Routing Mobile Subscriber Data Across Geographic Servers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Geographical restrictions in managing mobile telephone numbers and billing data limit subscribers' flexibility in choosing area codes and consolidating billing across multiple phones, making it difficult for companies with employees in various areas to manage their mobile services efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a plurality of data servers and an Electronic Telephone Number Inventory (eTNI) database that stores subscribers' data based on geographic areas, allowing requests for subscriber data to be routed to the appropriate server through a router, enabling management of mobile telephone numbers and billing data without geographical restrictions, and allowing billing data from multiple servers to be shared.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If billing systems are organized by geographic boundaries, then data management and processing efficiency are improved, but subscriber flexibility in choosing area codes and consolidating billing is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments billing data management by geographic regions while introducing a routing mechanism that allows flexible assignment of data to different servers. Each billing system is organized by geography for efficiency, but the routing system enables subscribers to choose area codes independently of their physical location, resolving the contradiction between organized data management and subscriber flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
A routing system acts as an intermediary between the subscriber's physical location and the billing data storage location. The routing system receives requests from POS terminals, determines the appropriate billing server based on subscriber preferences rather than just geographic proximity, and routes requests accordingly. This mediator enables flexible area code selection while maintaining efficient geographic-based data organization.
2Speed
If billing data is stored by geographic area, then local processing speed is improved, but the ability to consolidate billing across multiple phones is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system makes the billing data storage location dynamic rather than fixed. Instead of permanently binding billing data to a specific geographic server, the system allows dynamic routing of billing requests to appropriate servers based on subscriber preferences and account configuration. This enables fast local processing when data is stored nearby while maintaining the flexibility to consolidate billing across multiple phones by routing all related data to a single server for unified processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The routing system provides universal functionality by handling both local billing processing and consolidated billing across multiple phones through a single mechanism. The same routing infrastructure that enables fast local data access also facilitates billing consolidation by directing requests to appropriate servers, making the system adaptable to different billing scenarios without requiring separate mechanisms for each function.
3Device complexity
If MTNs are assigned based on POS location, then system simplicity is maintained, but subscriber choice in area codes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by establishing subscriber preferences and account configurations before the actual MTN assignment. Subscribers can pre-select preferred area codes or billing locations, and the routing system uses these pre-established preferences to guide MTN assignment. This maintains relative system simplicity while enabling subscriber choice, as the complexity is managed through pre-configured subscriber profiles rather than complex real-time decision logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter used for MTN assignment from fixed geographic location to flexible subscriber preference. Instead of always assigning MTNs based on POS location, the system allows the assignment parameter to be modified based on subscriber choices, account type, and billing consolidation needs. This parameter flexibility enables area code selection independence while maintaining a relatively simple assignment framework built on pre-configured subscriber data.
Data Source
AI summary
A system manages subscribers' data of mobile telephones in a wireless network. A plurality of data servers are located according to geographic service areas, and each of the data servers may store subscribers' data of mobile telephones based on the respective geographic area. Location of subscribers' data is determined depending upon subscribers' ID, to which two or more Mobile telephone Numbers (MTNs) are assigned. Two or more MTNs may have different area codes for which subscribers' data are stored in at least two or more of the data servers. A terminal receives a request of subscriber's data of a first Mobile telephone Number (MTN) and retrieves a subscriber's ID corresponding to the first MTN from an Electronic Telephone Number Inventory (eTNI) database. A router determines a first data server corresponding to the retrieved subscriber's ID and routes the request to the first data server.