HK1116618B

HK1116618B - Selective disablement of mobile communication equipment capabilities

Info

Publication number: HK1116618B
Application number: HK08106566.3A
Authority: HK
Inventors: Christian Herrero Veron
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2004-11-04
Filing date: 2005-11-04
Publication date: 2011-10-21

Description

Selective disabling of mobile communication device capabilities

Technical Field

The present invention relates to mobile communication systems, and more particularly, to techniques for selectively disabling one or more functions/capabilities in a mobile user equipment.

Background

Mobile communication systems, such as cellular communication systems, allow mobile User Equipment (UE) to communicate wirelessly by establishing a wireless (e.g., radio) link between the UE and one of a plurality of Base Stations (BSs) geographically distributed throughout a service area. Mobility is provided by a protocol that enables a UE to handover from a first BS to another BS when the UE moves from the coverage area of the first BS to the coverage area of the other BS.

Various base stations are connected (e.g., by wireless and/or wired links) to a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) that provides the infrastructure necessary to service the call. The PLMN is also typically connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to enable calls to be routed to wireline communication devices not associated with the PLMN.

In order to achieve interoperability between devices designed and manufactured by different manufacturers, a number of mobile communication standards have been adhered to in the past and now, and new standards, such as those developed and promulgated by the third generation partnership project (3GPP), continue to be developed. 3GPP is a collaborative agreement between multiple telecommunication standard entities. The 3GPP is responsible for the maintenance and development of global system for mobile communications (GSM) technical specifications and technical reports, including improved radio access technologies such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE). The 3GPP also generates globally applicable specifications and technical reports for third generation mobile systems based on the evolved GSM core network and radio access technologies supported by it, such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes.

While 3GPP terminology is used herein to provide the reader with a well-known reference point, it should be understood that the various principles and aspects described herein are not limited to systems designed according to 3GPP specifications, but are applicable to any similar type of mobile communication system.

One problem that may be encountered in mobile communication systems is misbehaving User Equipment (UE). A misbehaving UE refers to a UE that contains malicious or ill-crafted applications, possibly appearing to repeatedly request services from and/or connect to the network. Such activity by the UE can degrade the system due to the allocation of radio resources and the waste of network signaling processing. Misbehaving applications can be downloaded by the user to the UE through various methods, such as email, SMS and Push services, and (exceptionally) cannot be detected and disabled by application layer precautions.

It is foreseen that the number of applications downloaded to a terminal will increase in the near future. This certainly increases the likelihood of malicious or ill-crafted applications being downloaded and installed on the user's UE, making the UE a misbehaving UE.

Selectively disabling UE capability (sdoee) is a 3GPP approved feature that allows operators to selectively disable services on 'misbehaving' UEs when necessary. Other communication standards may recognize similar features.

No mechanism for selectively disabling the UE capability has been specified so far.

The document US 5794142 describes a method for activating or deactivating a network service by means of a Short Message Service (SMS) message sent to a mobile terminal. In operation, the service to be deactivated is removed from the user selectable list of services, thereby preventing the user from selecting and invoking the deactivated service. Such a policy does not protect the mobile terminal and the network from malicious or ill-crafted software calls themselves without relying on user actions.

Document US 2004/0203941 likewise describes a system and a method for mobile configuration, in which the signature is transmitted to the mobile station by SMS or over the air over internet protocol (IOTA) protocol. This document does not describe any mechanism for preventing malicious or ill-crafted software from working despite earlier deactivation.

Document US 6223032 describes a misbehaving mobile station identification system and method comprising a mobile station having a power-off mode of operation, controllable by a message sent from the network, wherein the mobile station remains idle and inoperable until repaired. Thus, the system does not selectively disable certain functions while allowing others to continue to operate.

Disclosure of Invention

It should be emphasized that the terms "comprises" and "comprising," when used in this specification, are taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components; the use of these terms does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects are achieved in a technique for selectively enabling network services and/or network functions in a mobile terminal operating in a mobile communication system. In one aspect, this involves receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled. The information element is then stored in the mobile terminal. Then, prior to each request for a network service, operation of the mobile terminal includes referencing the information element, prohibiting the mobile terminal from requesting the network service if the information element indicates that the network service is disabled, and enabling the mobile terminal to request the network service if the information element indicates that the network service is enabled.

In some embodiments, information regarding the availability of network services and/or network functions is output to a user of the mobile terminal, where the information is derived from the received information elements.

In some embodiments, the information element comprises a text string displayed to a user of the mobile terminal.

In some embodiments, the information element includes a customer service telephone number displayed to a user of the mobile terminal.

In another aspect, after the mobile terminal is inhibited from requesting the first network service or function based on the information element, the first network service or function is re-enabled in response to receiving a subsequent information element encoded to indicate enablement of the first network service or function.

On the other hand, the information element is stored in a memory that can retain the information element regardless of whether the mobile terminal is powered on or off.

In yet another aspect, the information element is stored in a memory that is not within a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) of the mobile terminal.

In yet another aspect, a mobile terminal receives an information element from a public land mobile network that is encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled. In response to receiving the information element encoded to request the status report, the mobile terminal transmits to the public land mobile network an information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

In yet another aspect, receiving the information element encoded as a request status report from the public land mobile network is performed as part of a registration procedure between the mobile terminal and the public land mobile network.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of selectively enabling network services and/or network functions in a mobile terminal operating in a mobile communication system, the method comprising: receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled; storing the information element in the mobile terminal; and prior to each request for a network service, referring to the information element, if the information element indicates that the network service is disabled, prohibiting the mobile terminal from requesting the network service, and if the information element indicates that the network service is enabled, enabling the mobile terminal to request the network service.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for selectively enabling a network service and/or a network function in a mobile terminal operating in a mobile communication system, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled; means for storing said information element in said mobile terminal; and means for referring to the information element prior to each request for a network service, for prohibiting the mobile terminal from requesting the network service if the information element indicates that the network service is disabled, and for enabling the mobile terminal to request the network service if the information element indicates that the network service is enabled.

Drawings

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a messaging diagram illustrating an exemplary procedure performed between a UE and a public land mobile network, where the UE is currently roaming.

Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a selective UE functionality list information element.

Detailed Description

Various features of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated with the same reference numerals.

Various aspects of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a few exemplary embodiments. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, many aspects of the invention are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by elements of a computer system or other hardware capable of executing programmed instructions. It will be understood that in each of the embodiments, the various actions could be performed by specialized circuits (e.g., discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination thereof. Moreover, the invention can additionally be considered to be embodied entirely within any computer-readable carrier form, such as solid-state memory, magnetic disk, optical disk or carrier wave (such as radio frequency, audio frequency or optical frequency carrier waves) containing an appropriate set of computer instructions that would cause a processor to carry out the techniques described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the invention may be embodied in a number of different forms, and all such forms are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention. For each of the various aspects of the invention, any such incarnations are referred to herein as "logic configured to" perform the recited action, or as "logic that" performs the recited action.

One aspect of the present invention is a new mechanism for selectively disabling UE functionality by sending and storing a selective UE functionality list in the UE to indicate the availability of one or more services in the PLMN number of the network receiving the list and any other networks. In operation, the UE will look at this list before requesting any services and will not request services that are not indicated as enabled.

To facilitate understanding of various aspects of the invention and to provide the reader with familiar terminology, embodiments conforming to the 3GPP specifications are described. However, it should be understood that the various principles and aspects described herein are not limited to systems designed according to 3GPP specifications, but are applicable to any similar type of mobile communication system.

Various embodiments utilize communication between a network and a UE to communicate an indication that services are available/unavailable. In 3GPP systems, it is advantageous to reuse the already existing Mobility Management (MM) and GPRS Mobility Management (GMM) functionalities for this purpose. This is achieved by enhancing the MM INFORMATION and GMM INFORMATION messages defined by 3gpp ts 24.008.

Fig. 1 is a messaging diagram/flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process performed between a UE101 and a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)103, where the UE101 is currently roaming. The UE101 includes a Mobile Equipment (ME)103 and a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) or Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)105 (generally referred to herein as a "(U) SIM"). The PLMN 107 may include a mobile services switching center (MSC) and/or a serving GPRS support node 109. The PLMN 107 downloads (step 111) an INFORMATION Element (IE) called "selective User Equipment (UE) function list" to the UE101 using MM INFORMATION and GMM INFORMATION messages. The selective UE functionality list indicates to the UE101 the availability of one or more services in the PLMN number of the PLMN 107 and any other networks that receive the list (i.e., the list prevents the UE101 from requesting disabled services from all networks that the UE101 may roam on).

After receiving the selective UE function list (step 113), the UE stores it in a storage area of the ME 103 (step 115), and the selective UE function list remains even if the UE101 is powered off. Thus, when the UE101 is powered back on, the UE101 will maintain the status of the availability of the particular UE function (i.e., enabled or disabled). The UE101 is not allowed to request services not indicated as enabled (step 117).

The optional UE capabilities list IE may also contain one or more customer service numbers and text strings that assist the end user in determining the reason for the unavailability of a particular service. For example, a text string may state "your cell phone is infected with a virus. Please contact the operator. Or to call your operator to a lower number. "if an optional customer service number or text string is received in the new IE, the UE101 preferably immediately notifies the user of the customer service number and displays the text string.

Further, the UE101 should inform the user about the availability of the appropriate service (e.g., "Short Message Service (SMS) via Packet Switched (PS) network is not allowed") using the indication given in the selective UE functionality list.

In some embodiments, the disabling mechanism may be protected by ciphering the MM INFORMATION and GMM INFORMATION messages whenever a new selective UE functions list IE is included. When this feature is included in an embodiment, the encryption of these messages should be mandatory at any time when the selective UE capabilities list IE is included.

Storing the selective UE functionality list in the ME 103 achieves the advantage that requests for services disabled in the UE101 can be prohibited even when there is no (U) SIM 105. It should be remembered that UE access to the network is typically allowed for emergency calls even when the (U) SIM is not installed, so storing the selective UE functionality list in the ME 103 provides protection for the network against misbehaving UEs even in these cases.

On the other hand, the selective UE functionality list is used to implement repair functionality, where disabled services or capabilities are re-enabled when deemed appropriate by the network. For example, a user may download a misbehaving (or infected) Java application to a terminal, which makes it behave abnormally. As a result, one or more services or functions are disabled, as previously described. However, the appropriate functionality may later be restored (e.g., the user may call the carrier's support center to download the revision patch by the user or automatically by the carrier). Thus, it is appropriate for the network to provide the UE101 with a new list of selective UE functions to re-enable previously disabled services and/or functions.

Another use of the selective UE functionality list is to inform the home plmn (hplmn) or visited plmn (vplmn) of the status of the selective UE functionality list stored (available) in the UE 101. This may be accomplished, for example, by including the request MS info IE in any ROUTING AREA update ACCEPT, ATTACH ACCEPT or LOCATION update ACCEPT message. In a system compliant with the 3GPP standard, the request MS info IE should be enhanced with the addition of a new bit for signaling the request to the UE101 of the selective UE capabilities list IE to be sent to the PLMN 107. In addition, inclusion of the selective UE function list IE in the ATTACH COMPLETE, ROUTING AREA UPDATE COMPLETE message should be allowed. For the LOCATION UPDATE procedure, one solution is to enhance the LOCATION UPDATE ACCEPT message in a similar manner as described with respect to ATTACH ACCEPT and the ROUTING AREA UPDATE message. In particular, a new field (e.g., a specified bit position) may be added to the request MS info IE to signal to the UE that the new selective UE capabilities list IE should be included. Currently, the location updating ACCEPT message does not provide the possibility to include the requesting MS info IE and its corresponding logic. Therefore, it should be allowed to include the request MS info IE in any LOCATION UPDATING ACCEPT message. In addition, a new LOCATION update complete message should be added, which may include a selective UE function IE.

An exemplary embodiment of the selective UE capabilities list IE 200 is now described with reference to fig. 2. The exemplary embodiments are particularly useful for systems operating in accordance with the 3GPP standard. It should be understood that the particular configuration and encoding of the fields in the selective UE functionality list IE 200 is merely exemplary, and that there are many other possible and available configurations and field definitions in alternative embodiments.

As shown in fig. 2, an exemplary selective UE capabilities list IE 200 contains m octets. Each octet has bits numbered 1 to 8, with bit 8 being the most significant bit and bit 1 being the least significant bit. Octet 1 is encoded with a value identifying this information element as the optional UE function list IE.

It will be seen shortly that the selective UE capabilities list IE 200 includes a plurality of variable length fields. Thus, the total length of the selective UE functionality list IE 200 is itself variable. Octet 2 is coded to indicate this total length.

Octets 3 and 4 are encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled. In this exemplary embodiment, this is accomplished by associating each of the selectively enabled network services/functions with a respective one of octets 3 and 4. When a bit is set to one state (e.g., 0), the corresponding service/function is enabled, and when set to another state (e.g., 1), the corresponding service/function is disabled. Table 1 shows an exemplary encoding of octet 3. An exemplary encoding of octet 4 is shown in table 2.

Table 1: exemplary encoding of octet 3 of the Selective UE function information element

Table 2: exemplary encoding of octet 4 of the Selective UE function information element

In one aspect of the invention, the UE is operated in a manner that prohibits the UE from requesting all network services and network functions indicated as disabled by the information element. For the exemplary selective UE functionality IE 200, the UE operates as follows:

if the optional UE capability list IE is received, the UE preferably performs the following actions:

● if the CC bit is set to 1, the UE initiates the release of all active calls and enters state U0 "NULL". Furthermore, from now on until a new selective UE function list IE with CC bit set to 0 is received, the UE should not use the call control procedure except for emergency calls and customer service numbers (if received).

● if the EC bit is set to 1, the UE automatically initiates the release of all active emergency calls (if any). Furthermore, from now on until a new selective UE function list IE with EC bit set to 0 is received, the UE should not use the call control procedure for emergency calls.

● if the SS bit is set to 1, the UE will terminate all active supplementary services operations. Furthermore, from now on until a new selective UE function list IE with SS bit set to 0 is received, the UE should not invoke supplementary service operations and their responses (e.g., for location services (LCS)).

● if the "SMS Via CS" bit is set to 1, the UE should not use the circuit switched domain for SMS transmission from now on until a new Selective UE function List IE with the SMS bit set to 0 is received. As an implementation option (i.e. an alternative embodiment), the UE may use GPRS instead of the circuit switched domain for SMS transmission.

● if the "SMS Via PS" bit is set to 1, the UE should not use GPRS for SMS transmission from now on until a new optional UE capability list IE with the "SMS Via PS" bit set to 0 is received. As an implementation option (i.e. an alternative embodiment), the UE may use the circuit switched domain instead of GPRS for SMS transmission.

● if the "LCS via CS" bit is set to 1, the UE should not use the circuit switched domain for location services from now on until a new selective UE capabilities list IE with the LCS bit set to 0 is received. As an implementation option (i.e. an alternative embodiment), the UE may use GPRS instead of the circuit switched domain for location services.

● if the "LCS via PS" bit is set to 1, the UE should not use GPRS for location services from now on until a new selective UE capabilities list IE with the LCS bit set to 0 is received. As an implementation option (i.e. an alternative embodiment), the UE may use the circuit switched domain instead of GPRS for location services.

● if the GPRS SM bit is set to 1, the UE will release all resources allocated for the active PDP context and clear the PDP context data. In addition, the UE enters a STANDBY state if in the A/Gb mode or enters a PMM-IDLE state if in the Iu mode. Furthermore, the UE should not use the GRPS SM procedure from now on until a new selective UE function list IE with the gprs SM bit set to 0 is received.

● if the MBMS SM bit is set to 1, the UE will release all resources allocated for the active MBMS context and clear the MBMS context data. Further, the UE should not use the MBMS SM procedure from now on until receiving a new selective UE function list IE with the MBMS SM bit set to 0.

● if the IMS bit is set to 1, the UE will release all resources allocated for an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) session. Furthermore, from now on until a new optional UE capability list IE with IMS bit set to 0 is received, the UE should not use IMS procedures for IMS services.

Returning now to the discussion of the exemplary optional UE functionality list IE 200 shown in fig. 2, octets 5 through h-1 carry a first customer service number and octets h through h + n carry a second customer service number. Octets 5 and h are encoded to indicate the length of the respective first and second customer service numbers. Octets 6 and h +1 each have fields indicating a numbering plan identification and a number type for the respective first and second customer service numbers. For example, the number type field may be encoded as shown in table 3.

765 bit	Means of
		000	Is unknown
001	International number
		010	Domestic number
011	Network specific number
		100	Dedicated access, short code
101	Retention
		110	Retention
111	Retention

Table 3: exemplary encoding of number type field

Referring to table 3, the number type designated as "unknown" is used when the number type (e.g., international number, national number, etc.) is not known to the user or the network. In this case, the number bit field is organized according to a network dialing plan (e.g., prefix or overflow bits may be present).

If indicated as a national number or an international number, no prefix or overflow bits will be included.

In addition, if an international number is indicated, the MSC should accept the international format when the call is destined for a destination in the same country as the MSC.

Still referring to table 3, the number type designated as "network specific number" is used to indicate a management/service number specific to the serving network (e.g., for accessing the operator).

For example, the numbering plan identification field may be encoded as shown in table 4.

Bit 4321	Means of
		0000	Is unknown
0001	ISDN/telephone numbering scheme
		0011	Data numbering scheme
0100	Telegraph numbering scheme
		1000	Domestic numbering scheme
1001	Special numbering scheme
		1011	Reserving for CTS
1111	Reserved for expansion

Table 4: exemplary encoding of numbering plan identification fields

The coding of the numbering scheme field is valid when the number type is "000", "001", "010", or "100".

Referring back to fig. 2, each number bit (e.g., number bit 1, number bit 2, number bit 3.) may be encoded as shown in table 5.

Bit 4321 or 8765	Number place value
		0000	0
0001	1
		0010	2
0011	3

0100	4
		0101	5
0110	6
		0111	7
1000	8
		1001	9
1010	*
		1011	#
1100	a
		1101	b
1110	c
		1111	And is used as a terminator in the event that the number bits in the customer service number are odd.

Table 5: exemplary encoding of number bit fields

The last portion of the exemplary optional UE functionality list IE 200 shown in fig. 2 is an optional text string, previously mentioned. In this regard, octet i (i ═ h + n +1) is encoded to indicate the length of the web text string content. The next octet (octet i +1) comprises a field indicating the coding scheme and another field indicating the number of spare bits in the last octet. For example, the field indicating the number of spare bits in the last octet is encoded as shown in Table 6.

Bit 321	Number place value
		001	Bit 8 is spare and is set to "0" in octet n "
010	Bits 7 and 8 are spare and are atSet to "0" in octet n "
		011	Bits 6 through 8 (inclusive) are spare and set to "0" in octet n "
100	Bits 5 to 8 (inclusive) are spare and set to "0" in octet n "
		101	Bits 4 to 8 (inclusive) are spare and set to "0" in octet n "

110	Bits 3 to 8 (inclusive) are spare and set to "0" in octet n "
		111	Bits 2 through 8 (inclusive) are spare and set to "0" in octet n "
000	This field contains no information about the number of spare bits in the octet

Table 6: exemplary encoding of the number of spare bits field in the last octet

The coding scheme field in octet i +1 may be coded as shown in table 7.

765 bit	Number place value
		000	Cell broadcast data coding scheme, GSM default characters, language unspecified, defined in 3GPP TS 23.038
001	UCS2(16 bit)
		010	Retention
011	Retention
		100	Retention
101	Retention
		110	Retention
111	Retention

Table 7: exemplary encoding of a coding scheme field

The various aspects of the invention described herein provide a number of advantages, including:

● provides a solution for all selective disablement of UE capability requirements as defined by standards like 3 GPP.

● implementation in the UE only affects the ME and not the (U) SIM.

● the various embodiments described herein are inexpensive and can be quickly implemented in a UE.

● may prevent behavior without a (U) SIM from misallocating and wasting network and radio resources for UEs (i.e., a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) -free solution).

● provide the home network provider (e.g., HPLMN) and visited network operator with a mechanism for controlling all users in their networks.

● because the various embodiments do not involve storing a selective UE functionality list in the (U) SIM, a user of a misbehaving UE can move the (U) SIM (and thus the subscription) to a different, non-misbehaving, non-rogue UE and thereby continue to receive service.

● may include user interactions (e.g., customer service numbers, messages to the user).

The invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other specific forms than the specific embodiments described above.

For example, the preferred embodiments described above each include storing the selective UE functionality list IE in the ME instead of the (U) SIM, which is not a requirement for the basic capability of implementing selective enabling/disabling of network services/functions. While it is advantageous to avoid storing the selective UE functionality list IE in the (U) SIM for the reasons explained above, such embodiments may be useful.

The described embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is given by the appended claims, rather than the preceding description, and all variations and equivalents which fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A method of selectively enabling network services and/or network functions in a mobile terminal operating in a mobile communication system, the method comprising:

receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled;

storing the information element in the mobile terminal; and

prior to each request for a network service, referring to the information element, if the information element indicates that the network service is disabled, prohibiting the mobile terminal from requesting the network service, and if the information element indicates that the network service is enabled, enabling the mobile terminal to request the network service.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

outputting information regarding the availability of network services and/or network functions to a user of the mobile terminal, wherein the information is derived from the received information elements.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information element comprises a text string; and

the method includes displaying the text string to a user of the mobile terminal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information element includes a customer service telephone number; and

the method includes displaying the customer service telephone number to a user of the mobile terminal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information element indicates that the first network service or the first network function is disabled; and

the method comprises the following steps:

receiving a subsequent information element encoded to indicate that the first network service or the first network function is enabled;

storing the subsequent information element in the mobile terminal; and

operating the mobile terminal in a manner that re-enables the capability of the mobile terminal to request the first network service or the first network function.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the information element in the mobile terminal comprises storing the information element in a memory that retains the information element regardless of whether the mobile terminal is powered on or off.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the information element in the mobile terminal comprises storing the information element in a memory that is not within a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) of the mobile terminal.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving an information element from a public land mobile network encoded as a request status report indicating whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled; and

in response to receiving the information element encoded to request a status report, transmitting an information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled to the public land mobile network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

receiving an information element encoded as a request status report from the public land mobile network is performed as part of a registration procedure between the mobile terminal and the public land mobile network.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the mobile communication system operates in accordance with a third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard defining a ROUTING AREA update procedure message; and

receiving, from the public land mobile network, an information element encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises receiving a ROUTING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the mobile communication system operates in accordance with the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard defining ATTACH ACCEPT messages; and

receiving from the public land mobile network an information element encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises receiving ATTACH ACCEPT a message encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the mobile communication system operates in accordance with a third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard defining a LOCATION UPDATING ACCEPT message; and

receiving, from the public land mobile network, an information element encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises receiving a LOCATION update ACCEPT message encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein sending an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled to the public land mobile network comprises:

sending a location updating COMPLETE message to the public land mobile network containing an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the mobile communication system operates in accordance with a third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard defining a MM INFORMATION message; and

receiving the information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled includes receiving an mminform address message that includes the information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the mobile communication system operates in accordance with a third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard defining a GMM INFORMATION message; and

receiving the information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled includes receiving a gmminfo message that includes the information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

16. An apparatus for selectively enabling network services and/or network functions in a mobile terminal operating in a mobile communication system, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled;

means for storing said information element in said mobile terminal; and

means for referring to the information element prior to each request for a network service, prohibiting the mobile terminal from requesting the network service if the information element indicates that the network service is disabled, and enabling the mobile terminal to request the network service if the information element indicates that the network service is enabled.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, comprising:

means for outputting information to a user of the mobile terminal regarding availability of network services and/or network functions, wherein the information is derived from the received information elements.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the information element comprises a text string; and

the apparatus comprises means for displaying the text string to a user of the mobile terminal.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the information element includes a customer service telephone number; and

the apparatus comprises means for displaying the customer service telephone number to a user of the mobile terminal.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the apparatus comprises:

means for receiving a subsequent information element encoded to indicate that the first network service or the first network function is enabled;

means for storing said subsequent information element in said mobile terminal; and

means for operating the mobile terminal in a manner that re-enables the capability of the mobile terminal to request the first network service or the first network function.

21. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the means for storing the information element in the mobile terminal comprises means for storing the information element in a memory that retains the information element regardless of whether the mobile terminal is powered on or off.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for storing the information element in the mobile terminal comprises means for storing the information element in a memory that is not within a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) of the mobile terminal.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, comprising:

means for receiving, from a public land mobile network, an information element encoded as a request for a status report indicating whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled; and

means for transmitting, in response to receiving an information element encoded to request a status report, an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled to the public land mobile network.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein:

the means for receiving an information element encoded as a request status report from the public land mobile network performs its function as part of a registration procedure between the mobile terminal and the public land mobile network.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein:

the means for receiving an information element encoded as a request for a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled from the public land mobile network comprises means for receiving a ROUTING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message encoded as a request for a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein:

the means for receiving from the public land mobile network an information element encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises means for receiving an ATTACH ACCEPT message encoded to request a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein:

the means for receiving from the public land mobile network an information element encoded as a request for a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises means for receiving a LOCATION update ACCEPT message encoded as a request for a status report indicating whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the means for sending an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled to the public land mobile network comprises:

means for sending a location updating COMPLETE message to the public land mobile network containing an information element encoded to indicate whether each of a plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

29. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the means for receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises means for receiving an mminform address message that includes an information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.

30. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the means for receiving an information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled comprises means for receiving a gmminfo message including an information element encoded to indicate whether each of the plurality of network services and/or network functions is enabled or disabled.