Content for TS 23.119 Word version: 18.0.0

1 Scope p. 8

The present document gives the stage 2 description of the Gateway Location Register (GLR) within the UMTS Core Network as a means of reducing the amount of MAP signalling traffic associated with location management carried over inter-PLMN links for roaming users.

The present document will be restricted of the case where the GLR supports one VPLMN only.

2 References p. 8

The following documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of the present document.

References are either specific (identified by date of publication, edition number, version number, etc.) or non specific.
For a specific reference, subsequent revisions do not apply.
For a non-specific reference, the latest version applies. In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in the same Release as the present document.

[1]

TS 22.003: "Teleservices Supported by a GSM Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)".

[2]

TS 23.007: "Restore procedure".

[3]

TS 23.012: "Location management".

[4]

TS 23.018: "Basic call handling".

[5]

TS 23.040: "Technical realization of the Short Message Service (SMS); Point-to-Point (PP)".

[6]

TS 23.060: "General Packet Radio Service; Service description; Stage 2".

[7]

TS 23.171: "Location Services (LCS); Functional Description; Stage 2".

[8]

TS 23.093: "Technical realization of Completion of Calls to Busy Subscriber (CCBS) Stage 2".

[9]

TS 23.116: "Super-Charger Technical Realisation; Stage2".

[10]

TS 29.002: "Mobile Application Part (MAP) specification".

[11]

TS 29.120: "Mobile Application Part (MAP) specification for GLR".

[12]

TS 33.102: "3G Security".

3 Definitions and abbreviations p. 8

3.1 Definitions p. 8

For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions apply.

Gateway Location Register:

this entity handles location management of roaming subscriber in visited network without involving HLR

Intermediate GSN:

this entity is used as serving GSN towards home network and relay some PDU notification messages between serving GSN and Gateway GSN

Intermediate MSC:

this entity is used as serving MSC towards home network and relay some messages between serving MSC and home network

3.2 Abbreviations p. 9

For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply:

CCBS

Completion of Calls to Busy Subscriber

GLR

Gateway Location Register

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service

IM-GSN

Intermediate GSN

IM-MSC

Intermediate MSC

SGSN

Serving GPRS Support Node

4 Introduction p. 9

UMTS will build on the success of GSM and is likely to become even more widespread. UMTS/ IMT-2000 networks based on GSM evolution are planned for Europe, Japan, USA and Korea. Coupled with steadily increasing rates of international travel for business and leisure, this means a significant increase in the number of roaming users needing to be supported. This will lead to an increase of the signalling traffic on "short -haul" and "long-haul" international links.

The GLR (Gateway Location Register) is a node between the VLR and/or SGSN and the HLR, which may be used to optimise the location updating and the handling of subscriber profile data across network boundaries. When a subscriber is roaming the GLR plays the role of the HLR towards the VLR and SGSN in the visited network and the role of the VLR and SGSN towards the HLR in the home network.

The GLR is an optional entity within the VPLMN. The network architecture where the presence of a GLR within a UMTS PLMN is not visible to either a second generation HPLMN (i.e. GSM release 98 or earlier) or a 3G HPLMN (i.e. GSM Release 99 or later).