ADAPTABLE SELECTION OF CARRIER SERVICES

Abstract: The invention relates to a method at a mobile telephone system which provides that the network/base station can recommend which carrier services, for instance GPRS or HSCSD, that can be used optimally on each occasion, depending on application and current loading on the network, at which the actual decision about which carrier service that shall be utilized is taken by the mobile terminal.

Description: TITLE OF THE INVENTION: ADAPTABLE SELECTION OF CARRIER SERVICES Field of the invention The present invention relates to a method at a cellular mobile telephone system including a network with a base station and a mobile terminal . Background of the invention 0 The mobile telephone networks of today have no control over which carrier service the mobile user selects to utilise. This is a problem both to the mobile user and to the network operator. The mobile operator competes about too scarce resources and runs the risk of getting a quality 5 which is experienced as poor, in spite of that there perhaps are other resources in the network which might be used. The network operator has no mechanism to allocate users over different carrier services and cannot optimally utilise his/her network resources, but is obliged to accept 0 the behaviour of the mobile equipment. The problem of the mobile telephone networks of today consequently is that the mobile user has to utilise one in advance defined carrier service, in spite of the fact that the mobile user might have considerably larger network 5 resources from the network operator if he/she had utilised any other carrier service. The aim of the present invention is to solve this problem. 0 Summary of the invention This above mentioned aim is achieved by a method at a cellular mobile telephone system which includes at least one network with at least one base station and at least one mobile terminal, at which the network/base station 5 transmits information to the mobile terminal regarding qualities of the network, at which the actual decision about which carrier service that shall be used is made by the mobile terminal on basis of the from the network/base station transmitted information. An advantage of the invention consequently is that the mobile terminal utilises the carrier service, for instance HSCSD, GPRS, which is most suited for requested application, respective load in the network. An advantageous embodiment is described in the patent claim 4, where it can be seen that the network qualities can be stored on a SIM-card. A simple and practical way of transmitting network information from the base station to the mobile terminal is made by means of Cell Broadcast as can be seen in the patent claim 5. Further characteristics of the invention are given in the other subclaims. Brief description of the drawings In the following a detailed description of the invention is given with reference to the enclosed figures in which: Figure 1 shows the included components in the cellular mobile telephone system according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a flow chart according to the invention which describes the function of the mobile terminal. A: Start B: Wait C: Listen for information on the Cell Broadcast Channel . D New Information ? E Store the information on the SIM-card. F Wait G Call from the application on the external Computer . H: Call an application on the SIM-card. I: Establish suitable carrier. Wait for data from the application. Receive data from the application. Transmit data from the application, Data finished ? Disconnect Wait Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention In the GSM-systems of today there are a number of carrier services to select from where one is to establish a data call. One can for instance select between a transparent (transmission of data without retransmission at error) , or a non-transparent transmission (transmission of data with retransmission at error) carrier service depending on which type of behaviour one wants of the GSM carrier service. In most cases, however, the customer who uses the carrier service does not know that there is a choice to be made, and neither should he/she need to care about this. At present there also are few PCMCIA-cards which support all types of carrier services . For most the non-transparent , asynchronous service functions quite enough well. Within the next four to five years period of time, new carrier services probably will be introduced in Telia Mobile's network. First out is HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) which will offer an increased data rate to the mobile data services . Just as the name indicates, this is a circuit switched service where one as user reserves a radio channel for as long as one is connected, irrespective of if one uses the channel or not. In a few years there will be another new carrier service: GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) . This is a packet switched service where one only uses the radio channel when one needs it, and where a multiple of user can share the radio resources . A packet switched carrier service such as GPSR is well suited for traffic which has a quality of being "burst- like", i.e. where the information is coming in short bursts with comparatively long intervals, whereas HSCSD is better suited for traffic, the quality of which is continuous and then is finished, for instance a file transmission. In some cases it can be easy to in advance know what the traffic model looks like, for instance in a taxi firm which uses GSM data services for communication between the exchange and the cars, each car generates a lot of short messages with comparatively long intervals. This is a consequence of the application which the taxi firm uses, and in this example GPRS consequently should be selected as carrier service. It is probably easier to connect a traffic model to a vertical application, which is produced for a specific purpose, than to make the same connection for horizontal applications, for instance Internet browsers, which can be used for a lot of different purposes. To the above mentioned carrier services can be added SMS and USSD, which are suited for quite different applications and services. The problem is to know how to select right carrier service with regard to traffic model which in its turn is influenced by how the application is designed and how the customer uses this application. What further complicates the matter is that the optimal selection of carrier service also is influenced by how the resources in the network are allocated and how they are loaded. In the GSM-systems of the future, the different carriers services probably will share the total number of resources, for instance will one resource which on one occasion is reserved for HSCSD to, on another occasion, be reserved for GPRS. The network will be able to dynamically allocate and re-allocate its total resources between different carrier services. How fast this dynamics will be is however not yet evident. On a specific occasion the optimal selection of carrier service for a given traffic model will be, say GPS. On another occasion the optimal selection of carrier service for the same traffic model will instead be HSCSD. The reason for this may be that the GPRS-resources are so strained that it is a better selection to have guaranteed resources in the form of HSCSD. Further complications will occur when UMTS is introduced. In many areas we will have coverage for both UMTS and GSM, and combined dual-mode terminals which will be able to operate in both systems . Figure 1 shows a mobile telephone system according to the invention, where the antenna (1) represents the base station which transmits recommendations (Cell Broadcast Information) to the mobile terminal (2) . The mobile terminal (2) in Figure 1 utilises SIM-card with SIMAT (SIM Application Toolkit) and is connected to a portable computer (3) (for instance PC) via an interface card, for instance PCMCIA-card. The network which is controlled by the base station 1 can recommend which carrier services that can be used optimally on each given occasion, but the actual decision is always taken by the mobile equipment 2,3. The invention is based on SMSCB (SMS over Cell Broadcast) and SIMAT (SIM Application Toolkit). At Cell Broadcast, the information can be transmitted to all mobiles 2 in one or more cells. The information is transmitted in form of an SMSCB and can be shown on the display and/or stored on the SIM-card. This invention is based on that the information which is transmitted on Cell Broadcast is received by the mobile terminal 2 and is stored on the SIM-card. This information includes information about the momentary allocation of resources of the network and loading locally for just that cell where the information has been received. When the user of the mobile terminal 2 shall start an application which requires a data connection, a request is made to the SIM- card which can recommend a carrier service which is an optimal choice with regard to selected application and resource allocation and loading in the network. For making the SIM-card able to give such a recommendation is required that there is one for the purpose intended software stored on the card. This software is specific to the operator and can be downloaded on the card either in connection with that the card is being bound to a person, or via an SMS. It should be understood that this software also can be stored in just any memory in the mobile terminal 2, or in the computer 3. An SMS can be transmitted directly to a user, or to a group of users, by means of Cell Broadcast. Figure 2 below describes in a flow chart how a mobile terminal 2 which makes use of the described technology can operate. Figure 2 implies that above mentioned software already exist on the SIM-card. The shaded boxes in the flow chart in Figure 2 represent the invention. The mobile terminal 2 is initially in the wait-mode and listens for Broadcast Information from the base station 1. When mobile terminal receives Broadcast Information, this is immediately stored on the SIM-card. When a call from an application on the external computer 3 is made (for instance transmission of a text file from a portable computer 3 to the network 1) an application on the SIM-card is called. This implies that the mobile terminal 2 calls a specific software on the SIM- card with parameters from the application. After that, the SIM-card provides the mobile terminal 2 with information about suitable carrier service. Mobile terminal 2 selects and establishes suitable carrier service towards the network 1. After that, data related to the application is transferred between portable computer 3 and the network 1 by means of selected carrier service. In the following a possible scenario where the invention might be used is given. Kristoffer is on an official business and wants to utilise his e-mailbox. He starts an e-mail application on his portable computer PC3 and connects it to his mobile terminal 2. Normally it is only to establish a connection by a simple keying in the e- mail application, but this time Kristoffer is in a hurry ■ -r CD 5 O 1 ω - 4H o 41 0 41 CI. 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Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. Method at a cellular mobile telephone system including at least one network with at least one base station (1) and at least one mobile terminal (2,3), c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said network/base station (1) transmits information to said mobile terminal (2,3) regarding qualities of said network, at which a decision about which carrier service that shall be used for communication between said network and said mobile terminal is made by said mobile terminal (2,3) on basis of the from the network/base station transmitted information. 2. Method according to patent claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said information includes information about allocation of resources and loading of said network for the cell where said information has been received. 3. Method according to patent claim 1 or 2 , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said information is stored in just any memory in said mobile terminal (2,3) . 4. Method according to patent claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said information is stored on a SIM-card. 5. Method according to any of the previous patent claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said information is transmitted from said base station (1) by means of cell broadcast . 6. Method according to any of the previous patent claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that software is stored on said SIM-card or in just any memory in said mobile terminal (2,3), which software recommends said carrier service, for instance GPRS, HSCSD, on basis of an application and said information. 7. Method according patent claim 6 , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said software is specific to the operator, and is downloaded on said SIM-card at the binding of the card to a person, or via SMS. 8. Method according to any of the patent claims 6 or 7, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that when a user of said mobile terminal (2,3) starts an application, for instance a file transmission, which requires a data connection to said network (1) , a request is made to said SIM-card which recommends a carrier service, for instance HSCSD, after which said mobile terminal communicates with said network by means of said carrier service. 9. Method according to any of the previous patent claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said mobile terminal (2,3) consists of a mobile telephone (2) and a portable computer (3) connected to said mobile telephone, at which said application is started from said portable computer (3) .

Inventors: MAGNUSSON PETER, SCHMIDT MIKAEL, MAGNUSSON, PETER, SCHMIDT, MIKAEL
Applicants: TELIA AB, TELIA AB (PUBL)
Application year: 1999
Main classification: H04Q7
IPC codes: H04W48