Packet filtering/classification and/or policy control support from both visited and home networks

A wireless telecommunications network providing roaming mobile user equipment (UE) served by the wireless telecommunications network access to a selected Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia application via an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), said network comprising:

• a local access gateway, said local access gateway being part of a visited network in which the UE is roaming;
• a first IP tunnel is established between the UE and the local access, said first tunnel being anchored at said local access gateway;
• a home gateway, said home gateway being part of a home network to which the UE belongs,
• a second IP tunnel established between the UE and the home gateway, said second tunnel being anchored at said home gateway;
• a first packet classification function implemented at the local access gateway, said first packet classification function being operative to filter data packets received at the local access gateway for the UE so as to classify corresponding traffic into one of a plurality of data flows supported within the first tunnel at varying Quality of Service (QoS) levels;
• and
• a second packet classification function implemented at the home gateway, said second packet classification function being operative to filter data packets received at the home gateway for the UE so as to classify corresponding traffic into one of a plurality of data flows supported within the second tunnel at varying QoS levels;
• and
• a policy enforcement function implemented at the home gateway, said policy enforcement function being operative to regulate in accordance with policy rules at least one of access permission to the IP multimedia application and establishment of QoS levels for the data flows supported within the second tunnel;
• wherein the second tunnel is established through at least one of an external network or an external network subsystem such that the data flows supported in the second tunnel are transparent thereto;
• wherein the home gateway is provisioned to inform at least one of the external network or the external network subsystem of the QoS level of at least one of the data flows currently being supported within the second tunnel.

A method for providing a mobile node (MN) access to a selected Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia application, comprising:

• (a) establishing a first bi-directional IP tunnel between the MN and a local access gateway of a visited network in which the MN is roaming, the first tunnel being anchored at the local access gateway;
• (b) establishing a second bi-directional P tunnel between the MN and a home gateway of a home network to which the MN belongs, the second tunnel being anchored at the home gateway;
• (c) receiving data packets at the local access gateway for the MN;
• (d) filtering the packets received at the local access gateway to classify corresponding traffic into one of a plurality of data flows supported within the first tunnel at varying Quality of Service (QoS) levels;
• (e) receiving data packets at the home gateway for the MN;
• and,
• (f) providing policy enforcement at the home gateway in accordance with one or more policy rules that regulate at least one of access permission to the IP multimedia application and establishment of QoS levels for the data flows supported within the second tunnel.