Service provider activation with subscriber identity module policy

• US 9,572,014 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2015
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hauck, Jerry, Bush, Jeffrey, Brouwer, Michael Lambertus Hubertus, Low, Daryl Mun-Kid
• Primary Examiner(s): Karikari, Kwasi
• Application Number:
  US14/602,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20150201324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/654 International mobile subscriber identity [IMSI] numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/205 Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/265 for initial activation of new user

Abstract

Systems and methods for activating a mobile device for use with a service provider are described. In one exemplary method, a mobile device having a currently inserted SIM card may be prepared for activation using a signing process in which an activation server generates a signed activation ticket encoded with SIM policy data that corresponds to the combination of the device and one of a number of SIM cards belonging to a set of SIM cards defined by the SIM policy data. The activation ticket is securely stored on the mobile device. In another exemplary method the mobile device may be activated in an activation process in which the device verifies an activation ticket against information specific to the device and SIM card in accordance with the SIM policy in the activation ticket, and initiates activation when the verification of the activation ticket is successful.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

in a mobile device, performing operations for;

sending an activation request to a server to activate the mobile device on a communication network, wherein the activation request comprises device data that uniquely identifies the mobile device;

receiving, at the mobile device, an activation record comprising the device data and subscriber identity module (SIM) policy data from the server based on a determination that the SIM policy data is valid for the communication network, wherein the activation record activates the mobile device on the communication network;

verifying a SIM card based on the activation record and the SIM policy data, the verifying comprising a determination that the SIM card meets the one or more rules from the SIM policy data; and

upon verifying the SIM card, activating the device with a on the communications network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device data comprises a hardware thumbprint of the device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the hardware thumbprint is based at least in part on one or more of:

an identifier for a baseband component;

an identifier for a memory component in the mobile device; and

a serial number for the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the device data comprises a serial number of the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the serial number of the mobile device comprises an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) for the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a SIM card is identified at least in part by a serial number of the SIM card, the serial number comprising an Integrated Circuit Card ID (ICCID) for the SIM card.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a SIM card is identified at least in part by a subscriber identifier for the SIM card.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the device data comprises a Group Identifier (GID) associated with the SIM card, the GID identifying the SIM card as belonging to a corresponding group of SIM cards.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules comprise one or more primitive sets, each primitive set comprising one or more SIM identifiers for SIM cards that are included in or excluded from SIM cards that can be used in the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the primitive sets includes one or more wildcard values, each wildcard value representing one or more SIM cards to which the corresponding rule applies.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more rules are included in the SIM policy in a predetermined order to facilitate the verifying.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein storing, in the mobile device, the activation record and the SIM policy data comprises:

storing the activation record and the SIM policy data in a memory component in the mobile device;

wherein additionally stored in the memory component are other activation records and other subscriber identity module (SIM) policy data for one or more other SIM cards that were previously verified by the mobile device; and

wherein the verifying comprises verifying the SIM card based on at least one of the activation records and corresponding SIM policy data stored in the memory component.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying the SIM card comprises:

determining, based on information acquired from the SIM card and the mobile device, that the activation record corresponds to a combination of the SIM card and the mobile device; and

determining, based on information acquired from the SIM card, that the SIM card meets the one or more rules from the SIM policy data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination that the SIM policy data is valid for the communications network is based on an execution of a database query at the server.

15. A mobile device, comprising:

an application processor; and

a baseband component;

the mobile device performing operations for;

sending issuing an activation request, the activation request to a server to activate the mobile device on a communication network, wherein the activation request comprises device data that uniquely identifies the mobile device;

receiving, at the mobile device, an activation record comprising the device data and subscriber identity module (SIM) policy data from the server based on a determination that the SIM policy data is valid for the communication network, wherein the activation record activates the mobile device on the communication network;

verifying a SIM card based on the activation record and the SIM policy data, the verifying comprising a determination that the SIM card meets the one or more rules from the SIM policy data; and

upon verifying the SIM card, activating the device on the communications network.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the device data comprises a hardware thumbprint of the device, the hardware thumbprint is based at least in part on one or more of:

an identifier for the baseband component;

an identifier for a memory component in the mobile device; and

a serial number for the mobile device.

17. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the device data comprises a serial number of the mobile device, the serial number of the mobile device comprising an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) for the mobile device.

18. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein a SIM card is identified at least in part by a serial number of the SIM card, the serial number comprising an Integrated Circuit Card ID (ICCID) for the SIM card, or subscriber identifier for the SIM card.

19. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the device data comprises a Group Identifier (GID) associated with the SIM card, the GID identifying the SIM card as belonging to a corresponding group of SIM cards.

20. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the one or more rules comprise one or more primitive sets, each primitive set comprising one or more SIM identifiers for SIM cards that are included or excluded from SIM cards that can be used in the mobile device.

21. The mobile device of claim 20, wherein at least one of the primitive sets includes one or more wildcard values, each wildcard value representing one or more SIM cards to which the corresponding rule applies.

22. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein one or more rules are included in the SIM policy in a predetermined order to facilitate the verifying.

23. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the mobile device further comprises:

a memory component;

wherein storing, in the mobile device, the activation record and the SIM policy data comprises storing the activation record and the SIM policy data in the memory component;

wherein additionally stored in the memory component are other activation records and other subscriber identity module (SIM) policy data for one or more other SIM cards that were previously verified by the mobile device; and

wherein the verifying comprises verifying the SIM card based on at least one of the activation records and corresponding SIM policy data stored in the memory component.

24. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein verifying the SIM card comprises:

determining, based on information acquired from the SIM card and the mobile device, that the activation record corresponds to a combination of the SIM card and the mobile device; and

determining, based on information acquired from the SIM card, that the SIM card meets the one or more rules from the SIM policy data.

25. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the determination that the SIM policy data is valid for the communications network is based on an execution of a database query at the server.