U.S. patent application number 14/851132 was filed with the patent office on 2015-12-31 for alphanumeric address mapping for non-homogeneous short message networks.
The applicant listed for this patent is TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.. Invention is credited to Paul Casto, Donghong Gao, Lewis Tuttle.
Application Number | 20150382163 14/851132 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46719342 |
Filed Date | 2015-12-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150382163 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Casto; Paul ; et
al. |
December 31, 2015 |
Alphanumeric Address Mapping for Non-Homogeneous Short Message
Networks
Abstract
Text messages with alphanumeric addresses are delivered to
mobiles and external short message entities (ESMEs) which do not
support alphanumeric addressing, providing meaningful fallback
handling. Additionally, the invention enables delivery of SMPP
messages from ESME or SMPP networks which can only originate
numeric addresses, yet provide for mapping to alphanumeric
addresses for delivery to the mobile. A two-way mapping is provided
between alphanumeric addresses and SMS short-codes to enable
delivery of text messages with alphanumeric addressing in networks
which contain mobiles and/or ESME's that lack support of
alphanumeric addressing. An ESME can send a text message using an
alphanumeric origination address, without knowing which handsets
support the capability, and which do not, or whether handsets are
on CDMA, or GSM, or UMTS, or long term evolution (LTE) networks, or
can continue to send using a numeric origination address. The SMSC
provides conversions to alphanumeric addresses on behalf of the
ESME and the mobile.
Inventors: |
Casto; Paul; (Bowie, MD)
; Tuttle; Lewis; (Stevensville, MD) ; Gao;
Donghong; (Clarksville, MD) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. |
Annapolis |
MD |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
46719342 |
Appl. No.: |
14/851132 |
Filed: |
September 11, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13374356 |
Dec 23, 2011 |
9161184 |
|
|
14851132 |
|
|
|
|
61457084 |
Dec 23, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/466 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 15/55 20130101;
H04M 2215/28 20130101; H04L 61/106 20130101; H04W 4/12 20130101;
H04L 51/28 20130101; H04M 17/02 20130101; H04W 4/14 20130101; H04L
51/38 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/14 20060101
H04W004/14; H04L 29/12 20060101 H04L029/12 |
Claims
1-10. (canceled)
11. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network, comprising: receiving a
text message including an alphanumeric destination address
including at least one non-numeric character, said alphanumeric
destination address identifying a destination mobile device;
mapping, prior to a first attempt to deliver said text message to
said destination mobile device, said alphanumeric destination
address including said at least one non-numeric character, to a
numeric digit-only short code associated with said destination
mobile device; routing said text message with said numeric
digit-only short code addressing to said destination mobile device;
receiving from said destination mobile device, a return text
message including a numeric digit-only short code address
identifying an originating mobile device; mapping said numeric
digit-only short code address of said return text message to an
alphanumeric originating address including at least one non-numeric
character corresponding to said originating mobile device; and
routing said return text message to said originating mobile
device.
12. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 11,
wherein said destination mobile device comprises: an external short
message entity (ESME).
13. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 12,
wherein said text message comprises: a short message system (SMS)
text message.
14. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 11,
wherein said originating mobile device comprises: an external short
message entity (ESME).
15. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 14,
wherein said text message comprises: a short message system (SMS)
text message.
16. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 11,
wherein said text message comprises: a short message system (SMS)
text message.
17. The method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping
for a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 11,
wherein: said originating mobile device is configured to send a
text message using an alphanumeric address, irrespective of a
capability of said destination mobile device to support
alphanumeric addressing, and irrespective of a network type of said
destination mobile device.
18. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network, comprising: receiving a
text message including an alphanumeric destination address
including at least one non-numeric character, said alphanumeric
destination address identifying a destination mobile device;
routing said text message to said destination mobile device with
said alphanumeric origination address including at least one
non-numeric character; receiving a failed delivery message relating
to failure of delivery of said text message to said destination
mobile device; mapping said alphanumeric destination address
including at least one non-numeric character, to a numeric
digit-only short code string associated with said destination
mobile device; and routing said text message with said numeric
digit-only short code addressing to said destination mobile
device.
19. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 18,
wherein said destination mobile device comprises: an external short
message entity (ESME).
20. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 19,
wherein said text message comprises: a short message system (SMS)
text message.
21. A method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping for
a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 18,
wherein said text message comprises: a short message system (SMS)
text message.
22. The method of providing two-way alphanumeric address mapping
for a non-homogeneous text message network according to claim 16,
wherein: said text message is originated by an originating mobile
device; and said originating mobile device is configured to send
text messages using an alphanumeric origination address,
irrespective of a capability of said destination mobile device to
support alphanumeric addressing, and irrespective of a network type
of said destination mobile device.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional No.
61/457,084, entitled "ALPHANUMERIC ADDRESS MAPPING FOR
NON-HOMOGENEOUS SHORT MESSAGE NETWORKS" to Paul CASTO, Lewis
TUTTLE, and Donghong GAO, filed Dec. 23, 2010, the entirety of
which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates generally to telecommunications, More
particularly, it relates to wireless based technologies.
[0004] 2. Background of the Related Art
[0005] When a short message service center (SMSC) operates in a
long term evolution (LTE)/CDMA (or GSM/CDMA, or UMTS/CDMA) dual
mode network, the vast majority of GSM, UMTS and LTE mobiles
support alphanumeric addressing where as many or most CDMA mobiles
may not. This impacts the display of the originator of the message
to the end-user of the mobile phone (or conversely the terminator,
when the user is replying). Many corporations would like messages
that they send to an end-user to appear with some form of corporate
branding. E.g. ABXCorp would rather have the end user see a message
from ABXCorp, rather than see that they have a message from 12345,
and then have to figure out what those numbers represent.
[0006] A similar issue is also found in supporting external short
message entities (ESMEs) from two different vendors. Some ESMEs
support alphanumeric addressing while others do not.
[0007] Currently, if the mobile or ESME does not allow for message
delivery with alphanumeric addresses encoded, the message to the
mobile or the ESME may be discarded.
[0008] Alternatively, for messages destined to a Mobile, a generic
numerical address may be substituted for the alphanumeric address,
but a substituted generic numerical address is not meaningful to
the Mobile end-user.
[0009] Many GSM/UMTS/LTE handsets support alphanumeric addresses.
Some CDMA handsets may support alphanumeric (IA5) addresses. SMPP
standard supports alphanumeric addresses, but many ESMEs/SMPP
gateways have not fully implanted that portion of the standard.
Thus, while end-points (some handsets and some ESMEs) may support
alphanumeric addressing, the support for end-to-end alphanumeric
addressing is not always complete. ESMEs that are aware that a
particular end-user handset has the alphanumeric capability could
attempt delivery using that format, but that would require the ESME
to maintain information about every phone number that it is sending
to. Moreover, an ESME maintaining information about every phone
number that it is sending to would be very susceptible to the user
changing handset models.
[0010] Messages that are deleted due to protocol errors (e.g.
handset cannot decode an address with alphanumeric characters)
result in non-delivery to the subscriber. Messages that have had
generic `alphanumeric to generic` translation rules applied arrive
at the handset without allowing the handset device to obtain the
identity of the originator, thus also preventing the user device
from responding.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In accordance with the principles of the present invention,
a method of handling alphanumeric address mapping for a
non-homogeneous short message network comprises receiving a message
including an alphanumeric origination address, from an external
short message entity (ESME), destined for a terminating mobile
device. Mapping the alphanumeric origination address identifying
the originating sender's address to a digit string identifying the
originating sender's address prior to the first attempt to deliver
the message to the terminating mobile device. The message is then
routed to a terminating mobile device including numeric destination
addressing.
[0012] A method of handling alphanumeric address mapping for a
non-homogeneous short message network in accordance with another
embodiment of the invention comprises receiving a message including
an alphanumeric origination address identifying an originating
sender from an external short message entity (ESME). The message is
routed to a terminating mobile device including alphanumeric
origination addressing. A failed delivery message relating to
failure of the message is received. The alphanumeric origination
address identifying the originating sender is mapped to a digit
string that provides an alternative identification of the
originating sender. The message is routed to the terminating mobile
device including numeric destination addressing. This provides
support for the use cases where the originating ESMEs (and
intervening infrastructure) provides the capability to originate
messages from alphanumeric addresses, but the receiving devices
include a range of network types (LTE/CDMA/UMTS/GSM) and handset
types, some of which do support receiving these messages, others of
which can not.
[0013] Yet another embodiment of the invention discloses a method
of handling alphanumeric address mapping for a non-homogeneous
short message network. A message is received including a numeric
origination addressidentifying the originating senderfrom an
external short message entity (ESME). The numeric origination
address identifying the the originating sender is mapped to an
alphanumeric string identifying the an alphanumeric address for the
originating sender, prior to a first attempt to deliver the message
to the terminating mobile device. The message is routed to a
terminating mobile device including alphanumeric originating
address. This provides support for the use cases where the
originating ESMEs (or intervening infrastructure) lacks the
capability to originate messages addressed from an alphanumeric
address, yet some, or all of the handsets (and supporting
infrastructure) has the capability to receive such messages. A
further fallback to the first embodiment is also possible in this
case.
[0014] Still another embodiment discloses a method of handling
alphanumeric address mapping for a non-homogeneous short message
network. A message is received including an alphanumeric
destination address identifying a terminating external short
message entity (ESME), from a mobile device. It is determined
through configuration that the terminating external short message
entity (ESME) requires numeric addressing. The alphanumeric
destination address is converted to a digit address. The message
addressed with the digit address is routed to the external short
message entity (ESME). This provides support for the use cases
where the originating handsets (and intervening infrastructure)
provide the capability to originate messages addressed to an
alphanumeric ESME address (including the case of `reply to`
alphanumeric addresses), but the ESME (or intervening
infrastructure) lacks the capability to receive such messages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Features and advantages of the present invention become
apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description
with reference to the drawings:
[0016] FIG. 1 shows call flow from an alphanumeric addressing
external short message entity (ESME) to a numeric addressing mobile
device, for non-homogeneous short message networks, in accordance
with the principles of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 shows another exemplary call flow from an
alphanumeric addressing external short message entity (ESME) to a
numeric addressing mobile device, for non-homogeneous short message
networks, in accordance with the principles of the present
invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 shows call flow from a numeric addressing external
short message entity (ESME) to an alphanumeric addressing mobile
device, for non-homogeneous short message networks, in accordance
with the principles of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 shows call flow from an alphanumeric addressing
mobile device to a numeric addressing external short message entity
(ESME), for non-homogeneous short message networks, in accordance
with the principles of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The present invention delivers text messages with
alphanumeric addresses to mobile devices and external short message
entities (ESMEs) which do not support alphanumeric addressing, and
provides meaningful fallback handling.
[0021] Additionally, the invention enables delivery of Short
Message Peer to Peer (SMPP) messages from ESMEs or SMPP networks
which can only originate numeric addresses, yet provide for mapping
to alphanumeric addresses for delivery to a destination wireless
mobile device.
[0022] The present invention adapts technology which is available
within various telecommunication standards, but under-used due to
the challenges of interoperability in heterogeneous networks. The
inventive solution provides a two-way mapping between alphanumeric
addresses and short message system (SMS) short-codes to enable
delivery of text messages with alphanumeric addressing in networks
which contain mobiles and/or ESME's that lack support of
alphanumeric addressing.
[0023] In accordance with the invention, an ESME can send a text
message using an alphanumeric origination address, without the need
to know which handsets support the capability, and which do not, or
whether handsets are on CDMA, or GSM, or UMTS, or long term
evolution (LTE) networks, or can continue to send using a numeric
origination address, The Short Message Servicing Center (SMSC)
provides conversions to alphanumeric addresses on behalf of the
ESME and mobile device.
[0024] This supports mapping of source and originating addresses
both from and to numeric addresses, and mapping of numeric source
addresses to alphanumeric for ESME_>Mobile Terminated call
flows.
[0025] The configuration of the mapping is preferably accomplished
such that the number is a meaningful representation of the
alphanumeric address. For example, if ABXCorp's short-code address
is "12345", messages with an originating address of "ABXCorp" will
fall back to "12345". In this manner, response messages addressed
to either "ABXCorp" or "12345" are routed to the same destination
ESME.
[0026] As an extension, or alternate to, the static mapping
approach, ESMEs may also include a custom Tag Length Value (TLV)
component of an SMPP message to provide an alternate origination
address. This allows ESMEs to provide address information in a
dynamic fashion, without need for provisioning of a translation
table at the SMSC, and still overcomes cases where the
infrastructure between the ESME and the SMSC does not support use
of alphanumeric addresses directly.
[0027] Messages which fail to be delivered due to protocol errors,
system or interface configuration, preferably trigger the SMSC 120
to convert the alphanumeric origination address to a meaningful
numeric origination address.
[0028] In addition to per-message support, entire air-interfaces
may be configured to convert alphanumeric addresses back to
numeric.
[0029] For ESMEs connected to a specific port, the connection may
be configured to convert addresses to numbers when alphanumeric
addresses are not supported. ESMEs can also be configured by
system-type to identify those which cannot support alphanumeric
addressing. Or by alphanumeric name (e.g,, messages to "ABXCorp"
always get converted to "12345").
[0030] The present invention provides focus on four primary call
flows shown in FIGS. 1 through 4.
[0031] FIG. 1 shows call flow from an alphanumeric addressing
external short message entity (ESME) to a numeric addressing mobile
device, for non-homogeneous short message networks, in accordance
with the principles of the present invention.
[0032] In particular, as shown in the call flow of FIG. 1, a
message originates from an external short message entity (ESME)
with an alphanumeric originating address, and terminates to a
mobile device where the ESME does not support alphanumeric
addressing. These may be addressed in two ways, shown in FIG. 1 and
FIG. 2.
[0033] With respect to FIG. 1, the air interface (such as CDMA) may
be configured not to support alphanumeric addressing. This causes
the message's alphanumeric origination address to be mapped to a
digit string, prior to the first attempt. The second technique
(shown in FIG. 2) permits the message to fail delivery based on a
failure response (such as protocol error), at which time, the SMSC
then maps the alphanumeric origination address to a number and
retries delivery of the message.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary call flow is described
between an originating mobile device 110 (e.g., a CDMNGSM/UMTS/LTE
mobile), a short message service center (SMSC) 120, a prepaid
server 130, and a receiving external short message entity (ESME)
140.
[0035] The ESME 140 sends a Submit SM message 310 including
alphanumeric originating address to the SMSC 120.
[0036] As depicted in module 320, the prepaid server 130 is
configured for numeric addressing only.
[0037] In step 340, an alphanumeric originating address is mapped
to a unique numeric value. The SMSC 120 sends a Debit request
message 350 with numeric originating address to the prepaid server
130.
[0038] The prepaid server 130 sends a Debit Response message 360
back to the SMSC 120, which sends a Submit SM Response message 330
to the ESME 140.
[0039] In step 370 the CDMA or GSM network, or per-subscriber, is
configured to convert alphanumeric addresses prior to delivery.
[0040] The alphanumeric originating address is mapped to a unique
numeric value in step 372.
[0041] The SMSC 120 sends a Delivery Attempt message with numeric
originating address 374 to the CDMA or GSM or IMS or LTE mobile
device 110, which sends back a Delivery Attempt message 376 with
results.
[0042] In step 378, the SMSC 120 configures the billing/call detail
records for a numeric address.
[0043] In step 380, the alphanumeric originating address is mapped
to a unique numeric value.
[0044] In step 382, the billing/call detailed record is written
with a numeric origination address.
[0045] FIG. 2 shows another exemplary call flow from an
alphanumeric addressing external short message entity (ESME) to a
numeric addressing mobile device, for non-homogeneous short message
networks, in accordance with the principles of the present
invention.
[0046] In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, the ESME 140 sends a
Submit_SM message 410 including alphanumeric originating address to
the SMSC 120.
[0047] As depicted in module 420, the prepaid server 130 is
configured for numeric addressing only.
[0048] In step 440, an alphanumeric originating address is mapped
to a unique numeric value. The SMSC 120 sends a Debit request
message 450 with numeric originating address to the prepaid server
130.
[0049] The prepaid server 130 sends a Debit Response message 460
back to the SMSC 120, which sends a Submit_SM Response message 430
to the ESME 140.
[0050] The SMSC 120 sends a Delivery Attempt with alphanumeric
originating address to the mobile device 110 (e.g., a CDMA, GSM,
IMS or LTE mobile device).
[0051] In response, a Delivery Attempt Failure message 480 with
protocol error is sent from the mobile device 110 back to the SMSC
120.
[0052] In step 482, it is determined that the message containing an
alphanumeric address failed with a protocol error.
[0053] In step 484 the alphanumeric originating address is mapped
to a unique numeric value.
[0054] A Delivery Attempt message 486 with numeric originating
address is sent to the mobile device 110, which sends back a
Delivery Attempt Success message 488.
[0055] In step 490, billing/call detail records are configured for
numeric address.
[0056] In step 492, the alphanumeric originating address is mapped
to a unique numeric value.
[0057] In step 494, the billing/call detailed record is written
with a numeric origination address.
[0058] FIG. 3 shows call flow from a numeric addressing external
short message entity (ESME) to an alphanumeric addressing mobile
device, for non-homogeneous short message networks, in accordance
with the principles of the present invention.
[0059] In particular, in the call flow of FIG. 3, a message
originates from an ESME terminating to a mobile device where the
ESME sends a numeric address (but would prefer an alphanumeric
address be used where possible). This call flow encompasses
messages originating from an ESME with numeric originating
addresses, and terminating to a mobile which may support
alphanumeric addressing (based on per-interface or per subscriber
rules). This causes the message's numeric origination address to be
mapped to an alphanumeric string, prior to the first attempt.
Should an attempt fail, due to protocol error, the fallback mapping
occurs as with respect to the call flow of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0060] As shown in FIG. 3, the ESME 140 sends a Submit_SM message
510 including a numeric originating address to the SMSC 120.
[0061] The SMSC 120 sends a Debit Request message 520 with numeric
originating address to the prepaid server 130, which sends a Debit
Response message 540 back to the SMSC 120,
[0062] The SMSC 120 sends a Submit_SM Response message 530 to the
ESME 140.
[0063] In step 550, the LTE, CDMA, UMTS, or GSM network, or
per-subscriber, is configured to convert alphanumeric addresses
prior to delivery.
[0064] In step 560 the numeric originating address is mapped to a
unique alphanumeric value.
[0065] The SMSC 120 sends a Delivery Attempt with alphanumeric
originating address message 570 to the mobile device 110 (e.g., a
CDMA, GSM, UMTS or LTE mobile device).
[0066] In response, a Delivery Attempt results message 580 is sent
from the mobile device 110 back to the SMSC 120.
[0067] In step 582, it is determined that the delivery attempt
failed with a protocol error.
[0068] In step 584 the alphanumeric originating address is mapped
back to the original numeric value.
[0069] A Delivery Attempt message 586 with numeric originating
address is sent to the mobile device 110, which sends back a
Delivery Attempt results message 588.
[0070] In step 590, the billing/call detail records are written
with a numeric origination address.
[0071] FIG. 4 shows call flow from an alphanumeric addressing
mobile device to a numeric addressing external short message entity
(ESME), for non-homogeneous short message networks, in accordance
with the principles of the present invention.
[0072] In particular, in the call flow of FIG. 4, a message
originates from a mobile device with an alphanumeric destination
address, and terminates to an ESME that does not support
alphanumeric addressing. In this case, based on ESME configuration
provisioning, the SMSC converts the alphanumeric destination
address to a digit address and sends the text message to the ESME.
Since ESMEs are relatively static, the requirement to convert is
normally accomplished through configuration. While the invention
encompasses a possible attempt followed by a retry, this is
inefficient for the mobile originated (MO) to ESME case.
[0073] As shown in FIG. 4, the short message service center 120
receives a Submit_SM type message 210 from the originating mobile
device 110, including an alphanumeric destination address.
[0074] A prepaid/usage control module 150 in the SMSC 120 receives
the Submit_SM message 210, and the prepaid/usage control module 150
is configured for numeric address only.
[0075] In step 160, the alphanumeric destination address is mapped
to a unique numeric value 160 within an appropriate module at the
SMSC 120.
[0076] In message 215, a Debit request with numeric destination
address is sent from the SMSC 120 to a prepaid module 130. The
prepaid module 130 returns a Debit Response to the SMSC 120, and a
Submit_SM Response is passed from the SMSC 120 to the originating
mobile device 110.
[0077] In step 170, the SMSC 120 determines that the ESME 140 is
configured to accept numeric values only, so there is a need to
convert alphanumeric addresses to numeric value.
[0078] In step 180 an alphanumeric destination address is mapped to
a unique numeric value.
[0079] In message 240 a Submit_SM with numeric destination address
is sent from the SMSC 120 to the external short message entity
(ESME) 140.
[0080] In message 250 the ESME 140 sends a Submit_SM with response
back to the SMSC 120.
[0081] In step 190 the billing/call detail records configured for
numeric address.
[0082] In step 200 the alphanumeric destination address is mapped
to a unique numeric value.
[0083] In step 210 the billing/call detailed record written with
numeric destination address.
[0084] There are numerous extensions envisioned within the scope of
the principles of the present invention. For instance:
[0085] Tracking and retaining the handsets capabilities for a
period of time. In this way, if an alphanumeric fails, subsequent
messages are automatically converted, prior to the first
attempt.
[0086] Configuring per-subscriber exceptions to the
per-air-interface rules. This accommodates gradual adoption of
handsets--particularly in the CDMA environment which supports IA5
encoding.
[0087] The present invention provides an SMSC module that provides
a bridge between systems which have the capability to support
addressing between wireless devices that may or may not be capable
of dealing with alphanumeric addresses.
[0088] The present invention permits ESMEs to support a branded
source to clearly identify the originator, e.g., a message from
"ABXCorp" or a message from "12345"--Many vendors much prefer to
put their brand name in front of a customer, rather than a short
code,
[0089] The present invention has particular applicability to
wireless carrier markets, e.g, to carriers having mixed LTE/CDMA or
GSM/CDMA or UMTS/CDMA networks. The invention may be implemented in
an SMSC that supports dual networks (e.g., CDMA network LTE or GSM)
where handsets receive text messages from ESMEs that show an
originating alphanumeric address.
[0090] While prepaid debit is shown with respect to the embodiments
of the present invention, the invention applies equally to
post-paid embodiments.
[0091] While the invention has been described with reference to the
exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be
able to make various modifications to the described embodiments of
the invention without departing from the true spirit and scope of
the invention.
* * * * *