Patent ID: 8270417

Claim:
A method for an access network node to provide a user device access to a service enabled by an IMS network, comprising the steps of: setting up an IP tunnel for communication with the user device, wherein setting up the IP tunnel further comprises setting up the IP tunnel between the access network node and a local network node to which the access network node and user device are connected, and the IP tunnel is a Virtual Private Network tunnel established between a first Universal Plug and Play Remote Access agent in the access network node and a second Universal Plug and Play Remote Access agent in the local network node, sending an authentication request to the user device via the IP tunnel, receiving a response to the authentication request from the user device via the IP tunnel, authenticating the user device for communication with the access network node based on the response, sending a registration request comprising an IP Multimedia Public Identity associated with the user device to an IMS network node for registration of the user device in the IM 1 network, receiving a confirmation message from the IMS network node that the user device is authenticated for the service, sending an authorization confirmation message via the IP tunnel to the user device that the user device is authorized for the service, receiving a service request via the IP tunnel from the user device to start the service, sending a service session initiation message to an application server associated with the service, wherein the service initiation message starts a service session between the user device and the application server.