Patent ID: 8689303

Claim:
One or more nontransitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a computing device located within a mobile network, facilitate a method of authenticating a mobile device, the method comprising: receiving a first access request from the mobile device by way of a radio frequency (RF) infrastructure associated with the mobile network, wherein the first access request corresponds to a first attempt by the mobile device to access the mobile network; authenticating the mobile device using a first set of authentication credentials provided by the mobile device, wherein the first set of authentication credentials uniquely identify the mobile device; based on a determination that the mobile device is compatible with an IEEE 802.11 standard, creating a gateway cookie that includes a second set of authentication credentials associated with the mobile device, wherein the second set of authentication credentials is not encrypted; providing the gateway cookie from a gateway server to the mobile device, wherein the gateway cookie is stored on the mobile device, and wherein the gateway cookie can only be sent to the gateway server that provided the gateway cookie; receiving a second access request from the mobile device by way of a router in a local area network based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, wherein an identity of the router is received instead of the first set of authentication credentials that uniquely identify the mobile device, wherein the second access request corresponds to a second attempt by the mobile device to access the mobile network, and wherein the mobile device provides the gateway cookie in response to a request for said gateway cookie received from the gateway server; authenticating the mobile device using the gateway cookie; and providing a third set of credentials associated with the user to an application server.