Patent ID: 6915132

Claim:
A method for activating a mobile station in a wireless communications network, the method comprising: receiving at a network node a registration message including distinctive information, wherein the registration message has a format of an ordinary registration message used in a registration process, wherein the registration process is operable to determine the location of the mobile station and enable the wireless communications network to direct incoming calls to an appropriate base station; processing the registration message as an over-the-air activation message based on inclusion of the distinctive information, wherein the distinctive information comprises at least one of the following: a dummy MIN, an address of an over-the-air activation processor, and an over-the-air activation function ID number; routing notification of the registration message to the over-the-air activation processor; initiating an activation process at the over-the-air activation processor in response to the received registration message notification; and transmitting activation parameters to the mobile station in response to the activation process.