AU774777B2

AU774777B2 - Sim toolkit application service detection

Info

Publication number: AU774777B2
Application number: AU37239/01A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Torsten Dinsing; Stephan Kleier; Frank Timphus
Original assignee: Vodafone Holding GmbH
Current assignee: Vodafone Holding GmbH
Priority date: 2000-02-02
Filing date: 2001-01-23
Publication date: 2004-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2021-01-23
Also published as: AU3723901A; JP2003528492A; EP1264498A1; CN1275494C; EP1264498B1; WO2001058192A1; ES2348592T3; DE50115571D1; CN1478360A; ATE476074T1; DE10004847A1

Abstract

The service quality data (6,12) representing the quality of service are detected using a module (5) provided on the mobile subscriber identification card (3). The service quality data are transmitted from the mobile radio terminal (mobile telephone) (2) to the mobile radio telecommunication network. The module may be implemented as a SIM toolkit application (5). The data may be requested by the user of the mobile radio terminal. An independent claim is included for a mobile radio subscriber identification card with a SIM toolkit application.

Description

SIM Toolkit Application Service Quality Data Collection The invention relates to processes and devices for the collection of service quality data, and relates particularly to such for use in telecommunication service in a mobile telecommunications network, in which mobile radio telecommunications network participants are provided with mobile radio communications terminal devices (mobile or cellular telephones) and subscriber identity modules (SIM).

Patent DE 198 20 845 from the same applicant describes a process for the determination of service quality for telecommunications services in a mobile communications network, whereby the collected service quality data is transmitted to a central location in a mobile telecommunications network for local evaluation.

Terminal devices of this nature were implemented as prototypes. With this sort of mobile radio device it is relatively simple and ergonomic to monitor network service quality by testing rounds. However, this procedure does not allow the collection of some parameters representing service quality (notably service non-accessibility) in all cases. The mobile radio idevices of this nature used for testing also represent customer-side service quality approximately, but not 30 sufficiently exactly.

The object of the current invention is to provide the simplest, most inexpensive, and most efficient collection of service quality data possible, which also \\melbfiles\home$\Priyana\Keep\speci\37239.O1.doc 19/04/04 corresponds as exactly as possible to the customer's actual situation.

According to the present invention there is provided a process for the collection of service quality data concerning a telecommunication service in a mobile telecommunication network, in which a mobile telecommunication terminal device and SIM card are provided, and wherein service quality data which represents actual service quality, is collected using a module on the SIM card, and where the collected service quality data is then transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the mobile telecommunications network.

A SIM card configured to implement the above process is also included.

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oo00 0o00 0 00 0 oeo• ••go oooo 0* 00 0 By means of a module on a SIM card, all existing mobile radio communications terminal devices (mobile telephones) can be used with a SIM card for a highly realistic collection of customer-side service quality data without necessitating the adaptation of the terminal device itself. Due to the fact that a great number of mobile telecommunications customers with such a module (a SIM toolkit application) on their SIM cards, can collect service quality data without any additional costs, this process is well suited for global ongoing online service quality data collection.

In particular, subjective service quality data can be directly retrieved from the customer after each conversation, as long as the customer has configured this in a menu.

Moreover, objective service quality data on the basis of communications parameters can be automatically collected and accumulated directly in the terminal device, then transmitted to a computer or a central location in the mobile telecommunication network via SMS or some other transmission method. Objective service quality data can in particular represent the probability of network access during the registration of a mobile terminal device to the telecommunications network (network non-accessibility), the probability of failure to complete calls or service requests (service nonaccessibility), and/or the probability of a cut-off not initiated by the customer (cut-off call ratio). In order to optimise the correlation of service quality data to problems or elements in the mobile telecommunications network, for central evaluation at a later point in time, the terminal device may collect and store appropriate position data (the local area code and/or cell ID of the mobile radio cell in communication with the terminal device) and transmit this information also to a computer on the mobile telecommunications network for local 6'c6 storage or further evaluation.

The process is particularly easy to implement in a SIM card with a SIM toolkit function.

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S 25 The process can for example be used in GSM and UMTS, and will also be achievable in MExE and WAP within the terminal device. 0• Further characteristics and advantages of the *00O invention become apparent in the following description of 30 an exemplary embodiment, in reference to the diagram.

Shown are in: Figure 1 a schematic diagram of an example of collection and transmission of service quality data.

A mobile telecommunications customer with a mobile terminal device has connected to a mobile telecommunications network (for example, the German D2 network), and can use services such as speech communication with a second customer, the transmission of SMS, retrieval of text and voice messages like RP services, and so forth.

The quality of the services used by mobile telecommunications customer is to be automatically collected as simply and efficiently as possible, and where possible with no modification to the mobile terminal device For this purpose, the SIM card (3) in the mobile terminal device is extended with a SIM toolkit application SAT for automatic collection of service quality data representing the current quality of the telecommunications service. Collecting the data in a module of the SIM card (namely in the SIM toolkit) 20 enables, the use of a large number of terminal devices to monitor service quality almost globally, inexpensively, and automatically, with respect to very many service quality parameters with no modification to the terminal device. The SIM toolkit uses a memory and a processor on the SIM card In the SIM toolkit memory, service quality data is shown by way of example in the table for example, cell identification, time of day, and service quality parameters. Service quality parameters can be subjective service quality parameters, which can be, for example, automatically retrieved from the user of the terminal device during or after a conversation (for example by means of a menu), provided that the customer has configured this on his mobile terminal device or on his SIM card (also done using a menu).

Furthermore, subjective service quality data can be collected automatically by the terminal device. This service quality data can also be automatically marked with time of day and the location of the mobile terminal device, in order to enable the later collation of a highly accurate report in a computer attached to the mobile telecommunications network.

The objective service quality data collected by the terminal device can include, in particular, the probability of network access (or non-access to network) of the user upon registration with his terminal device and SIM card to the telecommunication network That is, it can collect data on network non-accessibility; in particular it can be the case that all the mobile voice channels of a cellular base transceiver station BTS are already occupied by 20 other mobile telecommunications users, and that user (1) can therefore not register. In addition, a communications S parameter of the objective service quality data can include data representing the probability of service interruption. This can, moreover, include detailed o oo 25 information about a specific service interruption, such as the example indicated in table 6: "In cell 1 at 5:00 o oo PM". A conversation can be interrupted by radio interference, for example.

Furthermore, objective service quality data can include entries pertaining to unavailable services, particularly to failed call attempts by user with 6 other mobile telecommunications customers, inability to connect to WAP services, etc.

The service quality data collected by the mobile terminal device can be transmitted, for example using SMS-PtP over the mobile radio network to a computer for local storage and/or further evaluation. Implementation of the process can be accomplished, for example, by a program in a SIM application toolkit. The core of the example should not be understood as lying in the program as such.

Claims

1. A process for the collection of service quality data concerning a telecommunication service in a mobile telecommunication network, in which a mobile telecommunication terminal device and SIM card are provided, and wherein service quality data which represents actual service quality, is collected using a module on the SIM card, and where the collected service quality data is then transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the mobile telecommunications network.

2. A process as claimed in claim i, wherein the module is implemented as a SIM toolkit application in the SIM card.

3. A process as claimed by either of the preceding claims, in which collected service quality data can be requested by a user from the module using the mobile terminal device. 20 S S S S 25 S S S 5 S

4. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the service quality data is collected in the SIM card on the basis of one or more communications parameters representing objective service quality data, and wherein this data is stored in the mobile terminal device or in the SIM card.

5. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the service quality data represents specific entries concerning the success of network access upon an attempted registration of a mobile terminal device to the mobile telecommunications network. 8

6. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the service quality data represents specific information concerning the success of attempts to use a service provided by the mobile telecommunications network.

7. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the service quality data represents specific information concerning at least one call interruption not initiated by the terminal device user.

8. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein location data is also collected by the module on the SIM card from the mobile telecommunications network said location data being pertinent to the location of the mobile telecommunications terminal device. e g. C S S 6 See, 5 S

9. A process according to claim 8, wherein the location data represents a local area code and/or the cell ID of the mobile radio cell currently communicating with the terminal device, which is transmitted to the terminal device by the mobile telecommunications network.

10. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the service quality data collected is transmitted, either singularly or collectively, via at least one SMS message to the mobile telecommunications network.

11. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transmitted service quality data is collected and stored and/or evaluated by a computer connected to the mobile telecommunications network.

12. A SIM card configured for implementing the processes described in any one of the preceding claims.

13. A SIM card, according to claim 12, having a module, which automatically collects service quality data and which is configured to transmit the collected service quality data via a mobile terminal device to a computer connected to the mobile telecommunications network.

14. A SIM card according to claim 13, wherein the module is implemented as a SIM toolkit application in a SMS card.

A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 14, wherein the service quality data can be retrieved from the module by the user of the mobile telecommunications terminal device using the terminal device.

16. A SIM card according to any of claims 13-15, wherein service quality data is collected in the SIM card •as determined by one or more communications parameters *Oo O S. representing objective service quality, and in which such 20 objective service quality data is stored in the mobile "°"telecommunications terminal device or in the SIM card.

17. A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 16, wherein the service quality data represents specific information concerning the success of the network access during an attempted registration of a mobile telecommunications terminal device to the mobile g* telecommunications network.

18. A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 17, wherein the service quality data represents specific information concerning the success of attempts to use a service for the mobile telecommunications terminal device.

19. A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 18, wherein the service quality data represents specific information concerning at least one call interruption not initiated by the terminal device user.

A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 19, wherein location data is collected from the mobile telecommunications network pertaining to the location of the mobile telecommunications terminal device, along with service quality data collected at that location, and stored in the SIM toolkit module.

21. A SIM card according to claim 20, wherein the location data represents a local area code and/or the cell ID of the mobile radio cell currently communicating with the terminal device, which is transmitted from the mobile telecommunications network to the terminal device. 0"

22. A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 20 21, wherein the service quality data collected, is transmitted either singularly or collectively, in at least one SMS message to the mobile telecommunications network.

23. A SIM card according to any one of claims 13- 25 22, wherein the transmitted service quality data is :collected and stored and/or evaluated by a computer o connected to the mobile telecommunications network.

24. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 and substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A SIM card as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 23 and substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 19 t h day of April 2004 VODAFONE HOLDING GMBH By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia e