Patent ID: 8145212
Filing Date: 2012-03-27
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of activating a wireless device on a wireless network, the method comprising: maintaining, at an activation system, a pool of temporary international mobile station identity (“IMSI”) numbers; assigning an IMSI number to the wireless device, wherein the temporary IMSI number falls within a pool of known IMSI numbers, and wherein the wireless device is not activated as a subscriber on the wireless network; populating an authentication center in the wireless network with a data for generating a security key for the wireless device; reserving the temporary IMSI number from the pool of known IMSI numbers; providing, in the wireless network, a detection device configured to identify the wireless device; configuring the wireless network to identify the detection device as a quasi-home location register for the block of known IMSI numbers; receiving, at a base station controller, a message from the wireless device, wherein the message comprises the first IMSI number; identifying the temporary IMSI number of the wireless device; based on the identification of the temporary IMSI number, identifying the detection device as a quasi-home location register for the wireless device; receiving, at the detection device, a query from a mobile switching center (“MSC”) for data pertaining to the wireless device; selecting, from a pool of temporary mobile subscriber international ISDN numbers (“MSISDN”) maintained by the activation system, a temporary MSISDN for the wireless device; providing to the MSC, in response to the query, the temporary MSISDN assigned to the wireless device and a notification that the wireless device is capable of receiving short messaging service (“SMS”) messages; forwarding the query from the detection device to the authentication center, so that the authentication center can provide to the MSC the security key for the wireless device; notifying the activation system that the wireless device has been detected; transmitting a SMS message from the activation system to the wireless device, the message comprising instructions for registering the wireless device with the wireless network; assigning, at the activation system, a permanent MSISDN to the wireless device, based on an interaction, via the wireless device, between the user and the activation system; assigning, at the activation system, a permanent IMSI number to the wireless device; updating the wireless device with the permanent IMSI number, via an over-the-air provisioning message; creating, in a home location register, a record corresponding to the wireless device, the record comprising the permanent MSISDN and the permanent IMSI number; configuring the wireless network to identify the home location register as the home location register for the wireless device; creating, in the authentication center, a new entry to correlate the security key assigned to the wireless device with the permanent IMSI number assigned to the device; returning the temporary MSISDN to the pool of temporary MSISDNs, such that the temporary MSISDN can be selected for another wireless device; and returning the temporary IMSI to the pool of known IMSI numbers, such that the temporary IMSI number can be assigned to another wireless device.