Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Affirmed Networks, Inc.

Airvana, Inc.

Srinivas Kappla

Prasasth Reddy Palnati

Girish Nair

Deepak Garg

Ronald Mark Parker

Anand Krishnamurthy

Santos Kumar Das

Gopal Harikumar

Mark Libby

Woojune Kim

Philip To

Neeraj Surana

Rayadurgam Ravikanth

Anupama Raghavan

Krishna Gundamaraju

Vivek Sharma

Dhananjaya Reddy Eadala

Surya Vemuri

Sundar Raman

Satish Grandhi

Bashir Ashrafi

The present disclosure relates to a method of charging packets in a mobile network using a combined packet gateway (PGW) and serving gateway (SGW) which includes receiving a data packet; determining at least one of a rating group and a service rule associated with the data packet; and determining a state of a user device associated with the data packet. When the determined state of the user device comprises a connected state, the method includes charging the data packet, including updating an amount of credit in an account associated with the user device based on the at least one of the rating group and the service rule, and sending the data packet to an enodeB. When the determined state of the user device comprises an idle state, the method includes preventing delivery of the data packet to the enodeB such that the data packet is not charged.

Method and system for enhancing charging for co-located SGW and PGW

In some embodiments, a selection module associated with a control plane node implementing CUPS functionality can identify a user plane element for assigning user plane functionalities based on static and/or dynamic selection criteria. Dynamic criteria can include, for example, load information, latency, and hardware acceleration support. In some embodiments, a control plane node can determine whether to implement a CUPS or a non-CUPS session. If a non-CUPS session is determined, the CUPS control plane node can assume user plane functionalities in addition to control plane functionalities.

Dynamic selection of network elements

A method for improving availability of a type of network element in a mobile network includes receiving a first message from a source network element at a first network element instance that belongs to a network element anycast set. The first message is addressed to an anycast address that is assigned to the network element anycast set. The first network element instance processes the first message and accesses an anycast set data store in relation to processing the first message. The method also includes receiving a second message from the source network element at a second network element instance that also belongs to the network element anycast set. The second message is also addressed to the anycast address and can be received when the first network element instance is unavailable. The second network element instance processes the second message and accesses the anycast set data store in relation thereto.

3GPP network function set adaptation for pre-5G network elements

Systems and methods are disclosed for an augmented Service Capability Exposure Function (A-SCEF). The A-SCEF may receive upstream or downstream traffic and direct or process that traffic in accordance with policy profiles. The policy profiles may be associated with various entities that may have interrelationships. The policy profiles may allow a network operator to better control multiple entities on the network while simplifying use of the network for the customers, such as those associated with a large number of internet of things (IOT) devices.

Methods of and systems of service capabilities exposure function (SCEF) based internet-of-things (IOT) communications

The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for using Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices to the internet. The devices and methods may dynamically switch from using communication interfaces associated with Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) to communication interfaces that support greater amounts of bandwidth in response to detecting an increase in data traffic. The devices and methods may dynamically establish communication interfaces for transmitting data packets in response to determining that a data transfer rate for the data packets exceeds a threshold. The devices and methods may switch to the newly established communication interface for sending the data packets.

Seamless data traffic switchover for Internet of Things devices

A system for storing and managing subscription information for a plurality of subscribers in a mobile communications network is provided. The system comprises a first database, a second database, and one or more processors. The processors are configured to receive a request relating to a subscriber, determine that the first database lacks a desired record relating to the subscriber, retrieve the desired record from the second database, write the retrieved desired record to the first database, and perform one or more functions related to the desired record according to the request. In some embodiments, the one or more processors are configured to predict a time of a potential occurrence of one or more future connections related to the plurality of subscribers and before the predicted time, copy one or more records related to the plurality of subscribers from the second database to the first database.

Highly scalable home subscriber server

Systems and methods for improving efficiency in a mobile communications network are described. In one embodiment, a method for conserving network resources comprises releasing network resources related to a User Equipment ('UE') session at one or more network nodes without notifying the UE. A subset of the session information that can be used to connect with the UE is stored at a network node. If data is received for the UE, the stored subset of information can be used to 1) establish network resources related to the UE that were previously released and 2) deliver the data to the UE. In another embodiment, shared data resources are granted to one or more subscribers associated with a Designated User Group ('DUG'). An online charging session is assigned to the DUG that identifies policy data for granting shared data resources to the Designated User Group.

Machine-to-machine network optimization and online charging

Systems and methods for optimizing SMS communications such that an SMS-SC is bypassed in the communications include receiving, by an A-SCEF, at least one communication from an AS, the at least one communication including a data payload and a generic destination UE identifier, determining, by the A-SCEF, the at least one communication is associated with an SMS communication, creating, by the A-SCEF, a message including the data payload and a network-usable destination UE identifier, and providing, by the A-SCEF, the message to a MME such that it recognizes the message as an SMS communication and forwards the data payload to the UE as an SMS communication.

SMS messaging using a service capability exposure function

Systems and methods of directing a mobile user to a redirect server when the mobile user experiences session startup failure thereby reducing repeated attempts to establish a session during session startup failure. A first request is received in packet gateway to create a mobile session in a mobile network for a mobile device. A second request is transmitted to a server, the second request associated with an inquiry regarding a status of the mobile device. A call failure indication is received from the server for the mobile device. An indication of call success is transmitted to a serving gateway, and a redirect session is created such that the mobile device is directed to a redirect sever during the redirect session, thereby reducing repeated attempts to establish a session during session startup failure.

Call failure reduction

Systems and methods are disclosed for directing a mobile device user with insufficient mobile credit to secondary pay sites. A PCRF receives a request from a mobile device corresponding to a user. The PCRF detects credit associated with a user mobile network usage account is below a threshold and assigns a tag to the request, the tag including redirect site information and secondary site information, the redirect site information including at least one network identifier corresponding to a redirect site and the secondary site information including at least one network identifier corresponding to a payment site accessible by the user when the credit associated with the user mobile network usage account is below the threshold. The PCRF transmits the request and the corresponding tag to a PCEF for routing the user to the at least one of the redirect site and the at least one payment site.

Enhanced redirection handling from policy server

A system and method for generating Call Detail Records (CDR) to optimize network usage notifications to a mobile device subscriber. The system and method can include a billing system module that determines CDR generation parameters for the mobile device subscriber based on the mobile device subscriber's network usage, including increasing CDR generation when the mobile device subscriber's network usage relative to a predetermined quota is high and/or decreasing CDR generation when the mobile device subscriber's network usage relative to the predetermined quota is low. The CDR generation parameters can be applied to control CDR generation for the mobile device subscriber.

Methods and systems for call detail record generation for billing systems

In a radio access network, techniques for determining how often an aces terminal in communication with the network is to monitor a channel of the network based on trigger information received from the access terminal that is specific to one or more of the following: a state of the terminal, a state of a premium application, and a user of the terminal. The trigger information includes information about one or more of the following: a power mode of the access terminal, a user profile identification, an activation of a premium application on the terminal, and a terminal of a premium application on the terminal.

Growing community of inventors

Nashua, NH, United States of America

Srinivas Kappla