2 Location updating in a NPLMN

2.1
© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VT ZZA Ed.01

© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VH ZZA Ed.01

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 2 Location updating in a national PLMN
Session presentation

▼ Objective: To be able to solve a problem related to

the subscriber location updating in a national
PLMN (NPLMN).

2.2

© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VH ZZA Ed.01

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 2 Location updating in a national PLMN
Contents
▼ Program Page

2.1 NPLMN location updating procedures

Recall of the needs 6
Location Updating procedure in NPLMNs 7
Roaming calculation at VLR 8

2.2 Setting up national roaming agreements

NPLMN declaration 10
Translation 11
Miscellaneous 12

2.3 Data structure

F_LR_001 14
Evaluation 15

2.3

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 2 Location updating in a NPLMN

2.1 NPLMN location updating procedures

2.5
© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VT ZZA Ed.01

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 2.1 NPLMN location updating procedures
Recall of the needs

PLMN A
PLMN B

West AREA Middle AREA East AREA

Ax2
Ax3

RCP Ax Az3
Ax1
Ax4

RCP Az
Ay2 Az1

MS B1
RCP Ay Az2

Ay3
Ay1
MS B2

PLMN A covers the whole country C

PLMN B covers only a part of C COUNTRY C MS B2 has a regional restriction

2.6

▼ RECALL OF THE NEEDS

z ”National Roaming” is a service whereby a MS of a given PLMN (B) is able to obtain service from another PLMN (A)
in the same country on a location area basis, with automatic return to the home PLMN when this becomes possible.
z The availability of National Roaming depends on agreements between the home PLMN of the requesting MS (B) and
the visited PLMN (A). It does not depend on subscription arrangement.
z The availability of national roaming depends on the RCP configuration :
Î Each RCP involved in the national agreement can manage LAC that are included or not in the agreement.
z In the example above all the subscribers of PLMN B are allowed to roam in areas of PLMN A not covered by PLMNB
(Area n and Area p). So the MS B1 can roam :
Î In its HPLMN
Î In the West area of PLMN A
ª the complete set of LAC controlled by RCP Ay (Ay1, Ay2 and Ay3),
ª LAC Ax1 and Ax2 controlled by RCP Ax. The LAC Ax3 and Ax4 are not included in the agreement for
they are supposed to belong to a geographical area controlled by PLMN B.
Î In the East area of PLMN A
ª the complete set of LAC controlled by RCP Azy (Az1, Az2 and Az3),
z Moreover a subscriber who is allowed to roam in a NPLMN may have a regional subscription so, in the NPLMN he is
allowed to roam, some areas (LAC) can be submitted to restriction. In the example above, the MS B2 of PLMN B can
only roam :
Î In its HPLMN (restricted or not)
Î In the area p of PLMN A
z The regional subscription depends on subscription arrangement in the HPLMN.

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 2.1 NPLMN location updating procedures
Location Updating procedure in NPLMNs

UPD_LOCA_I VLR HLR

Old LA belongs no
to VLR ?
yes
AUTHENTICATION
UPD_LOC_I
in case of intra-VLR
roaming Location Update no MS allowed
cancelled UPD_LOC_E to roam ?
yes

SEND SUBSCRIBER DATA IN VLR

UPD_LOC_R
ROAMING CALCULATION
Due to subscription
data at PLMN level
National yes
roaming
allowed ? Regional yes
no roaming
allowed ?
no RRDTUF ?
yes no
Error =
NationalRoamingNotAllowed
Error =
LocationAreaNotAllowed
UPD_LOCA_E

CIPHERING AND TMSI

ALLOCATION
UPD_LOCA_R
2.7

▼ The location updating procedure is launched and handled as in the previous chapter. That means there is no difference
between a roaming in a foreign or a national PLMN. The location updating procedure is launched in the VLR at receipt of an
UpdateLocationArea message. If the request concerns a MS without IMSI record, the VLR registers the new MS and sets the
restoration and roaming flags to their initial values, then it analyses the Location area identity parameter and detects that
updating is within its own areas, or that the MS comes from another VLR.
z For inter VLR Location updating,
Î LR always asks for Authentication to security function.
Î VLR requests the HLR for subscriber data retrieval. Therefore, before sending data to VLR, the HLR checks
whether the MS is allowed to roam in the visited country. This check is done on the basis of MS subscription
data that can be allowed to roam :
ª In all the PLMNs
ª Only in its own PLMN
ª In FPLMNs (or part of FPLMNs) defined in list(s)
Î If the MS is not allowed to roam, the HLR cancels the location updating.
z For intra VLR Location updating, VLR skips the Authentication and Sending data to VLR phases. Therefore it can
asks the Security function to perform Authentication If needed
▼ After these steps, the VLR calculates the roaming conditions that may result of :
z National roaming
Î If the MS is not allowed to roam an error UPD_LOCA_E message is sent back to RCF and the location
updating is refused due to National Roaming Not Allowed. Subscriber data are not deleted from VLR, to avoid
unnecessary HLR updating when roaming into others LAs of the same MSC, but an indication that the
subscriber is not allowed to roam due to National Roaming is set.
z Regional Restriction
Î If the MS is not allowed in this area due to regional subscription, the VLR cancels the location updating
procedure by sending back to RCF an UPD_LOCA_E message with error cause = location area not allowed
z RRDTUF information found during the update at HLR phase
Î In the same way, after receiving the indication RRDTUF (Roaming Restriction Due to Unsupported feature),
the VLR closes the location updating with an error = Location Area Not Allowed
▼ If a restriction applies, the VLR cancels the location updating by sending a UpdateLocationArea Error message containing the
cause of the roaming restriction.
▼ If no restriction applies, the VLR goes on handling the last phase of the location updating (ciphering and New TMSI allocation
if needed).

© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VH ZZA Ed.01

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 2.1 NPLMN location updating procedures
Roaming calculation at VLR

VLR

yes CREAPL :
F_LR_001 ?
MCC-MNC
no MS in a agreed yes associated LAC
national PLMN ?
no national roaming no
provided
in current LAC ?
yes Mark set by HLR at the
location updating
NATIONAL ROAMING NATIONAL ROAMING
ALLOWED NOT ALLOWED

yes
F_RS_001 ?
no yes
MS regionally
restricted ?
no current LAC no
allowed ?
yes
Roaming right at PLMN level
has been previously checked
REGIONAL ROAMING REGIONAL ROAMING
at the HLR update
ALLOWED NOT ALLOWED

2.8

▼ ROAMING CALCULATION AT VLR

z National roaming
Î This calculation is always performed in order to determine if the MS is allowed to roam in the current LAC
(PLMN number and associated LAC have been declared in the VLR by operator command CREAPL).
Î Before to restrict or not the MS, two checks are done /
ª Is the F_LR_001 option providing the national roaming restriction function?
ª Is the roamer in a an agreed national PLMN (in the point of view of national agreement for restriction to
apply).?
Î If these cases do not match, the national roaming is allowed for a previous check has been performed
before (at the subscription level) and the results may have defined that this MS is “all PLMN allowed” so the
national restriction has not to be applied.
z Regional restriction
Î This is always done but it is pertinent only when the MS roams in the same VLR area. In this case a mark has
been set at the first location in this VLR (HLR update) but the roaming rights have to be calculate again
without any information from the HLR.
z Results
Î This calculation provides results about NATIONAL ROAMING and REGIONAL RESULT.
Î Both national and regional roaming features are under control of respectively F_LR_001 and F_RS_001
options.

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 2 Location updating in a NPLMN

2.2 Setting up national roaming agreements

2.9
© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VT ZZA Ed.01

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 2.2 Setting up national roaming agreements
NPLMN DECLARATION
NPLMN
LA 3

Start by drawing up a list of these RCPs and

the LAs of each of these RCPs accessible to
subscribers of the approved NPLMN
MS

LA 2
In each RCP concerned : LA 1
1. Declare the approved NPLMN and the LAs allowed. ( CREAPL )
2. In the MAP version table, declare the MAP versions of the ACs
involved in the dialogue between the RCP of the HPLMN and the
HLR of the MPLMN.
3. Edit the translation function so as to find the key for accessing the
MAP version table following a request to update the location of a
subscriber of the NPLMN.
4. If it has not already been done, create the necessary signalling
objects. For convenience the routing should be based on the GTs.
2.10

▼ NPLMN DECLARATION

z In order to allow the roaming of a national PLMN visitors in our PLMN, it is necessary to declare in every RCP
involved by the agreement :
Î The national PLMN(s) and the associated LAC defined in the agreement are declared by the CREAPL
command indicating:
ª The MCC-MNC of the approved NPLMN (E212)
ª The LAC of this RCP within which the subscribers are allowed to roam.
z The CREAPL command also lets you add LAs if necessary to the list of LAs already authorised.
z The DELAPL command lets you withdraw LAs from the list of LAs authorised.
z The INTAPL command is used to interrogate a particular NPLMN (by filling in the PLMN parameter) or to list them all.

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 2.2 Setting national roaming agreements
Translation

▼ In RCPs and HLRs

z Routing of inter-PLMN messages according to SCCP
gateways
z Application Contexts tables
▼ In RCP involved in the national roaming
z From allowed visitor’s IMSI
Î MAP version dialog
Î ANC -> ASS -> ANS =DPC of SCCP gateway
▼ In HLR
z From visited VLR global title
Î MAP version dialog
Î ANC -> ASS -> ANS =DPC of SCCP gateway
2.11

▼ Message routing
z The dialog between networks entities needs to take into account :
Î MAP versions
ª The MODNET command must be used when agreeing a NPLMN in order to specify the MAP version
the Application Contexts will used for that PLMN. The CC-NDC of the PLMN must be known because it
is parameter of the command that refers to the PLMN.
Î SCCP gateway
ª In the PLMN entities the routing to the gateway must be created. This involves :
- ANS creation (the DPC of the SCCP gateway must be known)
- ASS creation (as international SCCP gateways use global title to route the destination
message)
▼ In the RCP involved in national agreement
z When a MS initiates an location updating, the visited VLR has to dialog with the MS HLR using the IMSI of the MS.
The IMSI must be used in order to :
Î Get the MAP version to be used in the dialog
ª IMSI (MCC-MNC) (translation) MAPKEY = CC-NDC of the visitor’s PLMN (version table)
MAP version
Î Create an ANC using the IMSI of the visitor’s HLR (MCC-MNC translation)
ª The global title (GT) is issued from the IMSI and can lead to transform the E212 format into E214
format depending on the international SCCP gateway. In this last case, the CC-NDC of the visitor’s
PLMN must be known as it has to replace the MCC-MNC.
ª The ANC will be linked with the ASS object (INTRA-PLMN profile) that is linked with an ANS object
that leads the messages to the right SCCP gateway.
▼ In the HLR of the HPLMN
z Get the MAP version to be used in the dialog
Î VLR address (MCC-MNC) (translation) MAPKEY = CC-NDC of the visitor’s PLMN (version table)
MAP version
z Create an ANC using the VLR address of the RCP involved in the agreement (CC-NDC translation)
Î The ANC will be linked with the ASS object (INTRA-PLMN profile) that is linked with an ANS object that leads
the messages to the right SCCP gateway.

© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VH ZZA Ed.01

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 2.2 Setting up national roaming agreements
Miscellaneous

▼ REMINDER

z FOR FUNCTIONS, NEEDED BY FPLMN VISITORS AND

REQUIRING TRANSLATION, SET IN PREANALYSIS :

Î PLMN = VPLMN

2.12

© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VH ZZA Ed.01

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 2 Location updating in a NPLMN

2.3 Data structure

2.13
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 2.3 Data structure
F_LR_001
▼ F_LR_001 (RCP)
z Sys. Par. : PARNAME = PB_F_LR_001, BOOLVAL
z RTDMS database : RELNAME = PYR_SYSB attribute : D_LR_001

▼ F_LR_001 allows the national roaming function.

▼ Meaning :
z TRUE :
Î The CREAPL command allows you to declare in the RCP the HPLMN of
the mobiles whose location is to be accepted as well as the local LACs
allowed for these mobiles.
Î During the location procedure, the VLR checks, depending on the CREAPL
parameters, if recording the mobile in the local VLR location zone is
authorised.
z FALSE :
Î The CREAPL command cannot be used.
Î No location check is performed in the VLR to restrict roaming by national
PLMN mobiles.
2.14

▼ Legend:
– : offered => Value (Y or N) to be determined by the customer;
*Y : offered => Value = active – Not modifiable by the customer;
*N : not offered => Value = not active – Not modifiable by the customer (in case of a not yet implemented
or a not applicable option);
” ”: not offered (implicitly not active)
U : UMTS
G : GSM
UG : UMTS and GSM

O PTIO N EXP ORT HLR applicabilty

NS S standalone
Evolium
(RCP+HLR
)
F_LR_001 - - UG

© Alcatel University - 8AS 90200 0735 VH ZZA Ed.01

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 2 Location updating in a NPLMN
Evaluation

▼ Objective: to be able to solve a problem

related to the subscriber location updating
in a national PLMN (NPLMN).

Thank you for answering the self

assessment of the objectives sheet

2.15

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