Reassigned mobile message notifications

• US 8,938,226 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2013
• Issued: 01/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Weinstein, Julie, Kumarjiguda, Meera Deshpande, Kulkarni, Shankar, Gaddam, Venkat
• Primary Examiner(s): Ajayi, Joel
• Application Number:
  US14/064,955
• Publication Number:
  US 20140057622A1
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

The instant application describes examples of managing a customer'"'"'s mobile station and providing a notification of a resultant change. The disclosed examples provide for a subscriber device management application that executes on a customer'"'"'s mobile device that allows changes to be made remotely to an operational control parameter of mobile station. In response to a change to the operation control parameter, a notification may be sent as a mobile messaging service message to a mobile station other than the customer'"'"'s mobile station.

Claims

1. A method, comprising steps of:

communicating over the air through a mobile communication network with a subscriber device management application running on a customer'"'"'s mobile station;

causing the subscriber device management application to change an operational control parameter of the customer'"'"'s mobile station, via the over the air communication;

in response to the change of the operational control parameter of the customer'"'"'s mobile station, accessing data of a subscriber containing preference information;

locating in the subscriber data, notification language, wherein the notification language is related to the operational control parameter changed by the subscriber device management application;

generating, using the notification language, a mobile messaging service message to notify a subscriber of the change to the operational parameter; and

sending the generated mobile messaging service message containing a notification of the change of the operational control parameter to a mobile directory number associated with another mobile station.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving from the subscriber data the mobile directory number associated with the other mobile station.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising steps of:

in response to a query, receiving information that confirms a customer has authority to change settings to a mobile service provider account corresponding to the mobile station; and

prior to sending the generated mobile messaging service message to the mobile directory associated with the other mobile station, obtaining, via a customer input, information sufficient to identify to the mobile service provider the other mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending instructions causing a user prompt to be presented on a display of a user device, wherein the user device is different from the customer'"'"'s mobile station and the prompt requests a user input to confirm the change in operational control parameter;

in response to an input confirming the change of the operational parameter, delivering an instruction to change the operation control parameter to the subscriber device management application on the customer'"'"'s mobile station; and

presenting on the user device display a screen indicating confirmation of the change of the operational parameter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user device display is a display on a point of sale device or a display presented on a customer service representative system.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

informing a customer of a mobile service provider via a displayed prompt that the change of the operational control parameter of the mobile station incurs a charge to a bill associated with the customer, the customer associated with the mobile station; and

in response to the prompt, receiving a customer confirmation input that the impending change to the operational control parameter is to be charged to the bill.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

informing a customer of a mobile service provider via a displayed prompt that the change of the operational control parameter of the mobile station is free of charge to a bill associated with the mobile station, the customer associated with the mobile station; and

in response to the prompt, receiving a customer confirmation input that the impending change to the operational control parameter is to be made free of charge.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the operational parameter change is at least one of a partial lock of the mobile station, a turning On or Off of a Wi-Fi capability of the mobile station, a turning On or Off of a built-in camera of the mobile station, a preventing of access to personal data stored in the mobile station, a wiping out content of the mobile station, wherein the partial lock of the mobile station allows the mobile station to perform one or more of ringing, vibrating, receiving incoming calls, making and receiving emergency calls, and making calls to a service provider customer service.

9. A host system, comprising:

a processing device; and

a non-transitory, machine readable storage medium containing executable program instructions embodied in the machine readable storage medium for execution by processing device, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processing device to perform functions comprising;

communicating over the air through a mobile communication network with a subscriber device management application running on a customer'"'"'s mobile station;

causing the subscriber device management application to change an operational control parameter of the customer'"'"'s mobile station, via the over the air communication;

in response to the change of the operational control parameter of the customer'"'"'s mobile station, accessing data of a subscriber containing preference information;

locating in the subscriber data, notification language, wherein the notification language is related to the operational change parameter changed by the subscriber device management application;

generating using the notification language a mobile messaging service message to notify the subscriber of the change to the operational parameter; and

sending the generated mobile messaging service message containing a notification of the change of the operational control parameter to a mobile directory number associated with another mobile station.

10. The host system of claim 9, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processing device to perform functions further comprising:

accessing subscriber data containing user preference information

retrieving from the subscriber data the mobile directory number associated with the other mobile station.

11. The host system of claim 9, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processing device to perform functions further comprising:

in response to a query, receiving information that confirms a customer has authority to change settings to a mobile service provider account corresponding to the mobile station; and

prior to sending the generated mobile messaging service message to the mobile directory associated with another mobile station, obtaining, via a customer input, the information sufficient to identify of the other mobile device to the mobile service provider.

12. The host system of claim 9, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processing device to perform functions further comprising:

sending instructions causing a user prompt to be presented on a display of a user device, wherein the user device is different from the customer'"'"'s mobile station and the prompt requests a user input to confirm the change in operational control parameter;

in response to an input confirming the change of the operational parameter, delivering an instruction to change the operation control parameter to the subscriber device management application on the mobile station; and

presenting on the user device display a screen indicating confirmation of the change of the operational parameter.

13. The host system of claim 12, wherein the user device display is a display on a point of sale device or a display presented on a customer service representative system.

14. The host system of claim 9, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processing device to perform functions further comprising:

informing a customer of a mobile service provider that the change of the operational control parameter of the mobile station incurs a charge to a bill associated with the mobile station, the customer associated with the mobile station; and

receiving customer confirmation that the impending change to the operational control parameter is to be charged to the bill.

15. The host system of claim 9, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the processing device to perform functions further comprising:

informing a customer of a mobile service provider that the change of the operational control parameter of the mobile station is free of charge to a bill associated with the mobile station, the customer associated with the mobile station; and

receiving customer confirmation that the impending change to the operational control parameter is to be made free of charge.

16. The host system of claim 9, wherein the operational parameter change is at least one of a partial lock of the mobile station, a turning On or Off of a Wi-Fi capability of the mobile station, a turning On or Off of a built-in camera of the mobile station, a preventing of access to personal data of the customer stored in the mobile station, a wiping out content of the mobile station, wherein the partial lock of the mobile station allows the mobile station to perform one or more of ringing, vibrating, receiving incoming calls, making and receiving emergency calls, and making calls to a service provider customer service.