Number-carrying call transfer method, short message sending method, device and electronic equipment

Abstract

The application provides a number portability method, a short message sending method, a device and an electronic equipment. The number portability method is applied to a number portability special switch of a home party and comprises the following steps: receiving number-out party information sent by a service operation support system of the home party; determining a mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the number-out party information; and sending the mobile switching center identifier to a home location register of the number-out party, so that the home location register updates location information corresponding to the number-out party to the mobile switching center identifier. The number portability method, the short message sending method, the device and the electronic equipment provided by the application realize that a short message service center directly queries number-in party information from a home subscriber server, and then the process of inter-network short messages and traditional inter-network short messages sent to a number portability user is kept consistent, thereby solving the problem of unreasonable charging mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a number portability method, a short message sending method, an apparatus, and an electronic device. Background Technology

[0002] Number portability (NP) is a basic telecommunications service that allows cellular mobile communication users (excluding IoT users) to change their contracted basic telecommunications service provider within the same local network while keeping their phone number unchanged. It is essential to ensure that users transferring their numbers enjoy the same rights under the same conditions. After a user transfers their number from their original provider (the basic telecommunications service provider that initially used the number) to their new provider (the basic telecommunications service provider they contract with after number portability), communication between the original provider and the new user is considered inter-network communication, including SMS (Short Message Service).

[0003] In existing number portability methods, the business operations support system notifies the home location register (HOME) to delete the locally stored information of the ported-out user. After deletion, the HOME register sends a deactivation message to the dedicated number portability switch and receives the switch's identifier, thus completing the number portability process. However, this method makes SMS services between the original user and the ported user dependent on SMS communication between the SMS service center and the dedicated number portability switch, resulting in a different billing method compared to traditional inter-network SMS. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a number portability method, a short message sending method, an apparatus, and an electronic device to solve the problem of unreasonable billing methods for short message services between home network users and number portability users in the prior art.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for number portability, the method being applied to a dedicated number portability switch of the home network, the method comprising:

[0006] Receive the porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the business operation support system of the home party;

[0007] Determine the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the ported-in information;

[0008] The mobile switching center identifier is sent to the home location register of the ported-out number so that the home location register can update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the mobile switching center identifier.

[0009] In one embodiment, determining the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the carry-in information includes:

[0010] Based on the number portability routing code included in the porting information, and the mapping relationship between the number portability routing code and the mobile switching center identifier, the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting information is determined.

[0011] Secondly, the present invention provides a method for sending short messages, the method being applied to a short message service center, the method comprising:

[0012] Receive short messages sent by user terminals;

[0013] Send a location query request to the home location register of the called number corresponding to the short message, and receive the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register. The location information in the home location register is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described above.

[0014] If the location information corresponding to the called number is the Mobile Switching Center identifier, then the short message is sent to the short message gateway connected to the carrier corresponding to the Mobile Switching Center identifier.

[0015] In one embodiment, the step of sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier further includes:

[0016] Determine the message source information of the short message and add the message source information to the short message.

[0017] In one embodiment, sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the port-in party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier includes:

[0018] The short message is sent to the short message gateway connected to the receiving party, so that the short message gateway can send the short message to the short message gateway of the receiving party, generate an inter-network SMS call detail record containing message source information, and send the inter-network SMS call detail record to the business operation support system.

[0019] In one embodiment, the step of receiving the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register further includes:

[0020] If the location information corresponding to the called number is not the mobile switching center identifier, the short message is sent to the mobile switching center corresponding to the location information to generate an intra-network SMS call detail record, and the intra-network SMS call detail record is sent to the business operation support system.

[0021] Fifthly, the present invention provides an electronic device, including a memory and a memory storing a computer program, wherein the processor executes the program to implement the number portability method described in the first aspect, or the short message sending method described in the second aspect.

[0022] In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing the processor to execute the number portability method described in the first aspect, or the short message sending method described in the second aspect.

[0023] The number portability method, SMS sending method, apparatus, and electronic device provided by this invention, in the number portability process, the home network's business operation support system sends the porting-in information of the outgoing number to the home network's dedicated number portability switch. The home network's dedicated number portability switch, based on the different porting-in parties, sends different Mobile Switching Center (MSC) identifiers to the home network's subscriber server (CNPS) when simulating location updates. This allows the CNPS to update the location information corresponding to the outgoing number with the MSC identifier, thus providing the SMS service center with the ability to directly query the porting-in information from the CNPS. This ensures that the process of sending inter-network SMS messages to number-porting users is consistent with traditional inter-network SMS messages, solving the problem of unreasonable billing methods. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 This is one of the flowcharts illustrating the number portability method provided by this invention;

[0026] Figure 2 This is the second flowchart of the number portability method provided by the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 This is one of the flowcharts illustrating the SMS sending method provided by the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the short message sending system provided by the present invention;

[0029] Figure 5 This is the second flowchart of the short message sending method provided by the present invention;

[0030] Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of the number portability device provided by the present invention;

[0031] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the short message sending device provided by the present invention;

[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided by the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0033] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0034] CSMS (Central Service Management System): Built by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it handles NP-related business processes and stores the most authoritative full NPDB (Number Portability Database).

[0035] BOSS (Business & Operation Support System): Stores user business data and other information, receives user business requests, converts user business requests into corresponding information and sends corresponding instructions to HLR (Home Location Register), collects user usage records and completes the billing process, etc.

[0036] (L)SMS (Local Service Management System): One of the BOSS modules, it obtains NPDB from CSMS for management and synchronizes NP data with relevant network elements.

[0037] SOA (Service Order Administration): As one of the BOSS modules, it interacts with CSMS and is responsible for handling NP-related business.

[0038] NPMSC (Number Portability MSC): By simulating the location update operation of a ported-out user (number portability user), it sets the VMSC ID of the ported-out user registered in the HLR to NPMSC, and processes the voice and SMS services of the ported-out user in NP services.

[0039] HLR: Currently integrated with HSS (Home Subscriber Server) and UDM (Unified Data Management), it stores the basic attributes of users' network usage, receives instructions sent by BOSS, and controls users in accordance with the instructions and related network elements.

[0040] Portable HLR (NPHLR / HSS / UDM): In addition to the functions of a regular HLR, it is used to store ported user data, handle routing queries for external network numbers, and make different responses according to the different statuses of users (ported, non-NP, inter-external NP).

[0041] SMSC (Short Message Service Center): This device is responsible for receiving and storing short message content submitted by users through MSC / IP-SM-GW / 5GMC, or receiving and storing short message content submitted by other platforms (including BOSS), as well as submitting the short message content to the exchange registered by the short message recipient.

[0042] SMG (Short Message Gateway): A device that enables interoperability of short message services between operators (point-to-point).

[0043] MSC (Mobile Switching Center): It is the core equipment of the mobile network, which performs functions such as call connection, handover control, and radio channel management. It is usually co-located with VLR (Visitor Location Register) and obtains user information from VLR to control user behavior in the MSC.

[0044] VoLTE (IMS Core) (Voice over Long-Term Evolution): A collection of network elements that enable users to use voice services through the LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, including radio access, converged HSS / HLR, PCC (Policy Control and Charging), packet domain, circuit domain, signaling network, IMS core network (IP Multimedia Subsystem Core), service platform, etc.

[0045] IP-SM-GW (IP-Short-Message-Gateway): Provides IP SMS services for VoLTE users. Ordinary VoLTE terminals send MO (Mobile Original, SMS uplink) messages under LTE coverage, as well as send MO and receive MT messages on 2G / 3G networks, all of which are handled by IP-SM-GW.

[0046] 5GMC (5G Message Centre): Capable of processing SMS and basic multimedia messages, it is a set of devices that provide 5G messaging functionality. UE (User Equipment): The mobile terminal used by the user.

[0047] This invention provides a method for number portability. Figure 1 This is one of the flowcharts illustrating the number portability method provided by this invention. This method is applied to the home network's dedicated number portability switch (NPMSC), such as... Figure 1 As shown, the method includes:

[0048] Step 110: Receive the porting-in information of the ported-out number from the business operation support system BOSS of the home party.

[0049] Step 120: Determine the Mobile Switching Center Identifier (NP-MSCID) corresponding to the port-in information;

[0050] Step 130: Send the Mobile Switching Center identifier to the Home Location Register (HLR) of the ported-out number so that the HLR can update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the Mobile Switching Center identifier.

[0051] Specifically, the outgoing number is the number that needs to be ported to another network, the originating network is the original operator to which the outgoing number segment belonged, and the receiving network is the operator to which the outgoing number is contracted after the porting occurs. The receiving network information is information that identifies which specific operator the receiving network belongs to; this embodiment of the invention does not specifically limit this. When a user needs to port their number, the receiving network's BOSS, in conjunction with the CSMS, initiates a porting-in application. The CSMS notifies the originating network's BOSS that the user has requested porting out. Subsequently, the SMS module in the originating network's BOSS sends the outgoing number and its receiving network information to the originating network's NPMSC. The originating network's NPMSC receives and saves the receiving network information. At the same time, the SOA module in the BOSS performs a service shutdown operation on the outgoing number and sends an instruction to the HLR to which the outgoing number belongs, notifying the HLR to modify the mode data of the outgoing number to porting-out mode. It should be noted that no matter how many times the outgoing number is ported out, its corresponding home party will not change. When the home party information corresponding to the outgoing number changes, the home party BOSS will send the latest home party information to the home party NPMSC, thereby ensuring that the home party NPMSC always keeps the latest home party information.

[0052] After receiving the porting-in information, the home NPMSC can determine the corresponding NP-MSCID based on the porting-in information. For example, if the porting-in information indicates that the porting-in is operator A, then the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting-in information can be NP-MSCID-A. Or, for example, if the porting-in information indicates that the porting-in is operator B, then the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting-in information can be NP-MSCID-B. Then, a virtual location update request is sent to the HLR to which the ported-out number belongs. This request includes the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting-in information, so that the HLR can update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number to the NP-MSCID provided by the NPMSC.

[0053] It should be noted that, unlike existing technologies where the HLR of the ported-out number stores the NPMSC ID, in the subsequent SMS sending process from the home number to the ported-out number, the SMSC obtains the NPMSC ID from the HLR of the ported-out number and cannot obtain the user's porting information. The SMSC needs to forward the SMS to the NPMSC first, and then the NPMSC queries the user's porting information and forwards it to the corresponding SMG for SMS delivery. This results in a billing method that differs from the traditional inter-network SMS billing method.

[0054] In this embodiment of the invention, the NP-MSC used by the home NPMSC during the location update of the simulated outgoing number varies depending on the incoming number. This allows the SMSC to directly obtain the NP-MSCID corresponding to the incoming number by querying the routing information from the HLR to the outgoing number in the subsequent SMS transmission process from the home NPMSC to the outgoing number. The SMSC can then directly forward the SMS to the SMG network interconnected with the incoming number, eliminating reliance on SMS communication between the SMSC and NPMSC. This ensures that the process for sending inter-network SMS messages to number ported users remains consistent with traditional inter-network SMS messages, resolving the issue of unreasonable billing methods. Furthermore, this embodiment requires only minor modifications to the NPMSC, conforms to mainstream standards, is easy to implement, and reduces modification costs.

[0055] The method provided in this invention involves the home server (BOSS) sending the porting-in information of the outgoing number to the home server (NPMSC) during the number portability process. The NPMSC then sends different NP-MSCIDs to the HLR (House Location Register) of the outgoing number during simulated location updates, based on the different porting-in numbers. This allows the HLR to update the location information corresponding to the outgoing number to the NP-MSCID, thus providing the SMSC (Signal Mobile Service Controller) with the ability to directly query the porting-in information from the HLR. This ensures that the process for sending inter-network SMS messages to number portability users remains consistent with traditional inter-network SMS messages, resolving the issue of unreasonable billing methods.

[0056] Based on the above embodiments, step 120 includes:

[0057] Based on the number portability routing code RN included in the porting information, and the mapping relationship between the number portability routing code and the mobile switching center identifier, the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting information is determined.

[0058] Specifically, after receiving the porting information, the home NPMSC can determine the Mobile Switching Center ID (NP-MSCID) corresponding to the RN included in the porting information, based on the number porting routing code (RN) included in the porting information and the pre-established mapping relationship between the number porting routing codes of each porting party and the identifiers of each Mobile Switching Center. Here, the RN is used to indicate the operator to which the gateway exchange of the ported-out number belongs.

[0059] It should be noted that, based on the home NPMSC containing its own operator's MSCID, this embodiment of the invention establishes a mapping relationship between the number portability routing code of each porting party and each NP-MSCID in advance. Different NP-MSCID values ​​are allocated on the home NPMSC according to the different porting parties. That is, a set of NPMSC equipment has multiple NP-MSCID values, and each NP-MSCID value maps to a different porting party. This configuration method conforms to the existing network rules and can be implemented with only a small amount of modification to the NPMSC, reducing the modification cost.

[0060] Based on any of the above embodiments Figure 2 This is the second flowchart of the number portability method provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the information processing flow of this method is as follows:

[0061] S1. The home party assigns multiple NP-MSCIDs to the NPMSC and maps them to different porters.

[0062] For example, if the home operator is operator A and the porting parties are operators B and C, then two NP-MSCIDs can be assigned to the NPMSC, namely NP-MSCID-B and NP-MSCID-C, corresponding to the other two operators besides the home operator.

[0063] S2. The SOA module in the importing BOSS notifies the CSMS user to import, and the CSMS notifies the homeping BOSS user to request to import out.

[0064] S3. The home party BOSS (SMS) notifies the home party NPMSC of the porting-in information, and the home party NPMSC saves the porting-in information; the home party BOSS (SOA) closes the porting-out number service and notifies the HLR of the porting-out number to modify the porting-out number data.

[0065] S3' If the outgoing number undergoes a second porting, the new receiving BOSS notifies the CSMS user of the porting, and the CSMS notifies the home BOSS user of the second porting. The home BOSS (SMS) notifies the home NPMSC of the latest receiving information, and the home NPMSC updates the receiving information, thus ensuring that the home NPMSC always retains the latest receiving information.

[0066] S4. The home NPMSC obtains and saves the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number) from its home HLR through the MAP-SEND-IMSI service of MAP (Mobile Application Part) signaling based on the ported-out number (MSISDN, International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number).

[0067] S5. The home NPMSC sends a Virtual Location Update Request to the HLR of the ported-out number based on the IMSI. The VMSC ID contained in this request is the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting-in information. The NP-MSCID here is obtained by mapping the RN (number porting routing code, indicating the network of the operator to which the gateway office of the receiving party belongs, included in the porting-in information. The RN can be allocated in the following ways: 1241: Operator B; 1242: Operator A; 1243: Operator C) as shown in Table 1.

[0068] Table 1

[0069] B 1241 8613400189 C 1243 8613400130

[0070] S6 and HLR will set the location information corresponding to the ported number to the NP-MSCID provided by NPMSC, such as NP-MSCID-B or NP-MSCID-C in the example above.

[0071] Based on any of the above embodiments, this invention provides a method for sending short messages. Figure 3 This is one of the flowcharts illustrating the short message sending method provided by the present invention. This method is applied to a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), such as... Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0072] Step 310: Receive a short message sent by the user terminal;

[0073] Step 320: Send a location query request to the Home Location Register (HLR) of the called number corresponding to the SMS message, and receive the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the HLR. The location information in the HLR is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described in the above embodiments.

[0074] Step 330: If the location information corresponding to the called number is a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) identifier, then the short message is sent to the Short Message Gateway (SMG) connected to the carrier corresponding to the MSC identifier.

[0075] Specifically, users can send short messages to the called number via traditional SMS, VoLTE, 5G messaging, etc., using their user terminals. The MSC, IP-SM-GW, 5GMC, and other relevant network elements forward the short message to the sending SMSC. Upon receiving the short message, the sending SMSC sends a route query (i.e., a location query request) to the HLR (Household Registration Center) to which the called number belongs. The HLR then returns the location information corresponding to the called number to the SMSC. Here, the location information in the HLR is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described in the above embodiments. That is, if the HLR stores the location information of the ported-out number, then that location information is the NP-MSCID (Mobile Switching Center Identifier) ​​of the receiving mobile switching center for that ported-out number.

[0076] Based on this, the sending SMSC can determine whether the called number is a ported-out number by judging whether the received location information is the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting party. If so, it means that the sending SMSC is the home SMSC. The home SMSC adds the RN corresponding to the porting party to the front of the called number and then directly sends the short message to the home SMG connected to the porting party. For example, if the location information is NP-MSCID-B, the SMSC adds the RN corresponding to porting party B to the front of the called number and forwards the short message containing the message source information to the home SMG connected to porting party B. As another example, if the location information is NP-MSCID-C, the SMSC adds the RN corresponding to porting party C to the front of the called number and forwards the short message containing the message source information to the home SMG connected to porting party C.

[0077] It should be noted that, unlike the existing technology where the SMS sending process from the home number to the ported number is different, the SMSC obtains the NPMSC ID from the HLR to which the ported number belongs, and cannot obtain the user's porting information. The SMSC needs to forward the SMS to the NPMSC first, and then the NPMSC queries the user's porting information and forwards it to the corresponding SMG for SMS delivery. This results in a billing method that is different from the traditional inter-network SMS billing method.

[0078] In this embodiment of the invention, the SMSC can directly obtain the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting-in number by querying the route from the HLR to which the porting-out number belongs. The SMSC can then directly forward the SMS to the SMG network interconnected with the porting-in number, thus ensuring that the process of sending inter-network SMS to users with ported numbers is consistent with that of traditional inter-network SMS, solving the problem of unreasonable billing methods. Furthermore, SMS sent to the porting-out number no longer needs to be forwarded through the NPMSC, thereby improving network resource efficiency. In addition, this embodiment of the invention only requires minor modifications to the NPMSC and SMSC, conforms to mainstream specifications, is easy to implement, and reduces modification costs.

[0079] The method provided in this invention involves sending a route query to the HLR via the SMSC to obtain the location information corresponding to the called number. The location information is then assessed. If it corresponds to the NP-MSCID of the porting-in user, the SMSC directly forwards the SMS to the corresponding SMG. This adjusts the SMS sending process to the porting-out user, directly forwarding the SMS to the SMG via the SMSC. This achieves consistency between the SMS sending process to the porting-out user and the traditional inter-network SMS process, solving the problem of unreasonable billing methods in existing technologies. Simultaneously, it improves network resource efficiency and reduces network upgrade costs.

[0080] Based on any of the above embodiments, before sending the short message to the short message gateway (SMG) connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier, the process further includes:

[0081] Determine the source information of the SMS message and add the source information to the SMS message.

[0082] Specifically, the message source information is used to characterize the source method of the short message. This source method can be a traditional MSC, VoLTE SMS, or 5G message, etc., and this embodiment of the invention does not specifically limit this. Before sending the short message to the home SMG connected to the ported-out number, the home SMSC analyzes the message source information of the short message and adds this information to the short message. This ensures that the call detail record (CDR) generated by the SMG contains the message source information, thereby ensuring that sending short messages to the ported-out number enjoys the same policy of different rates for different sources, just like traditional inter-network SMS.

[0083] It should be noted that, unlike existing technologies where SMS services between home users and number portability users rely on SMS communication between SMSC and NPMSC, the communication between SMSC and NPMSC uses the MAP protocol. The MAP protocol loses the source information of the SMS. Therefore, even if the SMS in the SMSC contains the message source, after being forwarded by the NPMSC, the SMS received by the SMG will not contain the message source, and the call detail record generated by the SMG will also not contain the message source, making it impossible to distinguish the SMS sending method and perform billing.

[0084] In this embodiment of the invention, the SMSC (Signal Management Service) obtains a short message containing message source information and sends it directly to the SMG (Signal Management Group). The SMPP (Signal Message Source Protocol) sent by the SMSC to the SMG contains the message source information, ensuring that the call detail records (CDRs) generated by the SMG contain the message source information. This achieves differentiation and billing of SMS sending methods, solving the problem in the prior art that the source of SMS messages cannot be distinguished when sending them to ported-out users, and the problem of charging different fees based on the source of the message.

[0085] Based on any of the above embodiments, sending a short message to the short message gateway (SMG) connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier includes:

[0086] The SMS message is sent to the SMS gateway (SMG) connected to the receiving party, so that the SMS gateway (SMG) can send the SMS message to the receiving party's SMS gateway, generate an inter-network SMS call detail record (CDR) containing message source information, and send the inter-network SMS CDR to the Business Operation Support System (BOSS).

[0087] Specifically, short messages exchanged between users of different basic telecommunications service operators are called inter-network SMS. Short message sending between users of the original operator and users who have ported their numbers also falls under the category of inter-network SMS. After the SMSC sends the short message to the original operator's SMG connected to the new operator, the original operator's SMG forwards the short message to the new operator's SMG, thus completing the short message delivery. The original operator's SMG then generates an inter-network SMS call detail record (CDR) containing the message source information and sends the CDR to the original operator's BOSS.

[0088] Based on this, the home party BOSS obtains the inter-network SMS call detail records (CDRs) and SMSCs from the home party SMG. It discards the SMSCs where the recipient is the ported-out number and uses the inter-network SMS CDRs from the SMG as the billing CDRs for sending SMS messages to the ported-out number. It then applies different tariffs based on the message source information, thereby achieving compliance with the inter-network SMS billing rules. Furthermore, the BOSS does not need to be modified according to the existing billing process.

[0089] Based on any of the above embodiments, after receiving the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the Home Location Register, the method further includes:

[0090] If the location information corresponding to the called number is not a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) identifier, the SMS message will be sent to the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) corresponding to the location information to generate an intra-network SMS call detail record (CDR), and then the intra-network SMS CDR will be sent to the business operation support system.

[0091] Specifically, the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) is the traditional short message initiator network equipment. If the location information corresponding to the called number is not the NP-MSCID of the porting party, it indicates that the called number is a local number. The sending SMSC can forward the short message to the MSC corresponding to the location information according to the traditional intra-network SMS process, thereby completing the short message delivery. Subsequently, the SMSC generates an intra-network SMS call detail record (CDR) and sends it to the sending BOSS for billing.

[0092] Based on any of the above embodiments, when sending inter-network SMS messages normally, the sending SMSC determines whether the recipient's number belongs to its own operator's number segment based on the segment number it belongs to. Otherwise, it forwards the message to the SMG, which then forwards it to the network of the basic telecommunications service operator to which the number segment belongs before distributing it to the user. The billing details for inter-network SMS messages are generated by the sending SMSC.

[0093] With the widespread adoption of VoLTE and the launch of 5G messaging, users can send messages via IP SMS or 5G SMS. For recipients who are not users of the same operator, messages are currently converted to regular SMS and sent as inter-network SMS. To differentiate between traditional SMS and VoLTE / 5G SMS, existing telecom operators are upgrading their SMS centers. Upon receiving an MO SMS, they can identify whether the message originated from a traditional MSC, VoLTE SMS, or 5G message based on the source address carried in the message and record this information in a newly added message source field in the call detail record (CDR). Simultaneously, the `service_type` field of the `deliver_sm` message extended from the SMSC to the SMG (Short Message Peer to Peer) protocol is modified to identify the message source (values ​​include traditional MSC, VoLTE SMS, and 5G message). The SMG, upon receiving this value, also records it in the newly added message source field in the CDR. Telecom operators can then differentiate the SMS sending method based on the message source field in the CDR and implement different business strategies, thus charging users different fees depending on the sending method.

[0094] When a user on the home network sends an SMS to a user who has ported their number to another network, the sending MSC forwards the SMS to its home SMS. The SMS determines that the called number is owned by the network and sends a SRI_FOR_SM query to the HLR / HSS (hereinafter referred to as HLR) to query the route. The HLR / HSS returns the NPMSC ID after the query. The SMS uses this ID to forward the SMS to the NPMSC via the MT_FORWARD_SHORT_MESSAGE service. The NPMSC then queries the user's porting information, adds the RN (Routing Number) before the called number, and sends it to the corresponding SMG for outbound communication. The MT_FORWARD_SHORT_MESSAGE service does not carry message source information, so the SMG cannot obtain this information and treats it as a traditional SMS. The call detail records (CDRs) generated by the SMG for users who have ported their numbers also lack message source information, resulting in inconsistencies between this type of SMS service and traditional inter-network SMS CDRs. Therefore, telecommunications operators cannot charge users different fees based on the sending method.

[0095] SMSC call detail records (CDRs) contain message source information. For messages sent by users within the same network to users who have ported their numbers, the SMSC CDRs can be used as billing CDRs, allowing for different charges based on the sending method. However, using SMSC CDRs for billing does not comply with inter-network SMS billing rules. The MT_FORWARD_SHORT_MESSAGE service from SMSC to NPMSC belongs to MAP (Mobile Application Part) messages, requiring a return within a certain time (e.g., 30 seconds), while inter-network SMS delivery often exceeds 30 seconds. To avoid the SMSC not receiving a reply, after the NPMSC sends an SMS to the SMG, it waits for N seconds (N should be less than the return time required by the existing MAP protocol; for example, if the MAP protocol requires a 30-second reply time, N can be set to 20 seconds). If no status report is received from the SMG after N seconds, a successful delivery notification is immediately sent back to the SMSC. Subsequently, when the NPMSC receives the corresponding SMS receipt, it ignores it if successful and records the relevant information if it fails. At this time, SMSC call detail records (CDRs) are used for billing, which results in CDRs that fail to be sent being billed as successful ones, which does not comply with the rule that only successfully sent SMS messages are charged.

[0096] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a short message sending system for ported numbers. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the short message sending system provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 4 As shown, the system mainly involves the home BOSS, home NPMSC, porting-in BOSS, porting-in HLR, MSC, VoLTE (IMS Core), IP-SM-GW, 5GMC, UE, etc. Among them, the home BOSS sends the corresponding information of the ported number to the home HLR and home NPMSC. MSC refers to the traditional short message initiator network equipment. VoLTE (IMS Core) refers to the network equipment that initiates short message sending by VoLTE users. IP-SM-GW forwards MO SMS messages sent by VoLTE users under LTE coverage to the SMSC in the form of an MSC. 5GMC refers to the network equipment that initiates 5G message sending by 5G message users. When the recipient is a non-5G message user, it is converted into a short message and then forwarded to the SMSC. UE refers to the short message sender terminal, which can send short messages through traditional short messages, VoLTE, 5G messages, etc.

[0097] Based on this SMS sending system, the present invention also provides a method for sending SMS messages to ported numbers. Figure 5 This is the second flowchart illustrating the short message sending method provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the method includes:

[0098] S1. When a user terminal UE sends a short message to a ported number via traditional SMS, VoLTE, 5G messaging, or other methods, the relevant network elements such as MSC, IP-SM-GW, and 5GMC forward the short message to the sender SMSC. After receiving the short message sent by the user on its network, the SMSC analyzes and records the message source information and adds the message source information to the short message.

[0099] S2. The sending SMSC sends a SRI_FOR_SM route query request, i.e., a location query request, to the HLR to which the called number corresponding to the short message belongs. After the HLR queries, it returns the location information corresponding to the called number of the SMSC, i.e., the MSCID reported by the NPMSC.

[0100] S3. The sending SMSC determines whether the MSCID is the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting party. If not, it forwards the SMS to the MSC corresponding to the MSCID according to the traditional intra-network SMS process. The MSC completes the SMS delivery process and the SMSC generates intra-network SMS call detail records. If it is the MSCID, it continues to execute the following process.

[0101] S4. At this point, it indicates that the called number is the ported-out number. The SMSC will add the RN corresponding to the ported-in party to the front of the called number, and then forward the short message containing the message source information to the home SMG connected to the corresponding ported-in party according to the inter-network SMS process.

[0102] S5. The home network SMG sends the SMS message out of the network. After the receiving network completes the delivery, it sends the SMS receipt back to the home network SMG. The home network SMG generates an inter-network SMS call detail record containing the message source information.

[0103] S6. The home party BOSS completes the call detail record (CDR) collection, obtains the CDRs of the home party SMG and SMSC, discards the CDRs of the SMSC where the recipient is a ported number, uses the CDRs of the SMG as the billing CDRs for sending SMS to the ported number, and applies different tariffs based on the message source information.

[0104] It should be noted that this invention relates to the fields of service support and core network technology, and solves the problems of inconsistent billing points and overcharging that exist in existing technologies that use SMSC call detail records (CDRs) as billing CDRs. It has the following advantages:

[0105] 1. This invention enables SMS messages sent to ported-out numbers to be directly forwarded by the SMSC to the SMG for outgoing network, ensuring consistency with the traditional inter-network SMS process. At the same time, the message source information contained in the SMG call detail records also ensures that SMS messages sent to ported-out numbers enjoy the same policy of different rates for different sources as traditional inter-network SMS.

[0106] 2. This invention enables short messages to be directly forwarded to the SMG when sending short messages to ported numbers, without going through the NPMSC, thus improving network resource efficiency.

[0107] 3. This invention requires only minor modifications to NPMSC and SMSC, conforms to mainstream standards, and is easy to implement; and BOSS does not require modification according to the existing billing process.

[0108] 4. This invention does not require modification of existing related signaling processes and network elements other than NPMSC and SMSC, and the implementation cost can be controlled.

[0109] 5. In this invention, the NPMSC is configured with multiple NP-MSCIDs, which conforms to the existing network rules.

[0110] The number portability device provided by the present invention is described below. The number portability device described below can be referred to in correspondence with the number portability method described above.

[0111] Based on any of the above embodiments, this invention provides a number portability device. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the number portability device provided by the present invention. This device is applied to the home network's dedicated number portability switch, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the device includes:

[0112] The receiving unit 610 is used to receive the porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the business operation support system of the home party;

[0113] The determining unit 620 is used to determine the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting-in information;

[0114] The sending unit 630 is used to send a mobile switching center identifier to the home location register of the ported-out number, so that the home location register can update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the mobile switching center identifier.

[0115] The apparatus provided in this invention, during the number portability process, involves the home server BOSS sending the porting-in information of the ported-out number to the home server NPMSC. The home server NPMSC, based on the different porting-in numbers, sends different NP-MSCIDs to the HLR (House Location Register) of the ported-out number during simulated location updates. This allows the HLR to update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the NP-MSCID, thus providing the SMSC (Signal Mobile Service MSC) with the ability to directly query the porting-in information from the HLR. This ensures that the process of sending inter-network SMS messages to ported-out users remains consistent with traditional inter-network SMS messages, resolving the problem of unreasonable billing methods.

[0116] Based on any of the above embodiments, the determining unit 620 is used for:

[0117] Based on the number portability routing code included in the porting information, and the mapping relationship between the number portability routing code and the mobile switching center identifier, the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting information is determined.

[0118] The SMS sending device provided by the present invention is described below. The SMS sending device described below and the SMS sending method described above can be referred to in correspondence.

[0119] Based on any of the above embodiments, this invention provides a short message sending device. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the short message sending device provided by the present invention. This device is applied in a short message service center, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the device includes:

[0120] The receiving unit 710 is used to receive short messages sent by the user terminal;

[0121] The query unit 720 is used to send a location query request to the home location register of the called number corresponding to the short message, and to receive the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register.

[0122] The sending unit 730 is used to send a short message to the short message gateway of the home network connected to the receiving party corresponding to the location information if the location information is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described in the above embodiments.

[0123] The device provided in this embodiment of the invention sends a query route to the HLR via the SMSC to obtain the location information corresponding to the called number, and judges the location information. If it is the NP-MSCID corresponding to the porting-in information, the SMSC directly forwards the short message to the corresponding SMG. Thus, by adjusting the process of sending SMS to porting-out users, the SMS is directly forwarded by the SMSC to the SMG, achieving the goal of making the process of sending SMS to porting-out users consistent with the traditional inter-network SMS process. This solves the problem of unreasonable billing methods in the prior art, while improving network resource efficiency and reducing network transformation costs.

[0124] Based on any of the above embodiments, before sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier, the method further includes:

[0125] Determine the source information of the SMS message and add the source information to the SMS message.

[0126] Based on any of the above embodiments, sending a short message to a short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier includes:

[0127] The SMS message is sent to the SMS gateway connected to the porting party, so that the SMS gateway can send the SMS message to the porting party's SMS gateway, generate an inter-network SMS call detail record containing message source information, and send the inter-network SMS call detail record to the business operation support system.

[0128] Based on any of the above embodiments, the device further includes an intra-network transmission unit, used for:

[0129] If the location information corresponding to the called number is not a mobile switching center identifier, the SMS message will be sent to the mobile switching center corresponding to the location information to generate an intra-network SMS call detail record (CDR), and then the intra-network SMS CDR will be sent to the business operation support system.

[0130] Figure 8 An example is a schematic diagram of the physical structure of an electronic device, such as... Figure 8 As shown, the electronic device may include a processor 810, a communication interface 820, a memory 830, and a communication bus 840. The processor 810, communication interface 820, and memory 830 communicate with each other via the communication bus 840. The processor 810 can call a computer program in the memory 830 to execute a number portability method. This method is applied to the home network's dedicated number portability switch. The method includes: receiving the porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the home network's business operation support system; determining the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting-in information; and sending the mobile switching center identifier to the home location register of the ported-out number, so that the home location register updates the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the mobile switching center identifier.

[0131] Alternatively, a short message sending method can be implemented, which is applied to a short message service center. This method includes: receiving a short message sent by a user terminal; sending a location query request to the home location register (HMRC) of the called number corresponding to the short message, and receiving location information corresponding to the called number returned by the HMRC, wherein the location information in the HMRC is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described above; if the location information corresponding to the called number is a mobile switching center identifier, then sending the short message to a short message gateway connected to the porting-in party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier.

[0132] Furthermore, the logical instructions in the aforementioned memory 830 can be implemented as software functional units and, when sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0133] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program comprising program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is able to execute the number portability method provided by the above methods, the method being applied to the home party's dedicated number portability switch, the method comprising: receiving the porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the home party's business operation support system; determining the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting-in information; sending the mobile switching center identifier to the home location register of the ported-out number, so that the home location register updates the location information corresponding to the ported-out number to the mobile switching center identifier;

[0134] Alternatively, the short message sending method provided by the above methods can be executed. This method is applied to a short message service center and includes: receiving a short message sent by a user terminal; sending a location query request to the home location register of the called number corresponding to the short message, and receiving the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register, wherein the location information in the home location register is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described above; if the location information corresponding to the called number is the mobile switching center identifier, then sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier.

[0135] On the other hand, embodiments of this application also provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the number portability method provided in the above embodiments. The method is applied to a dedicated number portability switch of the home party. The method includes: receiving porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the home party's business operation support system; determining the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting-in information; and sending the mobile switching center identifier to the home location register of the ported-out number, so that the home location register updates the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the mobile switching center identifier.

[0136] Alternatively, the short message sending method provided in the above embodiments can be executed. This method is applied to a short message service center and includes: receiving a short message sent by a user terminal; sending a location query request to the home location register of the called number corresponding to the short message, and receiving the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register, wherein the location information in the home location register is updated and maintained based on the number portability method described above; if the location information corresponding to the called number is the mobile switching center identifier, then sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier.

[0137] The processor-readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that the processor can access, including but not limited to magnetic memory (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk (MO)), optical memory (e.g., CD, DVD, BD, HVD), and semiconductor memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0138] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any creative effort.

[0139] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

[0140] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for number portability, characterized in that, The method is applied to a dedicated switch for number portability by the home network operator, and the method includes: Receive the porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the business operation support system of the home party; Based on the number portability routing code included in the number portability information, and the mapping relationship between the number portability routing code and the mobile switching center identifier, the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the number portability information is determined. In this case, different mobile switching center identifiers are assigned on the home network's dedicated number portability switch according to the different number portability parties, and each mobile switching center identifier maps to a different number portability party. The mobile switching center identifier is sent to the home location register of the ported-out number so that the home location register can update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the mobile switching center identifier.

2. A method for sending short messages, characterized in that, The method is applied to a short message service center, and the method includes: Receive short messages sent by user terminals; Send a location query request to the home location register of the called number corresponding to the short message, and receive the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register. The location information in the home location register is updated and maintained based on the number portability method as described in claim 1. If the location information corresponding to the called number is the Mobile Switching Center identifier, then the short message is sent to the short message gateway connected to the carrier corresponding to the Mobile Switching Center identifier.

3. The short message sending method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier further includes: Determine the message source information of the short message and add the message source information to the short message.

4. The short message sending method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Sending the short message to the short message gateway connected to the porting party corresponding to the mobile switching center identifier includes: The short message is sent to the short message gateway connected to the receiving party, so that the short message gateway can send the short message to the short message gateway of the receiving party, generate an inter-network SMS call detail record containing message source information, and send the inter-network SMS call detail record to the business operation support system.

5. The short message sending method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, After receiving the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register, the process further includes: If the location information corresponding to the called number is not the mobile switching center identifier, the short message is sent to the mobile switching center corresponding to the location information to generate an intra-network SMS call detail record, and the intra-network SMS call detail record is sent to the business operation support system.

6. A number portability device, characterized in that, The device is used in the home network's dedicated switch for number portability, and the device includes: The receiving unit is used to receive the porting-in information of the ported-out number sent by the business operation support system of the home party; The determining unit is used to determine the mobile switching center identifier corresponding to the porting party information based on the number porting routing code included in the porting party information and the mapping relationship between the number porting routing code and the mobile switching center identifier. The mobile switching center identifier is assigned to the dedicated number porting switch of the home party according to the different porting parties, and each mobile switching center identifier maps to a different porting party. The sending unit is configured to send the Mobile Switching Center identifier to the Home Location Register of the ported-out number, so that the Home Location Register can update the location information corresponding to the ported-out number with the Mobile Switching Center identifier.

7. A short message sending device, characterized in that, The device is used in a short message service center, and the device includes: The receiving unit is used to receive short messages sent by user terminals; The query unit is used to send a location query request to the home location register of the called number corresponding to the short message, and receive the location information corresponding to the called number returned by the home location register; The sending unit is configured to send the short message to the short message gateway of the home network connected to the receiving party corresponding to the location information if the location information is updated and maintained based on the number portability method as described in claim 1.

8. An electronic device comprising a processor and a memory storing a computer program, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the number portability method of claim 1, or the SMS sending method of any one of claims 2 to 5.

9. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program that causes the processor to execute the number portability method of claim 1, or to execute the short message sending method of any one of claims 2 to 5.

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