System and method for connecting, configuring and testing new wireless devices and applications
A system, apparatus, and method are provided for connecting, configuring and testing new wireless devices and applications. For example, one embodiment of a computer-implemented method for enabling a trial wireless device comprises: automatically pre-provisioning one or more trial SIM cards for operation on a particular wireless cellular network on behalf of a prospective customer; automatically pre-configuring a trial wireless machine-to-machine (“M2M”) device on behalf of the prospective customer; wherein the trial M2M device includes testing and monitoring program code which, when the trial M2M device is connected to a computer system, performs the operations of: automatically connecting to the wireless cellular network execute a plurality of test operations for testing the SIM card and the trial M2M device, the test operations including determining whether the SIM card is correctly provisioned for the wireless network; determining whether the trial M2M wireless device is operating properly; and determining the existence of wireless data connectivity.
1. A control center server for enabling a wireless device to operate on a wireless cellular network comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:
pre-provision a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card for operation in the wireless device on the wireless cellular network on behalf of a user, wherein the SIM card is distributed to the user with an associated referral code;
receive at least one of a GSM authorization request and a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) Location Update from the wireless device associated with the SIM card;
provide a first webpage to the user to request user data representative of the user associated with the SIM card;
receive the user data representative of the user associated with the SIM card;
establish a user account for the user utilizing the user data representative of the user; and
provide a second webpage to the user, wherein the second webpage comprises a graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying data associated with a status of at least one wireless device comprising at least one user selectable tab, and wherein when the user selectable tab is selected the GUI displays data associated with at least one integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID) including data associated with the ICCID of the SIM card distributed to the user.
2. The control center server of claim 1 wherein a transmission from the control center service to the wireless device comprises a link to a Web server to provide the first webpage.
3. The control center server of claim 2 wherein the transmission comprises an SMS message.
4. The control center server of claim 1 wherein a transmission from the control center service to the user comprises a link to a Web server to provide the first webpage.
5. The control center server of claim 1 wherein the referral code comprises a link to a Web server to provide the first webpage.
6. The control center server of claim 1 wherein the second webpage provides a tour of a control center website.
7. The control center server of claim 6 wherein the tour comprises a sequence of informational windows.
8. The control center server of claim 1 wherein displaying data associated with a status of the wireless device further comprises displaying data associated with at least one of the GSM authorization request, the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) Location Update, and a mobile switching center (MSC) Location Update.
9. The control center server of claim 1 wherein the at least one user selectable tab includes a devices tab that displays data associated with a plurality of ICCID including the ICCID of the SIM card distributed to the user.
10. The control center server of claim 1 wherein the at least one user selectable tab is selected from one or more members of a group comprising a wireless device tab, a billing information tab, a device coverage information tab, an account tab, an alerts tab, a support tab and a reports tab.
11. A computer-implemented method for enabling a wireless device to operate on a wireless cellular network comprising:
pre-provisioning a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card for operation in the wireless device on the wireless cellular network on behalf of a user, wherein the SIM card is distributed to the user with an associated referral code;
receiving at least one of a GSM authorization request and a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) Location Update from the wireless device associated with the SIM card;
providing a first webpage to the user to request user data representative of the user associated with the SIM card;
receiving the user data representative of the user associated with the SIM card;
establishing a user account for the user utilizing the user data representative of the user; and
providing a second webpage to the user, wherein the second webpage comprises a graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying data associated with a status of the wireless device comprising at least one user selectable tab, and wherein when the user selectable tab is selected the GUI displays data associated with at least one integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID) including data associated with the ICCID of the SIM card distributed to the user.