WO2003055172A2

WO2003055172A2 - Method for producing an easily configurable interface between a communication network and a service offer using an internet-type network

Info

Publication number: WO2003055172A2
Application number: PCT/FR2002/004303
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anne Trehu
Original assignee: France Telecom Sa
Priority date: 2001-12-17
Filing date: 2002-12-11
Publication date: 2003-07-03
Also published as: FR2833792B1; AU2002366817A1; FR2833792A1; WO2003055172A3; AU2002366817A8

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for setting up a communication between a telecommunication network and a subscriber of a service (Si) using an Internet-type network. The inventive method comprises a step which consists in transmitting, via a gateway (GW) shared by a plurality of services (S1 SN), identifiers of origin and destination of a communication (OID and DID), and an identifier of reply (RID) particular to said service (Si), to an entity managing (GS) the subscribers of said service, by means of a message (ARQ). The invention enables to set up communication between a wire telephone network and subscribers of various services (VoIP) by means of a telecommunication system having a simple structure easily adaptable to modifications occurring in the service offer.

Description

Method for producing an easily configurable interface between a communication network and a service offering implementing an Internet type network

The present invention relates to a method for establishing a communication between a caller provided with an origin identifier and a recipient provided with a destination identifier and subscribed to a service selected from among a plurality of services implementing a communication communication network. Internet type, method including a step of replacing the destination identifier by a return identifier specific to the service selected.

Such methods are used in particular to allow a caller connected to a wired network to communicate with a recipient subscribed to a VoIP type Internet telephony service. The recipient is then accessible on a terminal called IP extension, which can be a personal computer or a telephone provided with an interface allowing its connection to the Internet network, which IP extension is identified by a geographic number of PSTN type, which forms the destination identifier. When the call from the caller arrives at a routing switch responsible for managing said geographic number, an unconditional forwarding is operated by said switch to a gateway for establishing a link between a network to which the caller belongs and the Internet-type communication network implemented by the service to which the recipient of the call is subscribed, the unconditional forwarding consisting essentially of a substitution of the destination identifier, here the geographic number of the type RTC of the recipient, by a return identifier, that is to say an intermediate number defined by a service provider to which the recipient is subscribed.

In the current state of the art, the forwarding identifier is used by the routing switch to identify a gateway dedicated to said service, the gateway through which the routing switch must transmit to a data management entity. subscribers to this service an information message containing the origin and destination identifiers. After receiving this information message, the management entity will identify an Internet address, hereinafter called the IP address, associated by the service provider with the destination identifier of the recipient subscriber, and will transmit this address in return. IP at the gateway, which can then establish a connection between the caller and the recipient's IP extension.

The known method described above therefore requires for its implementation as many different gateways as there are different services to which the recipient could have subscribed, so that the routing switch can safely guide the information message to the management entity of that of these services to which the recipient is actually subscribed. Such a multiplicity of gateways induces a very significant cost for the production of a telecommunications system intended to implement the known method. In addition, the supply of services is variable over time, new services being likely to be created. However, it is unrealistic to consider adding dedicated gateways to emerging services over time, particularly given the speed with which such occurrences occur in the area of Internet services.

One of the aims of the invention is to propose a method whose implementation is possible by means of a telecommunication system simplified compared to those necessary to implement the known method described above, and easily adaptable to possible changes in the supply of services. Indeed, a method in accordance with the introductory paragraph is characterized according to the invention in that it further includes a step of transmitting the identifiers of origin, destination and return to a subscriber management entity for the selected service, by means of a message sent to the management entity via a gateway common to all the services.

The fact that the forwarding identifier is included in the information transmitted to the management entity makes it possible to dispense with the routing switch having to choose a gateway rather than another, since the management entity will be able , using the referral identifier, to identify by itself the service to which this identifier is specific. This therefore makes it possible to use only a single gateway common to all the services, which will considerably simplify the structure of a telecommunications system intended to implement the invention. The management entity may also be common to all the services and be able, for example, to query various databases, each of which will be specific to one of the services. The forwarding identifier will indicate to the management entity the database to be queried to obtain the IP address associated with the destination identifier of the recipient of the communication to be established. The creation of a new service will then only involve adding a new database to the system described above, and updating the management entity's software so that it is able to take into account this new database.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the information message will advantageously be materialized by an admission request including, on the one hand, source type information fields containing the identifiers of referral and origin, and, on the other hand, a destination type information field containing the destination identifier.

The advantage of such an admission request is that it complies with standardized communication protocols, such as the H323v2 protocol, which implies that the gateway and the management entity can come from different manufacturers and still be capable to the implementation of the invention, provided that they are both compatible with a protocol such as that mentioned above, which promotes the establishment of healthy conditions of competition for the benefit of the users of the telecommunications system in which the invention is implemented. Conversely, the use by the gateway of a proprietary format, that is to say non-standardized, for transmitting the information message would require the use of a specific management entity, capable of understanding said format owner, which would mean requiring that the gateway and the management entity be built by the same supplier, who would then benefit from an advantage compared to those of his competitors who could only produce one or the other of the gateway or management entity. In one of its embodiments, the invention also relates to a telecommunications system intended to establish at least one communication between a caller provided with an origin identifier and a recipient provided with a destination identifier and subscribed to a service selected from a plurality of services implementing an Internet type communication network, which system includes:. a routing switch intended to substitute for the destination identifier a return identifier specific to the selected service,

. a subscriber management entity for the selected service, capable of identifying an Internet type address corresponding to the forwarding identifier, and

. a gateway via which the routing switch is intended to send the management entity an information message containing the origin, destination and return identifiers.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the management entity is common to all the services and capable of interrogating a plurality of databases, each of which is specific to one of the services. The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the single figure, which is a functional diagram. succinctly describing a telecommunications system in which the invention is implemented. This SYST telecommunication system is intended to establish at least one communication between a WCP calling station provided with an OID origin identifier and a recipient provided with an IPP station and provided with a DID destination identifier. This recipient is subscribed to a service selected from a plurality of services SI, S2, ... SN implementing an Internet type communication network. The SYST system includes:

. a routing switch CA intended to replace the destination identifier DID with a return identifier RID specific to the service selected,

. a GS management entity for subscribers to the selected service, capable of identifying an Internet-type address corresponding to the RID forwarding identifier, and

. a gateway GW via which the routing switch CA is intended to send to the management entity GS an information message IM containing the origin, destination and return identifiers OID, DID and RID.

In the example described here, and for reasons which will be explained hereinafter, the gateway GW passes on the content of the information message IM in the form of an admission request ARQ conforming to a communication protocol. standardized from type H323v2 to the GS management entity. After receiving the origin, destination and return identifiers OID, DID and RID, the management entity GS will identify, on the basis of the return identity RID, an Internet address, hereinafter called IP address, associated by the service provider to the destination identifier DID of the recipient subscriber, and will transmit this IP address back to the GW gateway by means of an ACF admission confirmation message also conforming to said H323v2 protocol. Said GW gateway can thus establish a connection between the calling station WCP and the recipient's IPP station. The fact that the RID referral identifier is included in the information transmitted to the GS management entity enables the latter to identify by itself the service to which this RID referral identifier is specific. This therefore makes it possible to use only one GW gateway common to all the services, which gives the SYST telecommunications system great simplicity. In the embodiment of the invention described here, the management entity GS is also common to all the services SI, S2, ... SN and capable of interrogating a plurality of databases DBS1, DBS2 ... DBSN each of which is specific to one of the services SI, S2, ... SN, which further contributes to the simplicity of the structure of the SYST system. The RID forwarding identifier is used to indicate to the GS management entity that of the DBS1, DBS2 ... DBSN databases that said GS entity must interrogate in order to obtain the IP address associated with the recipient's DID destination identifier. of the communication to be established. The creation of a new SN + 1 service not shown in the figure will then only involve the addition of a new DBSN + 1 database to the SYST system described above, and a software update of the management entity so that it is able to take into account this new database. Conversely, the disappearance of an existing service will only lead to the deletion of a database and an update of the management entity so that it no longer takes this database into account. The invention therefore gives the SYST system great flexibility of use by making it possible and easy to adapt it to variations in the content of the service offer SI, S2 .... SN.

The IM information message is materialized in the example described here by an ARQ admission request including, on the one hand, source type information fields containing the reference and origin identifiers, and, on the other hand, a destination type information field containing the destination identifier.

Such an ARQ admission request has the advantage of conforming to the H323v2 protocol, according to which the source type fields are called "sourcelnfo" and the destination type fields are called "destinationlnfo". Such compliance implies that the GW gateway and the GS management entity can come from different manufacturers and still be suitable for implementing the invention, provided that they are both compatible with the H323v2 protocol, which which promotes the establishment of healthy conditions of competition for the benefit of users of the SYST telecommunications system.

Claims

1) Method for establishing communication between a caller provided with an origin identifier and a recipient provided with a destination identifier and subscribed to a service selected from a plurality of services implementing a communication network of the Internet type, method including a step of replacing the destination identifier by a return identifier specific to the service selected, method further including a step of transmitting the origin, destination and return identifiers to a service subscriber management entity selected, by means of a message sent to the management entity via a gateway common to all the services. 2) Method according to claim 1, in which the message is an admission request including, on the one hand, source type information fields containing the reference and origin identifiers, and, on the other hand, a destination type information field containing the destination identifier.

3) Telecommunication system intended to establish at least one communication between a caller provided with an origin identifier and a recipient provided with a destination identifier and subscribed to a service selected from among a plurality of services implementing a network of Internet-type communication, which system includes:

. a routing switch intended to substitute for the destination identifier a return identifier specific to the selected service,

4) Telecommunication system according to claim 3, in which the management entity is common to all the services and capable of interrogating a plurality of databases, each of which is specific to one of the services.