Patent ID: 7860498

Claim:
A method for routing a message from a first mobile station to a second mobile station, comprising: receiving a routing request from a third party for routing a message from the first mobile station to the second mobile station, the routing request being received by an intermediary, wherein the intermediary operates neither a physical home location register (HLR) nor a physical mobile switching center (MSC); determining to which carrier the second mobile station subscribes; dynamically creating an artificial International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) value based, at least in part, on the carrier to which the second mobile station subscribes, wherein the artificial IMSI value is not an IMSI value assigned to the second mobile station; and returning a routing response from the intermediary to the third party for routing the message from the first mobile station to the second mobile station, the routing response including the artificial IMSI value, such that the intermediary is considered, from the point of view of the third party, a mobile switching center, wherein the steps of receiving and returning employ SS7.