Number providing system and number providing method

Abstract

This number providing system for allocating a telephone number to a subscriber includes: a first reception unit that receives an authentication information request for an individual subscriber from an entity managing mobility of a user device; a determination unit that determines, after reception of the authentication information request, whether or not a telephone number is allocated to the individual subscriber; an allocation unit that starts processing for allocating a telephone number to the individual subscriber in a case where determination has been made that a telephone number is not allocated to the individual subscriber; a second reception unit that receives a position registration request for the individual subscriber from the entity; and a processing unit that responds to the position registration request using the telephone number when the telephone number has been allocated to the individual subscriber before starting to respond to the position registration request.

Description

Numbering system and numbering method

[0001] The present invention relates to a numbering system and a numbering method.

[0002] Conventionally, a subscriber identity module (SIM) storing information for identifying the subscriber (e.g., International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)) and a telephone number has been provided to a user. Non-Patent Document 1 proposes a technique in which a telephone number is not assigned to a subscriber when the SIM is provided to the user, but is assigned to the subscriber when the user's UE attaches to a network.

[0003] Munenori Ouchi, "IIJmio meeting 19 IIJ full MVNO thorough explanation", [online], April 13, 2018, Internet Initiative Japan Inc., [Retrieved March 17, 2022], Internet <URL: https: / / www.slideshare.net / IIJ_techlog / iijmio-meeting-19-iij-mvno>

[0004] In the method of Non-Patent Document 1, after a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) requests a telephone number from a Business Support System (BSS), an Update-Location-Answer (ULA) is sent to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) without waiting for a response, and the MME then sends an attach rejection to a User Equipment (UE). The user of the UE must then reboot the UE to connect to the network. Some aspects of the present invention aim to reduce the burden on users when allocating telephone numbers to subscribers.

[0005] In view of the above problems, in some embodiments, there is provided a numbering system for assigning telephone numbers to subscribers, the numbering system comprising: first receiving means for receiving an authentication information request for an individual subscriber from an entity that manages mobility of user equipment; determining means for determining whether a telephone number has been assigned to the individual subscriber after receiving the authentication information request; assigning means for starting a process for assigning a telephone number to the individual subscriber when it is determined that a telephone number has not been assigned to the individual subscriber; second receiving means for receiving a location registration request for the individual subscriber from the entity; and responding means for responding to the location registration request using the telephone number when a telephone number has been assigned to the individual subscriber before starting to respond to the location registration request.

[0006] The above means reduces the burden on the user when assigning telephone numbers to subscribers.

[0007] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0008] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present invention. A diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a numbering system according to some embodiments. A diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a computer according to some embodiments. A sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process at the time of attachment according to some embodiments. A diagram illustrating examples of subscriber information and telephone number information according to some embodiments. A flow diagram illustrating an example of a process at the time of attachment according to some embodiments. A flow diagram illustrating an example of a process for assigning a telephone number according to some embodiments. A flow diagram illustrating an example of a process for assigning a telephone number according to some embodiments. A sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process at the time of status change according to some embodiments. A flow diagram illustrating an example of a process at the time of status change according to some embodiments. A flow diagram illustrating an example of a process for monitoring telephone number information according to some embodiments.

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any desired manner. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar components, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0010] In the following, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using terminology defined in the fourth generation (4G) mobile communication standard. However, the technology of the present disclosure can also be applied to other communication standards such as the third generation (3G) mobile communication standard and the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication standard. Hereinafter, the mobile communication standard will be simply referred to as the standard.

[0011] Fig. 1 illustrates an example configuration of a numbering system 100 according to some embodiments. Fig. 1 focuses on components used in the following description of the embodiments. Therefore, some components included in a mobile communication network (particularly, a core network) are omitted. The omitted components may be implemented using existing technology and may operate in accordance with standards.

[0012] The numbering system 100 may include a subscriber management server 102, a subscriber management database (DB) 103, a number management server 104, a number management DB 105, and a status monitoring server 106. The subscriber management server 102 and the subscriber management DB 103 may function as a home subscriber server (HSS) 101. In the 4G standard, the HSS 101 is an entity for managing information about subscribers. In the 3G standard, an HLR (Home Location Register) functions as such an entity. A subscriber may be an operating entity that connects to a mobile communication network based on a subscription contract with a network operator.

[0013] The subscriber management server 102 is a server for managing subscriber information. The subscriber management server 102 may be divided into multiple servers. For example, the subscriber management server 102 may be divided into a front server such as a Diameter Edge Agent (DEA) and a back server. Of the processes performed by the subscriber management server 102, the front server performs processes that link with the MME 107, and the back server performs processes that link with the subscriber management DB 103, the status monitoring server 106, and the number management server 104. The number management server 104 is a server for managing the number management DB 105 that stores telephone numbers. The status monitoring server 106 is a server for monitoring the status of subscribers. Details of the operation of each server included in the number assignment system 100 will be described later.

[0014] The user equipment (UE) 109 is a communication device that can connect to a mobile communication network. The UE 109 may be a portable device such as a smartphone or an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The UE 109 has a subscriber identity module (SIM). The SIM may be implemented by a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). Alternatively, the SIM may be an embedded SIM (eSIM) stored in the UE 109. The SIM stores information for identifying a subscriber (e.g., an IMSI) and authentication information for authenticating the subscriber. The SIM may store only one IMSI or multiple IMSIs. A subscription agreement is concluded between a user and a network operator for each IMSI. Therefore, if the SIM stores multiple IMSIs, multiple subscribers are defined for one UE 109. If the SIM stores multiple IMSIs, these IMSIs may be divided into multiple profiles. The UE 109 may select an IMSI to use for communication among multiple IMSIs included in the same profile according to certain conditions (e.g., the lowest price in the area where the UE 109 is located). As will be described later, a telephone number is assigned to a subscriber by a network operator. The telephone number may also be referred to as a Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number (MSISDN). The telephone number may or may not be stored in the SIM.

[0015] In the 4G standard, the mobility management entity (MME) 107 is an entity for controlling the mobility of the UE 109. In the 3G standard, a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) functions as such an entity. In the 4G standard, the eNodeB (eNB) 108 is a base station for providing wireless connectivity to the UE 109. In the 3G standard, a node B (NB) and a radio network controller (RNC) function as such a base station. In the 4G standard, the serving gateway (S-GW) 110 is equipment that handles user packet data and relays data between base stations and between systems. In the 3G standard, the SGSN functions as such an entity. The MME 107, UE 109, eNB 108, and S-GW 110 may be implemented using existing technology and may operate in accordance with standards, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0016] 2, an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 200 for implementing the subscriber management server 102, number management server 104, and status monitoring server 106 of FIG. 1 will be described. The subscriber management server 102, number management server 104, and status monitoring server 106 may be configured as on-premise computers. Alternatively, some or all of the subscriber management server 102, number management server 104, and status monitoring server 106 may be configured as a hardware system configured by cloud computing. The subscriber management server 102, number management server 104, and status monitoring server 106 may be implemented by the same computer or by separate computers.

[0017] The computer 200 may have the hardware components shown in Fig. 2. The processor 201 controls the overall operation of the computer 200. The processor 201 may be configured by, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 201 may be a single processor or a set of multiple processors connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other.

[0018] The memory 202 stores programs and data used in the processing of the computer 200. The memory 202 may be configured, for example, by a combination of random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM).

[0019] The input device 203 is a device for obtaining instructions from a user of the computer 200 (e.g., an administrator of the numbering system 100). The input device 203 may be configured, for example, by a combination of one or more of a keyboard, buttons, a touchpad, and a microphone. The display device 204 is a device for visually presenting information to the user of the computer 200. The display device 204 may be, for example, a dot matrix display such as a liquid crystal display. The computer 200 may have a device (e.g., a touch screen) in which the input device 203 and the display device 204 are integrated.

[0020] The communication circuitry 205 is a circuit for communicating with devices external to the computer 200. When the computer 200 performs wired communication, the communication circuitry 205 may be a network interface card (NIC) having a connector for connecting a cable. When the computer 200 performs wireless communication, the communication circuitry 205 may be a wireless communication module including an antenna and a baseband processing circuit.

[0021] The secondary storage device 206 is a device for non-volatilely storing data used in the processing of the computer 200. The secondary storage device 206 is configured by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0022] The operation of the numbering system 100 when the UE 109 attaches in one scenario will be described with reference to Figure 3. Each of the operations S301 to S303 and S306 to S315 in Figure 3 may be the same as an existing operation or may be an operation that complies with a standard. Therefore, only an overview will be provided below, and a detailed description will be omitted. Before the operation of Figure 3 begins, it is assumed that a telephone number has not yet been assigned to a subscriber using a specific IMSI stored in the SIM of the UE 109.

[0023] In S301, the UE 109 is powered on for the first time after the IMSI is available to the user of the UE 109 (e.g., after a SIM is installed in the UE 109 or after an IMSI is downloaded to an eSIM). In S302, the UE 109 transmits an attach request to the eNB 108, which then forwards the attach request to the MME 107. The attach request includes the IMSI stored in the SIM of the UE 109. Hereinafter, this IMSI will be referred to as the target IMSI, as it will be used in subsequent processing. Furthermore, the subscriber using the target IMSI will be referred to as the target subscriber.

[0024] In S303, the MME 107 transmits an authentication information request to the subscriber management server 102 in response to the UE 109 making an attach request to the core network for the first time. The authentication information request is a message for the MME 107 to request, from the subscriber management server 102, information used by the MME 107 to authenticate the subscriber. This authentication information request is the authentication information request that the MME 107 transmits for the first time in response to receiving an attach request including the IMSI to be processed. The authentication information request includes the IMSI to be processed. The authentication information request may be an Authentication-Information-Request (AIR) in the 4G standard.

[0025] In S304, if a telephone number has not yet been assigned to the subscriber to be processed, the subscriber management server 102 requests the number management server 104 to assign a telephone number. In S305, the number management server 104 transmits the telephone number to be assigned to the subscriber to be processed to the subscriber management server 102. Details of the operations of S304 and S305 will be described later.

[0026] In S306, the subscriber management server 102 transmits an authentication information response including information used to authenticate the target subscriber to the MME 107. The authentication information response may be an Authentication-Information-Answer (AIA) in the 4G standard.

[0027] In S307, the MME 107 transmits an authentication request requesting information used for authentication to the UE 109 via the eNB 108. In S308, the UE 109 transmits an authentication response including the information used for authentication to the MME 107 via the eNB 108.

[0028] In S309, in response to successful authentication of the UE 109, the MME 107 transmits a location registration request to the subscriber management server 102. The location registration request is a message requesting that the location of the subscriber to be processed be registered. This location registration request is the first location registration request transmitted by the MME 107 after transmitting the authentication information request. The location registration request may be an Update-Location-Request (ULR) in the 4G standard.

[0029] In S310, the subscriber management server 102 performs location registration of the target subscriber in response to the location registration request. In S311, upon completion of the location registration, the subscriber management server 102 transmits a location registration response to the MME 107 notifying that the location registration has been completed. Since a telephone number has been assigned to the target subscriber at the start of S311, the subscriber management server 102 can use this telephone number to respond to the location registration request for the target subscriber. The location registration response may be an Update-Location-Answer (ULA) in the 4G standard.

[0030] In S312, the MME 107 transmits a session setup request to the S-GW 110, requesting that a session be set up with the UE 109. The session setup request may be a Create Session Request in the 4G standard. The S-GW 110 sets up a session with the UE 109 in cooperation with a packet data network gateway (P-GW, not shown) or the like. Thereafter, the S-GW 110 transmits a session setup response to the MME 107, notifying that the session setup has been completed. The session setup response may be a Create Session Response in the 4G standard.

[0031] In S314, in response to receiving the session setup response, the MME 107 sends an attach accept to the eNB 108 indicating that it accepts the attach request. In S315, the eNB 108 sends the attach accept to the UE 109. This allows the UE 109 to connect to the network using the target IMSI. In other words, the UE 109 opens a network connection. The MME 107 may write the phone number to the SIM by performing Over-The-Air (OTA). The MME 107 may perform the above OTA during location registration in S310 if a phone number has been assigned to the target subscriber before transmitting the authentication information response in S306, as in the scenario of FIG. 3 . The MME 107 may perform the above OTA during location registration performed after S315 if a phone number has not been assigned to the target subscriber before transmitting the authentication information response in S306.

[0032] According to the above-described method, in response to the initial attach request (S302) sent from UE 109, an attach acceptance (S314, S315) is sent without sending an attach rejection with a reason indicating that re-attachment is not possible. This allows the user of UE 109 to connect to the network without rebooting UE 109. Furthermore, the administrator of numbering system 100 does not need to assign telephone numbers to subscribers until UE 109 sends an attach request, allowing for efficient use of telephone numbers.

[0033] In the above-described method, the subscriber management server 102 processes the authentication information request. Alternatively, the authentication information request may be processed by another server included in the HSS 101. The subscriber's authentication information may be stored in the subscriber management DB 103 or another database included in the HSS 101.

[0034] The processes of S304 and S305 in FIG. 3 will be described in detail below. FIG. 4 shows information used for these processes. Subscriber information 400 is information about subscribers and is stored, for example, in the subscriber management DB 103. In the example of FIG. 4, the subscriber information 400 is expressed in a table format. In the subscriber information 400, a record is generated for each subscriber (i.e., for each IMSI). Column 401 indicates the IMSI assigned to the subscriber. Every time a network operator issues a new SIM to a user, the network operator generates an IMSI to assign to this SIM, adds a new record to the subscriber information 400, and registers this IMSI in column 401.

[0035] Column 402 of subscriber information 400 indicates the telephone numbers assigned to individual subscribers. A network operator may assign a telephone number to a subscriber to whom it assigns an IMSI when it generates the IMSI. Alternatively, a network operator may not assign a telephone number to a subscriber when it generates the IMSI, but may assign the telephone number later. For example, as described in FIG. 3, the numbering system 100 may assign a telephone number to a subscriber using a UE 109 when the UE 109 makes an initial attach request.

[0036] Column 403 of subscriber information 400 indicates the allocation status of a telephone number to an individual subscriber. In the embodiment described below, the allocation status can take three states: "assigned," "unassigned," and "waiting." "Assigned" indicates that a telephone number has already been assigned to an individual subscriber. "unassigned" indicates that a telephone number has not been assigned to an individual subscriber. "waiting" indicates that a process is being performed to assign a telephone number to an individual subscriber. If a network operator assigns a telephone number to a subscriber when generating an IMSI, the allocation status is set to "assigned." If a network operator does not assign a telephone number to a subscriber when generating an IMSI, the allocation status is set to "unassigned." How the allocation status of "unassigned" is changed will be described later.

[0037] Column 404 of the subscriber information 400 indicates the expiration date of a standby state in which a subscriber is waiting for the preceding process of assigning a telephone number to the subscriber. The expiration date may also be called a time-to-live (TTL). The expiration date is not set when a record of the subscriber information 400 is generated. How the expiration date of the standby state in column 404 is set will be described later. The expiration date may be specified by date and time, for example.

[0038] Column 405 of subscriber information 400 indicates the status of an individual subscriber. In the embodiment described below, the status can be one of two statuses: "Ready" and "In Use." However, the subscriber status may have other statuses. "Ready" indicates that an individual subscriber is ready to use an IMSI. "In Use" indicates that an individual subscriber has been assigned a telephone number and is ready for communication. A network operator may not charge a user while a subscriber's status is "Ready," and may charge a user while a subscriber's status is "In Use." How the "Ready" status is changed will be described later.

[0039] The telephone number information 410 is information relating to telephone numbers, and is stored in the number management DB 105, for example. In the example of FIG. 4, the telephone number information 410 is expressed in a table format. In the telephone number information 410, a record is generated for each telephone number. Column 411 indicates telephone numbers that can be used by the network operator. When the network operator is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), a record is generated each time a telephone number is leased from the mobile network operator (MNO).

[0040] Column 412 of telephone number information 410 indicates the IMSI of the subscriber to whom the individual telephone number is assigned. If the individual telephone number is not assigned to any subscriber, column 412 is left unpopulated. How column 412 is updated will be described below.

[0041] Column 413 of telephone number information 410 indicates the assignment status of each telephone number. In the embodiment described below, the assignment status can be one of two statuses: "assigned" and "unassigned." "Assigned" indicates that each telephone number has already been assigned to a subscriber. "unassigned" indicates that each telephone number has not been assigned to any subscriber. When a record is added to telephone number information 410, column 413 becomes "unassigned." How the assignment status of "unassigned" is changed will be described later. Telephone number information 410 may also have a column for managing the date and time when a telephone number was assigned to a subscriber and a column for managing the date and time when the record was last updated.

[0042] The operation of the subscriber management server 102 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Each step of the method in Fig. 5 may be performed by a processor (e.g., processor 201) of the subscriber management server 102 executing a program read into a memory (e.g., memory 202) of the subscriber management server 102. Alternatively, some or all of the steps of the method in Fig. 5 may be performed by a dedicated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The method in Fig. 5 starts when the subscriber management server 102 starts a service.

[0043] In S501, the subscriber management server 102 determines whether it has received an authentication information request from the MME 107. If it is determined that an authentication information request has been received from the MME 107 ("YES" in S501), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S502; otherwise ("NO" in S501), the subscriber management server 102 repeats S501. Multiple authentication information requests may be transmitted in parallel to the subscriber management server 102. Therefore, each time the subscriber management server 102 receives an authentication information request from the MME 107, the subscriber management server 102 performs the processes from S502 onward for the IMSI included in each individual authentication information request. As in the description of FIG. 3 , in the following description, the IMSI included in each individual authentication information request will be referred to as the "IMSI to be processed." Furthermore, the subscriber using the IMSI to be processed will be referred to as the "subscriber to be processed."

[0044] In S502, the subscriber management server 102 determines whether a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber being processed. If it is determined that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber being processed ("YES" in S502), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S504; otherwise ("NO" in S502), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S503. The determination in S502 is made, for example, by the subscriber management server 102 referring to column 403 of the subscriber information 400 stored in the subscriber management DB 103. If column 403 of the subscriber information 400 is "assigned," the subscriber management server 102 determines that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber being processed. If column 403 of the subscriber information 400 is "unassigned" or "waiting," the subscriber management server 102 determines that a telephone number has not been assigned to the subscriber being processed.

[0045] If it is determined that a telephone number has not been assigned to the subscriber to be processed, the subscriber management server 102 starts processing to assign a telephone number to the subscriber to be processed in S503. Details of this processing will be described later. If it is determined that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber to be processed, the processing of S503 is not executed.

[0046] In S504, the subscriber management server 102 responds to the authentication information request. The processing of S504 may be performed after waiting for the completion of the processing started in S503 (processing for assigning a telephone number), or may be performed without waiting for the completion of the processing started in S503 (i.e., before a telephone number is assigned to the target subscriber). The processing of S504 may be similar to existing processing, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0047] In S505, the subscriber management server 102 determines whether a location registration request has been received from the MME 107. If it is determined that a location registration request has been received from the MME 107 ("YES" in S505), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S506; otherwise ("NO" in S505), the subscriber management server 102 repeats S505. As described above with reference to FIG. 3 , upon receiving the authentication information response, the MME 107 transmits a location registration request to the subscriber management server 102 if the authentication of the target subscriber is successful. Therefore, in S505, the subscriber management server 102 waits for the reception of a location registration request. If the location registration request is not received within a predetermined time, the subscriber management server 102 may terminate the process, assuming that the authentication of the target subscriber has failed. In S505, the subscriber management server 102 may wait for the reception of a location registration request corresponding to the authentication information request received in S501 (e.g., for the same IMSI). Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may execute the waiting for the authentication information request in S501 and the waiting for the location registration request in S505 in parallel. By transmitting a location registration request after the MME 107 transmits an authentication information request for the same IMSI, the subscriber management server 102 receives the location registration request after receiving the authentication information request for the same IMSI.

[0048] In S506, the subscriber management server 102 determines whether a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber to be processed. If it is determined that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber to be processed ("YES" in S506), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S507, and otherwise ("NO" in S506), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S508. S506 may be executed in the same way as S502.

[0049] Even if a telephone number has not been assigned to the subscriber being processed at the time S502 is executed, because a request for assignment of a telephone number has been made in S503, it is possible that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber being processed at the time S506 is executed. Therefore, if a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber being processed before S507 is executed, in S507 the subscriber management server 102 responds to the location registration request using the telephone number assigned to the subscriber being processed.

[0050] On the other hand, if a telephone number has not been assigned to the subscriber to be processed before S507 is executed, the subscriber management server 102 cannot respond to the location registration request for the subscriber to be processed, and therefore performs error processing in S508. For example, the subscriber management server 102 may notify the MME 107 of the error. Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may wait until a telephone number is assigned to the subscriber to be processed. Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may re-execute the processing of S503.

[0051] In S508, even if a telephone number has not been assigned to the target subscriber, the subscriber management server 102 does not perform a process to prevent the UE 109 from sending a reattach request without rebooting (e.g., sending a response to the MME 107 with a reason indicating that reattachment is not possible), but instead performs a process to enable the user equipment (UE 109) storing the target IMSI to attach to the network without rebooting. For example, the subscriber management server 102 may not send a location registration response and may wait again to receive a location registration request. If the MME 107 does not receive a location registration response even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the location registration request, the subscriber management server 102 may retransmit the location registration request to the subscriber management server 102. Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may send a location registration response to the MME 107 with a reason indicating that reattachment is possible, and may wait again to receive a location registration request. This may cause the MME 107 to retransmit the location registration request to the subscriber management server 102. In either case, the user of UE 109 can connect to the network without rebooting UE 109. Therefore, even if a telephone number has not been assigned to the subscriber being processed before S507 is executed (i.e., at the time of the response to the location registration request that is first transmitted after UE 109 is powered on), UE 109 is not required to be rebooted for this reason.

[0052] In the above-described method, the subscriber management server 102 performs the processes (S502 to S503) related to the assignment of a telephone number after receiving the authentication information request in S501 and before responding to the authentication information request in S504. Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may perform the processes (S502 to S503) related to the assignment of a telephone number after responding to the authentication information request in S504 and before receiving the location registration request in S505. Furthermore, alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may perform the processes (S502 to S503) related to the assignment of a telephone number after receiving the location registration request in S505 and before determining whether or not a telephone number has been assigned in S506.

[0053] According to the above method, subscriber management server 102 can respond to the first location registration request made after UE 109 makes an attach request. Therefore, an attach rejection with a reason indicating that re-attachment is not possible is not sent to UE 109. As a result, the user of UE 109 can connect to the network (i.e., the network is open) without rebooting UE 109.

[0054] In S504 of the above-described method, if the processing of the authentication information request fails, the subscriber management server 102 may not send an authentication information response and may wait again to receive an authentication information request. If the MME 107 does not receive an authentication information response even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the authentication information request, the MME 107 may resend the authentication information request to the subscriber management server 102. Alternatively, in S504 of the above-described method, if the processing of the authentication information request fails, the subscriber management server 102 may send an authentication information response to the MME 107 with a reason indicating that re-attachment is possible and may wait again to receive an authentication information request. This may cause the MME 107 to resend the authentication information request to the subscriber management server 102. In either case, the user of the UE 109 can connect to the network without rebooting the UE 109.

[0055] In S507 of the above-mentioned method, even if location registration fails for reasons other than the fact that a telephone number has not been assigned to the subscriber being processed, the subscriber management server 102 may not perform the process of preventing the UE 109 from sending a reattach request without rebooting (e.g., sending a response to the MME 107 with a reason indicating that reattachment is not possible), as described in S508, and may instead allow the user equipment using the IMSI being processed to attach to the network without rebooting.

[0056] The process (the process for assigning a telephone number to a subscriber) started in S503 of Fig. 5 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 6. The process of Fig. 6 may be executed in parallel for multiple subscribers.

[0057] In S601, the subscriber management server 102 refers to the subscriber information 400 and determines whether the allocation status (column 403) of the subscriber to be processed is "allocated." If the allocation status of the subscriber to be processed is determined to be "allocated" ("YES" in S601), the subscriber management server 102 terminates the process, and otherwise ("NO" in S601), the process transitions to S602. The subscriber management server 102 may omit this process if it has previously executed a similar process (e.g., S502).

[0058] In S602, the subscriber management server 102 refers to the subscriber information 400 and determines whether the allocation status (column 403) of the subscriber to be processed is "waiting." If the subscriber management server 102 determines that the allocation status of the subscriber to be processed is "waiting" ("YES" in S602), it transitions the process to S603, and otherwise ("NO" in S602), it transitions the process to S604.

[0059] If the determination in S602 is "NO," the allocation status of the target subscriber is "unassigned." Therefore, the subscriber management server 102 executes processing (S604 to S606) to assign a telephone number to the target subscriber. Specifically, in S604, the subscriber management server 102 changes the allocation status of the target subscriber in the subscriber information 400 to "waiting," sets the expiration date (column 404) of the standby state of the preceding allocation process for the target subscriber in S605, and requests the number management server 104 to assign a telephone number in S606. The series of processing steps S604 to S606 may be performed in any order. In S605, the subscriber management server 102 may set the expiration date to a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds) from the time of S605. The request to assign a telephone number is hereinafter referred to as a telephone number assignment request. In S606, the subscriber management server 102 may include the IMSI of the target subscriber in the telephone number assignment request.

[0060] In S607, the subscriber management server 102 determines whether or not a telephone number has been received from the number management server 104. If it is determined that a telephone number has been received from the number management server 104 ("YES" in S607), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S608; otherwise ("NO" in S607), the subscriber management server 102 repeats S607. If the subscriber management server 102 does not receive a telephone number even after repeating S607 for a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds), the subscriber management server 102 may terminate the process of FIG. 6. In this case, the allocation status of the subscriber being processed remains "waiting," but as will be described later, an expiration date is set for the waiting state of the allocation process, so that the allocation of the telephone number will not be hindered in subsequent processing.

[0061] In S608, the subscriber management server 102 refers to the subscriber information 400 and determines whether the allocation status (column 403) of the target subscriber is "assigned." If the subscriber management server 102 determines that the allocation status of the target subscriber is "assigned" ("YES" in S608), it transitions the process to S610. Otherwise ("NO" in S608), it transitions the process to S609. The process of assigning a telephone number to a subscriber is not limited to when an attach request is received, but may also be executed when instructed by the user of the UE 109, for example. In this case, as a result of the method of FIG. 6 being executed in parallel, even if the allocation status of the target subscriber was not "assigned" at the time of S601, it may have changed to "assigned" at the time the telephone number is acquired in S607 (i.e., a telephone number other than the telephone number acquired in S607 may have been assigned). Therefore, if the allocation status of the subscriber to be processed is not "assigned", in S609 the subscriber management server 102 changes the allocation status of the subscriber to be processed to "assigned" and registers the acquired telephone number in column 402 of the subscriber information 400. On the other hand, if the allocation status of the subscriber to be processed is "assigned", in S610 the subscriber management server 102 does not register the acquired telephone number and notifies the number management server 104 that the telephone number was not used. If the telephone number acquired in S607 matches the telephone number assigned to the subscriber to be processed, the subscriber management server 102 does not need to execute S610.

[0062] If S602 returns "YES," the allocation status of the target subscriber is "waiting." This situation can occur when the subscriber's allocation status is changed to "waiting" in S604 of the preceding allocation process (the method of FIG. 6) being executed in parallel. Therefore, in S603, the subscriber management server 102 determines whether the expiration date of the standby state of the allocation process of the target subscriber is still in effect. If it is determined that the expiration date of the standby state of the allocation process of the target subscriber is still in effect ("YES" in S603), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S601; otherwise ("NO" in S603), the subscriber management server 102 transitions the process to S605. If the expiration date of the standby state of the allocation process of the target subscriber is still in effect, there is a possibility that a telephone number will be assigned in the preceding allocation process being executed in parallel. Therefore, the subscriber management server 102 repeats S601 to S603 and waits until the subscriber's allocation status changes to "assigned." On the other hand, if it is determined that the expiration date for the standby state of the allocation process for the target subscriber has passed ("NO" in S603), the subscriber management server 102 sets the expiration date for the standby state of the allocation process for the target subscriber in S605 (column 404) in order to request a new allocation of a telephone number, and requests the number management server 104 to allocate a telephone number in S606. The series of processes from S605 to S606 may be performed in any order. In S605, the subscriber management server 102 may set the expiration date to a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds) from the time of S605. In S606, the subscriber management server 102 may include the IMSI of the target subscriber in the telephone number allocation request.

[0063] According to the above method, exclusive control is performed by managing the allocation status in the subscriber information 400, so that it is possible to prevent multiple telephone numbers from being assigned to one subscriber.

[0064] The operation of the number management server 104 will be described with reference to Figure 7. Each step of the method of Figure 7 may be performed by a processor (e.g., processor 201) of the number management server 104 executing a program read into a memory (e.g., memory 202) of the number management server 104. Alternatively, some or all of the steps of the method of Figure 7 may be performed by a dedicated circuit such as an ASIC. The method of Figure 7 is started when the number management server 104 starts service.

[0065] In S701, the number management server 104 determines whether or not it has received a telephone number allocation request from the subscriber management server 102. If it is determined that it has received a telephone number allocation request from the subscriber management server 102 ("YES" in S701), the number management server 104 transitions the process to S702, and otherwise ("NO" in S701), it repeats S701. Multiple telephone number allocation requests (S606) may be sent in parallel to the number management server 104. Therefore, each time the number management server 104 receives a telephone number allocation request from the subscriber management server 102, it executes the processes from S702 onwards for each individual telephone number allocation request.

[0066] In S702, the number management server 104 refers to the telephone number information 410 and determines whether a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber to whom the IMSI included in the telephone number assignment request has been assigned. If the number management server 104 determines that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber to whom the IMSI included in the telephone number assignment request has been assigned ("YES" in S702), the process proceeds to S704, and otherwise ("NO" in S702), the process proceeds to S703. The number management server 104 may perform the determination of S702 based on whether an IMSI is included in column 412 of the telephone number information 410.

[0067] If a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber to whom the IMSI included in the telephone number assignment request has been assigned, the subscriber management server 102 has made a telephone number assignment request for a subscriber to whom a telephone number has already been assigned. In this case, in S704, the number management server 104 selects a telephone number assigned to the subscriber to be processed. In S705, the number management server 104 transmits the selected telephone number to the subscriber management server 102.

[0068] If a telephone number has not been assigned to a subscriber to whom the IMSI included in the telephone number assignment request has been assigned, in S703, the number management server 104 selects a telephone number whose assignment status (column 413) in the telephone number information 410 is "unassigned," changes the assignment status of this telephone number to "assigned," and registers the IMSI in column 412. In S705, the number management server 104 transmits the selected telephone number to the subscriber management server 102. From the viewpoint of exclusive control, the number management DB 105 may be able to change column 413 to "assigned" only when column 413 is "unassigned." If the number management server 104 fails to update column 413, it may select a telephone number whose column 413 is "unassigned," and repeat the process of updating column 413.

[0069] In S706, the number management server 104 determines whether or not it has received a notification from the subscriber management server 102 that the telephone number was not used (S610). If it is determined that it has received a notification from the subscriber management server 102 that the telephone number was not used ("YES" in S706), the number management server 104 transitions the process to S707; otherwise ("NO" in S706), it terminates the process. If it is determined that it has received a notification from the subscriber management server 102 that the telephone number was not used, in S707, the number management server 104 changes the allocation status of the telephone number being processed to "unassigned" and deletes the IMSI from column 412. In some embodiments, the number management server 104 may not execute S707. In addition, in some embodiments, the number management server 104 may execute the processes of S701 to S705 and the processes of S706 and S707 in parallel.

[0070] According to the above method, exclusive control is performed by managing the information of subscribers to whom telephone numbers are assigned using telephone number information 410, thereby preventing multiple telephone numbers from being assigned to one subscriber.

[0071] In the method of Figure 3 described above, the user of UE 109 requests the network (specifically, numbering system 100) to assign a telephone number to the subscriber by powering on UE 109. Alternatively, the user of UE 109 may request the network (specifically, numbering system 100) to assign a telephone number to the subscriber in some other way. An example of such a method will be described with reference to Figure 8.

[0072] A user of UE 109 can change the status (column 405) of his / her own subscriber in the subscriber information 400 from "ready" to "in use," for example, through a web interface provided by the number assignment system 100. The status monitoring server 106 monitors changes in the status of the subscriber information 400, and in response to a change in the status from "ready" to "in use," in S801, requests the subscriber management server 102 to assign a telephone number to the subscriber being processed. In response to this request, in S802, the subscriber management server 102 requests a telephone number from the number management server 104. In response to this request, in S803, the number management server 104 transmits the telephone number to the subscriber management server 102.

[0073] The operation of the status monitoring server 106 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Each step of the method in Fig. 9 may be performed by a processor (e.g., processor 201) of the status monitoring server 106 executing a program read into a memory (e.g., memory 202) of the status monitoring server 106. Alternatively, some or all of the steps of the method in Fig. 9 may be performed by a dedicated circuit such as an ASIC. The method in Fig. 9 starts when the status monitoring server 106 starts service.

[0074] In S901, the status monitoring server 106 refers to the subscriber information 400 and determines whether the status has changed from "ready" to "in use" in any record. If it is determined that the status has changed from "ready" to "in use" in any record ("YES" in S901), the status monitoring server 106 transitions the process to S902, and otherwise ("NO" in S901) repeats S901. The operations of S902 to S903 may be the same as the operations of S502 to S503, and therefore redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0075] In the above-described method, the status monitoring server 106 starts the process of assigning a telephone number to a subscriber by referring to the status of the subscriber information 400. Therefore, the number assignment system 100 can start the process of assigning a telephone number to a subscriber no matter how the status of the subscriber information 400 is changed (for example, by using an application programming interface (API) or by using another method).

[0076] Another method executed by the number management server 104 will be described with reference to Figure 10. Each step of the method of Figure 10 may be executed by a processor (e.g., processor 201) of the number management server 104 executing a program read into a memory (e.g., memory 202) of the number management server 104. Alternatively, some or all of the steps of the method of Figure 10 may be executed by a dedicated circuit such as an ASIC. The method of Figure 10 is started when the number management server 104 starts a service. The method of Figure 10 may be executed in parallel with the method of Figure 7.

[0077] In S1001, the number management server 104 determines whether there are two or more records that share the same column 412 in the telephone number information 410. If it is determined that there are two or more records that share the same column 412 in the telephone number information 410 ("YES" in S1001), the number management server 104 transitions the process to S1002, and otherwise ("NO" in S1001), the number management server 104 transitions the process to S1003.

[0078] The existence of two or more records with a common column 412 in telephone number information 410 means that two or more telephone numbers have been assigned to one subscriber. Therefore, in S1002, number management server 104 refers to subscriber information 400 to confirm the telephone numbers assigned to the subscriber being processed, and changes the assignment status of any record that does not contain the confirmed telephone number among the two or more records identified in S1001 to "unassigned" and deletes the IMSI from column 412. This allows the erroneously assigned telephone number to be assigned to another subscriber.

[0079] In S1003, the number management server 104 determines whether the number of records whose allocation status in the telephone number information 410 is "unassigned" is equal to or less than a threshold. If it is determined that the number of records whose allocation status in the telephone number information 410 is "unassigned" is equal to or less than the threshold ("YES" in S1003), the number management server 104 transitions the process to S1004; otherwise ("NO" in S1003), the number management server 104 transitions the process to S1001. The threshold used in S1003 may be an absolute number (e.g., 100) or a relative number (e.g., 10% of the number of records). The threshold used in S1003 is determined in advance and stored in a storage device of the number management server 104.

[0080] If the number of records in which the allocation status of telephone number information 410 is "unassigned" is below a threshold, there is a possibility that telephone numbers to be assigned to subscribers will run out, so in S1004, the number management server 104 notifies the network operator (e.g., the administrator of the number assignment system 100) that the conditions of S1003 have been met.

[0081] In the method of FIG. 10, the number management server 104 does not have to execute S1001 to S1002, and does not have to execute S1003 to S1004.

[0082] As described above, the number management server 104 may frequently access the number management DB 105. Therefore, when the subscriber management server 102 and the number management DB 105 are located geographically apart (for example, when they are included in different regions on the cloud), the number management server 104 may be located near the number management DB 105 (for example, in the same region as the number management DB 105). This makes the latency of communication between the number management DB 105 and the number management server 104 shorter than the latency of communication between the number management server 104 and the subscriber management server 102. As a result, the above-mentioned processing is accelerated.

[0083] In the above-described embodiment, the subscriber management server 102 manages the status of telephone number assignment to subscribers by using column 403 of the subscriber information 400. Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may manage the status of telephone number assignment to subscribers by using only column 402, without using column 403. For example, the subscriber management server 102 may determine that a telephone number has been assigned to the subscriber being processed when a telephone number is entered in column 402, determine that telephone number assignment processing has not started for the subscriber being processed when column 402 is unset (e.g., blank), and determine that the previous telephone number assignment processing for the subscriber being processed is waiting when column 402 contains a predetermined character string indicating waiting.

[0084] In the above embodiment, S703 in Fig. 7 is executed by the number management server 104. Alternatively, the subscriber management server 102 may access the number management DB 105 without going through the number management server 104 and execute the processing of S703 in Fig. 7. In this case, the processing of S705 to S707 may be omitted.

[0085] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0086] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-044393, filed on March 18, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A numbering system for assigning telephone numbers to subscribers, comprising: a first receiving means for receiving an authentication information request for an individual subscriber from an entity managing the mobility of user equipment; a determining means for determining, after receiving the authentication information request, whether a telephone number has been assigned to the individual subscriber; an assignment means for initiating a process for assigning a telephone number to the individual subscriber when it is determined that the individual subscriber has not been assigned a telephone number; second receiving means for receiving a location registration request for the individual subscriber from the entity; and a response means for responding to the location registration request using a telephone number if a telephone number has been assigned to the individual subscriber before starting to respond to the location registration request.

2. 2. The numbering system according to claim 1, wherein the response means performs processing to enable user equipment that stores subscriber identification information assigned to the individual subscriber to attach to a network without rebooting when a telephone number has not been assigned to the individual subscriber before starting to respond to the location registration request.

3. a sending means for sending an authentication information response to the entity in response to the authentication information request; 2. The numbering system of claim 1, wherein said allocating means initiates a process for allocating a telephone number to said individual subscriber before transmitting said authentication information response to said entity.

4. 2. The number assignment system according to claim 1, wherein the assignment means starts a process for assigning a telephone number to the individual subscriber after receiving an authentication information request that the entity transmits for the first time in response to receiving an attach request for the individual subscriber, and before receiving a location registration request that the entity transmits for the first time after transmitting the authentication information request.

5. The numbering system further comprises a subscriber management database for storing subscriber information relating to a subscriber; 2. The numbering system according to claim 1, wherein said allocating means initiates a process for allocating a telephone number to said individual subscriber based on a change in the status of said individual subscriber.

6. A numbering system for assigning telephone numbers to subscribers, comprising: a subscriber management database for storing subscriber information relating to a subscriber; and an assignment means for initiating a process for assigning a telephone number to an individual subscriber based on a change in the status of the individual subscriber.

7. The numbering system comprises: a number management database for storing telephone numbers to be assigned to subscribers; a number management server that accesses the number management database; A subscriber management server that requests a telephone number from the number management server, 2. The number assignment system according to claim 1, wherein a latency of communication between said number management database and said number management server is shorter than a latency of communication between said number management server and said subscriber management server.

8. 2. The numbering system according to claim 1, wherein said allocation means, when a preceding process for assigning a telephone number to said individual subscriber is being executed, does not execute any further process for assigning a telephone number to said individual subscriber until the expiration date of the standby state for the preceding process has elapsed.

9. The numbering system further comprises a number management database for storing telephone numbers to be assigned to subscribers; 2. The numbering system according to claim 1, wherein said number management database stores subscriber identification information of subscribers to whom individual telephone numbers are assigned.

10. 10. The numbering system according to claim 9, further comprising a second determination means for determining whether two or more telephone numbers are assigned to the same subscriber in the number management database.

11. The numbering system according to claim 10, further comprising a change means for, when it is determined in the number management database that two or more telephone numbers are assigned to the same subscriber, changing a telephone number other than one of the two or more telephone numbers to a state in which the telephone number can be assigned to another subscriber.

12. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the numbering system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. 1. A method for assigning telephone numbers to subscribers, comprising the steps of: receiving an authentication information request for an individual subscriber from an entity managing the mobility of user equipment; determining, after receiving the authentication information request, whether a telephone number has been assigned to the individual subscriber; if it is determined that a telephone number has not been assigned to the individual subscriber, initiating a process to assign a telephone number to the individual subscriber; receiving a location registration request for the individual subscriber from the entity; and if a telephone number has been assigned to the individual subscriber prior to initiating a response to the location registration request, responding to the location registration request using the telephone number.

14. 1. A method for assigning telephone numbers to subscribers, comprising the steps of: monitoring subscriber information relating to the subscriber stored in a subscriber management database; and initiating a process for assigning a telephone number to an individual subscriber based on the change in the status of the individual subscriber.