DETERMINING MOBILE OPERATORS FOR MOBILE DEVICES

• US 20110238532A1
• Filed: 03/23/2010
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zargahi, Kamran Rajabi
• Granted Patent: US 9,721,279 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/70 Administration or customization aspects; Counter-checking correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/725 by the operator
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/751 Card based account, e.g. smart card, SIM card or USIM
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

Determining a mobile operator for a mobile device. The mobile operator is determined using one or more of an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and a current operator name (CON) and service provider name (SPN) pair. Correlations between the IMSI and mobile operators, and between the CON/SPN pairs and mobile operators, are maintained. Correlations between unrecognized CON/SPN pairs and mobile operators are created based on a quantity of requests received from the mobile devices. In some embodiments, identifying the mobile operator enables financial transactions by the mobile device when visiting, for example, a mobile applications store.

Claims

1. A system for determining a mobile operator associated with a mobile computing device, said system comprising:

a memory area for storing a plurality of sets of current operator names (CONs) and service provider names (SPNs), said memory area further storing a correlation between each of the sets and a mobile operator; and

a processor programmed to;

receive one of the CONs and one of the SPNs from the mobile computing device;

identify the mobile operator associated with the received CON and the received SPN based on the correlation associated therewith; and

enable billing of the identified mobile operator for purchases made by the mobile computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

receive an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) from the mobile computing device;

extract a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC) from the received IMSI; and

determine a mobile operator associated with the mobile computing device based on the extracted MCC and MNC.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is further programmed to compare the determined mobile operator with the identified mobile operator to identify a discrepancy.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to identify a market for the mobile computing device based on the identified mobile operator.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory area further stores a market associated with the mobile operator.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to calculate a tax on purchases made by the mobile computing device at a mobile applications store.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for identifying the mobile operator for the mobile computing device based on the IMSI.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for identifying the mobile operator for the mobile computing device based on the CON and SPN.

9. A method comprising:

receiving an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) associated with a mobile computing device;

extracting a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC) from the received IMSI; and

determining a mobile operator associated with the mobile computing device based on the extracted MCC and MNC.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the IMSI comprises receiving the IMSI from a subscriber identity module (SIM) card on the mobile computing device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising validating the received IMSI.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein validating the received IMSI comprises confirming that the received IMSI has 15 digits.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising accessing a database of MCCs and MNCs, and wherein validating the received IMSI comprises locating the extracted MCC in the accessed database.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising accessing a database of MCCs and MNCs, and wherein validating the received IMSI comprises locating the extracted MNC in the accessed database.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a current operator name (CON) and a service provider name (SPN) from the mobile computing device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising comparing the received CON and received SPN to the extracted MCC and extracted MNC to validate the IMSI.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining, based on the determined MO, a tax to apply to a purchase made by the mobile computing device.

18. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable components, said components comprising:

a memory component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to store a plurality of sets of current operator names (CONs) and service provider names (SPNs), said memory component further storing a correlation between each of the sets and a mobile operator;

an interface component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to receive one of the CONs and one of the SPNs from a mobile computing device;

a detection component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to search the plurality of sets stored by the memory component for the CON and SPN received by the interface component; and

a feedback component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to identify the mobile operator associated with the received CON and the received SPN based on the correlation associated therewith if the received CON and received SPN are found by the detection component, else to instruct the memory component to store the received CON and the received SPN.

19. The computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein a user of the mobile computing device browses a mobile applications store with the mobile computing device, and wherein the feedback component disables commerce functions by the mobile computing device if the received CON and the received SPN are not found by the detection component.

20. The computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the interface component receives a plurality of CONs and a plurality of SPNs that are not found within the sets stored by the memory component, and wherein the feedback component associates a mobile operator with the received pluralities of CONs and SPNs if the received pluralities of CONs and SPNs exceed a pre-defined threshold value.