System and method for identifying a subscriber in a network environment

One or more non-transitory tangible media encoding logic that include instructions for execution that, when executed by a processor, is operable to perform operations comprising:

• receiving, by a first Home eNodeB (HeNB), a first attach request from a user equipment (UE) for attaching a subscriber associated with the UE to a small cell network;
• determining whether the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from a macro cell network;
• exchanging, based on the determination, a first pair of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to determine an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the subscriber;
• exchanging, based on the determination, one or more second pairs of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to advance a sequence number for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages for the UE to a value corresponding to a received sequence number for the first attach request from the UE;
• receiving, by a second HeNB, a second attach request from the UE for attaching the subscriber to the small cell network;
• determining whether the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network;
• and
• retrieving, by a Home eNodeB gateway (HeNB-GW), the IMSI of the subscriber by recovering an association of the IMSI with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a first Home eNode B (HeNB);
• a memory element for storing data;
• and
• a processor that executes instructions associated with the data, wherein the processor and memory element cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for:
• receiving a first attach request from a user equipment (UE) for attaching a subscriber associated with the UE to a small cell network;
• determining whether the subscriber has transitioned into the small cell network from a macro cell network;
• exchanging, based on the determination, a first pair of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to determine an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the subscriber;
• exchanging, based on the determination, one or more second pairs of messages between the first HeNB and the UE to advance a sequence number for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages for the UE to a value corresponding to a received sequence number for the first attach request from the UE;
• receiving, by a second HeNB, a second attach request from the UE for attaching the subscriber to the small cell network;
• determining whether the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network;
• and
• retrieving, by a Home eNodeB gateway (HeNB-GW), the IMSI of the subscriber by recovering an association of the IMSI with a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identity (GUMMEI) and a Mobility Management Entity UE S1AP Identity (MME UE S1AP ID) for the subscriber if the subscriber has transitioned to the second HeNB from another HeNB in the small cell network.