Surrogate cellularless roaming

• US 10,462,303 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2016
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mohammed Hamad Al Hajri
• Original Assignee: Mohammed Hamad Al Hajri
• Inventors: Al Hajri, Mohammed Hamad, Elbare, Fehmi, Mahjoubi, Karim
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/510,494
• Publication Number:
  US 20190230224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/58 Arrangements for transferring received calls from one subscriber to another; Arrangements affording interim conversations between either the calling or the called party and a third party substation line holding circuits H04M1/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1235 where one of the core networks is a wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/125 Details of gateway equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

Cellularless roaming avoids excess charges in private cellular network. A user swaps a subscriber identity module from a mobile device and into a surrogate cellular device. The surrogate cellular device may then use the subscriber identity module to establish wireless communication in a home location of a private cellular network. The surrogate cellular device, though, may still communicate with the mobile device using the public Internet. Whenever the surrogate cellular device receives a cellular call or data, the cellular call or data may be routed via the public Internet to the mobile device. The user may thus carry the mobile device to any country in the world and avoid roaming charges.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

establishing, by a surrogate cellular device, radio communication with a cellular base station associated with a home location in a private cellular network, the radio communication specifying a cellular identifier associated with a subscriber identity module installed in the surrogate cellular device;

converting, by the surrogate cellular device, the radio communication into messages utilizing an Internet protocol;

performing a cloud-based service that provides routing information for cellularless roaming;

determining an Internet protocol address associated with a SIMless mobile device, the SIMless mobile device having the subscriber identity module removed therefrom and installed in the surrogate cellular device; and

sending, by the surrogate cellular device, the messages via the public Internet in response to the cloud-based service, the messages sent to the SIMless mobile device associated with the Internet protocol address, the messages providing cellularless roaming outside the home location in the private cellular network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering the surrogate cellular device with the cellular base station.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering the surrogate cellular device with the private cellular network.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a session initiation protocol to convert the radio communication into the messages utilizing the Internet protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

querying an electronic database for a network address associated with the surrogate cellular device having the subscriber identity module installed therein; and

retrieving the Internet protocol address associated with the SIMless mobile device having the subscriber identity module removed therefrom, the Internet protocol address electronically associated with the network address associated with the surrogate cellular device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving at least one of a short messaging service text message and a multi-media messaging service message from the cellular base station.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a cellular call from the cellular base station.

8. A system, comprising:

a hardware processor; and

a memory device, the memory device storing instructions, the instructions when executed causing the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving messages sent via the Internet from a surrogate cellular device, the messages utilizing an Internet protocol and converted from radio communications with a cellular base station associated with a home location in a private cellular network, the messages specifying a cellular identifier associated with a subscriber identity module installed in the surrogate cellular device;

performing a cloud-based service that provides routing information for cellularless roaming, the cloud-based service;

determining an Internet protocol address associated with a SIMless mobile device, the SIMless mobile device having the subscriber identity module removed therefrom and installed in the surrogate cellular device; and

sending the messages via the public Internet in response to the cloud-based service, the messages sent to the SIMless mobile device associated with the Internet protocol address, the messages sent for cellularless roaming outside the home location in the private cellular network.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise registering the surrogate cellular device.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise registering the SIMless mobile device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the messages formatted according to a session initiation protocol.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

querying an electronic database for the cellular identifier specified in the messages; and

retrieving the Internet protocol address associated with the SIMless mobile device having the subscriber identity module removed therefrom, the Internet protocol address electronically associated with the cellular identifier specified in the messages.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the messages converted from at least one of a short messaging service text message and a multi-media messaging service message.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the messages converted from a cellular call.

20. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the messages converted from at least one of a short messaging service text message, a multi-media messaging service message, and a cellular call.

15. A memory device storing instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving messages sent via the Internet from a surrogate cellular device, the messages utilizing an Internet protocol and converted from radio communications with a cellular base station associated with a home location in a private cellular network, the messages specifying a cellular identifier associated with a subscriber identity module installed in the surrogate cellular device;

performing a cloud-based service that provides routing information for cellularless roaming, the cloud-based service determining an Internet protocol address associated with a SIMless mobile device, the SIMless mobile device having the subscriber identity module removed therefrom and installed in the surrogate cellular device; and

sending the messages via the public Internet in response to the cloud-based service, the messages sent to the SIMless mobile device associated with the Internet protocol address, the messages allowing the cellularless roaming outside the home location in the private cellular network.

16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise registering the surrogate cellular device.

17. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise registering the SIMless mobile device.

18. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the messages formatted according to a session initiation protocol.

19. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

querying an electronic database for the cellular identifier specified in the messages; and

retrieving the Internet protocol address associated with the SIMless mobile device having the subscriber identity module removed therefrom, the Internet protocol address electronically associated with the cellular identifier specified in the messages.