Method and system for providing easy access to an e-mail account via a mobile communication network

• US 7,409,426 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2003
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Gill, Thorsten, Weis, Klaus, Salem, Tarek
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone; Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Duong; Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/720,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20040132429A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,716 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/206, 709/209, 709/218, 709/229, 370/218, 370/229
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A method and a system for providing easy access to an e-mail account, in particular a POP3/SMTP e-mail account, via a mobile communication network. The method comprises the steps of: providing a mobile terminal having a generic e-mail configuration with at least one default POP3/SMTP server address, setting up a connection to a server identified by the default POP3/SMTP server address via the mobile communication network using a standard POP3/SMTP protocol, and in the proxy server evaluating a user identification based on specific information assigned to the user, identifying a user e-mail account assigned to the user identification, and setting up a connection to the identified e-mail account of an e-mail system.

Claims

1. A method for providing access to a POP3/SMTP e-mail account of a user via a mobile communication network, comprising:

providing a mobile terminal having loaded therein a generic pre-configured default e-mail configuration common to all mobile terminals used with a specific mobile communication network, the pre-configured default e-mail configuration including at least one default POP3/SMTP server address;

setting up a connection to a proxy server identified by the default POP3/SMTP server address via the mobile communication network using a standard POP3/SMTP protocol;

in the proxy server;

evaluating a user identification by interrogating a first database containing specific information assigned to the user of the mobile terminal based on the user identification;

identifying an e-mail account of the user provided by an e-mail system;

retrieving access parameters, including a user name UN and a password PW assigned to the user identification, for accessing the identified e-mail account by interrogating a second database;

setting up a connection between the mobile terminal and the identified e-mail account of the e-mail system by transmitting the e-mail address, the user name UN and the password PW to the e-mail system;

wherein on the first access request of a user identification unknown to the proxy server, the proxy server automatically creates a new e-mail account for said user identification, and wherein the step of identifying a POP3/SMTP e-mail account comprises the steps of;

interrogating the second data base whether there is already a registered e-mail account for the presented user identification, and if there is no e-mail account for the presented user identification, creating a new e-mail account in the e-mail system, and storing the user specific parameters for the e-mail account together with the corresponding user identification in the second database.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein such method also supports IMAP4 protocol and any Internet markup language front end when connected via a mobile communication system.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the specific information comprises an IP-address temporarily assigned to the user'"'"'s MSISDN.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user identification comprises an international mobile subscriber number (MSISDN).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user identification comprises an individual identification number.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein an identification and authentication of the user is provided by the authentication procedures of the mobile communication network.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein upon identification of a specific e-mail account via UN/PW, the proxy server transparently transmits the message to the addressed e-mail system/account.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a regular registration via any Internet markup language front end when not connected via a mobile communication system is provided by sending a challenge SMS to the MSISDN, the challenge SMS containing a password which then has to be entered at the front end for validation purposes for the registration of an e-mail account.

9. A system for providing access to a POP3/SMTP e-mail account of a user via a mobile communication network, comprising:

a mobile terminal having loaded therein a generic pre-configured default e-mail configuration common to all mobile terminals used with a specific mobile communication network, the pre-configured default e-mail configuration including at least one default POP3/SMTP server address;

a proxy server connected to the mobile communication network to which the default POP3/SMTP server address is assigned;

means for evaluating a user identification by interrogating a first database containing specific information assigned to the user of the mobile terminal;

means for identifying an e-mail account assigned to the user identification;

means for retrieving access parameters, including a user name UN and a password PW assigned to the user identification, by interrogating a second database for accessing the identified e-mail account;

means for setting up a connection between the mobile terminal and the identified e-mail account by transmitting the e-mail address, the user name UN and the password PW to the e-mail system;

an e-mail system comprising the identified e-mail account;

means in the proxy server for automatically creating a new e-mail account for said user identification on the first access request of a user identification unknown to the server;

means for interrogating the second database whether there is already a registered e-mail account for the presented user identification; and

means for storing the user specific access parameters for the e-mail account together with the corresponding user identification in the database if there is no e-mail account for the user identification and a new e-mail account in the e-mail system has been created.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the proxy server is part of the e-mail system.

11. A system according to claim 9, wherein the proxy server is part of the mobile communication network.

12. A system according to claim 9, wherein the server is a standalone system.