Experts reveal the mobile phone roaming technology process: low technology and low cost

[Keyword] Mobile phone roaming, hearing, roaming fee

With the approaching of the mobile phone roaming fee hearing, "Roaming" outside the public's field of view "mobile phone roaming fee" has become the focus of public opinion.

What is the technical process of mobile phone roaming? What is the cost? The reporter recently interviewed relevant experts and asked them to elaborate on the mystery of "mobile phone roaming.

Mobile Roaming is a "low technology"

How do mobile phones roam?

Professor Xue Xiaoping, director of the Communication Engineering Teaching and Research Section of Tongji University, said that currently China's mobile communication system is widely used by mobile phone (MS), base station (BS), mobile business exchange center (MSC) and a line connected to the Local Telephone Network (PSTN. In order to support the mobile function, the mobile communication system establishes databases, territorial location registers (HLR) and access location registers (vlr ), they are used to store user information and service information of each local and foreign mobile phone respectively. They are equivalent to the "Household Register" of mobile phones ".

Xue Xiaoping said, for example, when a mobile phone registered in Shanghai "Roaming" into Beijing, the mobile phone asked Beijing's mobile communication network for service. Beijing saw this as an "external mobile phone ", they will ask their hometown of Shanghai. The latter will quickly send information about the mobile phone to Beijing, and Beijing's mobile communication network will create a temporary "Household Register" for foreign mobile phones in vlr ", assign a temporary identifier to the roaming mobile phone so that the mobile phone can use the service of the mobile communication network in Beijing.

"In this way, there is no difference between a mobile phone roaming to Beijing and a local call to Beijing," said Xue Xiaoping. "That is to say, in addition to the need to exchange a small amount of user and service information between vlr in Beijing and HLR in Shanghai, Shanghai's mobile phone calls in Beijing are the same as local calls, the mobile operator does not need to bear any cost other than the local mobile phone."

Low mobile roaming costs

Shanghai Mobile is a "package" in the "dynamic zone" used by reporters. The roaming fee is 0.6 RMB/minute. At present, the domestic mobile phone roaming bill ceiling is 0.8 yuan/minute, users generally think too high. What people do not know is: what is the cost of mobile phone roaming?

The key to roaming is the exchange and storage of mobile phone identity and service information between HLR and vlr. Xue Xiaoping said that roaming mobile phones need to exchange and store less information between roaming locations and registration locations. An insider from a mobile service equipment provider told reporters that when a device provider provides a device to a carrier, the cost of HRL and vlr in a full set of devices is small.

Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Professor Kai kai Li and other experts pointed out that for operators, mobile phone roaming costs are low.

In the opinion of some experts, mobile phone roaming is an inherent function of mobile communication, and roaming is a basic function rather than a licensing function, the roaming mobile phone has already paid the local communication fee to the service provider.