Patent ID: 8086855

Claim:
A simulated SIM gateway (SSG) that interfaces between a public land mobile network (PLMN) network and a non-PLMN network, wherein the PLMN network is configured to recognize cellular base stations as nodes of the PLMN network through which the PLMN network can mediate connections to cellular mobile devices, wherein the non-PLMN networks each comprises a plurality of access points for mediating connections to a plurality of non-PLMN network compatible mobile devices (NCMDs), wherein the plurality of NCMDs are not cellular devices, the SSG comprising: a memory a PLMN server that from the perspective of the PLMN network, operates as a base station of a cellular network; an authentication database comprising authentication information of the plurality of NCMDs users and, per each NCMD, the authentication database stores an associated authentication token for PLMN identities of the user of the NCMD as a subscriber of the PLMN; and an access server that is communicatively coupled via a secured communication with the plurality of NCMDs through the non-PLMN network, wherein each of the plurality of NCMDs request access to the PLMN network, and per each requesting NCMD, the access server identifies the requesting user of the NCMD, retrieves from the authentication database an associated authentication token for the identified requesting user, and transfers the authentication token with the received request to the PLMN server; and wherein the PLMN server processes the received request and the associated authentication token and transfers to the PLMN network the processed request and the associated authentication token as a request received from a cellular device of that user, wherein the associated authentication token identifies the requesting user as the subscriber of the PLMN.