Method to retrieve personal customer data of a customer for delivering online service to said customer

• US 10,194,005 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2013
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Virieux, Philippe
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aung, Aye M
• Application Number:
  US14/378,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20150039728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,190 Days
• Field of Search: 709219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass networks security protocols H04L9/40; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

The invention relates to a method to retrieve personal customer data of a customer for delivering online service to said customer, with the steps:—a service supplier (3) initiates the sending of a network identifier (51) of a mobile node (5), used to communicate with the online service supplier (3) and bound to the customer by a mobile network operator (7), to an application programming interface (API) platform (9) with a request to manage the customer data,—the API platform (9) identifies the mobile network operator (7) of the mobile node (5), and forwards the network identifier (51) and request to retrieve the customer data to said mobile network operator (7) of the mobile node (5),—the mobile network operator (7) uses the network identifier to identify the customer and sends the requested personal customer data contained in a data repository of the mobile network operator to the API platform (9),—the service supplier (3) retrieves the personal customer data at the API platform (9). The invention also concerns the associated API platform (9).

Claims

1. A method to retrieve personal customer data of a customer for delivering online service to said customer:

an online service supplier initiates the sending of a network identifier of a mobile node, used to communicate with the online service supplier and bound to the customer by a mobile network operator, to an application programming interface platform (API) with a request to retrieve the customer data,

the API platform identifies the mobile network operator of the mobile node, and forwards the network identifier and request to retrieve the customer data to said mobile network operator of the mobile node,

the mobile network operator uses the network identifier to identify the customer and sends the requested personal customer data contained in a data repository of the mobile network operator to the API platform,

the online service supplier retrieves the personal customer data at the API platform.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the API platform is an open API platform.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the open API platform uses HTTP and/or HTTPS protocols.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the mobile node sends to the API platform an HTTP or HTTPS message in which a header containing an identifier of the mobile network operator of the mobile node is added by 3G network nodes forwarding the message and operated by the mobile network operator, and wherein said header is used by the API platform to identify the mobile network operator.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the API platform initiates a prompting of the customer to identify his mobile network operator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the network identifier and the request for the customer data is sent by the online service supplier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network identifier and the request for the customer data is sent by the mobile node.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user performs an authentication process.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the authentication process comprises typing a PIN code.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the API platform forwards a temporary user identification token with the data to the online service supplier.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein it comprises a step wherein the mobile network operator sends a permanent identity federation token to the service supplier to permanently identify the customer.

12. An Application Programming Interface server comprising:

at least one processor configured to operate as;

at least one first application programming interface configured to receive a network identifier of a mobile node used to communicate with an online service supplier and bound to a customer by a mobile network operator and to receive a request to retrieve customer data,

an operator identifier configured to determine the identity of the network operator of the mobile node based on one of;

information in a message header of an HTTP or HTTPS message sent by the mobile node to the API server, the header being added by 3G network nodes forwarding the message and operated by the network operator and a response from the user to a prompt for network operator identity information,

an operator communicator configured to forward at least the request to retrieve the customer data to the identified mobile network operator and to receive the customer data therefrom, and

at least one second application programming interface configured to transmit said customer data to the online service supplier, the Application Programming Interface platform being configured to receive customer data requests and network identifiers from service suppliers using the at least one first application programming interface.

13. The Application Programming Interface platform server of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured as:

at least one third application programming interface configured to transmit a network identifier of a mobile node and a request to retrieve customer data to a mobile network operator, and to forward said customer data requests and network identifiers to the mobile network operator associated to the network identifiers and to receive the requested customer data in return using the at least one second application programming interface.

15. A non-transitory computer readable data storage medium storing a machine-executable program for configuring at least one processor as recited in claim 12.

14. A non-transitory computer readable data storage medium storing a machine-executable program for performing a method to retrieve personal customer data of a customer for delivering online service to said customer:

an online service supplier initiates the sending of a network identifier of a mobile node, used to communicate with the online service supplier and bound to the customer by a mobile network operator, to an application programming interface platform with a request to manage the customer data,

the API platform identifies the mobile network operator of the mobile node, and forwards the network identifier and request to retrieve the customer data to said mobile network operator of the mobile node,

the mobile network operator uses the network identifier to identify the customer and sends the requested personal customer data contained in a data repository of the mobile network operator to the API platform,

the service supplier retrieves the personal customer data at the API platform.