Method and system for smart card migration

• US 8,863,240 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2011
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Tapia, Pablo, Karimli, Yasmin
• Primary Examiner(s): Arani, Taghi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baum, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US13/021,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20120102556A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 726/4
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/205 Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for transitioning an existing in-use phone number between an first smart card and a second smart card.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a computing device, a first subscriber identifier of a first smart card of the computing device to a core wireless network;

requesting, by the computing device, that a user of the computing device input an active mobile subscriber integrated services digital network-number (MSISDN) into the computing device, which active MSISDN is not bound to the first subscriber identifier by a home subscriber database of the core wireless network at a time when the computing device performs the requesting that the user input the active MSISDN;

receiving, by the computing device, the active MSISDN input into the computing device by the user;

transmitting, by the computing device, the active MSISDN to a smart card update server;

requesting, by the computing device, that the user input a security code;

receiving, by the computing device, the security code input by the user;

transmitting, by the computing device, the security code input by the user to the smart card update server;

using, by the computing device, the first subscriber identifier to register with a wireless network that include the core wireless network; and

receiving, by the computing device, communications in the wireless network when the active MSISDN is used to route communications in the wireless network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the security code input by the user was obtained by the user from the smart card update server via a second computing device differing by at least one component from the computing device and comprising a second smart card, which second smart card includes a second subscriber identifier, which second subscriber identifier is bound to the active MSISDN in the home subscriber database at a time when the user obtained the security code via the second computing device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the computing device and second computing device share a common substrate computing device and are distinguished by their respective associations with the first smart card and the second smart card, with the common substrate computing device acting as the computing device when the first smart card is inserted into the common substrate computing device and acting as the second computing device when the second smart card is inserted into the common substrate computing device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein using the first subscriber identifier to register with the wireless network succeeds because the first subscriber identifier has been bound to the active MSISDN in the home subscriber database following the transmitting of the security code.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, at a second computing device, obtaining data from a second smart card or from the second computing device, packaging the obtained data for transmission, and transmitting the packaged data.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the packaged data is transmitted to at least one of the computing device, the update server, or a network-based data repository.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the packaged data is transmitted to the network-based data repository before being transmitted from the network-based data repository to the computing device.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the packaged data is transmitted after receiving a message from the smart card update server.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the packaged data comprises at least one of entries in an address book, a digital photograph, or an email.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving packaged data from at least one of a second computing device or a network-based data repository, unpacking the packaged data, and storing at least a portion of the packaged data on at least one of the first smart card or the computing device.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the security code from the smart card update server at a second computing device and providing the security code to the user through a user interface at the second computing device.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first subscriber identifier is an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI).

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining or generating user-state data,

storing the user-state data locally or transmitting the user-state data to the update server, and

using the user-state data to transition a user interface which enables at least one of the requesting that the user input the active MSISDN, the receiving the active MSISDN, the requesting that the user input the security code, or the receiving the security code.

14. A method comprising:

receiving, by a smart card update server associated with a core wireless network, an active mobile subscriber integrated services digital-number (MSISDN) and a first subscriber identifier from a first computing device, the active MSISDN not being bound to the first subscriber identifier by a home subscriber database of the core wireless network at a time when the smart card update server receives the active MSISDN;

generating a security code;

transmitting, by the smart card update server, the security code in a message to a second computing device, a second subscriber identifier of a second smart card of the second computing device being bound to the active MSISDN by the home subscriber database;

receiving, by the smart card update server, the security code from the first computing device;

unbinding in the home subscriber database, by the smart card update server, the active MSISDN from the second subscriber identifier; and

binding, by the smart card update server, the first subscriber identifier with the active MSISDN.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising authenticating that the received security code from the first computing device is the security code transmitted to the second computing device.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein either or both of the first subscriber identifier or the second subscriber identifier is an IMSI.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising transmitting a message to the second computing device requesting that the second computing device transmit packaged data from the second computing device to at least one of the first computing device, the smart card update server, or a network-based data repository.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the first and second computing devices share a common substrate computing device and are distinguished from each other by respective associations with the first smart card and the second smart card.

19. The method according to claim 14, further comprising obtaining or generating user-state data and transmitting the user-state data or a product of the user-state data to at least one of the first or the second computing device to transition a user interface in the first or the second computing device.