System and method for automatic registration notification for over-the-air activation

• US 8,515,423 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Wireless Services Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chatterjee, Arun K., Daly, Brian Kevin, Holmes, David William James, Leuca, Ileana A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Agosta, Steve D
• Application Number:
  US13/620,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20130012207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 340 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419, 455/432.1, 455/435.1, 455/448, 455/441, 455/450, 379/90.01, 379/387
• US Class Current: 455/435.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/265 for initial activation of new user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

A method and system automatically activates a mobile station in a wireless communications network. The system includes an over the air activation function (OTAF) processor in the network that initiates an activation process in response to receiving a registration message from a mobile switching center serving the mobile station requesting the activation. Each mobile station has a unit of information stored into it at the time of its manufacture to enable it to request over the air activation. That unit of information is either the network routing address of the OTAF processor, or alternately, it is a value that is translatable into that address, either an OTAF ID number that is the same value for every mobile station or it is a sequentially serialized dummy value for the mobile identification number (a dummy MIN).

Claims

1. A method far activating a mobile station in a wireless communications network comprising:

receiving at a network node a registration message including information translatable into an address for an over the air activation processor, wherein the network node receives a plurality of the registration messages from a plurality of mobile stations, each of the plurality of registration messages including the same information translatable into the address, wherein the information translatable into the address is an over the air activation function identification number;

translating the information into the address;

routing the registration message to the over the air activation processor;

initiating an activation process at the over the air activation processor in response to the received registration message; and

transmitting activation parameters to the mobile station in response to the activation process.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a voice channel between the mobile station and an activation center;

sending authorization data from the activation center to the over the air activation processor in response to information received from the voice channel; and

completing the activation process in response to the authorization data.

3. A system for activating a mobile station in a wireless communications network, comprising:

an over the air activation processor in a network;

a mobile switching center at a node in the network, the mobile switching center for receiving a registration message including information translatable into an address for the over the air activation processor, wherein the mobile switching center is further for receiving a plurality of registration messages from a plurality of mobile stations, each of the plurality of registration messages including the same information translatable into the address, wherein the information translatable into the address is an over the air activation function identification number; and

a signal transfer point coupled to the mobile switching center in the network, the signal transfer point for translating the information into the address wherein the signal transfer point is further for routing the registration message to the over the air activation processor in the network;

wherein the over the air activation processor is for initiating an activation process in response to the registration message that is received and causing transmission of parameters to the mobile station.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

an activation center in the network having a voice channel established with the mobile station;

wherein the activation center is for sending authorization data to the over the air activation processor in response to information received from the voice channel; and

wherein the over the air activation processor is further for completing the activation process in response to the authorization data.