System, method, and network elements for providing a service in a communication network
View Patent ↗The invention provides a system, method, network elements, and computer program products, for providing a supplementary service such as an advice of charge, AoC, service requested by a user equipment at a session set-up or during a session of a communication service. For setting up a session of the communication service, a signalling message may be transmitted or received which signalling message comprises a request for a supplementary service and an indication on whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided. When detecting that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, the session setup is suspended until after the requested supplementary service has been provided. The setting up of the session is resumed after determining that said supplementary service has been provided.
1. Method, comprising:
transmitting a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising
a request for a supplementary service and
an indication of whether the setting up of the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
detecting that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
providing said supplementary service; and
resuming said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
2. Method according to claim 1 , comprising:
suspending said setting up the session of the communication service until receiving a confirmation that the supplementary service has been provided, and
resuming said setting up of the session of the communication service after receiving the confirmation of the supplementary service.
3. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the suspending of the setting up of the session of the communication service is implemented by suppressing a step of alerting a called party.
4. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the suspending of the setting up of the session of the communication service is implemented by not forwarding the session setup request to a called user equipment.
5. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the resuming said setting up the session of the communication service is implemented in a calling user equipment, in a network element involved in providing the supplementary service, or in a called user equipment.
6. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the supplementary service is at least one of
an advice of charge service informing a user of a charge for the session of the communication service,
a reverse charging service informing a called user on a request for charging the called user for the session of the communication service, and
a terminating identification presentation supplementary service which provides an originating party with an identity of a called party to whom the session is to be connected, or, when a communication forwarding service has been activated by the called party, with an identity of a forwarded to party or an identity of a final destination.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precondition framework is defined by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document Request for Comments (RFC) 3312.
8. Apparatus, comprising:
a receiver configured to receive a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising a request for a supplementary service and an indication of whether the setting up of a session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
a detector configured to detect that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
a provider configured to provide said supplementary service; and
a resumer configured to resume said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein said resumer is configured to receive a further signalling message from said user, indicating that the requested supplementary service has been provided.
10. Apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the apparatus is a network element or an application server of an internet protocol multimedia subsystem.
11. Apparatus, comprising
a receiver configured to receive a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising an indication of a supplementary service to be provided to a calling user and an indication of whether the setting up of the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided to the calling user;
a detector configured to detect that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided; and
a resumer configured to resume said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
12. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said resumer is configured to receive a further signalling message indicating that the requested supplementary service has been provided to the calling user.
13. Apparatus according to claim 11 comprising a suspender configured to suppress alerting a user of the apparatus.
14. Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said resumer is configured to alert a user of the apparatus.
15. Apparatus, comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising a request for a supplementary service and an indication that a called user is not to be alerted of the session to be set up until said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
16. Apparatus according to claim 15 , comprising:
a determiner configured to determine that the requested supplementary service has been provided,
said transmitter being configured to transmit a further signalling message, indicating that the requested supplementary service has been provided.
17. Apparatus according to claim 15 , comprising inputter configured to input, by a user of the apparatus, information for including said indication that a called user is not to be alerted of the session to be set up, into said signalling message.
18. Apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein said transmitter is configured to transmit the further signalling message in response to an input given by a user of the apparatus.
19. System, comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising a request for a supplementary service and an indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
a detector configured to detect that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
a provider configured to provide said supplementary service; and
a resumer configured to resume said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
20. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, including a program for a processing device, comprising software code portions for
transmitting a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising a request for a supplementary service and an indication of whether the setting up of the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
detecting that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
providing said supplementary service; and
resuming said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
21. The computer program according to claim 20 , wherein the program is configured to be directly loadable into an internal memory of the processing device.
22. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, including a program for a processing device, comprising software code portions for:
receiving a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising a request for a supplementary service and an indication of whether the setting up of the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
detecting that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided;
providing said supplementary service; and
resuming said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
23. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, including a program for a processing device, comprising software code portions for:
receiving a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising an indication of a supplementary service to be provided to a calling user and an indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided to the calling user;
detecting that said setting up the session of the communication service is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided; and
resuming said setting up the session of the communication service after determining that said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.
24. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, including a program for a processing device, comprising software code portions for:
transmitting a signalling message for setting up a session of a communication service, the signalling message comprising a request for a supplementary service and an indication that a called user is not to be alerted of the session to be set up until said supplementary service has been provided,
wherein the signalling message comprises a precondition defining said request for said supplementary service and said indication of whether the session setup is to be suspended until said supplementary service has been provided, wherein the precondition comprises session initiation protocol precondition framework.