MEID Acquisition via MSC-Base Station Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rapid exhaustion of Electronic Serial Numbers (ESN) in wireless communications networks necessitates a transition to the Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) before TIA-2000-D systems are deployed, but existing systems lack a method for coordinated acquisition and sharing of MEID between base stations and Mobile Switching Centers (MSC) during call setup, leading to potential duplicate pESNs and unnecessary signaling.
Innovation Solution
A method where the MSC provides the MEID to the base station in a call setup message, and if not provided, the base station requests and acquires the MEID from the mobile station, then shares it with the MSC in an Assignment Complete message, ensuring coordinated MEID acquisition and sharing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the base station autonomously initiates a status inquiry to retrieve the MEID, then the MEID can be obtained, but unnecessary signaling over the air occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The MSC retrieves the MEID in advance during call setup, before the base station needs it for pESN derivation or accounting purposes. This preliminary action eliminates the need for the base station to autonomously query the mobile station, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling overhead while ensuring the MEID is available when needed.
2Loss of energy
If each node (base station or MSC) relies on the other to initiate a status inquiry, then signaling is reduced, but the MEID may not be retrieved
Solution Approach 1:
The MSC acts as an intermediary that centralizes the MEID retrieval function. Instead of the base station directly querying the mobile station, the MSC retrieves the MEID from the mobile station during call setup and then provides it to the base station. This intermediary approach ensures reliable MEID retrieval while minimizing signaling overhead by consolidating the query function at one node.
3Ease of operation
If the pESN is used to derive the PLCM, then the system can identify mobile stations, but duplicate pESNs may occur causing conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The MEID serves as an intermediary identifier that resolves the conflict between using pESN for PLCM derivation and ensuring identifier uniqueness. The base station derives the PLCM from the MEID (or pESN if MEID is unavailable), and the MEID's guaranteed uniqueness prevents duplicate identifier conflicts while maintaining compatibility with existing pESN-based systems.
4Reliability
If the MEID is not shared between base station and MSC, then each node must independently acquire it, but this increases signaling overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The MSC performs preliminary MEID acquisition during call setup and stores it for subsequent use. When the base station needs the MEID, it can obtain it from the MSC without initiating a new status inquiry to the mobile station. This preliminary acquisition and sharing mechanism ensures MEID availability at both nodes while significantly reducing signaling overhead compared to independent acquisition by each node.
Data Source
AI summary
In a mobile communication network, the base station is configured to query the mobile station for its mobile equipment identifier if not provided by the mobile switching center before traffic channel setup. The base station may send the mobile equipment identifier to the mobile switching center during call setup.