Method, device, and storage medium for controlling communication of a mobile terminal

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, an apparatus, and a storage medium for controlling communication of a mobile terminal. The method includes: obtaining location information of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of its location; determining whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information; determining whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area; and when the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, sending a corresponding control instruction to a core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to mobile communications, and particularly to methods, devices, and storage media for controlling the communications of a mobile terminal. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous popularization of mobile terminals, more requirements are put forward for the control of their communications. The existing communication controls currently include location (i.e., space)-based controls, which adopt technologies such as signal shielding and GPS positioning. However, currently, these location-based controls generally have problems such as inaccurate positioning, inability to accurately identify mobile terminals (users), inability to flexibly set control strategies, and low security.

[0003] Specifically, first, currently, the communication control of mobile terminals such as Internet of Things terminals uses GPS chips for positioning. When such mobile terminals are located in places such as basements, the GPS signals are weak, which will cause inaccurate positioning. Second, currently, for the communication control in some specific areas such as prisons, signal jammers are used. However, such communication control will limit the communications of all mobile terminals (users) in the specific area, unable to accurately identify each mobile terminal, and also unable to flexibly set the control strategies for each mobile terminal. Third, currently, for the communication control in some specific areas such as schools, dedicated application Apps are used to control the Internet access of mobile terminals such as mobile phone terminals, which requires rooting (superuser permissions) for these mobile terminals. Such communication control is prone to user information leakage and has low security.

[0004] In view of the above situation, a new communication control solution is needed to solve the problems existing in the current communication control of mobile terminals, such as inaccurate positioning, inability to accurately identify mobile terminals, inability to flexibly set control strategies, and low security. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure proposes methods, devices, and storage media for controlling the communications of a mobile terminal.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal is provided, including: obtaining the location information of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of its location; determining whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information; determining whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area; and when the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, sending a corresponding control instruction to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal is provided, including: obtaining the location information of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of its location; determining whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information; determining whether the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area; and when the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, sending a corresponding control instruction to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area.

[0008] In some embodiments, obtaining the location information of the mobile terminal includes: obtaining the location information of the mobile terminal from a location update request sent by the mobile terminal to a Mobility Management Entity (MME).

[0009] In some embodiments, determining whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information includes: comparing the location information with the pre-stored location information of the predetermined tracking area; and determining that the predetermined device is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area when the location information is consistent with the location information of the predetermined tracking area.

[0010] In some embodiments, determining whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information includes: comparing the location information with the pre-stored location information of the predetermined tracking area; and determining that the predetermined device is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area when the location information is inconsistent with the location information of the predetermined tracking area.

[0011] In some embodiments, determining whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled includes: comparing the user identification information of the mobile terminal with the multiple user identification information of multiple mobile terminals whose communication inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled and pre-stored; and determining that the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the multiple user identification information.

[0012] In some embodiments, determining whether the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled includes: comparing the user identification information of the mobile terminal with the multiple user identification information of multiple mobile terminals whose communication outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled and pre-stored; and determining that the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the multiple user identification information.

[0013] In some embodiments, sending a corresponding control instruction to the core network based on a preset communication control policy includes: sending a corresponding control instruction to a packet data network gateway (PDN-GW) via a policy and charging rules function unit (PCRF) based on the preset communication control policy.

[0014] In some embodiments, the mobile terminal is a mobile phone terminal or an Internet of Things terminal.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method is executed by a deep packet inspection (DPI) device.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal is provided, and the device includes components configured to execute the above method.

[0017] According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, and the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and the program implements the above method when executed by a processor.

[0018] The above gives a brief overview of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive overview of the present disclosure. It is not intended to identify the key or important parts of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Its purpose is only to present some concepts of the present disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description given later.

[0019] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become clearer through the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0020] The accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 1 The overall architecture of a system implementing a communication control scheme for a mobile terminal according to the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 2 The basic flow of a method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 3 The detailed flow of a method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Figure 4 The basic flow of another method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 5 The detailed flow of another method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 6 The structure of a device for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed implementation manners

[0027] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] It should be noted that, in the following detailed description, many specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that some or all of these specific details may not be required to implement the described embodiments. Additionally, in the described embodiments, some well-known content is not described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the concepts of the present disclosure. In appropriate cases, this content should be regarded as a part of the specification.

[0029] Furthermore, the steps of the methods presented in the present disclosure are illustrative. In some embodiments, these methods may have one or more additional steps not described herein and / or omit one or more steps described herein. Moreover, the order in which the steps of these methods are illustrated and described is not restrictive.

[0030] The communication control for mobile terminals (users) in the present disclosure is generally location-based control. Specifically, the present disclosure proposes a solution for controlling the communication of mobile terminals entering a specific area and mobile terminals leaving a specific area, which is a new solution compared with the prior art. This new communication control solution can accurately locate mobile terminals, precisely identify each mobile terminal, flexibly set corresponding control policies, and has high security.

[0031] Here, it should be noted that those skilled in the art should be able to realize that the control of communication involved in the present disclosure may not only include, for example, restricting or prohibiting the communication of mobile terminals, such as only allowing mobile terminals to perform voice services and not allowing data services, but may also include, for example, prioritizing or guaranteeing the communication of mobile terminals, such as some specific mobile terminals can communicate preferentially compared with other mobile terminals.

[0032] Figure 1 The overall architecture of the system for implementing the communication control solution for mobile terminals in the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] As Figure 1 shown, the system 100 includes a base station (eNodeB) 101 and a mobile terminal 102. Here, the eNodeB 101 is a network element of the LTE access network, and the mobile terminal 102 can be any terminal carried by a user and capable of communicating in the LTE network, such as a mobile phone terminal, an Internet of Things terminal, etc. The mobile terminal 102 can move between tracking areas (TAs, Tracking Areas) covered by the eNodeB 101. For example, Figure 1 shows the mobile terminal 102 moving from TA1 to TA2. When the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas, the update of the location of the mobile terminal will be triggered. It should be noted that the concepts of tracking areas and location updates here are well-known to those skilled in the art and will not be introduced in detail here.

[0034] The system 100 further includes an LTE core network 103. As Figure 1 shown, the LTE core network 103 includes network elements such as a mobility management entity (MME), a policy and charging rules function unit (PCRF), a packet data network gateway (PDN-GW), and a serving gateway (S-GW). These network elements communicate with each other through corresponding interfaces S11, Gx, and S5 / S8. In addition, as Figure 1 shown, the network elements MME and S-GW in the core network communicate with the eNodeB in the access network through interfaces S1-MME and S1-U respectively. In addition, the network element PDN-GW in the core network also communicates with the external Internet through the interface SGI. It should be noted that the various network elements in the core network here are well-known to those skilled in the art and will not be introduced in detail here.

[0035] In addition to the mobile terminal, the LTE access network (eNodeB), and the core network, as Figure 1 shown in, system 100 further includes a communication control device 104. Here, the communication control device 104 controls the communication of the mobile terminal 102 according to the communication control solution proposed in the present disclosure. Generally, in the present disclosure, a specific area is planned as a tracking area, so that when the mobile terminal 102 moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of its location, the communication control device 104 can obtain the location information of the mobile terminal 102, and thus can control the communication of the mobile terminal 102 by sending a control instruction to the core network 103 based on the current location of the mobile terminal 102 (including both the case where the mobile terminal 102 is inside and outside the specific area). The control of the communication of the mobile terminal 102 by the communication control device 104 will be described in detail below. Here, the communication control device 104 can be, for example, a Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) device.

[0036] The above has outlined the system for implementing the communication control solution for the mobile terminal in the present disclosure. As those skilled in the art should be aware, Figure 1 the illustration of the system in is merely exemplary and not restrictive. The components in the system can be replaced by those components that are functionally equivalent, and the system can include Figure 1 some components not shown in, and even some components shown in Figure 1 can be omitted. These variations related to the system shown in Figure 1 should be clear to those skilled in the art and will not be listed one by one here.

[0037] Figure 2 shows the basic flow of a method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is intended to control the communication of a mobile terminal entering a specific area (i.e., being inside the specific area). For example, the method can be used to only allow mobile phone terminals within a specific area (such as a campus, a prison) to perform voice services (such as making a call), while not allowing them to perform data services (such as surfing the Internet). Moreover, the method can be executed by Figure 1 the communication control device 104 in.

[0038] First, in step S201, the location information of the mobile terminal is obtained when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of its location.

[0039] As mentioned above, when the mobile terminal carried by the user moves between different tracking areas, an update of the position of the mobile terminal will be triggered. In the present disclosure, the position information of the mobile terminal is obtained when the position update of the mobile terminal is triggered. In this way, the current position of the mobile terminal can be known in a timely manner.

[0040] Next, in step S202, it is determined whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the position information.

[0041] In the present disclosure, a specific area where communication control is required (here, specifically, the communication of the mobile terminal entering the specific area is controlled) is pre-planned as a tracking area (i.e., a predetermined tracking area). In this way, after obtaining the position information of the mobile terminal in step 201, it can be determined whether the mobile terminal has currently entered the specific area (i.e., the predetermined tracking area), that is, whether it is located inside the specific area (i.e., the predetermined tracking area) based on the position information.

[0042] Next, in step S203, when the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area, it is determined whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0043] In the present disclosure, after it is determined in step S202 that the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area, it is necessary to further determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0044] Finally, in step S204, when the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, a corresponding control instruction is sent to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area.

[0045] In the present disclosure, after it is determined in step S203 that the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, the communication of the mobile terminal can be controlled. Specifically, a control instruction is sent to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area.

[0046] For the sake of easier and clearer understanding Figure 2 of the communication control method shown in Figure 3 the following further describes this method in detail in conjunction with Figure 3 shows the detailed flow of a method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] First, in step S301, the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas, triggering a position update.

[0048] As mentioned above, when the mobile terminal carried by the user moves between different tracking areas, an update of the location of the mobile terminal will be triggered.

[0049] Next, in step S302, the location information of the mobile terminal is obtained from the location update request sent from the mobile terminal to the Mobility Management Entity (MME).

[0050] When the location update of the mobile terminal is triggered, the mobile terminal sends a location update request to the MME via the base station (eNodeB). Specifically, the location update request can be sent to the MME through the interface S1-MME between the eNodeB and the MME as shown in Figure 1 . And the location update request includes the location information of the mobile terminal. In this way, in the present disclosure, the location information of the mobile terminal can be obtained from the location update request.

[0051] Next, in step S303, it is determined whether the location information of the mobile terminal obtained in step S302 is consistent with the location information of a predetermined tracking area (i.e., a specific area) stored in advance.

[0052] Step S303 is intended to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area based on the obtained location information of the mobile terminal. Specifically, in order to perform this determination, the location information of the predetermined tracking area can be stored in advance. In this way, after the location information of the mobile terminal is obtained in step S302, the obtained location information of the mobile terminal can be compared with the location information of the predetermined tracking area stored in advance to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area.

[0053] In some implementations, the location information of the mobile terminal obtained in step S302 includes the location information of the base station covering the area where the mobile terminal is currently located (e.g., eNodeB / cell ID). Therefore, the base station location information indicating the location of the predetermined tracking area can be stored in advance. In this way, the obtained base station location information can be compared with the pre-stored base station location information to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area.

[0054] When the judgment result in step S303 is "yes" (i.e., the obtained location information of the mobile terminal is consistent with the pre-stored location information), this means that the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area, and at this time the process proceeds to step S304 for further processing. On the contrary, when the judgment result in step S303 is "no" (i.e., the obtained location information of the mobile terminal is inconsistent with the pre-stored location information), this means that the mobile terminal is not currently located inside the predetermined tracking area, and at this time no further processing is required and the process ends.

[0055] Next, in step S304, it is determined whether the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the multiple user identification information of multiple mobile terminals whose communication within a predetermined tracking area should be controlled and stored in advance.

[0056] Step S304 is intended to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled. Specifically, in order to perform this determination, multiple user identification information of multiple mobile terminals (users) (each user identification information corresponds to a mobile terminal (user)) can be stored in advance, and the communication of these mobile terminals within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled. Thus, after it is determined in step S303 that the mobile terminal is currently located within the predetermined tracking area, the user identification information of the mobile terminal can be compared with the multiple user identification information stored in advance to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0057] In some implementations, the user identification information of the mobile terminal can be a mobile directory number (MDN), an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), etc. The location information of the mobile terminal obtained in step S302 can include the MDN / IMSI of the mobile terminal. Thus, the MDN / IMSI of the mobile terminal can be compared with the multiple pre-stored MDN / IMSI to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0058] When the judgment result in step S304 is "yes" (i.e., the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the pre-stored user identification information), this means that the communication of the mobile terminal within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, and at this time the process proceeds to step S305 for further processing. On the contrary, when the judgment result in step S304 is "no" (i.e., the user identification information of the mobile terminal is inconsistent with all the pre-stored user identification information), this means that the communication of the mobile terminal within the predetermined tracking area should not be controlled, and at this time no further processing is required and the process ends.

[0059] Next, in step S305, a corresponding control instruction is sent to the policy and charging rules function unit (PCRF) based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal.

[0060] After it is determined in step S304 that the communication of the mobile terminal within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, the actual communication control of the mobile terminal can be started. In the present disclosure, for each mobile terminal (user) whose communication is to be controlled, a corresponding control policy is preset. The preset communication control policies for each mobile terminal (user) can be different, so that specific communication control can be implemented for each mobile terminal. The presetting of the communication control policy can be performed through the customer relationship management (CRM) system of the network operator, the portal website, the application App, etc.

[0061] Those skilled in the art should be able to realize that the communication control policy here represents the rules for controlling communication, that is, it specifies how to control communication. As an example, the communication control policy of the mobile terminal can be composed of elements such as user identification, area, time period, etc. Such a communication control policy specifies communication control for a specific user (mobile terminal), a specific area, and a specific time period.

[0062] Therefore, in step S305, for the mobile terminal determined that the communication within the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, the corresponding control instruction for execution is sent to the PCRF based on the corresponding control policy. As Figure 1 shown, the control instruction can be sent from the communication control terminal 104 to the PCRF in the core network 103. As mentioned before, the function of the network element PCRF is well-known to those skilled in the art and will not be introduced in detail here.

[0063] Then, in step S306, the PCRF sends the control instruction to the packet data network gateway (PDN-GW). As Figure 1 shown, the PCRF can send the control instruction to the PDN-GW via the interface Gx.

[0064] Then, in step S307, the PDN-GW controls the communication of the mobile terminal according to the received control instruction. As mentioned before, the function of the network element PDN-GW is well-known to those skilled in the art and will not be introduced in detail here.

[0065] After step 307, the process ends. In this way, through the processing in the above series of steps, specific communication control for a specific mobile terminal (user) and a specific area is achieved.

[0066] Here, it should be noted that Figure 3 the content shown in Figure 3 is an example of the process of controlling the communication of the mobile terminal, which is for illustrative purposes only and not for restrictive purposes. The communication control of the mobile terminal in the present disclosure does not need to be strictly limited to the process shown in

[0067] In addition, those skilled in the art should be able to realize that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist and spirit of the present disclosure, such as adding, combining, deleting, replacing steps, etc. Additionally, it should be noted that in order to highlight the idea of the present disclosure, the above description of Figure 3 focuses more on the differences between the present disclosure and the prior art, and some content in the prior art may not be described in detail, which should be well-known to those skilled in the art. Figure 3 From the above, it can be seen that in the present disclosure, first, a specific area is pre-planned as a tracking area, so as to obtain the location information of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and updates its location. In this way, the positioning accuracy of the mobile terminal is high. Second, for each mobile terminal, it is determined whether its communication within a predetermined tracking area should be controlled, rather than controlling the communication of all mobile terminals within the predetermined tracking area, and communication control policies can be set for each mobile terminal (user) for control. In this way, each mobile terminal to be controlled can be accurately identified and the communication control policy can be flexibly set. Finally, the above communication control process can be executed by the network operator without the need to execute, for example, by using a dedicated application App to root the mobile terminal. In this way, the leakage of user information can be avoided and the security is high.

[0068]

[0069] Figure 4 Figure 1 shows the basic process of another method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method aims to control the communication of a mobile terminal that leaves a specific area (i.e., is located outside the specific area). For example, this method can be used to control the communication of an Internet of Things terminal that originally should communicate within a specific working range after leaving the specific working range. Moreover, this method can be executed by the communication control device 104 in

[0070] First, in step S401, when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of its location, the location information of the mobile terminal is obtained.

[0071] Figure 4 Figure 2 Step S401 in is the same as step S201 in

[0072] and will not be described again here. Then, in step S402, based on the location information, it is determined whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside a predetermined tracking area.

[0073] In the present disclosure, a specific area where communication control is required (here, specifically, the communication of mobile terminals leaving the specific area is controlled) is pre-planned as a tracking area (i.e., a predetermined tracking area). Thus, after obtaining the location information of the mobile terminal in step 401, based on this location information, it can be determined whether the mobile terminal has currently left the specific area (i.e., the predetermined tracking area), that is, whether it is located outside the specific area (i.e., the predetermined tracking area).

[0074] Next, in step S403, when the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area, it is determined whether the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0075] In the present disclosure, after it is determined in step S402 that the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area, it is necessary to further determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0076] Finally, in step S404, when the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, a corresponding control instruction is sent to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area.

[0077] In the present disclosure, after it is determined in step S403 that the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, the communication of the mobile terminal can be controlled. Specifically, a control instruction is sent to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area.

[0078] For the sake of more clearly understanding Figure 4 the communication control method shown in Figure 5 the method is further described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 5 FIG. shows a detailed process of another method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0079] First, in step S501, the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers a location update.

[0080] Figure 5 Step S501 in Figure 3 is substantially the same as step S301 in

[0081] and will not be repeated here.

[0082] Figure 5 Step S502 inFigure 3 The steps in S302 are basically the same and will not be described again here.

[0083] Next, in step S503, it is determined whether the location information of the mobile terminal obtained in step S502 is consistent with the location information of a pre-stored predetermined tracking area (i.e., a specific area).

[0084] Figure 5 The step S503 in Figure 3 is similar to the step S303 in

[0085] Step S503 aims to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area based on the obtained location information of the mobile terminal. Similarly, to perform this determination, the location information of the predetermined tracking area (e.g., base station location information) can be pre-stored. In this way, after the location information of the mobile terminal is obtained in step S502, the obtained location information of the mobile terminal can be compared with the pre-stored location information of the predetermined tracking area to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area.

[0086] When the judgment result in step S503 is "no" (i.e., the obtained location information of the mobile terminal is inconsistent with the pre-stored location information), this means that the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area, and at this time, the process proceeds to step S504 for further processing. On the contrary, when the judgment result in step S503 is "yes" (i.e., the obtained location information of the mobile terminal is consistent with the pre-stored location information), this means that the mobile terminal is not currently located outside the predetermined tracking area, and at this time, no further processing is required and the process ends.

[0087] Next, in step S504, it is determined whether the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the multiple user identification information of multiple mobile terminals whose communications outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled and pre-stored.

[0088] Figure 5 The step S504 in Figure 3 is similar to the step S304 in

[0089] Step S504 is intended to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled. Similarly, in order to perform this determination, multiple user identification information of multiple mobile terminals (users) (each user identification information corresponds to a mobile terminal (user), for example, MDN / IMSI) can be pre-stored, and the communication of these mobile terminals outside the predetermined tracking area should all be controlled. In this way, after it is determined in step S503 that the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area, the user identification information of the mobile terminal can be compared with the multiple pre-stored user identification information to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled.

[0090] When the judgment result in step S504 is "yes" (that is, the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the pre-stored user identification information), this means that the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, and at this time the process proceeds to step S505 for further processing. On the contrary, when the judgment result in step S504 is "no" (that is, the user identification information of the mobile terminal is inconsistent with all the pre-stored user identification information), this means that the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should not be controlled, and at this time no further processing is required and the process ends.

[0091] Next, in step S505, a corresponding control instruction is sent to the Policy and Charging Rules Function unit (PCRF) based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal.

[0092] Figure 5 Step S505 in Figure 3 is basically the same as step S305 in

[0093] and will not be described again here.

[0094] Figure 5 Step S506 in Figure 3 is basically the same as step S306 in

[0095] and will not be described again here.

[0096] Figure 5 Step S507 in Figure 3 is basically the same as step S307 in

[0097] After step 507, the process ends. Thus, through the processing in the above series of steps, specific communication control for a specific mobile terminal (user) in a specific area is achieved.

[0098] Here, it should be noted that Figure 5 The content shown in is an example of the process of communication control of a mobile terminal, which is for illustrative purposes only and not for limitation. The communication control of the mobile terminal in the present disclosure does not need to be strictly adhered to Figure 5 the process shown in.

[0099] In addition, those skilled in the art should be able to realize that various modifications can be made on the basis of without departing from the gist and spirit of the present disclosure, such as adding, combining, deleting, replacing steps, etc. Additionally, it should also be noted that, in order to highlight the idea of the present disclosure, the above description of Figure 5 focuses more on the differences between the present disclosure and the prior art, and some content in the prior art may not be described in detail. These contents should be well-known to those skilled in the art. Figure 5

[0100] In addition, it should also be noted here that since Figure 5 some steps in are the same or similar to Figure 3 , in order to avoid repeated description, these steps in may not be described in detail. However, as should be clear to those skilled in the art, Figure 5 the processing of some steps in should also be applicable to Figure 3 the same or similar steps in. Figure 5

[0101] Similarly, as can be seen from the above, in the present disclosure, first, a specific area is pre-planned as a tracking area, so as to obtain the location information of the mobile terminal when it moves between tracking areas and updates its location. In this way, the positioning accuracy of the mobile terminal is high. Second, for each mobile terminal, it is determined whether its communication outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, rather than controlling the communication of all mobile terminals outside the predetermined tracking area, and respective communication control policies can be set for each mobile terminal (user) for control. In this way, each mobile terminal to be controlled can be accurately identified and the communication control policy can be flexibly set. Finally, the above communication control process can be executed by the network operator without the need to execute, for example, by using a dedicated application App to Root the mobile terminal. In this way, the leakage of user information can be avoided and the security is high.

[0102] ​​So far, the method for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal of the present disclosure has been completely introduced above. As mentioned above, the communication control method proposed by the present disclosure is a new solution, which solves problems existing in the communication control of existing mobile terminals, such as inaccurate positioning, inability to accurately identify mobile terminals, inability to flexibly set control policies, and low security.

[0103] The present disclosure can also be implemented by corresponding devices. Below, the communication control device of the present disclosure will be briefly introduced. The communication control device of the present disclosure includes components configured to execute the above communication control method.

[0104] As an example, Figure 6 shows the structure of a device for controlling the communication of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0105] As Figure 6 shown in, device 600 includes a first component 601, a second component 602, a third component 603, and a fourth component 604.

[0106] Here, for example, the first component 601 can be configured to obtain the location information of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of the location. The second component 602 can be configured to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information. The third component 603 can be configured to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area. The fourth component 604 can be configured to, when the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, send a corresponding control instruction to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area.

[0107] In addition, for example, the first component 601 can also be configured to obtain the location information of the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers an update of the location. The second component 602 can also be configured to determine whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information. The third component 603 can also be configured to determine whether the communication of the mobile terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled when the mobile terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area. The fourth component 604 can also be configured to, when the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, send a corresponding control instruction to the core network based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the communication of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area.

[0108] It should be noted here that, as an example, only the processing performed by the first component 601, the second component 602, the third component 603, and the fourth component 604 is described above. Figure 2 and Figure 4 is described above. Obviously, Figure 3 and Figure 5 the processing described above and other processing can also be performed by these components. Additionally, Figures 2 - 5 the processing described above and other processing can also be performed by a greater or fewer number of components, rather than being limited to being performed by the Figure 6 four components shown above. These are all realizable by those skilled in the art and will not be elaborated in detail here.

[0109] The present disclosure can also be implemented by a computer program. For example, the program can be stored in the memory of a computer device and, when executed by the processor of the computer device, implement the communication control method of the present disclosure. Alternatively, the program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and, when executed by a processor, implement the communication control method of the present disclosure.

[0110] The computer-readable storage medium can be, for example but not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium can include: portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0111] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the possible architectures, functions, and operations of devices, methods, etc. according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram can represent a module, segment, or part of an instruction that includes one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified one or more logical functions. In some alternative implementations, the processing marked in the block can also occur in a different order than that marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, depending on the functions involved, two consecutive blocks can actually be executed substantially in parallel, or these blocks can sometimes be executed in the reverse order. Those skilled in the art can adjust the order of operations as needed. Those skilled in the art can also add more operations or omit some of the operations as needed.

[0112] Any feature described in this specification, unless specifically recited, can be replaced by other equivalent or similar-purpose alternative features. That is, unless specifically recited, each feature is only an example of a series of equivalent or similar features.

[0113] In addition, although the description of the present disclosure has included a description of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects, other variations, modifications, and combinations are also within the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is intended to obtain rights that should include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects within the allowable scope, and include interchangeable, alternative, and / or equivalent structures, functions, or steps to those claimed, whether or not these interchangeable, alternative, and / or equivalent structures, functions, or steps are specifically described in this specification.

Claims

1. A method for controlling the communication of a mobile phone terminal, which is executed by a Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) device, and includes: Obtaining the location information of the mobile phone terminal from a location update request sent by the mobile phone terminal to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) when the mobile phone terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers a location update, where the tracking area is a specific area that is pre-planned and requires specific communication control; Determining whether the mobile phone terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information; When the mobile phone terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area, determining whether specific communication of the mobile phone terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, where determining whether specific communication of the mobile phone terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled includes: Comparing the user identification information of the mobile phone terminal with multiple pieces of user identification information of multiple mobile phone terminals for which specific communication inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled and pre-stored; and When the user identification information of the mobile phone terminal is consistent with one of the multiple pieces of user identification information, determining that specific communication of the mobile phone terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled; and When specific communication of the mobile phone terminal inside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, issuing a corresponding control instruction to a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW) in the core network via a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile phone terminal to control the specific communication of the mobile phone terminal inside the predetermined tracking area.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether the mobile phone terminal is currently located inside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information includes: Comparing the location information with the location information of the predetermined tracking area pre-stored; and When the location information is consistent with the location information of the predetermined tracking area, determining that the mobile phone terminal is currently located inside the predetermined tracking area.

3. A method for controlling the communication of a mobile phone terminal, which is executed by a Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) device, and includes: Obtaining the location information of the mobile phone terminal from a location update request sent by the mobile phone terminal to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) when the mobile phone terminal moves between tracking areas and triggers a location update, where the tracking area is a specific area that is pre-planned and requires specific communication control; Determining whether the mobile phone terminal is currently located outside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information; When the mobile phone terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area, determining whether specific communication of the mobile phone terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, where determining whether specific communication of the mobile phone terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled includes: Comparing the user identification information of the mobile phone terminal with multiple pieces of user identification information of multiple mobile phone terminals for which specific communication outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled and pre-stored; and When the user identification information of the mobile terminal is consistent with one of the multiple pieces of user identification information, it is determined that specific communications of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled; and When specific communications of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area should be controlled, corresponding control instructions are sent to the Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW) in the core network via the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) based on a preset communication control policy for the mobile terminal to control the specific communications of the mobile terminal outside the predetermined tracking area.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein Determining whether the mobile terminal is currently located outside a predetermined tracking area based on the location information includes: comparing the location information with the location information of the predetermined tracking area stored in advance; and when the location information is inconsistent with the location information of the predetermined tracking area, determining that the mobile terminal is currently located outside the predetermined tracking area.

5. An apparatus for controlling communications of a mobile terminal, the apparatus including components configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-4.

6. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1-4.

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