Charging and location indications in a generic access network

1. A method of providing both location and charging information from a Generic Access Network (GAN) to a core network, said method comprising:

determining by a GAN controller (GANC), a Charging Cell Global Identity (Charging-CGI) and a Location Cell Global Identity (Location-CGI) for a mobile station registering with the GANC, wherein the Charging-CGI provides charging information required for proper charging of a transaction by a mobile station, and the Location-CGI provides location information required for location-based services or routing of an emergency call from the mobile station to an emergency center;

storing the Charging-CGI and the Location-CGI in a mobile station context;

receiving from the mobile station, a request to establish a signaling connection, said request including an indication of a reason for the connection;

selecting from the mobile station context, either the Charging-CGI or the Location-CGI based upon the reason for the connection; and

sending the selected CGI to the core network in a message triggering a signaling connection.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving step includes receiving a GA-CSR REQUEST message that includes an Establishment Cause information element (IE) wherein the Establishment Cause IE is selectively set by the mobile station to indicate either a normal call or an emergency call.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining step includes determining the Charging-CGI and the Location-CGI by analyzing in the GANC, information received from the mobile station and preconfigured information available in the GANC.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the preconfigured information is stored in the GANC.

5. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the preconfigured information is stored in a separate database accessible by the GANC.

6. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the preconfigured information includes information about the locations of Access Points in the GAN.

7. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the preconfigured information includes information about the locations of Public IP addresses utilized by mobile stations during registration.

8. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the determining step includes determining the Charging-CGI from information selected from a group consisting of:

the mobile station's International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI);

the IMSI and an identifier of the access point (AP-ID) being utilized by the mobile station;

the IMSI and a GMS EDGE Radio Access Network CGI (GERAN-CGI) reported by the mobile station; and

the IMSI, GERAN-CGI, and a GERAN/UTRAN Coverage Indicator.

9. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the determining step includes determining the Location-CGI from information selected from a group consisting of:

a GMS EDGE Radio Access Network CGI (GERAN-CGI) reported by the mobile station;

the GERAN-CGI and a GERAN/UTRAN Coverage Indicator;

an identifier of the access point (AP-ID) being utilized by the mobile station;

a street address of the AP being utilized by the mobile station;

a Public IP-address for the mobile station; and

geographical coordinates of the mobile station reported by the mobile station.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sending step includes sending the selected CGI to a Mobile-services Switching Center (MSC) over a standard A-interface.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sending step includes indicating the selected CGI to a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) over a standard Gb-interface.

12. A Generic Access Network Controller (GANC) for providing both location and charging information from a Generic Access Network (GAN) to a core network, said GANC comprising:

means for determining a Charging Cell Global Identity (Charging-CGI) for a mobile station registering with the GANC, wherein the Charging-CGI provides charging information required for proper charging of a transaction by a mobile station;

means for determining a Location Cell Global Identity (Location-CGI) for the mobile station, wherein the Location-CGI provides location information required for location-based services or routing of an emergency call from the mobile station to an emergency center;

means for storing the Charging-CGI and the Location-CGI in a mobile station context;

means for receiving from the mobile station, a request to establish a signaling connection, said request including an indication of a reason for the connection;

means for selecting from the mobile station context, either the Charging-CGI or the Location-CGI based upon the reason for the connection; and

means for sending the selected CGI to the core network in a message triggering a signaling connection.

13. The GANC according to claim 12 , further comprising means for storing preconfigured information accessible by the means for determining the Charging-CGI and the means for determining the Location-CGI, wherein the Charging-CGI and the Location-CGI are determined by analyzing information received from the mobile station and the preconfigured information stored in the GANC.

14. The GANC according to claim 12 , further comprising means for accessing preconfigured information stored in an external database accessible by the means for determining the Charging-CGI and the means for determining the Location-CGI, wherein the Charging-CGI and the Location-CGI are determined by analyzing information received from the mobile station and the preconfigured information stored in the database.