Vodafone Group Plc.

Vodafone IP Licensing Limited

Vodafone Intellectual Property Licensing Limited

Peter Howard

David Andrew Fox

Christopher Pudney

Nicholas Bone

Peter Cosimini

Paul Edwards

Alan Law

Assen Golaup

Jonathon Batkin

Jose Luis Carrizo Martinez

Steven Allen

Leo Patanapongibul

A mobile telecommunications network includes a core, a radio access network, and a platform control unit. The platform control unit is capable of identifying a network path of a communication that originated from a mobile terminal. Based on certain characteristics of the communication, the platform control unit will determine whether the communication should be offloaded from its network route. If the communication is to be offloaded, then the platform control unit causes the communication to bypass the network's core.

Telecommunication network configured to control network communication routes

To allow devices to authenticate to a wide area mobile network when they temporarily do not have a connection to a SIM card and to authenticate the base station and so protect against false base stations, a system is provided where certain authentication credentials are pre-fetched while connection to the SIM card and the authentication subsystem of the wide area mobile network are in signaling connection. These advance credentials are then presented by the devices in authentication requests without requiring access via the mobile network or the connected presence of the SIM card being necessary for successful authentication.

Authentication in a wireless access network

A telecommunications network including: a mobile device (); a home network () with which the mobile device () user has a subscription including content preferences, the home network () including a content preference store () for storing the content preferences, a policy provisioning server () for indicating content preferences to mobile device () and home authenticating means () for performing authentication of the mobile device (); and a further network () having at least one access point () with which the mobile device () can temporarily communicate and further authenticating means () for controlling registration of the mobile device () with the access point (); wherein: the further authentication means () is operable to communicate with the home authentication means () to perform an authentication process for the mobile device () when the mobile device () connects to the access point (), which authentication process accesses data from the content preference store () storing the user content preferences, determines if the further network () can satisfy the content preferences, and controls registration of the mobile device () with the access point () in dependence upon whether the further network () can satisfy the content preferences of the user. The mobile device () may include a store () for storing the user content preferences provisioned by a policy server (), and registration control means () operable to generate a content query to the further network (), and to analyze a response to the content query so as to determine if the further network () can satisfy the content preferences and to enable registration with the access point () in dependence thereon.

Content control in telecommunications networks

In a telecommunications system including a plurality of different networks, terminals and smart cards, each terminal is usable in a particular network in association with one of the smart cards when that smart card is registered with that network. Each smart card carries secret information specific to its registered home network and with which the network can authenticate the smart card and allow use of the terminal with which that smart card is associated. Each smart card may be registered with one of the networks as its home network, selectively de-registered from its home network, and re-registered with a different one of the networks as its home network by obtaining data including an International Mobile Subscriber Identifier for use with that network. The Identifier is transmitted to the smart card, and the secret information relating to a particular network activated when registering or re-registering the smart card with that network.

Telecommunications systems and methods and smart cards for use therewith

A mobile telecommunications network and method of operation that includes establishing a first user plane connection between a telecommunications device registered with the network and a network gateway device of the network via a first access point; providing the telecommunications device with a token using the first user plane connection; establishing a second user plane connection between the telecommunications device and the network gateway device via a second access point by using the token information to validate the telecommunications device; and, subsequent to establishment of and corresponding to the second user plane connection, establishing a control plane connection between the telecommunications device and the network gateway device via the second access point. The token includes information indicative to the network that the telecommunications device has authorization to send a quantity of data to the network gateway device prior to full conventional authentication of the telecommunications device.

Master cipher key

Split ciphering

In a telecommunications network a technique of identifying unauthorised movement of an Access Point, also often described as a micro base station or a femto-cell, uses a velocity check to determine if the Access Point has been moved from its intended location to a remote, unauthorised location. In an embodiment, the system described herein determines the cell ID of the cell used before the access point was used and/or after the access point is used. The differences in location between the cell IDs and the expected location of the Access Point is then determined to see if the Access Point is in its correct position.

Femtocell location

The current IMS security architecture only protects data transmitted in the IMS control plane. Embodiments are described which provide end-to-end encryption of data transmitted in the IMS media plane but which also allow lawful interception and interpretation of such end-to-end communications under the control of the relevant IMS core (A,B).

Communication security

A method of controlling an attach procedure of a deviceto a telecommunications networkfollowing receipt of an attach rejection from the telecommunications network, the method including assessing the authenticity of the attach rejection, and selecting a criterion for performing a subsequent attach attempt by the device to the network in dependence upon the authenticity assessment. The authenticity may be assessed by determining whether the rejection was received by an authenticated communication link or a signed message. The authenticity may also be assessed by checking that the cause of the reject is consistent with information held by the device. The selected criterion may be power cycling of the device or the passage of a time period.

Telecommunications network access rejection

A mobile telecommunications network and method of operation that includes establishing a first user plane connection between a telecommunications device registered with the network and a network gateway device of the network via a first access point; providing the telecommunications device with a token using the first user plane connection; establishing a second user plane connection between the telecommunications device and the network gateway device via a second access point bv using the token information to validate the telecommunications device; and, subsequent to establishment of and corresponding to the second user plane connection, establishing a control plane connection between the telecommunications device and the network gateway device via the second access point. The token includes information indicative to the network that the telecommunications device has authorization to send a quantity of data to the network gateway device prior to full conventional authentication of the telecommunications device.

Telecommunications networks

A mobile telecommunications network includes a radio access network comprising base stations and one or more additional access points. An access point is connected to a network core by an IP transport broadband connection. The access point is configured to appear to the mobile terminal as a conventional base station&#x2014;that is, for example, it communicates with the mobile terminal using GSM or UMTS transport protocols and does not require any modification to a standard GSM or UMTS mobile terminal. Access Points may not be under the direct control of the network provider, and so are more susceptible to security threats. The described system allows the network provider to verify that the access point through which a mobile terminal is about to communicate is a legitimate and trusted base station and/or is at a particular location. Differential charging may be performed in dependence upon a subscriber's location.

Growing community of inventors

Newbury, United Kingdom

Peter Howard