Billing related information reporting

• US 9,930,187 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2013
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Ekberg, Jan-Erik, Uusitalo, Mikko, Wijting, Carl Simon
• Primary Examiner(s): SHEDRICK, CHARLES TERRELL
• Application Number:
  US14/764,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20150373204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,881 Days
• Field of Search: 455406, 705 44, 713716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/126 Interacting with the operating system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/54 for revenue sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/61 based on the service used
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/086 using security domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

Radio communications is performed within a mobile telecommunication network. Billing related information is obtained by radio-physical detection. Within a trusted execution environment, a challenge known by the mobile telecommunication network is obtained; billing related information is received; billing related information is attested; and the attested billing related information is caused to be sent to the mobile telecommunication network.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a communication interface for communicating with a radio communication unit that is configured to perform radio communications with a base station capable of forming a cell for relaying mobile data between the apparatus and a mobile telecommunication network;

a radio-physical detector for obtaining billing related information from the radio communication unit; and

a trusted platform module including a trusted execution environment configured to attest the billing related information by encrypting the billing information to be sent to the mobile telecommunication network, the trusted platform configured to;

obtain a challenge known by the mobile telecommunication network;

receive billing related information from the radio-physical detector;

attest the billing related information by encrypting the billing information, in response to the challenge; and

cause the apparatus to send the attested billing related information to the mobile telecommunication network;

the apparatus further comprising a mobile communication device configured to communicate through the base station with the mobile telecommunication network,

wherein the radio-physical detector is configured to produce an indication of operation of the base station from which the mobile communication device receives radio signals and the billing related information comprises the indication of the operation of the base station.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radio-physical detector comprises a memory configured to maintain a protocol stack copy.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further configured to prevent user installation of applications that could access the protocol stack copy.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the protocol stack copy comprises a copy of physical layer information.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the protocol stack copy comprises a copy of data link layer information.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the protocol stack copy comprises a copy of network layer information.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the protocol stack copy comprises a copy of transport layer information.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising base band circuitry and a detection processor coupled to the base band circuitry.

9. A system comprising:

a radio communication unit configured to perform radio communications within a mobile telecommunication network; and

the apparatus of claim 1.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radio-physical detector is configured to perform continually the obtaining the billing related information from the radio communication unit.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radio-physical detector is configured to perform continually the obtaining the billing related information from the radio communication unit with fixed intervals of N seconds, N being 0.1 to 300.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radio-physical detector is configured to perform the obtaining the billing related information from the radio communication unit responsively to meeting a predetermined threshold.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radio-physical detector is configured to perform the obtaining the billing related information from the radio communication unit responsively to receiving a request for the billing related information from the mobile network.

14. A method in a mobile communication device, comprising:

communicating with a radio communication unit that is configured to perform radio communications with a base station capable of forming a cell for relaying mobile data between the mobile communication device and a mobile telecommunication network;

obtaining by radio-physical detection billing related information from the radio communication unit; and

within a trusted execution environment including a trusted execution environment configured to attest the billing related information by encrypting the billing information to be sent to the mobile telecommunication network;

obtaining a challenge known by the mobile telecommunication network;

receiving billing related information;

attesting billing related information by encrypting the billing information, in response to the challenge;

causing sending of the attested billing related information to the mobile telecommunication network; and

using the radio-physical detection to indicate operation of the base station from which the mobile communication device receives radio signals.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising maintaining in a memory a protocol stack copy.

16. The method of any of claim 15, further comprising sending attested billing related information in batches.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising storing received billing related information for batch sending of the attested billing related information to the mobile telecommunication network.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the obtaining by the radio-physical detection of the billing related information from the radio communication unit is performed continually.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the obtaining by the radio-physical detection of the billing related information from the radio communication unit is performed continually with fixed intervals of N seconds, N being 0.1 to 300.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the obtaining by the radio-physical detection of the billing related information from the radio communication unit is performed responsively to meeting a predetermined threshold.