Patent ID: 8712380

Claim:
A method, comprising steps of: receiving, by an application server, a first data communication request requesting access to a function of a data service associated with the application server, directed to a first destination data communication address, from a mobile communication application of a mobile device through a mobile communication network, wherein use of the first destination data communication address causes the mobile communication network to assign a unique source data communication address to the mobile device in the mobile communication network; responsive to the first data communication request, obtaining an operator identifier associated with the unique source data communication address and assigned to the mobile device by an operator of the mobile communication network, from a database of the mobile communication network; and transmitting a data communication response through the mobile communication network to the mobile communication application of the mobile device based on the obtained operator identifier, to configure the mobile communication application to send subsequent data communication requests from the mobile communication application to the application server using a second destination data communication address different from the first destination data communication address, wherein inclusion of the second destination data communication address in the subsequent data communication requests causes the mobile communication network to assign to the mobile device a source data communication address shared among the mobile device and a plurality of other mobile devices communicating through the mobile communication network.