Granted Patent B2

US 12,659,726 · App. 18/519,880 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventors: Mayank Mittal (Bangalore, IN); Arijit Sen (Bangalore, IN); Pratibha Kattemane Satyaganapati (Bangalore, IN); Subhrodip Mazumdar (Bangalore, IN)

Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

H04W8/24H04W8/205

Abstract

Claims (72)

1 . A method for controlling standalone access (SA) capability performed by a terminal, the method comprising:

detecting that a subscriber identity module (SIM) card is available in the terminal;

determining whether the SIM card supports a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI) calculation service;

if the SIM card supports the SUCI calculation service, enabling the SA capability in the terminal; and

if the SIM card does not support the SUCI calculation service, disabling the SA capability in the terminal.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on the SIM card being detected, determining whether the SIM card supports a subscription identifier privacy support service;

based on determining that the SIM card supports the subscription identifier privacy support service:

determining SA support for the terminal, and

enabling the SA capability in the terminal; and

based on determining that the SIM card does not support the subscription identifier privacy support service, disabling the SA capability in the terminal.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising, based on a capability of the SIM card changing:

enabling the SA capability in the terminal based on the capability of the SIM card changing to support at least one of the subscription identifier privacy support service and the SUCI calculation service; and

disabling the SA capability in the terminal based on the capability of the SIM card changing to not support at least one of the subscription identifier privacy support service and the SUCI calculation service.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the enabling the SA capability comprises:

adding the SA capability to a radio access technology (RAT) priority list, wherein the terminal is configured to prioritize an SA RAT over a plurality of RATs; and

moving the terminal to an SA network using a mapped global unique temporary identifier (GUTI) or a SUCI.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the disabling the SA capability in the terminal comprises:

blocking the SA capability in the terminal;

removing the SA capability from a radio access technology (RAT) priority list; and

scanning for an alternate RAT among a plurality of RATs and camp on the alternate RAT until the SIM card supports at least one of the subscription identifier privacy support service and the SUCI calculation service.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising, after the scanning for the alternate RAT over the plurality of RATs and the camping on the alternate RAT:

acquiring a network by the terminal on the alternate RAT; and

updating the SIM card in response to the network on the alternate RAT using a SIM over-the-air (OTA) procedure to enable the SA capability in the terminal.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining an NULL SUCI is allowed in a public land mobile network (PLMN) as per data maintained by the terminal, wherein the PLMN is a current PLMN;

enabling the SA capability in the terminal based on the NULL SUCI being allowed in the current PLMN as per the data maintained by the terminal;

determining whether SA registration with the NULL SUCI is successful in the terminal;

based on determining that the SA registration with the NULL SUCI is successful, adding SA registration with the NULL SUCI to an allowed list of the PLMN to enable the SA capability with the NULL SUCI in a database maintained by the terminal; and

based on determining that the SA registration with the NULL SUCI is unsuccessful, starting a predefined timer at a configurable interval in the terminal to enable SA registration with the NULL SUCI in the terminal.

8 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the mapped GUTI is associated with an identifier of the terminal.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the identifier of the terminal is a permanent equipment identifier (PEI).

10 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the USIM is an application performed by the SIM card.

11 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the SUCI is based on a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI).

12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the NULL SUCI is based on an unconcealed SUPI.

13 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising sending, after the enabling the SA capability, an encrypted subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) to the network in the form of a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI).

14 . A terminal comprising:

a memory;

a communicator;

a processor operatively coupled to the memory and the communicator; and

a standalone access (SA) capability management controller operatively coupled to the memory, the processor and the communicator, the SA capability management controller configured to:

detect whether a subscriber identity module (SIM) card is available in the terminal;

determine whether the SIM card supports a subscription concealed identifier (SUCI) calculation service;

if the SIM card supports the SUCI calculation service, enable the SA capability in the terminal; and

if the SIM card does not support the SUCI calculation service, disable the SA capability in the terminal.

15 . The terminal of claim 14 , wherein the SA capability management controller is further configured to:

based on the SIM card being detected, determine whether the SIM card supports a subscription identifier privacy support service;

based on determining that the SIM card supports the subscription identifier privacy support service:

determine SA support for the terminal, and

enable the SA capability in the terminal; and

based on the SIM card not supporting the subscription identifier privacy support service, disable the SA capability in the terminal.

16 . The terminal of claim 15 , wherein the SA capability management controller is further configured to, based on a capability of the SIM card changing:

enable the SA capability in the terminal based on the capability of the SIM card changing to support at least of the subscription identifier privacy support service and the SUCI calculation service; and

disable the SA capability in the terminal based on the capability of the SIM card changing to not support at least one of the subscription identifier privacy support service and the SUCI calculation service.

17 . The terminal of claim 15 , wherein the SA capability management controller is further configured to enable the SA capability by:

adding the SA capability to a radio access technology (RAT) priority list, wherein the terminal is configured to prioritize an SA RAT over a plurality of RATs; and

moving the terminal to an SA network using the GUTI or a SUCI.

18 . The terminal of claim 15 , wherein the SA capability management controller is further configured to disable the SA capability in the terminal by:

blocking the SA capability in the terminal;

removing the SA capability from a radio access technology (RAT) priority list; and

wherein the terminal is further configured to:

scan for an alternate RAT over a plurality of RATs, and

camp on the alternate RAT until the SIM card supports at least one of the subscription identifier privacy support service and the SUCI calculation service.

19 . The terminal of claim 18 , wherein the terminal is further configured to, after scanning for the alternate RAT over the plurality of RATs and camping on the alternate RAT:

acquire a network on the alternate RAT; and

update the SIM card with respect to the network on the alternate RAT using a SIM over-the-air (OTA) procedure to enable the SA capability in the terminal.

20 . The terminal of claim 15 , wherein the terminal is further configured to:

determine that a NULL SUCI is allowed in a public land mobile network (PLMN) based on data maintained by the terminal, wherein the PLMN is a current PLMN;

enable the SA capability in the terminal based on the NULL SUCI being allowed in the PLMN based on the data maintained by the terminal;

determine whether SA registration with the NULL SUCI is successful in the terminal;

based on determining that the SA registration with the NULL SUCI is successful, add SA registration with the NULL SUCI to an allowed list of PLMNs to enable the SA capability with the NULL SUCI in a database maintained by the terminal; and

based on determining that the SA registration with the NULL SUCI is unsuccessful, start a predefined timer at a configurable interval in the terminal to enable SA registration with the NULL SUCI in the terminal.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (18)