Providing mobile core services independent of a mobile device

• US 7,813,730 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mavenir Systems Incorporated (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Mavenir Systems Incorporated (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lubenski, Zeev V., Alam, Mahbubul, Ali, Rashad Mohammad, Patel, Pulin R.
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US11/550,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20080091824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 379/396, 379/397, 379/395.41, 379/395.5, 370/271, 455/422.1, 455/426.1, 455/433, 455/437
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys

Abstract

The present disclosure includes a method and system for providing mobile core services independent of a mobile core device. In some embodiments, a method includes presenting a network element as a Base Station Controller to a first Mobile Switching Center (MSC) to provide mobile core services to a device foreign to the mobile core network. The network element is presented as a different MSC to the first MSC for providing an authentication vector used to confirm the foreign device as a mobile communication device.

Claims

1. A method for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:

presenting a network node in an Internet Protocol (IP) network as a different Mobile Switching Center (MSC) to an MSC in a cellular core network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes an interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;

detecting, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;

receiving, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for services from the cellular core network, the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;

assigning, to the non-cellular user device at the network node, a subscriber identity module for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing services from the cellular network independent of the user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network;

registering, with the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the non-cellular user device as a cellular user device based, at least in part, on the assigned subscriber identity module, the network node registers the non-cellular user device using the interface to the MSC; and

accessing, through the interface to the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the cellular services for the non-cellular user device using the subscriber identity module such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device.

2. The method of claim 1, the user device comprising a telephone.

3. The method of claim 1, the cellular core network comprising a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication vectors are assigned independent of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.

5. A method for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:

presenting a network node in an IP network as both a Radio Access Network (RAN) element and a home MSC to an MSC in a cellular network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes a first and a second interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;

detecting, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;

receiving, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for cellular services from the cellular core network the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing a SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;

transmitting, as the RAN element from the network node, a request for the cellular services to the cellular-network MSC using the first interface, the request including an identifier for the non-cellular user device;

receiving, as the home MSC of the cellular core network at the network node, a request for an authentication vector associated with the device identifier through the second interface;

transmitting, as the home MSC from the network node, the authentication vector using the second interface, the authentication vector used for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing the cellular services from the cellular network independent of the non-cellular user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network; and

authenticating, as the RAN element from the network node, the non-cellular device with the cellular core network using the authentication vector and the first interface such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device independent of the non-cellular user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network.

6. The method of claim 5, the RAN element comprising a BSC.

7. The method of claim 5, the cellular core network comprising a GSM network.

8. The method of claim 5, the cellular services comprising supplementary services.

9. A system for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:

an interfacing element configured to present a network node in an Internet Protocol (IP) network as a different Mobile Switching Center (MSC) to an MSC in a cellular core network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes an interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;

a receiver configured to detect, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;

the receiver further configured to receive, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for services from the cellular core network, the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing a SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;

an assignment element configured to assign, to the non-cellular user device at the network node, a subscriber identity module, for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing services from the cellular network independent of the user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network;

a registration element configured to register, with the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the non-cellular user device as a cellular user device based, at least in part, on the assigned subscriber identity module, the network node registers the non-cellular user device using the interface to the MSC; and

a services element configured to access, through the interface to the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the cellular services for the non-cellular user device using the subscriber identity module such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device.

10. The system of claim 9, the user device comprising a telephone.

11. The system of claim 9, the cellular core network comprising a GSM network.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the authentication information is assigned independent of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.

13. A system for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:

an interfacing element configured to present a network node in an IP network as both a Radio Access Network (RAN) element and a different MSC to an MSC in a cellular network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes a first and a second interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;

a first receiver configured to detect, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;

the first receiver further configured to receive, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for cellular services from the cellular core network the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing a SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;

a first transmitter configured to transmit, as the RAN element from the network node, a request for the cellular services to the cellular-network MSC using the first interface, the request including a device identifier;

a second receiver configured to receive, as the different MSC of the cellular core network at the network node, a request for an authentication vector associated with the device identifier through the second interface;

a second transmitter configured to transmit, as the different MSC from the network node, the authentication vector using the second interface, the authentication vector used for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing the cellular services from the cellular network independent of the user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network; and

an authentication element configured to authenticate, as the RAN element from the network node, non-cellular user device with the cellular core network using the authentication vector and the first interface such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device independent of the non-cellular user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network.

14. The system of claim 13, the RAN network element comprising a BSC.

15. The system of claim 13, the cellular core network comprising a GSM network.

16. The system of claim 13, the cellular services including multimedia services.