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US 9,794,905 B1Granted
Method and apparatus for assigning mobile subscriber identification information to multiple devices according to location
AssigneesAT&T Mobility II LLC, AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
InventorsWalter Cooper Chastain, Stephen Emille Chin
Life of this patent
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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 use of such information by different communication devices. The use of the same mobile subscriber identity information by multiple devices can be based on locations. Other embodiments are disclosed.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- receiving, by a processing system including a processor, a single international mobile subscriber identity associated with a registration request by a first communication device that is at a first location, wherein the single international mobile subscriber identity is associated with the first communication device and is associated with a second communication device that is at a second location remote from the first location;
- and
- transmitting, by the processing system, an authentication request to a first registration function, wherein the first registration function stores first subscriber information including the single international mobile subscriber identity that is indexed to the first communication device, wherein a second registration function stores second subscriber information including the single international mobile subscriber identity that is indexed to the second communication device, wherein the second registration function is associated with the second location and does not store the first subscriber information, wherein the first registration function is associated with the first location and does not store the second subscriber information, and wherein the transmitting of the authentication request to the first registration function enables the first communication device to complete a registration process;
- wherein the processing system operates as a visitor location register or a mobility management entity, wherein the visitor location register is selected from a group of visitor location registers based on a registration service area of the visitor location register, and wherein the mobility management entity is selected from a group of mobility management entities based on a registration service area of the mobility management entity.
1 more element
A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system of a first communication device that includes a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
- providing a registration request with a single international mobile subscriber identity to a network server, wherein the single international mobile subscriber identity is associated with the first communication device and is associated with a second communication device, wherein the providing of the single international mobile subscriber identity causes the network server to transmit an authentication request to a first registration function, wherein the first registration function stores first subscriber information including the single international mobile subscriber identity that is indexed to the first communication device, wherein a second registration function stores second subscriber information including the single international mobile subscriber identity that is indexed to the second communication device, wherein the second registration function is associated with a second location of the second communication device and does not store the first subscriber information, wherein the first registration function is associated with a first location and does not store the second subscriber information, and wherein the first communication device is at the first location that is remote from the second location;
- and
- facilitating a registration process based on the authentication request that enables the first communication device to access communication services,
- wherein the processing system operates as a visitor location register or a mobility management entity, wherein the visitor location register is selected from a group of visitor location registers based on a registration service area of the visitor location register, and wherein the mobility management entity is selected from a group of mobility management entities based on a registration service area of the mobility management entity.
1 more element
A 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:
- receiving a single international mobile subscriber identity associated with a registration request by a first communication device that is at a first location, wherein the single international mobile subscriber identity is associated with the first communication device and is associated with a second communication device that is at a second location remote from the first location;
- and
- transmitting an authentication request to a first registration function, wherein the first registration function stores first subscriber information including the single international mobile subscriber identity that is indexed to the first communication device, wherein a second registration function stores second subscriber information including the single international mobile subscriber identity that is indexed to the second communication device, wherein the second registration function is associated with the second location and does not store the first subscriber information, wherein the first registration function is associated with the first location and does not store the second subscriber information, and wherein the transmitting of the authentication request to the first registration function enables the first communication device to complete a registration process,
- wherein the processing system operates as a visitor location register or a mobility management entity, wherein the visitor location register is selected from a group of visitor location registers based on a registration service area of the visitor location register, and wherein the mobility management entity is selected from a group of mobility management entities based on a registration service area of the mobility management entity.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.