Method and apparatus for managing mobile subscriber identification information according to registration requests
AssigneesAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P., AT&T Mobility II LLC
InventorsClifton Ashman Campbell, Stephen Emille Chin, Walter Cooper Chastain
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Abstract
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system that manages utilization of mobile subscriber identity information including enabling reuse of such information by a different communication device and/or re-authorizing use by a communication device that previously was authorized to utilize the information. Other embodiments are disclosed.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- receiving, by a processing system including a processor, a first registration request associated with a first communication device, wherein an international mobile subscriber identity is associated with the first communication device;
- and
- responsive to the receiving the first registration request:
- identifying, by the processing system, the first communication device generating the first registration request according to a secret key utilized by the first communication device to generate first authentication information associated with the first communication device;
- determining, by the processing system, whether the international mobile subscriber identity has been reassigned to the first communication device according to the first authentication information associated with the first communication device;
- and
- providing, by the processing system, a second registration request to a registration function to complete a registration process for the first communication device responsive to a determination that the international mobile subscriber identity has been reassigned to the first communication device.
A communication device, comprising:
- a processing system including a processor;
- and
- a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
- transmitting a registration request including an international mobile subscriber identity of the communication device;
- responsive to a determination that the international mobile subscriber identity has not been reassigned to the communication device, receiving provisioning information to reassign, to the communication device, a second international mobile subscriber identity from a group of designated international mobile subscriber identities;
- and
- facilitating a registration process that utilizes the second international mobile subscriber identity and that enables communication services at the communication device.
A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system of a communication device that includes a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
- receiving, from a home location register, first authentication information associated with a first communication device;
- determining whether an international mobile subscriber identity has been reassigned to the first communication device according to the first authentication information associated with the first communication device;
- and
- providing a first registration request to a registration function to complete a registration process for the first communication device responsive to a determination that the international mobile subscriber identity has been reassigned to the first communication device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.