Single version of a user device modem for use with different wireless carriers

• US 9,020,479 B1
• Filed: 02/18/2010
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Somayajula, Siva Rama Kumar, Liu, Clifton, Kiraly, Kenneth P., Gopalakrishnan, Varadarajan, Desai, Jay P., Narasimhan, Subram
• Primary Examiner(s): BALAOING, ARIEL A
• Application Number:
  US12/708,488
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/435.1, 455/552.1, 455/558
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/205 Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

A user device determines a current subscriber identity module (SIM) profile, identifies a modem profile that corresponds to the current SIM profile, and updates a non-volatile memory of a modem with the identified modem profile.

Claims

1. A method, implemented by a user device, comprising:

detecting a first wireless network at a current location of the user device;

obtaining a current subscriber identity module (SIM) profile that corresponds to the first wireless network, wherein the current SIM profile is requested from a server over a second wireless network to be stored in a non-volatile memory of a modem of the user device and not on a SIM; and

reprogramming the modem by updating the non-volatile memory with the current SIM profile.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the user device is an electronic book reader device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the current SIM profile comprises:

determining that a default SIM profile stored in the non-volatile memory does not correspond to the first wireless network;

identifying the first wireless network; and

sending a request to the server over the second wireless network for the current SIM profile that corresponds to the first wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying one of a plurality of modem profiles that corresponds to the current SIM profile.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein identifying the one of the plurality of modem profiles that corresponds to the current SIM profile comprises:

sending a request for a modem profile associated with the wireless network to the server over the second wireless network; and

receiving the modem profile from the server over the second wireless network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the modem is not assigned a carrier-specific single stock-keeping unit (SKU) identifier; and

an assignment of the SKU identifier is delayed until the user device is built.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting the first wireless network at the current location of the user device is performed upon a power-on of the user device.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising power-cycling the modem to establish a connection with the first wireless network using the current SIM profile.

23. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending a registration request comprising a device identifier and the current SIM profile to the server over the first wireless network.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform operations comprising:

detecting a first wireless network at a current location of a user device comprising the processing system;

obtaining a current subscriber identity module (SIM) profile that corresponds to the first wireless network, wherein the current SIM profile is requested from a server over a second wireless network to be stored in a non-volatile memory of a modem of the user device and not on a SIM; and

reprogramming the modem by updating the non-volatile memory with the current SIM profile.

8. The computer readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein the user device is an electronic book reader device.

9. The computer readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein obtaining the current SIM profile:

determining that a default SIM profile stored in the non-volatile memory does not correspond to the first wireless network;

identifying the first wireless network; and

sending a request to the server over the second wireless network for the current SIM profile that corresponds to the first wireless network.

10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 7 further comprising identifying one of a plurality of modem profiles that corresponds to the current SIM profile.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein identifying the one of the plurality of modem profiles that corresponds to the current SIM profile comprises:

sending a request for a modem profile associated with the first wireless network to a server over the second wireless network; and

receiving the modem profile from the server over the second wireless network.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein detecting the first wireless network at the current location of the user device is performed upon a power-on of the user device.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7 the operations further comprising power-cycling the modem to establish a connection with the first wireless network using the current SIM profile.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 the operations further comprising sending a registration request comprising a device identifier and the current SIM profile to the server over the first wireless network.

12. A user device system comprising:

a modem; and

a processor, operatively coupled to the modem, the processor being configured to;

detect a first wireless network at a current location of the user device;

obtain a current subscriber identity module (SIM) profile that corresponds to the first wireless network, wherein the current SIM profile is requested from a server over a second wireless network to be stored in a non-volatile memory of the modem and not on a SIM; and

reprogram the modem by updating the non-volatile memory with the current SIM profile.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the user device is an electronic book reader device.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is to obtain a current SIM profile of the user device by:

determining that a default SIM profile stored in the non-volatile memory does not correspond to the first wireless network;

identifying the first wireless network; and

sending a request to the server over the second wireless network for the current SIM profile that corresponds to the first wireless network.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to identify one of a plurality of modem profiles that corresponds to the current SIM profile.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the processor is to identify the one of the plurality of modem profiles that corresponds to the current SIM profile by:

sending a request for a modem profile associated with the first wireless network to the server over the second wireless network; and

receiving the modem profile from the server over the second wireless network.

21. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is to detect the first wireless network at the current location of the user device upon a power-on of the user device.

22. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to power-cycle the modem to establish a connection with the first wireless network using the current SIM profile.

25. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to send a registration request comprising a device identifier and the current SIM profile to the server over the first wireless network.