T-mobile Usa, Inc.

T-mobile Innovations LLC

Romil Sood

Kunal Prakash Barawkar

Boris Antsev

Suresh Thanneeru

Nassereddine Sabeur

Kyeong Hun An

A telecommunications network provides selective roaming for user equipment (UE) devices registered to the network, allowing some UE devices to operate on a roaming network in some geographic regions and disallowing other UE devices to access roaming networks. While a target UE device is operating on a roaming network, the telecommunications network monitors changes in location of the target device. If the target UE device is detected to have moved into an overlapping coverage area, covered by both the telecommunications network and the roaming network, the telecommunications network generates a command to cancel the subscription of the target UE device to the roaming network.

Disabling roaming in overlapping coverage areas of wireless telecommunications networks

Systems, methods, and process nodes for managing device connections in a first telecommunications network perform and/or comprise: receiving a handover connection request from a wireless device via a second telecommunications network; requesting an allowlist from a database associated with the first telecommunications network; determining, based on a content of the handover connection request and the allowlist, whether the wireless device is capable of performing a communication technique associated with the first telecommunications network; and in response to a determination that the wireless device is not capable of performing the communication technique, performing a denial operation with regard to the wireless device.

System and method for device management to restrict handover

A telecommunications network provides selective roaming for user equipment (UE) devices registered to the network, allowing some UE devices to operate on a roaming network in some geographic regions and disallowing other UE devices to access roaming networks. The telecommunications network maintains mappings between UE devices and roaming permissions for each UE device. When a target UE device requests to attach to a roaming network, the roaming network passes the request, with an identifier of a particular geographic region in which the request was received, to the telecommunications network to query the mappings. If the mappings indicate the target UE device is authorized to access the roaming network in the particular geographic region, the telecommunications network allows the target UE device to attach to the roaming network.

Selective roaming in wireless telecommunications networks

To facilitate a handover of mobile devices from 5Generation New Radio (5G) networks to 4Generation (4G) networks, an accessibility and mobility management function (AMF) of the 5G network core inactivates a data session in which the mobile device is assigned an Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) address when the mobile device is to be assigned an IP version 4 (IPv4) address in the 4G network. The AMF generates a modified context of the mobile device that omits the IPv6 address of the device. The inactivation of the IPv6 session causes the mobile device to initiate a new data session with the 4G core network, in which the device will be assigned an IPv4 address for use on the 4G network. The modified context is used by the 4G network to configure communications for the mobile device without interrupting network service to the mobile device.

Handovers between 5G radio access networks and IPV4 public data network sessions

Routing servers (DRA, STP, GTP proxy) coupled to one or more home servers (HLR, HSS) enforce a policy on SS7 or LTE or GTP messages destined to a core network associated with the one or more home servers. IMSI ranges associated with the different home servers are used to filter and route messages at the DRA, STP, and GTP proxy servers.

Routing subscriber messages to different home servers

The current disclosure relates to a system and method for optimizing network access for a roaming device. In particular, the method includes receiving a request for network access from a client device. The method then determines if the device is roaming. If the device is roaming, the method then includes selecting one or more gateways for the roaming device and transmitting the selected gateways to the roaming device. Such gateways may be selected based upon device location within the roaming network to reduce latency or improve other performance metrics.

Optimization for roaming geolocated home network gateway selection

Restricting mobility between networks by identifying and rejecting incoming mobility events (e.g. handovers) from unknown cell sites based on a cellID included in a handover request. Core network nodes e.g. MME, AMF, SMF, can detect and reject the incoming mobility events by comparing Cell ID with a white list or referring to a database. This improves over current 3GPP specifications and network vendor implementations that support restriction policies on the source but not on the target.

Limiting mobility between networks based on cell ID

Systems, methods, and process nodes for managing device connections in a telecommunications network perform and/or comprise: receiving a connection request from a wireless device at a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) of the telecommunications network; comparing a capability report of the wireless device to a predetermined criteria, wherein the predetermined criteria corresponds to whether the wireless device is compatible with the first PLMN; and in response to a determination that the capability report meets the predetermined criteria, denying the connection request.

System and method for device management to restrict handover and attach

To facilitate a handover of mobile devices from 4th Generation (4G) networks to 5th Generation (5G) networks, a mobility management entity (MME) of the 4G network core inactivates a data session in which the mobile device is assigned an Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) address. The MME generates a modified context of the mobile device that omits the IPv4 address of the device. The inactivation of the IPv4 session causes the mobile device to initiate a new data session with the 5G core network, in which the device will be assigned a new IPv6 address for use on a data network. The modified context is used by the 5G network to configure communications for the mobile device without interrupting network service to the mobile device.

Handovers between IPV4 public data network sessions and 5G radio access networks

Methods, systems, and non-transitory computer readable media for enforcing a steering of roaming (SoR) decision. More particularly, enforcing the SoR decision includes receiving, at a proxy and from a user equipment (UE) located in a visitor network, a registration message to register with a home network, the registration message including an identifier of the visitor network. The proxy routes the registration message to a steering controller to determine a SoR policy decision. The proxy then enforces the SoR policy decision of the steering controller.

Enforcement of steering of roaming for user equipment via a proxy

Limiting mobility between networks based on cellID

Systems and methods for over-the-air (OTA) updating of data stored on Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) devices are provided. Such techniques enable updates to be provided on a timely basis for NB-IoT devices that lack short message service (SMS) capabilities, through polling an OTA update server in response to the occurrence of triggering events at the NB-IoT devices. Triggering events may be identified based upon conditions such as time since a previous update attempt or number of times the NB-IoT device has awoken since the previous update attempt. The updates may include updates to network lists used by the NB-IoT devices to determine preferred or forbidden networks, thereby reducing battery drain from repeated attempts to connect to inaccessible networks.

Mechanism to provide updates to NB-IoT devices

The present disclosure describes techniques that facilitate detecting a Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) call request with a recipient call number that lacks a country code. The VoLTE call request may be initiated by a subscriber device while roaming in a VPLMN. Specifically, a Normalization and Alert Policy (NAP) system is described that is configured to analyze the VoLTE call request and determine an intended country code and adjust the recipient call number to include the country code. Further, the NAP system may analyze the adjusted recipient call number to determine whether initiating a VoLTE call in response to the VoLTE call request may trigger an alert condition. An alert condition may relate to determining that the VoLTE call request may initiate a cost-prohibitive VoLTE communication or that the VoLTE call request relates a fraudulent communication.

Voice over long-term evolution (VoLTE) call normalization and alert policy system

Methods, systems, and non-transitory computer readable media for intelligent steering of roaming of user equipment. More particularly, the methods include receiving, from a user equipment (UE) located in a visitor network, a registration message to register with a home network, the registration message including an identifier of the UE. The methods also include querying, by one or more processors, a steering controller using the identifier of the UE to obtain a roaming list customized for the UE. The methods also include pushing, by one or more processors, the roaming list to the UE.

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Bothell, WA, United States of America

Romil Sood