UE-based network subscription management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9883384-B2
Application number	US-201514596953-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 14, 2015
Priority date	Jul 16, 2014
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A user equipment (UE) may obtain identification information for a device and may assist in establishing credentials by which the device accesses a wireless network. The UE may establish a connection with the wireless network using its own credentials, and register the device to access the wireless network by associating the identification information for the device with the credentials of the UE. The UE may receive or establish credentials by which the device accesses the wireless network and may communicate these credentials to the device over a local connection. In some cases, the UE may authenticate the device's identification information to determine whether the device is allowed to be registered with the wireless network.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:
obtaining identification information for a device;
establishing a connection with a wireless network based on a network credential of the UE;
transmitting to the wireless network the identification information for the device; and
registering the device for access to the wireless network under a subscription associated with the UE with a network credential for the device that is different from the network credential of the UE, the registering comprising associating the identification information for the device with the network credential of the UE.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
establishing a local communication link with the device, wherein the identification information for the device is obtained over the local communication link.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
sending the network credential for the device over the local communication link.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the network credential for the device comprises at least one of:
a subscription identity associated with the network credential of the UE or a network identifier, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the subscription identity comprises at least one of:
a globally unique temporary identity (GUTI) or an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the UE, or any combination thereof, and
wherein the network identifier comprises at least one of: a public key certificate of the wireless network, a public key of the wireless network, or a public land mobile network (PLMN) identity, or any combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network credential for the device comprises at least one of:
a shared key provisioned by a device manufacturer or a private-public key pair provisioned by a device manufacturer, or any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
authenticating the identification information for the device by the UE; and
determining whether the device is allowed to be registered with the wireless network.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
sending an authentication request to a device authentication server.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
receiving an authentication response from the device authentication server, wherein authenticating the identification information for the device is based on the authentication response.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
sending the identification information to a home subscriber server (HSS) of the UE via the connection with the wireless network.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining the identification information for the device comprises at least one of:
scanning a Quick Response (QR) code, utilizing a wireless personal area network (WPAN) connection, utilizing a universal serial bus (USB) link, utilizing a near field communication (NFC) link, utilizing a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) link, or accessing a uniform resource locator (URL), or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identification information for the device comprises at least one of:
a device identifier, device parameters, a URL, a shared key of the device, a public key of the device, or a public key certificate of the device, or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing the wireless network with access restrictions for the device.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the access restrictions comprise at least one of:
access time duration limits, time of use specifications, maximum bandwidth limits, service parameters, uplink throughput limits, or downlink throughput limits, or any combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein registering the device comprises:
sending a registration request for the device to the wireless network via the connection.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
receiving a registration acknowledgment responsive to the registration request from the wireless network via the connection.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identification information for the device is of a different kind than the network credential of the UE.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network credential of the UE is maintained in a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of the UE or based on information obtained from a subscriber identity module (SIM) of the UE.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network credential of the UE is provisioned by an operator of the wireless network and the identification information for the device is established by a manufacturer of the device.

20. A method of wireless communication performed by a device, comprising:
establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) over a local communication link;
receiving credentials for accessing a wireless network from the UE over the local communication link, wherein the received credentials for accessing the wireless network are associated with a subscription of the UE, wherein the association with the subscription is based at least in part on an association between identification information of the device transmitted to the wireless network by the UE and a network credential of the UE, and wherein the received credentials are different from the network credential of the UE; and
accessing the wireless network utilizing the received credentials.

21. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for obtaining identification information for a device;
means for establishing a connection with a wireless network based on a network credential of the apparatus;
means for transmitting to the wireless network the identification information for the device; and
means for registering the device for access to the wireless network under a subscription associated with the apparatus with a network credential for the device that is different from the network credential of the apparatus, the registering comprising associating the identification information for the device with the network credential of the apparatus.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising:
means for establishing a local communication link with the device, wherein the means for obtaining are operative to obtain the identification information over the local communication link.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , further comprising:
means for sending credentials for accessing the wireless network to the device over the local communication link.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the credentials for accessing the wireless network comprise at least one of:
a subscription identity associated with the network credential of the apparatus or a network identifier, or any combination thereof.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the subscription identity comprises at least one of:
a globally unique temporary identity (GUTI) or an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the apparatus, or any combination thereof, and
wherein the network identifier comprises at least one of: a public key certificate of the wireless network, a public key of the wireless network, or a public land mobile network (PLMN) identity, or any combination thereof.

26. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the network credential for the device comprises at least one of:
a shared key pro

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Lee Soo Bum
• Horn Gavin Bernard
• Palanigounder Anand

Classifications

• H04W8/18 Primary

  Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data · CPC title

• H04W4/70 Primary

  Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] · CPC title

• H04W48/02

  Access restriction performed under specific conditions · CPC title

• H04W76/14

  Direct-mode setup · CPC title

• H04W12/08

  Access security · CPC title