Abstract:
Embodiments of the invention pertain to methods and systems for providing over-the-air provisioning to newly activate mobile station in a broadband wireless access (BWA) network. In one implementation, a newly activated mobile station accessing the BWA network will be checked for hardware compliance certification via a certificate authority. If the device is compliant certified and not yet provisioned for use in the network, the device will be hotlined to a provisioning server for subscriber activation via its OTA link with the BWA network. Additional variants and embodiments are also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119e to co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 60/858,195 entitled “Over-the-air (OTA) Device Provisioning In Broadband Wireless Networks” and filed by the instant inventors on Nov. 8, 2006. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There is ongoing interest in developing and deploying mobile networks which may facilitate transfer of information at broadband rates. These networks are colloquially referred to herein as broadband wireless access (BWA) networks and may include networks operating in conformance with one or more protocols specified by the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and its derivatives or the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005), although the embodiments discussed herein are not necessarily so limited. IEEE 802.16 compliant BWA networks are sometimes referred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark for products that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 standards. 
         [0003]    It is predicted that many different device types may be enabled by mobile broadband wireless technologies. Such devices may include notebooks, ultra mobile PC (UMPC), and other consumer electronics such as MP3 players, digital cameras, etc. A mobile broadband service provider would therefore require a dynamic over-the-air (OTA) provisioning solution to activate and enable subscriptions for all these device types. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0004]    Aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention in reference to the appended drawing in which like numerals denote like elements and in which: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram for an Over-The-Air (OTA) Provisioning Network Architecture according to various embodiments of the invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram for OTA Provisioning according to another aspect of the invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a signaling diagram for MS-Triggered Provisioning according to further aspects of the invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a signaling diagram for Network-Triggered Provisioning according to various aspects of the invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram for a Device Locking Process according to yet another aspect of the invention; and 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a flow diagram for a Subscriber Locking Process according to various embodiments; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    While the following detailed description may describe example embodiments of the present invention in relation to wireless networks utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) modulation, the embodiments of present invention are not limited thereto and, for example, can be implemented using other multi-carrier or single carrier spread spectrum techniques such as direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS), code division multiple access (CDMA) and others. While example embodiments are described herein in relation to broadband wireless access for wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) such as WiMAX networks, the invention is not limited thereto and can be applied to other types of wireless networks where similar advantages may be obtained. Such networks specifically include, but are not limited to, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs) and/or wireless wide area networks (WWANs) such as cellular networks and the like. 
         [0012]    The following inventive embodiments may be used in a variety of applications including transmitters and receivers of a mobile wireless radio system. Radio systems specifically included within the scope of the present invention include, but are not limited to, network interface cards (NICs), network adaptors, base stations, access points (APs), gateways, bridges, hubs and satellite radiotelephones. Further, the radio systems within the scope of the invention may include satellite systems, personal communication systems (PCS), two-way radio systems, global positioning systems (GPS), two-way pagers, personal computers (PCs) and related peripherals, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal computing accessories and all existing and future arising systems which may be related in nature and to which the principles of the inventive embodiments could be suitably applied. 
         [0013]    In conventional cellular communication models, a communication device (e.g. a cell phone or network interface card (NIC)) is typically manufactured for a specific service provider (SP), which in turn sells the device to end users. Service providers operate network infrastructure and provide wireless access to subscribers. At the time of sale, a device is typically set up for accessing the service provider&#39;s network, which is referred to as “provisioning.” This conventional model is thus predicated on the service provider&#39;s control of manufactured equipment which may be used in its wireless network(s) as well as provisioning these devices for the user at the point of sale (POS). 
         [0014]    However, in anticipation of many different types of equipment, such as those mentioned previously, being used in broadband wireless access (BWA) networks (such as WiMAX networks) a service provider is less likely to have complete control over the manufacture of all devices which may potentially be used in its BWA network. Furthermore, since this wide variety of devices may be made available by many different vendors a POS provisioning approach may not be adequate. Accordingly, a dynamic over-the-air (OTA) provisioning approach is likely needed to enable these devices to communicate over a service provider&#39;s BWA network. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention propose solutions for dynamic OTA provisioning suitable for various device types (e.g., with or w/o keyboard, universal integrated circuit card (UICC), etc.) to be used in BWA networks. Embodiments of the present invention preferably utilize BWA device technology which is certified by a standardizing body such as the WiMAX Forum Networking Group although the invention is not so limited. Two key issues for service provider&#39;s providing BWA service may involve: (i) identifying whether a device is compliant with standards and protocols used in its network (referred to as “device certification”) and (ii) identifying whether a user of a BWA-enabled device is authorized (or “provisioned”) to use the service provider&#39;s network. 
         [0015]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , according to one exemplary network architecture  100  for BWA OTA provisioning may include a service provider network having a core network  101  and one or more radio access networks (RANs)  102 . 
         [0016]    A mobile station (MS)  105 , for example a subscriber station using protocols compatible with the IEEE) 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005 Amendment), may access a service provider&#39;s core network  101  via a radio link with a base station (BS) (e.g. BS  110 ,  111 ) in the SP&#39;s RAN  102 . In certain example implementations, communications with MS  105  via RAN  102  may be facilitated via one or more access service network gateways (ASN-GWs)  115  although the inventive embodiments are not limited to this specific type of network implementation. ASN-GW  115  (or other similar type of network node) acts as an interface between the SPs core network  101  and its RANs  102 . Thus ASN-GW may be connected to a plurality of base stations  110 ,  111  and may function as a type of BS controller and/or mobile switching center (MSC) to facilitate handover control and other functions for RAN  102 , although the embodiments are not so limited. 
         [0017]    In certain embodiments network  100  may further include an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server  120 , subscriber repository  125  and provisioning server  130 . In certain embodiments subscriber repository  125  may actually comprise one or more entities such as a lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) server, a home location register (HLR), a home subscriber server (HSS) and/or other entity. An optional billing engine (not shown) may also be included in service provider&#39;s core network  101 . Network  100  may further include a certificate authority (CA)  135  and/or connections to 3 rd  party servers for tracking information as explained in more detail in the embodiments below. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , an OTA certification and provisioning process  200  will be explained in regard to the example network architecture  100  of  FIG. 1 . In certain embodiments herein, a non-provisioned device (e.g., MS  105 ), may attempt to connect  205  with the service provider&#39;s network. Initially, the service provider should determine  210 ,  215  if the device is a certified compliant device. To this end, in one example implementation, at the point of manufacturing (POM), a WiMAX device (e.g., MS  105 ) may be preset with a medium access control (MAC) address and if it passes a WiMAX Forum or other type of certification process it may also be given a cryptographic digital certificate that is stored in a tamper-resistant device memory in MS  105 . A network access identification (NAI) (e.g., MAC@wimax.org) driven from the device MAC address may present the device identity when MS  105  attempts to connect to the service provider&#39;s network. This digital certificate may be used to verify (e.g., via certificate authority  135 ) that the device complies with any required standards. If  215  the device is not a certified device, certification/provisioning process  200  may be terminated  220  and, optionally, the user notified that the device is not certified. 
         [0019]    If certificate authority  135  identifies  215  MS  105  as a certified device, the service provider (e.g., via AAA server  120  and subscriber repository  125 ) may next determine  225  whether MS  105  has been provisioned. If  225  MS  105  has previously been provisioned, network access is authorized  230  and the user may proceed with normal BWA access through the service provider network. 
         [0020]    If  225  however, it is determined MS  105  has yet been provisioned, for example AAA server  120  will notice that there is no record of any subscriber for MS  105  in repository  125 , AAA server  120  may request ASN Gateway  115 , for example via an AAA Accept Message, to hot-line  235  MS  105  to provisioning server  130 . AAA server  120  may also allocate an Internet Protocol (IP) address to this non-provisioned device. ASN-GW  115  will then hot-line  235  the device based on the R 6  Path ID and device&#39;s source IP address. Through the hot-lining process  235 , MS  105  is directed to, and only able to access, provisioning server  130 . 
         [0021]    After hot-lining MS  105  to provisioning server  130 , a provisioning process e.g., steps  240 ,  245  can be initiated either by MS  105  (refer to example signaling of  FIG. 3 ) or the network (refer to the example signaling of  FIG. 4 ). The provisioning process allows the subscriber of MS  105  to create an account with the service provider network and may include, among other things, provisioning server  130  receiving  240  device credentials and device identification and an exchange  245  of any other information and/or software with MS  105  which the service provider may deem necessary to activate a subscriber account  250 . 
         [0022]    For example, during the provisioning process, various parameters may be exchanged  240 ,  245  including, but not limited to, platform capability/type, service providers preferred roaming partners list, provisioning agent client download or branding graphic user interface (GUI)) application software downloads (e.g. voice over IP (VoIP), voice on demand (VoD) software), network configuration files (e.g. common management information protocol (CMIP), dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)), device lock parameters (referred to in  FIG. 5 ), NAI/password, etc. 
         [0023]    During or after the device provisioning process, provisioning server  120  creates and/or activates  250  the new user account in subscriber database(s) (e.g., repository  125 ) and billing system(s) of the service provider&#39;s network. Once MS  105  is provisioned, it may be required to perform device and/or user authentication at the next network re-entry. 
         [0024]    In one example implementation, provisioning server  120  may communicate with MS&#39;s  105  provisioning agent using simple web browser technology, e.g., simple object access protocol (SOAP)/hyper transfer text protocol secure socket (HTTPS), open mobile alliance device management (OMA-DM) protocols, or other proprietary protocols. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIGS. 3  an example signaling process  300  is shown for provisioning a mobile device (e.g., MS  105 ;  FIG. 1 ) in a broadband wireless access network where the provisioning is triggered by the device. The example of  FIG. 3  represents a call flow  300  for provisioning an example device which is minimally pre-provisioned at the POM/ point-of-sale (POS) (for example category- 2  and/or category- 3  devices). 
         [0026]    When a new BWA-enabled device (mobile station-MS) is out of the box and a user tries to access  305  the service provider&#39;s wireless network (e.g., WiMAX network), it may perform channel acquisition and initial ranging as in step- 1 . Next capability negotiations may be exchanged with the BS as in steps  2 - 6 . Upon successful capability negotiations, a device authorization/certification process  310  may be performed. In one example non-limiting embodiment, the network asks the identity of the MS (e.g., using an extensible authentication protocol (EAP) ID request (REQ or RQ) as in steps  7 - 8 ). The MS may respond (RSP or RP) with its EAP ID, for example an NAI as discussed above, back to the Authenticator and the home AAA as in steps  9 - 11 . The EAP transport layer security (TLS) authentication of the MS-provided NAI (i.e., device certification) occurs in step  12 . In step  13 , there may be an optional verification of the MS certification with a  3 rd party certificate authority server and/or other 3 rd  party servers. 
         [0027]    Once the device has been certified/authenticated, the home AAA server may realize that the MS is an off the shelf new device trying to connect to the network enforce a hot lining policy for this MS as in step  14 . In one embodiment, the hot lining policy enforcement will happen at the authenticator client residing in the ASN-GW and the EAP procedure as shown in steps  15 - 17  may be completed. 
         [0028]    Subsequently, if desired, a data link layer security process, network registration and service flow process  312  may next be performed. In one embodiment using 802.16 (e.g., 802.16-2005 amendment) protocols, a data encryption exchange, as shown in steps  18 - 19 , may occur in which the MS obtains a transport encryption key (TEK) from the BS and in steps  20 - 24  the MS registers with the network. In steps  25 - 26 , a MAC connection for the initial service flow (e.g., a basic connection identifier (CID)) for the MS may established over the wireless link and in step  27  an IP connection may be established wherein the MS obtains a point-of-attachment (POA) IP address. 
         [0029]    In an MS triggered hotlining process  315 , if the MS tries to send some traffic to the BS as in step  28  (this could be management traffic or data traffic like traffic to some website), the activity may be trapped at the ASN-GW and the user is hotlined to the provisioning server as in steps  29  and  30 . An MS provisioning process  320 , similar to that previously discussed may then be performed as shown in step  31 . Optionally, provisioning process  320  may include relaying provisioning information (e.g., accounting or registration information) to some 3rd party servers as shown in step  32 . In step  33 , the fully provisioned MS may be allowed to enter the network again using full network entry procedures  325  in which steps similar to 1-11 may be repeated. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a signaling process  400  similar to that of  FIG. 3  may alternatively be used in which the hotlining process  415  to the provisioning server is triggered by the network instead of triggered via activity by the mobile station. The specific signaling discussed in reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4  are provided merely as examples for specific implementations. Accordingly, other signaling may be used that may vary from that discussed herein which may depend on the type of broadband wireless access network as well as network design preferences. 
         [0031]    Turning to  FIG. 5 , in certain embodiments, a service provider may desire an MS to be locked to the service provider during or after activation/provisioning. 
         [0032]    This is referred to herein as device locking. Device locking can be achieved by forcing the device to connect only to the host operator&#39;s preferred list of partners or preferred roaming list (PRL). An example device locking process  500  is shown in  FIG. 5  and may generally include, during or after the provisioning process(es) discussed above, storing  510  a PRL list in a module of the mobile device and activating  520  device locking by setting a device lock key (which may be performed by the network during provisioning). Thereafter, the device will not allow  530  a user to provision in a service provider network which is not associated with the PRL, at least while the device lock key is valid. 
         [0033]    When the device enters the network, the device will perform mutual authentication  540  using operator provisioned credentials. If  545  the credentials are not valid for the network the device is entering, the device will be denied  550  access. If  545  however, the credentials are valid for the network the device is entering, the device will be given  560  access to the network. 
         [0034]    Alternatively or in addition, referring to  FIG. 6 , a service provider may require a subscriber to be locked to single device after activation. This is referred to herein as “subscriber locking.” In other words, through subscriber locking, a user cannot use its user credentials on other provisioned devices. An exemplary process  600  for subscriber locking can be achieved by linking  610  the user identity to the device identity at the provisioning phase (e.g.,  320 ;  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). In this embodiment, the network access ID (NAI) required from the mobile station for network authentication may be set  620  to include the device identification (e.g., device MAC address) as well as the user identity (e.g., user name). In one example implementation, the NAI used by the mobile station for network access might be similar to “MAC_address.user_name(at)networkdomain.” 
         [0035]    The service provider can then verify  630  if the user identity in the received NAI matches the pre-set device identity for this user. In this case, the authentication process only succeeds  640  if  635  the match of user ID and device ID is positive, hence enforcing subscriber locking. If  635  no match is found, the mobile station may be denied  650  access. 
         [0036]    Example advantages of the inventive embodiments presented herein may include a device-agnostic solution that can apply to handheld, notebook, ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs) and/or other BWA-enabled consumer electronics. Moreover, the inventive embodiments may allow the use of multiple provisioning protocols including simple web browser access, SOAP/HTTPS, and/or OMA-DM among others. Embodiments of the present invention may allow for provisioning (U)SIM and non-(U)SIM devices and enables non-provisionable devices to be directed to a welcome page for on-off access to host service provider. By using the method(s) and systems of the inventive embodiments, a service provider can seamlessly certify and provision a BWA-enabled device having a generic SKU over-the-air and activate a user account the first time the device connects. 
         [0037]    Unless contrary to physical possibility, the inventors envision the embodiments described herein: (i) may be performed in any sequence and/or in any combination; and (ii) the components of respective embodiments may be combined in any manner. 
         [0038]    Although there have been described example embodiments of this novel invention, many variations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly the inventive embodiments are not limited by the specific disclosure above, but rather should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and their legal equivalents.