PCT
`INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`WO 98/54913
`
`WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
`International Bureau
`
`(51) International Patent Classification 6 :
`H04Q 3/00, H04M 3/42
`
`(11) International Publication Number:
`
`Al
`
`(43) International Publication Date:
`
`3 December 1998 (03.12.98)
`
`(21) International Application Number:
`
`PCT/FI98/00440
`
`(22) International Filing Date:
`
`26 May 1998 (26.05.98)
`
`(30) Priority Data:
`972319
`
`30 May 1997 (30.05.97)
`
`FI
`
`(71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): TELEFONAK(cid:173)
`TIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON [SE/SE]; S-126 25 Stock(cid:173)
`holm (SE).
`
`(72) Inventor; and
`(75) Inventor/Applicant (for US only): ARKKO, Jari [FIIFI];
`Karppalantie 25 A 7, FIN-02700 Kauniainen (FI).
`
`(74) Agent: BORENIUS & CO. OY AB; Kansakoulukuja 3,
`FIN-00100 Helsinki (FI).
`
`(81) Designated States: AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR,
`BY, CA, CH, CN, CU, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, Fl, GB, GE,
`GH, GM, GW, HU, ID, IL, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ,
`LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW,
`MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL,
`TJ, TM, TR, TT, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZW, ARIPO
`patent (GH, GM, KE, LS, MW, SD, SZ, UG, ZW), Eurasian
`patent (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), European
`patent (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR,
`IE, IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OAPI patent (BF, BJ, CF,
`CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG).
`
`Published
`With international search report.
`Before the expiration of the time limit for amending the
`claims and to be republished in the event of the receipt of
`amendments.
`
`(54) Title: A METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKS FOR MANAGING USER RELATED FEA(cid:173)
`TURES THROUGH A USER INTERFACE
`
`PPP + IP + H1TP
`
`11
`
`1
`
`(57) Abstract
`
`A method and arrangement for managing a communications network such that a user in a communications network environment is
`enabled to manage user related features provided in said network through a user interface (1). The managing method comprises steps for
`(I) establishing a call to a server (12) provided with a feature management service including an individual register (13) of characteristics
`and available features for predetermined user interfaces (1), (II) terminating the user's access into the network through the user interface
`(1) to said server (12), (III) identifying the user interface (1) by means of at least one characteristic of said user interface, (IV) inputting
`said characteristic into said server means (12), and (V) enabling the user to manage the features associated with said at least one inputted
`characteristic through said user interface (1).
`
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`FOR THE PURPOSES OF INFORMATION ONLY
`
`Codes used to identify States party to the PCT on the front pages of pamphlets publishing international applications under the PCT.
`
`AL
`AM
`AT
`AU
`AZ
`BA
`BB
`BE
`BF
`BG
`BJ
`BR
`BY
`CA
`CF
`CG
`CH
`CI
`CM
`CN
`cu
`cz
`DE
`DK
`EE
`
`Albania
`Armenia
`Austria
`Australia
`Azerbaijan
`Bosnia and Herzegovina
`Barbados
`Belgium
`Burkina Paso
`Bulgaria
`Benin
`Brazil
`Belarus
`Canada
`Central African Republic
`Congo
`Switzerland
`Ci\te d'Ivoire
`Cameroon
`China
`Cuba
`Czech Republic
`Germany
`Denmark
`Estonia
`
`ES
`FI
`FR
`GA
`GB
`GE
`GH
`GN
`GR
`HU
`IE
`IL
`IS
`IT
`JP
`KE
`KG
`KP
`
`KR
`KZ
`LC
`LI
`LK
`LR
`
`Spain
`Finland
`France
`Gabon
`United Kingdom
`Georgia
`Ghana
`Guinea
`Greece
`Hungary
`Ireland
`Israel
`Iceland
`Italy
`Japan
`Kenya
`Kyrgyzstan
`Democratic People's
`Republic of Korea
`Republic of Korea
`Kazakstan
`Saint Lucia
`Liechtenstein
`Sri Lanka
`Liberia
`
`LS
`LT
`LU
`LV
`MC
`MD
`MG
`MK
`
`ML
`MN
`MR
`MW
`MX
`NE
`NL
`NO
`NZ
`PL
`PT
`RO
`RU
`SD
`SE
`SG
`
`Lesotho
`Lithuania
`Luxembourg
`Latvia
`Monaco
`Republic of Moldova
`Madagascar
`The former Yugoslav
`Republic of Macedonia
`Mali
`Mongolia
`Mauritania
`Malawi
`Mexico
`Niger
`Netherlands
`Norway
`New Zealand
`Poland
`Portugal
`Romania
`Russian Federation
`Sudan
`Sweden
`Singapore
`
`SI
`SK
`SN
`sz
`TD
`TG
`TJ
`TM
`TR
`TT
`VA
`UG
`us
`uz
`VN
`YU
`zw
`
`Slovenia
`Slovakia
`Senegal
`Swaziland
`Chad
`Togo
`Tajikistan
`Turkmenistan
`Turkey
`Trinidad and Tobago
`Ukraine
`Uganda
`United States of America
`Uzbekistan
`Viet Narn
`Yugoslavia
`Zimbabwe
`
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`PCT /FI98/00440
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`1
`
`A METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKS FOR MANAGING
`USER RELATED FEATURES THROUGH A USER INTERFACE
`
`PJEJ,D OF THE INVENTION
`
`5 The present invention relates to a method for managing
`the configuration and/or operation of various features
`of telecommunication networks. The invention relates
`further to an arrangement for accomplishing the managing
`operations of the telecommunication network features.
`
`10
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`15
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`20
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`30
`
`BACKGROilliD OF THE INVENTION
`
`Modern telecommunication networks provide various
`sophisticated features and/or services available to
`subscribers. These services are in most cases provided
`and run by the telephone companies (operators) and
`include features such as call forwarding, wake-up calls,
`answering services, directory services, text and voice
`mails etc. These services may be implemented, e.g. in a
`so-called Intelligent Network (IN) .
`
`Conventionally these services have been relatively
`difficult to use.
`In particular, the configuration
`thereof, e.g. the installation/removal and
`activation/deactivation and/or other changes thereof,
`requires in most cases the assistance of the telephone
`company.
`Some of the configurations are also such that
`they can be accomplished only by the telephone company,
`e.g. by a service person or an authorised clerk of the
`telephone company. To receive this kind of assistance,
`the subscriber has either to visit an office of the
`telephone company or at least to make a telephone call
`to them to order the desired configuration of services.
`
`35
`
`One of the reasons for this lS the substantially
`unsophisticated and limited user interface of
`
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`conventional telephone terminals (a simple keypad with
`numbers 0 ... 9 and hash (#) and star (*)). The required
`key combinations are often long and hard to remember,
`and the lack of guidance to the user causes mistakes, or
`even dissuades the user from even trying.
`In addition,
`the conventional telephone systems and terminals do not
`give much feedback, if at all, after the subscriber has
`keyed in the instructions through the keypad. The
`nature of the user interface also limits the number and
`flexibility of the services that can be effectively and
`readily used.
`
`To overcome the above problems, improved network
`arrangements and/or telephone terminals have been
`suggested. For instance, the performance of
`conventional POTS connections (Plain Old Telephone
`Service) is improved, e.g. by the so-called ISDN
`connection (Integrated Services Digital Network)
`Improved telephone terminals are also suggested,
`especially in connection with advanced connections such
`as the ISDN. These are intended to provide the user
`with an improved interface for setting, configuring, and
`modifying operations of the various features and/or
`services.
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`5
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`10
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`It is characteristic of ISDN that the user may utilise
`several communications services either separately or
`simultaneously. Different applications, which consist
`of a terminal device, a group of terminal devices, a
`30 multiservice switch, a local network, another private
`network etc., are connected to the ISDN by a limited
`user access group. The ISDN network enables the
`development of the conventional telephone to form a part
`of a multiservice terminal, such as a combination of a
`telephone and a PC, which enables simultaneous transfer
`of speech and data. The ISDN interface between the user
`and the network comprises various types of channels
`
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`which can be used between the subscriber and the network
`for information transfer.
`
`The ISDN B-channel is a channel operating at a rate of
`64 kbit/s and is provided with timing - it is used for
`transferring all kinds of information, e.g. in different
`manners coded speech or data. The ISDN D-channel, which
`has a transfer rate of either 16 kbit/s or 64 kbit/s, is
`primarily intended as a signalling channel for circuit
`switched connections. By combining the different
`channel structures user accesses are provided. A basic
`access has a 2B+D structure and a basic system access
`has a 30B+D structure. By using the basic access
`system, one or several terminal devices may be connected
`directly to the ISDN network, whereas the basic system
`access is used for connecting large switches and local
`networks to the ISDN network.
`
`The additional features/services referred to above are
`usually adapted to conventional telephone terminals.
`It
`is therefore difficult to introduce more advanced
`features/services, or their introduction is at least
`difficult and/or expensive to accomplish as it is
`necessary to provide subscribers with more advanced
`terminals. This cost factor has been one of the reasons
`for the slow introduction of advanced features/services
`in telecommunications networks, especially amongst home
`users.
`
`5
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`10
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`15
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`20
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`25
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`30 There are arrangements utilising open communications
`networks, such as the Internet or MAN (Metropolitan Area
`Network) or similar, which provide for the transmission
`of telephone communications. The skilled person is
`familiar with these, and understands that the Internet
`is a global open communications network connecting
`through PSTNs (Public Switched Telephone Network) and
`suitable gateways to a great number of local area
`
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`networks, such as networks of various companies,
`universities and other organisations. The skilled man
`also understands that the MAN is a network covering a
`geographically limited area, such as a city or a
`5 province. The MAN can also be a subnet of the Internet.
`
`The two most often used communication protocols for the
`Internet are TCP and IP protocols (Transport Control
`Protocol and Internet Protocol respectively) .
`In most
`cases, various services are provided utilising so called
`WWW service protocol (World Wide Web) , which provides a
`graphical Internet interface for a data processing
`device, such as a microcomputer. The WWW contains HTML
`documents (HyperText Markup Language), i.e.
`"hyperdocuments", one such document forming one entity
`which can contain text, pictures, even moving pictures,
`sound and links to other documents. One such document
`may also include several pages. A hyperdocument usually
`has a so-called "web master" which updates the document
`data.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`SimMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`30
`
`The above explained graphical interface could give a
`25 wide range of possibilities for managing the different
`features and/or services available in a communications
`network. Features that could be controlled, e.g. by a
`WWW server, could, for instance, consist of the
`following: call forwarding and status information
`thereof, selection of a new feature and/or deletion of
`an existing feature, browsing of various available
`services, advance information and inspection of
`telephone bills, setting and removing charging limits,
`preventing calls from and/or to unwanted telephone
`numbers, telephone directory searches, additional
`services, such as secretary services and short messages
`(text or voice), etc.
`
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`In the Internet environment the access calls are usually
`transmitted to a modem pool of some Internet Service
`Provider (ISP), such as EUnet Oy in Finland. As the
`traffic in the Internet rapidly increases, it will
`become necessary to separate the Internet traffic from
`the other telephone communications, and to terminate the
`call, e.g. within a local exchange or somewhere else
`than at the ISP. However, the present telephone
`networks are not capable of terminating Internet access
`calls.
`
`There remain problems which have prevented the large
`scale utilisation of various open communications
`networks for the provision, management and control of
`various services relating to the use and utilisation of
`telephone and other telecommunication arrangements. One
`of the main problems is the lack of reliable way to
`identify and authenticate the users of the networks.
`The other problem has relied on the privacy guarantees
`of the users when using the networks.
`
`The present suggestions for providing authorisation and
`privacy in open networks, such as in the global
`Internet, usually require an agreement between the
`communicating parties. This has to be done beforehand,
`and by some other means than through the open network in
`question, e.g. by visiting the telephone company 1 s
`office. The agreement contains in most cases an
`individual key (number and/or characteristic sequence)
`or similar identification to be dialled-in, to obtain an
`access to a certain service.
`
`So-called public key algorithms have been proposed to
`reduce the need for such agreements, but an
`authentication of the subscriber requires from him/her a
`formation of a private-public key pair so as to enable
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`the subscriber to "sign" his/her messages, commands,
`instructions etc. The widespread use of public keys
`would also require the existence of a suitable public
`key infrastructure (such as key signing authorities)
`5 which, however, do not yet exist.
`In addition, the
`acquiring of these keys requires a level of special
`knowledge which most ordinary users, especially the
`private subscribers, do not necessarily have. Another
`common concern relates to the possibility of
`intercepting and/or breaking of a password as it is
`transferred in the network.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`Thus there is a need to be able to control the various
`features available in telephone or telecommunications
`networks in an easy and reliable manner, and such that a
`secure and authenticated manner for the configuration
`and/or use of the services and/or features in open
`communications networks is provided.
`
`20 Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to
`overcome the disadvantages of the prior art solutions
`and to provide a new type of solution for the management
`of various services available in the communications
`networks.
`
`25
`
`An object of the present invention is also to provide an
`improved method and arrangement for user authentication
`and authorisation in communication networks.
`
`30 A second object of the present invention is to provide a
`method and arrangement by means of which the
`configuration of user features can be facilitated and
`made more flexible.
`
`35 A third object of the present invention is to provide a
`method and an arrangement in which graphical documents
`and displays can be utilised for management operations.
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`A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a
`method and an arrangement by means of which it lS no
`longer necessary for the user to use and remember any
`5 particular keys or similar identifications codes when
`accessing various services and/or features of a
`communications network.
`
`A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a
`10 method and an arrangement which provides a secure way
`for configuring features provided by the communication
`networks and such that the privacy of the individual
`users is improved.
`
`15 According to a first aspect of the present invention
`there is provided a method for managing a communication
`network such that a user in a communication network
`environment is enabled to manage user related features
`provided in the network through a user interface, the
`20 method comprising the steps of:
`initiating a call from the user interface to a
`server provided with a feature management service
`including an individual register of characteristics and
`associated available features for user interfaces;
`establishing said call between the user interface
`and said server;
`identifying the user interface by means of at least
`one characteristic thereof transmitted to the server
`during the call initiating step; and
`enabling the user to manage the features associated
`to said at least one characteristic, using said user
`interface.
`
`30
`
`25
`
`35
`
`In a preferred embodiment of the above first aspect of
`the present invention, the communication network is a
`telecommunication network enabling a subscriber to the
`network to make voice and data calls. The user
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`interface is connected to the network via a subscriber
`line having a line identifier (e.g. A-number) associated
`with it. More preferably, said at least one
`characteristic used to identify the user interface is
`the line identifier.
`
`Preferably, said call is established between the user
`interface and the server via a restricted access
`telecommunication network. More preferably, said
`network comprises telephone lines controlled by the
`communication network.
`
`According to a second aspect of the present invention
`there is provided apparatus for enabling a user in a
`communications network environment to manage user
`related features provided in said network through a user
`interface, the apparatus comprising:
`a server provided with a feature management service
`including an individual register of characteristics and
`associated available features for user interfaces;
`call connection means for initiating and
`establishing a call from the user interface to the
`server;
`means for identifying the user interface using at
`least one characteristic thereof transmitted to the
`server during call initiation,
`the server being arranged to enable the user to
`manage the features associated to said at least one
`characteristic using said user interface.
`
`According to a third aspect of the invention there is
`provided a server for enabling a user to manage user
`related features provided in a communication network
`environment through a user interface, the server
`comprising:
`
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`a feature management service including a database
`containing an individual register of characteristics and
`associated available features for user interfaces; and
`means for identifying the user interface using at
`least one characteristic of said user interface
`transmitted to the server during initiation of a call
`between the user interface and the server,
`wherein said server is arranged to terminate the
`user's access into said communication network and to
`enable the user to manage the features associated to
`said at least one transmitted characteristic through
`said user interface.
`
`Several advantages are obtained by embodiments of the
`present invention, as the inventive solution provides a
`simple, reliable, flexible and readily usable manner for
`the management of features provided by the
`communications network. The solution provides a secure
`authentication of the user as it always occurs by means
`of a particular characteristic of the user terminal or a
`group of related user terminals, such as by means of the
`A-number or particular secure code signal
`identification. By means of this the user may avoid
`having to use and remember keys or passwords or using
`some other cryptographic solutions.
`
`The privacy of the user in transactions between the user
`and the server is made secure as no data is allowed to
`enter outside the used communications line, such as
`ISDN/POTS, from the user terminal and terminating at the
`server and thus the transaction signals are not allowed
`to enter, e.g. the global Internet or an open MAN.
`
`As a result of the above, it is possible to use the
`server, such as a WWW server, for purposes that would
`not otherwise be possible in an open communications
`network environment, such as for paying bills or
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`ordering and crediting products and/or services offered
`in the network. This is likely to result in increased
`use of the features or services, which in turn means
`possibilities for larger scale provision and use of
`5 various services.
`
`The invention may be implemented without requiring
`complicated and expensive auxiliary apparatus, but can
`rather be accomplished by already existing means, e.g.
`initially ln the transit networks and later in the local
`exchanges as use of the service increases. The hardware
`costs will not become significant as the proposed
`solution can be readily integrated as an additional
`function in a modem pool, an access server or an access
`server which is integrated to form a part of a telephone
`exchange.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`For a better understanding of the present invention and
`in order to show how the same may be carried into effect
`reference will now be made, by way of example, to the
`accompanying drawings, in which:
`Figure 1 is a schematic representation of one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`Figure 2 is a schematic representation of an
`alternative embodiment of the present invention;
`Figure 3 is an example of a table displayed to the
`user;
`Figure 4 is a schematic representation of the
`principles of certain embodiments of the present
`invention; and
`Figure 5 is a flow chart in accordance with one
`embodiment of the present invention.
`
`DETAII,ED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`!0
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`
`Figure 1 is a schematic representation of one preferred
`arrangement according to the present invention.
`In
`accordance with the embodiment, all users, i.e.
`subscribers, of a telecommunication network can
`establish a call from their advanced terminals or user
`interfaces 1, which preferably are in a form of data
`processing devices such as computers, to a common
`telephone number. For the purpose of clarity, Figure 1
`shows only two such terminals 1 but it is to be
`understood that any appropriate number of terminals of
`the same subscriber and/or different subscribers could
`be connected to the network.
`
`The terminal 1 used ln this invention may comprise a
`combination of a PC (personal computer) 2, a telephone
`3, and a modem 4. The other terminal shown in Figure 1
`is arranged such that a handset 5 is connected directly
`to a computer 6, wherein the computer 6 itself includes
`necessary means for establishing telephone calls, i.e.
`an integrated modem card, so that no external modems are
`required.
`
`The above mentioned common telephone number routes a
`call from a subscriber line 8 to a telephone exchange 9
`of the telecommunication network. The call may be
`routed through several exchanges linked to each other
`(not shown) by trunks etc. Associated with the exchange
`9 is a so-called access node 10 owned and/or operated by
`the operator of the telecommunication network. The
`access node 10 may be an integrated part of the exchange
`9 or a separate unit connected to the exchange 9. The
`access node 10 provides a connection to other
`communications networks, such as the networks of other
`operators, or the Internet and/or MAN or similar
`communications network, as is shown by outgoing line 11
`in Figure 1.
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`
`Further details of the access node 10 can be obtained
`from W097/50230 corresponding to US patent application
`titled "Telecommunications Switch including an
`
`5
`
`Integrated Internet Access Server" filed 24 June 1996
`
`and assigned to Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson/ the
`contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
`
`10
`
`In this example a special WWW server 12 is connected to
`the access node 10 and is owned or operated by the
`operator of the telecommunication network. However/ the
`WWW server 12 may also be located elsewhere/ e.g. at the
`local exchange or closely adjacent thereto.
`Furthermore/ a centralised WWW server can also be used 1
`15 wherein user terminals outside various local exchanges
`can be connected to the centralised WWW server. The
`centralised WWW server may even be located outside the
`particular network concerned or outside another network.
`
`20
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`25
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`
`The connection from the terminal 1 to the server 12 may
`utilise PPP (Point to Point Protocol) or SLIP (Serial
`Line Internet Protocol) or similar protocol. The
`connection from the terminal 1 to the telephone exchange
`9 may for instance be an ISDN or POTS line/ a wireless
`connection/ such as a digital GSM connection (Global
`System for Mobile communications) 1 or an analogue NMT
`(Nordic Mobile Telephone) connection or similar.
`It is
`also possible/ but not necessary/ to control the call by
`means of an intelligent network arrangement (IN). The
`WWW server 12 may also use the IN as a database. The
`connection between the user terminal 1 and the WWW
`server 12 is made secure in a manner which will be
`described in more detail below.
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`The server 12 implements a set of so-called web pages or
`documents 1 which can be accompanied with CGI scripts
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`(Computer Graphics Interface), Java™ applets and other
`possible tools. The web pages provide the subscriber
`with a possibility to receive information about
`different features and/or services, and to control and
`5 manage them in an appropriate manner, such as to
`activate or deactivate them or to call for a new service
`or to delete an existing service. The inquiry, request,
`etc., messages can, for example, be sent in the form of
`http messages (hyper text transfer protocol) . The
`server 12 includes a database 13 including all
`subscriber related records and individual web pages for
`each subscriber.
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`Figure 1 shows one exemplary web page 14, which is shown
`to the user through a graphical interface or a display
`of the user terminal 1. The page 14 includes icons 15
`which can be "clicked" by the user if he/she decides to
`
`access a feature which is beyond that particular icon.
`These web pages or documents in general are in the
`Internet environment called "hyperdocuments".
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`As has already been mentioned, a telephone subscriber is
`connected to the exchange 9 via a subscriber line 8.
`This line 8 may terminate at a local exchange or at a
`locally situated concentrator (multiplexer(cid:173)
`demultiplexer) and has associated with it a line
`identifier. This represents the telephone number of the
`subscriber (A-number). A subscriber's A-number is
`associated with the features which may be accessed,
`30 managed and controlled, using the WWW server 12. This
`association between the A-number and the features to be
`managed is used such that after having identified the
`user terminal on the basis of this characteristic the
`server 12 allows this particular user terminal access to
`the managing operations of the features. The
`arrangement is such that without this association it is
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`not possible to manage the user related features by the
`particular terminal 1.
`
`It is noted that as the operator knows the identity of
`the subscriber, the operator also has a record of the
`other telephone numbers and terminals of this subscriber
`in the same network. Thus it is possible that a set of
`telephone numbers or other characteristic features is
`associated with the same features to be managed (with
`e.g. one single managing document 6).
`It is also
`possible to extend this to mobile stations of the
`particular subscriber. However, different operators may
`have different policies and thus it is preferred that
`the subscriber is allowed to manage only the numbers of
`that specific operator through a single page.
`
`To provide a secure network connection between the
`subscriber and the server 12, it is necessary that the
`server 12 identifies the terminal 1 or group of
`terminals from which a request originates. One
`preferred way of accomplishing this is to implement the
`server 12 directly in the protocol stack terminating the
`PPP connection 3 from the terminal 1. This means that
`one version of the server software lS entirely reserved
`for a particular subscriber, i.e. in Figure 1 one
`version is reserved for each terminal 1. As explained
`above, the server 12 knows at least one of the
`characteristics of the subscriber terminal, such as the
`A-number.
`
`Figure 2 discloses an alternative arrangement, according
`to which the access server 12 is positioned beyond a
`second network 16.
`In this, the connections from the
`terminal 1 to the telephone exchange 5 and the trunk
`line(s) between the various exchanges of the network
`correspond to those of Figure 1. However, the access
`node 17 in not a part of the telephone network, but is
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`connected thereto by a connection 18. From the access
`node 17 the connection to the server 12 is tunnelled
`through the second network 16. The connection 18 to the
`network 16 (e.g. Internet) and the connection 19 from
`the network 16 may be implemented by way of IP, so that
`the tunnelling protocol above the IP prevents the user's
`data from being visible to the other users of the
`network, prevents other users of the network from
`sending data to the WWW server 12, and transmits the
`characteristics of the subscriber to the WWW server 12.
`
`Figure 3 discloses an example of one possible page 14 to
`be displayed to the user on request. This page 14 lS
`used for managing call forwarding operations. The
`features to be managed by the user are call forwarding
`"on" and "off" and the time and other settings for the
`call forwarding and so on, as is evident from the
`Figure. By clicking "modify", a further page becomes
`visible which may include various other alternatives,
`and even links to further pages.
`
`Figure 4 illustrates schematically the operational
`principles of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
`As is shown, the A-number information lS passed to the
`server 12 as an input. The server 12 is isolated from
`the surrounding communications networks (e.g. Internet
`such that the A-number is the sole input which can be
`given to it. Only after having identified the A-number
`does the server 12 send as a response the main page of
`the hyperdocument to the display of the terminal, such
`as a PC, through the PPP connection and the transfer
`line, such as ISDN or POTS, as is indicated by the
`arrows. As the connection between the server 12 and the
`terminal 1 is "closed" and it can only be established by
`the server 12, it is possible to provide a secure
`response connection for the management of the various
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`In other words, a "closed
`subscriber related features.
`management circuit" becomes established.
`As explained above, the PPP termination can take place
`either in the local exchange or alternatively in a
`centralised server with the help of some tunnelling
`protocol.
`If the PPP is terminated at the centralised
`server, the IP packets carried by the PPP are not
`allowed to access any of the IP networks, i.e. outside
`e.g.
`the ISDN/POTS line, and thus the particular
`instance of the centralised server can interact with
`only one particular PPP connection. This means that one
`instance of the server software is now entirely reserved
`for one subscriber.
`
`The server may be provided with knowledge of the
`telephone number(s) of the subscriber for the
`identification and authorisation purposes in the form of
`a table. Standard tunnelling protocols, such as L2TP
`(Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol) of IETF, convey this A-
`number information, and thus the server, such as the WWW
`server 12, can terminate the tunnel, extract the
`telephone number information, start a new version of the
`web server