Roaming Gateway for VoLTE Service Continuity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current VoLTE roaming solutions, such as S8HR and Local Breakout, face challenges with service continuity, lawful interception, handover delays, and high integration efforts due to the impact on visited network IMS nodes, particularly P-CSCF, PCRF, and IBCF, which increase operational costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtualization technology to deploy IMS nodes from the home network into the visited network, allowing the user equipment to communicate with specific first network nodes configured by the home network, thereby avoiding the need for additional IMS node deployment in the visited network and simplifying integration and testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional VoLTE roaming solutions (S8HR or Local Breakout) are implemented, then IMS services can be provided to roaming users, but the visited network's IMS nodes (P-CSCF, PCRF, IBCF) are impacted, increasing integration complexity and operational costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a roaming gateway as an intermediary component that mediates between the home network's IMS nodes and the visited network. This gateway handles the complexity of interfacing with visited network nodes, allowing the home network to maintain control over IMS service provisioning while reducing the integration burden on visited networks. The gateway acts as a buffer that manages the complex interactions between different network domains.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex IMS node deployment requirements from the visited network and relocates them to the home network. By taking out the P-CSCF, PCRF, and IBCF nodes from the visited network environment and placing them in the home network, the solution eliminates the need for visited networks to deploy and maintain these complex IMS infrastructure elements, thereby reducing integration complexity.
2Reliability
If IMS nodes are deployed in the visited network to support roaming users, then service continuity can be maintained, but operational costs and integration efforts increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of deploying IMS nodes in the visited network to achieve service continuity (the conventional approach), the patent inverts the architecture by bringing the IMS nodes to the home network. This inversion maintains service continuity through the home network's control while eliminating the need for complex visited network deployments, thereby reducing integration efforts and operational costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual representation or copy of the IMS service environment in the home network that mirrors the functionality needed for roaming. By copying the essential IMS service capabilities to the home network side, the system maintains service continuity without requiring physical deployment of IMS nodes in the visited network, thus reducing integration complexity.
3Productivity
If local breakout architecture is used for IMS roaming, then service delivery is improved, but the impact on visited network IMS nodes increases operational costs
Solution Approach 1:
The roaming gateway serves as an intermediary that enables efficient service delivery through local breakout while preventing the operational cost increases associated with impacting visited network nodes. The gateway handles the local breakout functionality centrally in the home network, allowing efficient service delivery to roaming users without burdening the visited network's IMS infrastructure.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Method for improved handling of IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem) services (e.g. voice, video, SMS over IP, RCS) in a roaming scenario of a user equipment, wherein the user equipment is assigned to a home mobile communication network, and wherein the user equipment is connected to a visited mobile communication network, wherein the visited mobile communication network comprises at least one specific first network node among a plurality of first network nodes of the visited mobile communication network, wherein the at least one specific first network node has a configuration provided by the home mobile communication network, wherein, in order to provide IMS services to the user equipment while roaming in the visited mobile communication network, the at least one specific first network node communicates with a second network node of the home mobile communication network, wherein the method comprises the step of the user equipment being related to the at least one specific first network node in order to provide IMS services to the user equipment while roaming in the visited mobile communication network.