Abstract:
An intermediary infrastructure that facilitates the interconnection of multiple IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks. The interconnections may span one or more of the IMS logical planes Services Plane, Control Plane, and Network or Transport Plane. The intermediary offers among other things a process, routing, and switching complex that is able to among other things process incoming messages including using a comprehensive routing repository to complete message routing operations.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/112,187, filed Apr. 30, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/915,730, filed on May 3, 2007, both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates generally to telecommunications services. More particularly, the present invention relates to capabilities that enhance substantially the value and usefulness of various messaging paradigms including, inter alia, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). 
         [0004]    2. Background of the Invention 
         [0005]    As the ‘wireless revolution’ continues to march forward the importance to a Mobile Subscriber (MS), for example a user of a Wireless Device (WD) such as a mobile telephone, a BlackBerry, etc. that is serviced by a Wireless Carrier (WC), of their WD grows substantially. 
         [0006]    One consequence of such a growing importance is the resulting ubiquitous nature of WDs—i.e., MSs carry them at almost all times and use them for an ever-increasing range of activities. 
         [0007]    Coincident with the ‘social explosion’ of WDs technological advances have yielded, among other things, new communication paradigms such as IMS. 
         [0008]    IMS is a standardized Next Generation Networking (NGN) architecture that, among other things, provides a framework for a collapsed mobile and fixed services infrastructure (e.g., a form of Fixed Mobile Convergence [FMC]) in support of, possibly inter alia, the ubiquitous delivery of a wide range of (voice, data, multimedia, etc.) services to end users (such as, among others, MSs). 
         [0009]    Descriptions of the architecture, function, etc. of IMS may be found in various of the specification documents from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including, for example, Technical Specification 23.228. 
         [0010]    The need exists for an infrastructure that allows the full universe of MSs, through their WDs, to seamlessly participate in the new communication environment/paradigm IMS. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention, aspects of which may be characterized as IMS Exchange or IMS X , provides such capabilities and addresses various of the (not insubstantial) challenges that are associated with same. Among other things IMS X  may: 
         [0012]    1) Provide key interoperability capabilities across, among other entities, disparate fixed providers (such as, for example, landline carriers) and WCs. 
         [0013]    2) Facilitate the seamless operation of important services such as, possibly inter alia, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) across multiple networks, platforms, etc. 
         [0014]    3) Provide legacy support (thus, as just one possibility, potentially extending the useful life of various elements of a WC&#39;s infrastructure, various legacy WDs, etc.). 
         [0015]    In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided an intermediary system for interconnecting multiple IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks. The system includes at least one input unit selectably connectable to a first IMS network from which a message is received, at least one output unit selectably connectable to a second IMS network through which said message can reach a destination address, and a process, routing, and switching (PRS) complex operable to manipulate aspects of, and alter at least a portion of, said message received from said input unit and sent to said output unit. In a preferred embodiment, the PRS complex performs a routing operation based on a destination address of said message. 
         [0016]    These and other features of the embodiments of the present invention, along with their attendant advantages, will be more fully appreciated upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the associated drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic presentation of an exemplary Messaging Inter-Carrier Vendor (MICV). 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic presentation of the three logical IMS planes. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates exemplary logical connections of multiple carriers to IMS X . 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic presentation of the virtual implementation of the three logical IMS planes within IMS X . 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  provides a detailed illustration of aspects of IMS X . 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary encapsulation artifact. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  illustrates elements of an exemplary routing facility. 
       
    
    
       [0024]    It should be understood that these figures depict embodiments of the invention. Variations of these embodiments will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    Aspects of the present invention build atop, and extend substantively, the concept of a centrally-located, full-featured MICV facility. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,154,901 entitled “INTERMEDIARY NETWORK SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING MESSAGE EXCHANGE BETWEEN WIRELESS NETWORKS,” and its associated continuations, for a description of a MICV, a summary of various of the services/functions/etc. that are performed by a MICV, and a discussion of the numerous advantages that arise from same. 
         [0026]    As depicted in  FIG. 1  and reference numeral  100  a MICV  120  may be disposed between, possibly inter alia, multiple WCs (WC 1    114 →WC x    118 ) on one side and multiple Service Providers (SP, SP 1    122 →SP y    124 ) on the other side thus ‘bridging’ all of the connected entities. A MICV  120  thus, as one simple example, may offer various routing, formatting, delivery, value-add, etc. capabilities that provide, possibly inter alia: 
         [0027]    1) A WC (WC 1    114 →WC x    118  and, by extension, all of the MSs  102 → 104 ,  106 → 108 ,  110 → 112  that are serviced by the WC WC 1    114 →WC x    118 ) with ubiquitous access to a broad universe of SPs SP 1    122 →SP y    124 , and 
         [0028]    2) A SP SP 1    122 →Sp y    124  with ubiquitous access to a broad universe of WCs (WC 1    114 →WC 1    118  and, by extension, to all of the MSs  102 → 104 ,  106 → 108 ,  110 → 112  that are serviced by the WCs WC 1    114 →WC x    118 ). 
         [0029]    Generally speaking a MICV may have varying degrees of visibility (e.g., access, etc.) to the (MS E←→MS, MS←→SP, etc.) messaging traffic: 
         [0030]    1) A WC may elect to route just their out-of-network messaging traffic to a MICV. Under this approach the MICV would have visibility (e.g., access, etc.) to just the portion of the WC&#39;s messaging traffic that was directed to the MICV by the WC. 
         [0031]    2) A WC may elect to route all of their messaging traffic to a MICV. The MICV may, possibly among other things, subsequently return to the WC that portion of the messaging traffic that belongs to (i.e., that is destined for a MS of) the WC. Under this approach the MICV would have visibility (e.g., access, etc.) to all of the WC&#39;s messaging traffic. 
         [0032]    IMSx extends the concept of a centrally-located, full-featured MICV by abstracting away, and to the extent possible isolating away, all of the complexities, inherent incompatibilities, etc. that are associated with IMS. IMS X  provides, among other things, a single protocol, interface, etc. agnostic access or connection point into which different entities within an IMS ecosystem (for example, possibly inter alia, carriers) may ‘plug.’ 
         [0033]    To help illustrate aspects of IMS X &#39;s single access/connection point consider IMS′ three logical planes (as illustrated in  FIG. 2  and reference numeral  200 ): 
         [0034]    1) Services Plane  202 . For example, one or more Application Server (AS) instances  204 , Billing facilities  206 , Reporting facilities  208 , etc. 
         [0035]    2) Control Plane  210 . For example, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) capability  212 , a Call Session Control Function (CSCF) capability  214 , one or more Media Gateway (MG) instances  216 , etc. 
         [0036]    3) Network or Transport Plane  218 . Support, interfaces, etc. for, possibly inter alia, Voice over IP (VoIP)  220 , WiFi  222 , Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)  224 , Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)  226 , etc. 
         [0037]    As illustrated in  FIG. 3  and reference numeral  300  the different functional elements of an entity (e.g., carriers such as C a    302 →C z    310 , etc.) within an IMS ecosystem may plug in to IMS X &#39;s single access/connection point  332 —e.g., elements of carrier C a &#39;s  302  Control Plane and Network or Transport Plane may plug in to IMS X &#39;s single access/connection point  318 → 320 , elements of carrier C b &#39;s  304  Services Plane may plug into IMS X &#39;s single access/connection point  322 . Similar access points may be realized at  324 → 330 . 
         [0038]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4  and reference numeral  400  the single access/connection point  404  serves much like a façade, behind which connected entities (e.g., carriers such as C a →C z    402 , etc.) may access one or more of the virtual implementations of IMS′ logical planes  406 → 410 . 
         [0039]    Thus, for example, as a carrier&#39;s environment grows and changes, as a carrier&#39;s business needs and models change and evolve, as a carrier deploys new service offerings, etc. it can, possibly among other things, plug into (and thus take advantage of the features and functions that are offered by) different combinations of the virtual implementations of IMS′ logical planes all through the single access/communication point. 
         [0040]    Additionally, placing the virtual planes behind a single façade allows for, possibly among other things, ongoing and dynamic changes, updates, etc. to the physical implementation of a plane without any impact on, or interruptions to, any of the connected entities. 
         [0041]      FIG. 5  and reference numeral  500  provides a detailed depiction of various of the important elements of IMS X . Each of the indicated elements may be controlled by, possibly inter alia, a body of flexible, extensible, and dynamically updateable configuration information. The logical layers or tiers that are depicted in the diagram may be summarized and described as: 
         [0042]    1) Carriers, Networks, Providers, etc.  502 . The full universe of users (such as, possibly inter alia, MSs) of User Equipment (UE)  504 -UE 1    506 →UE n    514 , such as for example mobile telephones, computers, Blackberrys and PalmPilots, etc.—are supported by carriers, networks, providers, etc. The carriers, networks, providers, etc.  502  may connect to IMS X  (which is shown, generally, below the carriers, networks, providers, etc. layer  502 , and which would fit within, e.g., element  404  of  FIG. 4 ) using the single access/communication point that was described above and then, possibly inter alia, exchange traffic with IMS X  over any combination of a range of communication channels—e.g., Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP)/IP, Signaling System Number 7 (SS7), etc.—using any combination of a range of protocols—e.g., SIP, Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP), MM4. etc.  518 . 
         [0043]    2) Protocol  520 . A Protocol Engine (PE) Complex  522  may house a dynamically updateable set of one or more PEs (PE 1    524 →PE n    530  in the diagram). A PE may, for example, leverage a body of flexible, extensible, and dynamically updateable configuration information as it completes its tasks, including possibly inter alia: 
         [0044]    A) Receiving incoming and sending outgoing traffic using any combination of the supported communication protocols, paradigms, etc. 
         [0045]    B) Performing various extraction, validation, editing, formatting, conversion, etc. operations on the elements of an incoming and/or outgoing data stream—e.g., source address, destination address, encoding indicators or flags, payload or body, etc. The specific elements that were just described are illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other elements are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0046]    C) Encapsulating various elements of an incoming data stream within an internal (i.e., intra-IMS X ) artifact and/or un-encapsulating various elements of an outgoing data stream from an internal artifact. An exemplary internal artifact is depicted in  FIG. 6  and reference numeral  600 . Such an artifact  602  may include a header  604  that includes various information  606 , such as a type, or identifier, properties  608  that include other information  610  such as source address, destination address, and/or date/time for a given message, and a body  612  that may contain the contents of the body of an original message. 
         [0047]    The catalog of PE processing steps that was described above is illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other processing steps are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0048]    3) Processing, Routing, Switching (PRS)  532 . A Switching Complex (SC)  534  may house, possibly inter alia, a dynamically updateable set of one or more SC Directors  544  (SCD, SCD 1    546 →SCD n    548  in the diagram), a dynamically updateable set of one or more Queues  536  (Q 1    538 →Q n    542  in the diagram), and a Cross Complex Highway (CCH)  550 . 
         [0049]    A dynamically updateable set of one or more Queues (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ) may operate as intermediate or temporary buffers for incoming and outgoing traffic. 
         [0050]    A CCH  550  may consist of a rotating ‘buffer’ containing a configurable number of Time Slots (TS 0    552 →TS n    554  in the diagram) that may be utilized for, possibly inter alia, the rapid redirection of traffic when, for example, no further substantive processing, routing, etc. of that traffic is required. For example, a SCD  544  may deposit incoming traffic that was received from a PE (e.g., PE 1    524 →PE n    530 ) on to one or more TSs (e.g., TS 0    552 →TS n    554 ) on a CCH  550  and, as the CCH  550  ‘rotates’ or ‘spins’, a SCD  544  (e.g., the same SCD or another SCD) may at the appropriate point remove traffic from those TSs (e.g., TS 0    552 →TS n    554 ) for return to a PE (e.g., PE 1    524 →PE n    530 ). 
         [0051]    A SCD  544  may handle incoming traffic and outgoing traffic and may, possibly inter alia: 
         [0052]    A) Selectively deposit incoming traffic (e.g., traffic received from a PE [e.g., PE 1    524 →PE n    530 ]) on one or more Queues (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ) for subsequent processing by a PRS Engine (PRSE)  556 . 
         [0053]    B) Selectively remove processed traffic from one or more Queues (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ) for return to a PE (e.g., PE 1    524 →PE n    530 ). 
         [0054]    C) Selectively deposit incoming traffic (e.g., traffic received from a PE [e.g., PE 1    524 →PE n    530 ]) on one or more TSs (e.g., TS 0    552 →TS n    554 ) on a CCH  550 . 
         [0055]    D) Selectively remove traffic from one or more TSs (e.g., TS 0    552 →TS n    554 ) on a CCH  550  for return to a PE (e.g., PE 1    524 →PE n    530 ). 
         [0056]    The catalog of SCD activities that was described above is illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other activities are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0057]    A PRSE Complex  556  may house a dynamically updateable set of one or more PRSEs (PRSE 1    558 →PRSE n    560  in the diagram). 
         [0058]    A PRSE (e.g., PRSE 1    558 →PRSE n    560 ) may be workflow-based, with a dynamically updateable set of one or more workflows removing incoming traffic from a Queue (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ), performing all of the required processing operations (explained below), and depositing processed artifacts on a Queue (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ). Through flexible, extensible, and dynamically updatable configuration information a workflow component may be quickly and easily realized to support any number of activities. For example, workflows might be configured to remove an item from a Queue (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ); deposit an item on a Queue (e.g., Q 1    538 →Q n    542 ); perform one or more lookup operations in support of traffic routing; implement aspects of a logical IMS plane; etc. The specific workflows that were just described are exemplary only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other workflow arrangements, alternatives, etc. are easily possible. 
         [0059]    A PRSE (e.g., PRSE 1    558 →PRSE n    560 ) may leverage a comprehensive, flexible, scalable, etc. lookup facility (indicated, albeit at a very high level, as Routing Data  564  in the diagram) to support, possibly inter alia, its traffic routing operations. Such a lookup facility may provide authoritative answers to inquiries like “At this moment in time what carrier services the Telephone Number (TN) 1-703-555-1212?”, “What entity services the SIP address sip: john.doe @bigcompany.com?”, etc. Among other things such a lookup facility may address (1) the complexities that are associated with all of the different TN numbering plans, schemes, etc. that exist around the world; (2) the complexities that arise with worldwide Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regimes; etc. A more detailed depiction of such a lookup facility is presented in  FIG. 7  and reference numeral  700 . Such a lookup facility may consist of, possibly inter alia: 
         [0060]    A) An Electronic Numbering (ENUM) façade  710  through which various PRSEs (E 1    702 → 708  in the diagram) may connect, submit routing inquiries, receive routing responses, etc. 
         [0061]    B) A dynamically updateable set of one or more In-Memory Databases (In-Memory Database 1    712 →In-Memory Database n    714  in the diagram) that optionally house or host selected data (including, possibly inter alia, data from a Composite Routing Database [CRD]  716 ) to provide, as one example, optimal performance. 
         [0062]    C) A Real-Time Query Facility (RTQF)  722  through which inquiries may be dispatched real-time to authoritative bodies (such as, for example, TN assignment administrators) around the world. A RTQF  722  may support multiple communication channels, paradigms, protocols, etc. (such as, possibly inter alia, SS7  724 , TCP/IP  726 , UDP/IP, SMPP  728 , etc.). 
         [0063]    D) A CRD  716  containing comprehensive routing information for, possibly inter alia, TNs within all of the different TN numbering plans, schemes, etc. that exist around the world. A CRD  716  may receive updates (e.g., dynamically, on a scheduled basis, etc.) from any number of sources or feeds including, possibly inter alia, domestic  718  (such as, for example, from a Local Exchange Routing Guide [LERG], from one or more Number Portability Administration Centers [NPACs], etc.) and international  720  (such as, for example, from Hong Kong, from the United Kingdom, etc.). 
         [0064]    With reference again to  FIG. 5 , the catalog of PRS processing activities that was described above is illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other processing steps are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0065]    4) Persistence  568 . A Database (DB) Complex  570  may house a dynamically updateable set of one or more DBs (DB 1    572 →DB n    576  in the diagram). A DB (e.g., DB 1    572 →DB n    576 ) may contain a range of data or information including, possibly inter alia, Transaction Detail Records (TDRs, which may capture elements or aspects of all of the traffic is processed by IMS X ); selected details of all administrative, processing, etc. activities; etc. 
         [0066]    A Data Warehouse (DW) Complex  580  may house a dynamically updateable set of one or more DWs (DW 1    582 →DW n    586  in the diagram). A DW (e.g., DW 1    582 →DW n    586 ) may be fed by, possibly inter alia, a suite of flexible, extensible, and dynamically updatable Extraction-Transformation-Loading (ETL), Universal Rating Engine (URE, described further below), etc. facilities  578  that may pull data or information from, possibly among other sources, one or more DBs (e.g., DB 1    572 →DB n    576 ). 
         [0067]    The DBs (e.g., DB 1    572 →DB n    576 ) and DWs (e.g., DW 1    582 →DW n    586 ) that are depicted are logical representations of the possibly multiple physical repositories that may be implemented to support, inter alia, configuration, word catalog, calculation, etc. information. The physical repositories may be implemented through any combination of conventional Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMSs) such as Sybase or Oracle, through Object Database Management Systems (ODBMSs), through in-memory Database Management Systems (DBMSs), through specialized data repositories, or through any other equivalent facilities. 
         [0068]    5) Administration  588 . An Administrator  590  may provide management for or ‘command and control’ over all of the different IMS X  elements through, as one example, a Web-based interface. It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other interfaces (e.g., data feed, Application Programming Interface [API], etc.) are easily possible. 
         [0069]    Additionally, an Administrator may provide access to the body of flexible, extensible, and dynamically updateable configuration information that all of the different IMS X  elements rely upon. 
         [0070]    An Administration layer or tier may provide comprehensive reporting facilities  592 . Such reporting facilities may leverage, possibly inter alia, one or more DBs (e.g., DB 1    572 →DB n    576 ) and/or one or more DWs (e.g., DW 1    582 →DW n    586 ) to generate scheduled (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly, etc.) and/or on-demand reporting with report results delivered (to, for example, a MS or a WC or a MICV or others) through Short Message Service (SMS)/Multimedia Message Service (MMS)/IMS/etc. messages; through Electronic Mail (E-Mail); through Instant Messenger (IM); through a World Wide Web (WWW)-based facility; through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) facility; via File Transfer Protocol [FTP]; through an API; etc. Generated reports may contain, possibly inter alia, textual and graphic elements. 
         [0071]    The specific IMS X  layer or tier arrangement that was described above is illustrative only and it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous other arrangements are easily possible and indeed are fully within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0072]    Beyond providing basic IMS support and services IMS X  may offer, among other things, additional (e.g., value-add) features and functions such as, possibly inter alia: 
         [0073]    1) Billing. Support for a comprehensive array of billing (e.g. rating, etc.) activities. Such billing activities may leverage a URE to flexibly and dynamically rate events (where an event may include, possibly inter alia, some aspect of incoming traffic, some activity by a PRSE, etc.). A URE may evaluate any number of items as it rates an event, including for example: 
         [0074]    A) One or more TDRs. 
         [0075]    B) One or more charging models, pricing plans, etc. (that may consider, possibly inter alia, origination [such as, for example, carrier, TN, SIP address, etc.], destination [such as, for example, carrier, TN, SIP address, etc.], surcharges and discounts, date, day of week, time, volume, etc.). 
         [0076]    C) One or more flexible, extensible, and dynamically configurable Point in Transaction (PiT) hooks. At a PiT hook one or more processing actions (e.g., a calculation, a call out to an external system, etc.) may be completed. 
         [0077]    A URE may preserve the results of a rated event in, possibly inter alia, one or more TDRs. 
         [0078]    2) Support for public and private IP addresses. 
         [0079]    3) Support for, possibly inter alia, IP Version 4 (IPv4) and IP Version 6 (IPv6). 
         [0080]    4) Support for variable Quality of Service (QoS) levels each level having, possibly inter alia, different cost/charging paradigms. For example, different QoS levels may be established for different classes of traffic, etc.—e.g., one QoS level for voice traffic (such as VoIP), another QoS level for interactive video, another QoS level for streaming video, another QoS level for image and text exchanges (through vehicles such as SMS and MMS), etc. 
         [0081]    5) Filtering. Support for, possibly inter alia, zero, one, or multiple Black List and/or White List artifacts; malware (e.g., virus) detection; spam detection; etc. Each filtering option may have, possibly inter alia, one or more cost/charging paradigms. 
         [0082]    6) Sandbox. The ability to create one or more ‘sandboxes’ or ‘experimentation areas’ wherein an entity (such as, for example, a carrier) may conduct controlled development activities, perform testing, complete evaluation efforts, conduct demonstrations, etc. A sandbox option may have, possibly inter alia, one or more cost/charging paradigms. 
         [0083]    7) Augmentation. Support for the selective addition, insertion, etc. in to the processed traffic of: 
         [0084]    A) Informational elements—e.g., a service announcement, a relevant or applicable factoid, etc. An informational element may be selected statically (e.g., the same informational text is used), selected randomly (e.g., informational text is randomly selected from a pool of available informational text), or location-based (i.e., informational text is selected from a pool of available informational text based on the current physical location of a source and/or recipient [e.g., a MS′ WD] as derived from, as one example, a Location-Based Service [LBS] or similar facility). 
         [0085]    B) Advertising content—e.g., textual material, multimedia (images of brand logos, sound, video snippets, etc.) material, etc. containing advertisements, promotional materials, coupons, etc. The advertising material may be selected statically (e.g., the same advertising material is used), selected randomly (e.g., advertising material is randomly selected from a pool of available material), or location-based (i.e., advertising material is selected from a pool of available material based on the current physical location of a source and/or recipient [e.g., a MS′ WD] as derived from, as one example, a LBS or similar facility). IMS X  may optionally allow advertisers to register and/or provide (e.g., directly, or through links/references to external sources) advertising content. 
         [0086]    It is important to note that the hypothetical example that was presented above, which was described in the narrative and which was illustrated in the accompanying figures, is exemplary only and was presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed. It will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art that numerous alternatives, variations, modifications, etc. to the presented example are easily possible and, indeed, are fully within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0087]    The following list defines acronyms as used in this disclosure. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Acronym 
                 Meaning 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 API 
                 Application Programming Interface 
               
               
                   
                 AS 
                 Application Server 
               
               
                   
                 CCH 
                 Cross Complex Highway 
               
               
                   
                 CRD 
                 Composite Routing Database 
               
               
                   
                 CSCF 
                 Call Session Control Function 
               
               
                   
                 DB 
                 Database 
               
               
                   
                 DBMS 
                 Database Management System 
               
               
                   
                 DSL 
                 Digital Subscriber Line 
               
               
                   
                 DW 
                 Data Warehouse 
               
               
                   
                 E-Mail 
                 Electronic Mail 
               
               
                   
                 ENUM 
                 Electronic Numbering 
               
               
                   
                 ETL 
                 Extraction. Transformation. Loading 
               
               
                   
                 FMC 
                 Fixed Mobile Convergence 
               
               
                   
                 FTP 
                 File Transfer Protocol 
               
               
                   
                 HSS 
                 Home Subscriber Server 
               
               
                   
                 IM 
                 Instant Messenger 
               
               
                   
                 IMS 
                 IP Multimedia Subsystem 
               
               
                   
                 IMSx 
                 IMS Exchange 
               
               
                   
                 IP 
                 Internet Protocol 
               
               
                   
                 IPv4 
                 IP Version 4 
               
               
                   
                 IPv6 
                 IP Version 6 
               
               
                   
                 IVR 
                 Interactive Voice Response 
               
               
                   
                 LBS 
                 Location-Based Service 
               
               
                   
                 LERG 
                 Local Exchange Routing Guide 
               
               
                   
                 MG 
                 Media Gateway 
               
               
                   
                 MICV 
                 Messaging Inter-Carrier Vendor 
               
               
                   
                 MMS 
                 Multimedia Message Service 
               
               
                   
                 MNP 
                 Mobile Number Portability 
               
               
                   
                 MS 
                 Mobile Subscriber 
               
               
                   
                 NGN 
                 Next Generation Networking 
               
               
                   
                 NPAC 
                 Number Portability Administration Center 
               
               
                   
                 ODBMS 
                 Object Database Management System 
               
               
                   
                 PE 
                 Protocol Engine 
               
               
                   
                 PiT 
                 Point in Transaction 
               
               
                   
                 PLMN 
                 Public Land Mobile Network 
               
               
                   
                 PRS 
                 Processing, Routing, Switching 
               
               
                   
                 PRSE 
                 PRS Engine 
               
               
                   
                 PSTN 
                 Public Switched Telephone Network 
               
               
                   
                 Q 
                 Queue 
               
               
                   
                 QoS 
                 Quality of Service 
               
               
                   
                 RDBMS 
                 Relational Database Management System 
               
               
                   
                 RTQF 
                 Real-Time Query Facility 
               
               
                   
                 SC 
                 Switching Complex 
               
               
                   
                 SCD 
                 SC Director 
               
               
                   
                 SIP 
                 Session Initiation Protocol 
               
               
                   
                 SMPP 
                 Short Message Peer-to-Peer 
               
               
                   
                 SMS 
                 Short Message Service 
               
               
                   
                 SP 
                 Service Provider 
               
               
                   
                 SS7 
                 Signaling System Number 7 
               
               
                   
                 3GPP 
                 Third Generation Partnership Project 
               
               
                   
                 TCP 
                 Transmission Control Protocol 
               
               
                   
                 TDR 
                 Transaction Detail Record 
               
               
                   
                 TN 
                 Telephone Number 
               
               
                   
                 TS 
                 Technical Slot 
               
               
                   
                 UDP 
                 User Datagram Protocol 
               
               
                   
                 UE 
                 User Equipment 
               
               
                   
                 URE 
                 Universal Rating Engine 
               
               
                   
                 VolP 
                 Voice Over IP 
               
               
                   
                 WC 
                 Wireless Carrier 
               
               
                   
                 WD 
                 Wireless Device 
               
               
                   
                 WWW 
                 World Wide Web