Alcatel Lucent

At&t Intellectual Property I, L.p.

Acme Packet, Inc.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Tienyu Chiu

Yigang Cai

Eric Harold Henrikson

E-Ling Lou

Bharat H Patel

Guy J Zenner

Mark A Ratcliffe

Min Lu

Hadriel S Kaplan

Martin Christopher Dolly

Saul Daniel Fishman

Gerald L Hoover

Nathan Thomas Denbow

Canby Dautel, Jr

Eric Harold Henrickson

A method and system are adapted to provide telephony services to aggregate endpoints on an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network. The method includes assigning one or multiple PUIDs for surrogate registration purposes during the provisioning of the aggregate endpoint, performing reliable surrogate registration on behalf of the aggregate endpoint, allowing multiple SBCs to perform surrogate registrations independently for the same aggregate endpoint to achieve reliability, and providing reliable connection from an IMS core to the aggregate endpoints via multiple S/BCs. The system includes one or more Session Border Controllers (S/BC), at least one set of Call/Session Control Functions (CSCF), and an HSS operatively coupled together.

Method and system for implementing aggregate endpoints on IMS networks

Communication networks and associated methods are disclosed that provide third party charging for SIP sessions. A communication network of the invention comprises a session control function (e.g., an IMS CSCF), a network node (e.g., an IMS application server), and a charging system. The session control function serves a SIP session initiated between a first and second party. The network node identifies a third party to charge for the session. The network node includes a third party identifier for the third party in a SIP message for the session, and transmits the SIP message to the session control function. The session control function generates a charging message, maps the third party identifier to the charging message, and transmits the charging message that includes the third party identifier to the charging system. The charging system then initiates charging of the session to the third party based on the third party identifier.

Third party charging for SIP sessions

An exemplary method implemented by nodes in a telecommunication network includes associating a plurality of public user identities (PUIDs) into groups where each PUID represents a user served by a group of related endpoints, such as a private branch exchange (PBX). The groups are stored at the first node. Each group contains a group address that uniquely identifies the group and the PBX associated the users with PUIDs that are associated with the group. A first registration request is transmitted from the first node to an internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) where the first registration request includes the group address and the PUIDs that are associated with the group. The first registration request seeks to establish implicit registration in the IMS of the PUIDs associated with the group with the group address. A reply from the IMS is received at the first node in response to the first registration request where the reply seeks authentication for the requested implicit registration of the PUIDs. In response to receipt of the reply, authentication information is calculated and transmitted as a second registration request that contains the authentication information and the group address and the PUIDs that are associated with the group. The PUIDs in association with the group address are implicitly registered in the IMS upon a determination that the authentication information is acceptable.

Surrogate registration in internet protocol multimedia subsystem for users indirectly coupled via an end point

A method for supporting communication between communication devices () having inconsistent protocols, such as may result from protocol changes or upgrades. Protocol registers () maintained in association with the communication devices contain respective first and second protocols (e.g., current and previous protocols) of the communication devices. A sending (or receiving) device, upon being upgraded from protocol C to N, updates () its protocol register to indicate N as the current protocol and C as the previous protocol. The device initially attempts to send () a message (or attemptsto recognize a message) using its current protocol N and, if that fails, the device sends () (or attemptsto recognize the message) using its previous protocol C. In such manner, when a communication device is upgraded to a new protocol causing a protocol inconsistency with a peer device, the communication device may revert to its previous protocol to restore communication relatively quickly.

Method for maintaining communication between communication devices having inconsistent protocols

Growing community of inventors

Naperville, IL, United States of America

Tienyu Chiu