4G LTE POWER ON ACTIVATIONS

• US 20150181419A1
• Filed: 12/23/2013
• Published: 06/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Khan, Azam, Mistry, Satish B., Chen, Zhengfang, Kvares, Dimitri
• Granted Patent: US 9,838,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• 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

A customer is permitted to self-activate a mobile device purchased via a commercial sales channel. Upon powering on the mobile device, the mobile device establishes a restricted service session through the network to a self-activation service and the mobile device queries the self-activation service for any pending order related to the mobile device which may have been generated during the purchase process. The communications with the self-activation service, however, support completing the pending order, activating the mobile device and communicating to the user that activation is complete. Part of the activation procedure configures one or more network elements to provide service for the device in a normal unrestricted manner. When provisioning is complete, the restricted access configuration used to establish the session with the self-activation service is removed.

Claims

1. An activation service system, comprising:

a computer platform configured as an enterprise activation services server;

a computer platform configured as a provisioning system; and

a computer platform configured as a billing server, wherein;

the enterprise activation services server is configured to;

receive, from a mobile device, a request for the status of a pending order related to the mobile device;

query, in response to the pending order status request, a telephone number inventory server for;

an identifier of an identity module included in the mobile device; and

the status of the identifier;

search, via the billing server and based on the identifier, for the pending order related to the mobile device;

upon finding the pending order related to the mobile device, prompt the billing server to;

release the pending order related to the mobile device; and

initiate a provisioning process to complete the released pending order;

receive, from the provisioning system, a notification related to the status of provisioning the identity module;

send, upon receipt of the notification and to the mobile device, a response to the pending order status request; and

send, to the provisioning system, a status indication that the response to the pending order status request has been sent;

the provisioning system is configured to;

receive, from the billing server, an indication of self-activation related to the identifier;

provision, in response to the self-activation indication, at least one of a plurality of network elements within a mobile communications network to support communications via the mobile communications network related to the mobile device;

send, upon successful provisioning of the at least one of the plurality of network elements, a network element provisioning response to the billing server;

provision the identity module in the mobile device, in response to the self-activation indication and successful network element provisioning; and

send, to the enterprise activation service server, the notification related to the status of provisioning the identity module; and

the billing server is configured to;

send, as part of the enterprise activation services server pending order search, an identifier revalidation request to the telephone number inventory server;

send, as part of the enterprise activation services server prompt to release the pending order, the indication of self-activation related to the identifier to the provisioning system;

receive, from the provisioning system, the network element provisioning response; and

change, upon receipt of the network element provisioning response, a status related to the mobile device to RS.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pending order status request comprises:

an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) related to the identity module; and

an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI) of the mobile device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one of a plurality of network elements provisioned by the provisioning system includes:

a subscription locator function (SLF);

a home location register (HLR);

at least one provisioning gateway configured to forward provisioning information to multiple specific network elements; and

a call processing home subscriber server (HSS).

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the provisioning system is further configured, as part of the plurality of network elements provisioning, to:

provision the HLR with a customer profile record related to the mobile device;

provision the SLF with an IP multimedia system (IMS) group associated with the self-activation HSS; and

provision, upon successful SLF provisioning, the at least one provisioning gateway to allow the mobile device access via the mobile communications network.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the mobile telephone activation service server is further configured to, upon successful provisioning of the identity module, update the IMS group on the SLF to be associated with the call processing HSS.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the billing server is further configured to send, to the telephone number inventory server, a request to change the identifier status to active upon successful provisioning of the at least one of a plurality of network elements.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the pending order search and the prompt to release the pending order includes a unique indicator indicating self-activation.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the pending order status request and the response to the pending order status request are sent via an application programming interface (API) between the mobile device and the enterprise activation services server.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the response to the pending order status request prompts the mobile device to reboot a modem of the mobile device.

10. A computer, comprising:

a processor configured to control operations of the computer;

a memory;

an enterprise activation services server program in the memory, wherein

execution of the enterprise activation services server program by the processor of the computer configures the computer to implement functions, including functions to;

receive, from a mobile device, a request for the status of a pending order for mobile network communication service related to the mobile device;

query, in response to the pending order status request, a telephone number inventory server for;

an identifier of an identity module included in the mobile device; and

the status of the identifier;

search, via a billing server program executing on another computer and based on the identifier, for the pending order related to the mobile device;

upon finding the pending order related to the mobile device, prompt the billing server program to;

release the pending order related to the mobile device; and

initiate a provisioning process to complete the released pending order;

receive, from a provisioning system program executing on another computer, a notification related to the status of provisioning the identity module;

send, upon receipt of the notification and to the mobile device, a response to the pending order status request; and

send, to the provisioning system program, a status indication that the response to the pending order status request has been sent.

11. The computer of claim 10, wherein the pending order status request comprises:

an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) related to the identity module; and

an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI) of the mobile device.

12. The computer of claim 10, wherein the implemented function to search for a pending order and the implemented function to prompt the billing server program to release the pending order include a unique indicator indicating self-activation.

13. The computer of claim 10, wherein the implemented function to receive the pending order request and the implemented function to send the response to the pending order status request utilize an application programming interface (API) between the mobile device and the enterprise activation services server program.

14. The computer of claim 10, wherein the response to the pending order status request prompts the mobile device to reboot a modem of the mobile device.

15. A mobile device, comprising:

a communication interface system, including at least one wireless communication transceiver;

an identity module;

at least one user interface element configured to receive user input and to provide output to a user of the mobile device; and

a processor coupled to the communication interface system and the at least one user interface element, configured to control operations of the mobile device to implement functions, including functions to;

request, upon power on and from an enterprise activation services server, a status of a pending order for mobile network communication service related to the mobile device; and

receive, from the enterprise activation services server, a response to the request for the status of the pending order,

wherein the identity module is pre-provisioned only for sufficient service provided by a mobile communications network operator related to the pending order to enable self-activation of the mobile device.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the pending order request comprises:

an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) related to the identity module; and

an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI) of the mobile device.

17. The mobile device of claim 15, the implemented functions further including a function to:

receive, in response to the pending order status request and from a provisioning system, information necessary to provision the identity module for a service provided by the mobile communications network operator related to the pending order.

18. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the implemented functions utilize an application programming interface (API) between the mobile device and the enterprise activation services server.

19. The mobile device of claim 15, the implemented functions further including a function to:

upon receipt of the response to the request for the status of the pending order, restart the communication interface system; and

upon restarting the communication interface system, complete over the air programming for the identity module,

wherein the response to the request for the status of the pending order indicates successful provisioning of the identity module and at least one of a plurality of network elements within a mobile communications network.

20. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the implemented function to request the status of the pending order related to the mobile device further includes functions to:

request, via the mobile communications network, the status of the pending order related to the mobile device; and

request, via another wireless data communications network, the status of the pending order related to the mobile device upon failure of the request via the mobile communications network.