Thomas C Purcell

US Patent:

60945788, Jul 25, 2000

Filed:

Apr 10, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/835735

Inventors:

Thomas E. Purcell - Ellicott City MD
Hyuk Byun - Alexandria VA
Nuri Bal - Foster City CA

Assignee:

American PCS Communications, LLC - Bethesda MD

International Classification:

H04M 1100

US Classification:

455426

Abstract:

A gateway unit which acts to provide interoperability between disparate mobile communications networks. The gateway unit provides the necessary protocol conversions between the different mobile networks. The gateway unit can be a stand-alone unit or co-located with a mobile switching center (MSC) wihtin North America or in foreign country. In each case, the gateway unit serves as an interconnection point between two or more networks. For example, the gateway unit converts messages from European networks, which use the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and mobile global title (MGT) protocols to North American networks, which use the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and international mobile station identity address (IMSI) protocols, and vis versa. The gateway unit preferably includes the elements of a processor, software and memory, all of which could be provided on a circuit board or in a conventional personal computer. Preferably, the conversions are performed through the use of a series of look-up tables, stored in the memory.