Providing mobile core services independent of a mobile device
View Patent ↗The present disclosure includes a method and system for providing mobile core services independent of a mobile core device. In some embodiments, a method includes presenting a network element as a Base Station Controller to a first Mobile Switching Center (MSC) to provide mobile core services to a device foreign to the mobile core network. The network element is presented as a different MSC to the first MSC for providing an authentication vector used to confirm the foreign device as a mobile communication device.
1. A method for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:
presenting a network node in an Internet Protocol (IP) network as a different Mobile Switching Center (MSC) to an MSC in a cellular core network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes an interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;
detecting, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;
receiving, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for services from the cellular core network, the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;
assigning, to the non-cellular user device at the network node, a subscriber identity module for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing services from the cellular network independent of the user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network;
registering, with the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the non-cellular user device as a cellular user device based, at least in part, on the assigned subscriber identity module, the network node registers the non-cellular user device using the interface to the MSC; and
accessing, through the interface to the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the cellular services for the non-cellular user device using the subscriber identity module such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device.
2. The method of claim 1 , the user device comprising a telephone.
3. The method of claim 1 , the cellular core network comprising a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the authentication vectors are assigned independent of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.
5. A method for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:
presenting a network node in an IP network as both a Radio Access Network (RAN) element and a home MSC to an MSC in a cellular network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes a first and a second interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;
detecting, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;
receiving, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for cellular services from the cellular core network the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing a SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;
transmitting, as the RAN element from the network node, a request for the cellular services to the cellular-network MSC using the first interface, the request including an identifier for the non-cellular user device;
receiving, as the home MSC of the cellular core network at the network node, a request for an authentication vector associated with the device identifier through the second interface;
transmitting, as the home MSC from the network node, the authentication vector using the second interface, the authentication vector used for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing the cellular services from the cellular network independent of the non-cellular user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network; and
authenticating, as the RAN element from the network node, the non-cellular device with the cellular core network using the authentication vector and the first interface such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device independent of the non-cellular user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network.
6. The method of claim 5 , the RAN element comprising a BSC.
7. The method of claim 5 , the cellular core network comprising a GSM network.
8. The method of claim 5 , the cellular services comprising supplementary services.
9. A system for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:
an interfacing element configured to present a network node in an Internet Protocol (IP) network as a different Mobile Switching Center (MSC) to an MSC in a cellular core network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes an interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;
a receiver configured to detect, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;
the receiver further configured to receive, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for services from the cellular core network, the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing a SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;
an assignment element configured to assign, to the non-cellular user device at the network node, a subscriber identity module, for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing services from the cellular network independent of the user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network;
a registration element configured to register, with the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the non-cellular user device as a cellular user device based, at least in part, on the assigned subscriber identity module, the network node registers the non-cellular user device using the interface to the MSC; and
a services element configured to access, through the interface to the cellular-network MSC from the network node, the cellular services for the non-cellular user device using the subscriber identity module such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device.
10. The system of claim 9 , the user device comprising a telephone.
11. The system of claim 9 , the cellular core network comprising a GSM network.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the authentication information is assigned independent of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.
13. A system for accessing cellular services using a non-cellular user device, comprising:
an interfacing element configured to present a network node in an IP network as both a Radio Access Network (RAN) element and a different MSC to an MSC in a cellular network for providing authentication vectors used to confirm non-cellular devices as mobile communication devices, the network node includes a first and a second interface to the MSC in the cellular core network;
a first receiver configured to detect, at the network node, a request from a non-cellular user device that does not include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card;
the first receiver further configured to receive, from a non-cellular user device through the IP network, subscription information in the request for cellular services from the cellular core network the non-cellular user device operates independent of directly accessing a SIM card to authenticate a subscriber with the cellular core network;
a first transmitter configured to transmit, as the RAN element from the network node, a request for the cellular services to the cellular-network MSC using the first interface, the request including a device identifier;
a second receiver configured to receive, as the different MSC of the cellular core network at the network node, a request for an authentication vector associated with the device identifier through the second interface;
a second transmitter configured to transmit, as the different MSC from the network node, the authentication vector using the second interface, the authentication vector used for representing the non-cellular user device as a cellular device to the cellular core network and accessing the cellular services from the cellular network independent of the user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network; and
an authentication element configured to authenticate, as the RAN element from the network node, non-cellular user device with the cellular core network using the authentication vector and the first interface such that the non-cellular user device accesses the cellular services as a cellular device independent of the non-cellular user device registering and authenticating directly with the cellular core network.
14. The system of claim 13 , the RAN network element comprising a BSC.
15. The system of claim 13 , the cellular core network comprising a GSM network.
16. The system of claim 13 , the cellular services including multimedia services.