juhapekka Niemi

Matti Keskinen

Jaakko Rajaniemi

Markku Verkama

Juha Bäck

Tony Hulkkonen

Raili Numminen

Sami Huusko

Lauri Söderbacka

The basic idea of the invention is to separate the location area used in the RAN and the reporting area used when reporting the location of the mobile to the core network. The size of the location area is selected preferably in the RAN based on the services used by the subscriber to optimize the use of radio resources. A reporting area comprises one or a plurality of location areas. The size of a reporting area is selected based on the accuracy of location information needed in the core network. The RAN informs the core network when a subscriber moves out of his current location area. The core network and the radio access network negotiate the size of the reporting area prior to the activation of the service. Additionally, the reporting areas can be renegotiated when the service is in the active state.

Location management in a mobile telecommunication system

A mobile communications network comprises a network manager for managing a plurality of mobile stations in the network, a first database holding subscriber information for mobile station subscribers in the network and in communication with the network manager via a signalling interface over which information is conveyed using one of a plurality of signalling protocols, at least one second database for communication with a packet data network via a packet data interface over which information is conveyed using one of a plurality of packet transmission protocols, said second database holding subscriber information for subscribers connected via said packet data network, and a protocol converter in communication with the at least one second database via a packet data interface and with the network manager via a signalling interface, and operable to convert between a signalling protocol used on the signalling interface and a packet transmission protocol used on the packet data interface.

Mobile communications network

A scheme for providing mobility management for terminals with multiple subscriptions. The invention integrates Europe's Universal Mobile Telecommunications Standard (UMTS) subscriber identity module&mdash;specific procedures into single procedures, and which uses a common TMSI. An UMTS subscriber identity module is allocated for each subscription associated with a mobile terminal, wherein each UMTS subscriber identity module being identified by a identification code. A location area update is performed by providing a single location area update request message comprising a list of identification codes for each UMTS subscriber identity module associated with the mobile terminal. Each USIM is authenticated separately, and some USIMs may fail, while others may succeed authentication. The terminal and network each build their own Ordered List of Registered USIM-IDs (OLRU) which records the USIMs that succeeded. The network assigns a Base TMSI, which is similar to the current assignment of TMSIs. Subsequent Location Area Update procedures use the Base TMSI, which is common to all USIMs in the OLRU. Thus it does not have to be repeated for each USIM. Paging Request uses the Base TMSI, along with a USIM Specifier (USIMS) field, which specifies which USIM(s) is being paged. USIMS is kept very compact with bit string coding, which also gives flexibility to page multiple USIMs at the same time. The terminal and network interpret the bit string by using the OLRU. The terminal has to listen to only one paging subchannel. The paging subchannel is determined by calculating the sum modulo N of the last digits of the USIM-IDs in the OLRU. N is the number of possible subchannels. The scheme applies to UMTS as well as GSM/GPRS, if GSM/GPRS is enhanced to support multiple subscriptions per terminal.

Mobility management for terminals with multiple subscriptions

A method, a system, or an article of manufacture provides Mobility Management (MM), for example, an update procedure, in a Core Network (CN) of a mobile communication system. The Mobile Station (MS) includes an indicator which defines an update type. The update type includes: all CN entities; one type of CN entity only. If the indicator has the update type of all CN entities, the MS registers all CN entities. If the indicator has the update type of one type of CN entity only, the MS registers the one type of CN entity only. The CN entities may be MSC/NVLR CN entity, SGSN CN entity, or other CN entity. The method includes the MS determining to which of the CN entity to perform the update procedure; the MS updating the CN entity; the CN acknowledging the MS whether update is successful or failed; and the CN acknowledging the MS whether update of other CN entity is needed, if needed, the CN defining to which of the CN entity to perform update, and continuing the update of the defined CN entity. The MS does not have to know the services subscribed to a user, nor does the MS have to know the configuration of the CN.

Indicator in the mobility management (MM) procedures to specify the procedure type executed in the core network (CN) entities

A cellular radio access network and a location updating in a cordless communications system, in a cellular radio access network ( ), which is connected to one or more core networks ( ) or services (SP to SP ), each of them having a dedicated mobility management. In a cell, identities of all those location areas are broadcast to which said cell belongs. A subscriber terminal (MS) sends to the radio access network only one location updating message irrespective of how many core networks ( ) or services (SP to SP ) have a simultaneously changing location area at a handover from one cell to another. On the basis of the information contained in the location updating message, the network ( ) defines the core networks or services and location areas to which the location updating applies and sends a location updating message informing the new location of the subscriber or the subscriber terminal separately to each defined core network or service.

Cellular radio access network and location updating in a cordless communications system

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Espoo, Finland

Heikki Lindholm