METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VERIFYING A DEVICE DURING PROVISIONING THROUGH CALLER ID

1 . A method for verifying an end-user device during provisioning using caller ID (CID) comprising:

receiving a first CID from the end-user device;

associating a validation key with the first CID;

sending a first signaling message to the end-user device including the validation key;

receiving a second signaling message from the end-user device that includes a second CID; and

performing a verification analysis of the end-user device using the second CID and the validation key.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first CID is one of a telephone number or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the end-user device.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first signaling message is a call request to establish a telecommunication session using the first CID received.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second signaling messages are each one of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), a Signaling System 7 (SS7) message, or a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the validation key is stored in a database in association with the first CID.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the validation key included in the first signaling message is encrypted.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the verification analysis performed includes:

comparing the validation key with the second CID; and

determining that the end-user device is verified when the validation key and the second CID match.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein determining that the end-user device is verified causes a mobile app on the end-user device to be provisioned to allow the mobile app to access telecommunication services of a telecommunication service provider.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the telecommunication service provider is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, and wherein the mobile app is a VoIP mobile app.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

sending the end-user device an indication that the end-user device has been provisioned to access the telecommunication services of the telecommunication service provider.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the verification analysis performed includes:

comparing the validation key with the second CID; and

determining that the end-user device is not verified when the validation key and the second CID do not match.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

sending the end-user device an indication that the end-user device has not been verified and/or provisioned to access telecommunication services of a telecommunication service provider.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the end-user will be prohibited from using the telecommunication services of the telecommunication service provider.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the validation key is appended to another caller identifier value and stored in a CID field of the first signaling message.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the verification analysis performed includes:

comparing the validation key with a portion of the second CID; and

determining that the end-user device is verified when the validation key and the portion of the second CID match.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first signaling message is an SMS message directed to the first CID received, and wherein the validation key is stored in a CID field of the SMS message.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein second signaling message is a second SMS message, and wherein the second CID is stored in a CID field of the second SMS message.

18 . A method verifying an end-user device during provisioning using caller ID (CID) comprising:

sending a first CID to a telecommunication service provider;

receiving a first signaling message including a validation key associated with the first CID;

extracting the validation key from the first signaling message; and

sending a second signaling message to the telecommunication service provider, wherein the validation key is included in a CID field in the second signaling message.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first CID is one of a telephone number or an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the end-user device.

20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first CID is received via manual entry by an end-user in response to a request to provide CID information.

21 . The method of claim 18 , the first CID is obtained via at least one Application Programming Interface (API) call to an operating system running on the end-user device.

22 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first signaling message is a call request to establish a telecommunication session.

23 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the first and second signaling messages are each one of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), a Signaling System 7 (SS7) message, or a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

24 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

receiving an indication that a mobile app on the end-user device has been provisioned to access telecommunication services of the telecommunication service provider.

25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein the telecommunication service provider is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, and wherein the mobile app is a VoIP mobile app.

26 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the validation key is extracted from a CID field of the first signaling message.