Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Security or fraud prevention
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-12
2003-09-30
Vo, Nguyen T. (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Security or fraud prevention
C455S414200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06628934
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to wireless services on a wireless device. More specifically, the present invention provides systems and methods for automatically activating wireless services on a wireless device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Internet and the World Wide Web (hereinafter “the web”) have revolutionized the ways in which information is disseminated and shared. At any given time, the Internet enables millions of users worldwide to communicate, access a wide variety of information, and engage in activities as diverse as shopping, playing games, and financial trading, among others.
The vast array of services provided in the Internet has driven users to demand Internet access from anywhere in the globe. As a result, a new set of networking technologies have been developed. Users can now choose between high speed Internet connections provided by T1 or T3 lines leased from telephone companies, telephone and cable modems, digital subscriber lines (DSL), and wireless networks. In particular, the emergence of wireless networks has enabled mobile Internet access through various “wireless devices”, which are electronic devices configured with a wireless Internet access system. Wireless devices include, but are not limited to, microprocessor based devices such as personal and portable computers, set-top boxes, video game consoles, and handheld appliances such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and electronic organizers.
Mobile users connected to a wireless network can access the Internet on a wireless device from any location covered by the network. Wireless networks include personal area networks (WPANs) based on the Bluetooth™ standard, wireless local area networks (WLANs) based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, and wireless wide area networks (WWANs) based on open wireless standards such as AMPS, GSM, TDMA, CDMA, and CDPD. Both WPANs and WLANs offer limited user mobility, while WWANs allow users to roam freely across extensive geographic areas.
At present, most mobile users access the Internet through a WWAN by using a wireless device equipped with a wireless modem and Internet access software. The wireless modem may be either internally integrated into the Internet appliance, such as in the case of the Palm VIIx PDA, manufactured by Palm, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., or connected externally. External wireless modems include the Ricochet modem, manufactured by Metricom, Inc., of San Jose, Calif., for use with personal and portable computers across a proprietary WWAN owned and operated by Metricom, and the various modems manufactured by Novatel Wireless, Inc., of San Diego, Calif., and Sierra Wireless, Inc., of Richmond, BC, for use with PDAs and cellular phones across WWANs operated by a wireless carrier, such as Sprint PCS, of Overland Park, Kans., Verizon Wireless, of New York City, N.Y., and AT&T wireless, of Seattle, Wash.
The Internet access software may consist of a “web browser”, such as Internet Explorer, available from Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, Wash., or a “microbrowser”, which is a simpler version of a web browser with reduced graphic capabilities. In addition, the Internet access software may contain a variety of APIs (application program interfaces) and associated applications for formatting and displaying “web pages” on the Internet appliance. A web page is a multimedia composition that may contain text, audio, graphics, imagery, video, and nearly any other type of content that may be experienced on a wireless device or other Internet appliances. A web page may also be interactive, and contain user selectable links that cause other web pages to be displayed, forms that may be used by the user to submit information requested in the web page, interactive executable code, or other elements through which the user may interact with web pages. A group of one or more interconnected and closely related web pages is referred to as a “web site.”
A web site has a particular address associated with it called a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”). To view a particular web site, users input its corresponding URL on the wireless device either by typing the URL address on a web browser window or “tapping” an icon or menu button on a PDA screen or cellular phone. The web site is transmitted via a wired connection from a “web server” on the Internet to a “base station”, which is a radio tower that provides radio coverage to a given geographic area known as a “cell.” The base station then transmits the web site to the user's wireless device through radio waves.
To access web pages and other Internet content on a WWAN, users are required to subscribe to a wireless service plan offered by a wireless service provider. A wireless service provider is a company that offers cellular phone service and/or wireless Internet service including e-mail and web access through a WWAN. Examples of wireless service providers offering Internet access include Verizon Wireless, Metricom, Inc., Sprint PCS, and OmniSky Corporation, of San Francisco, Calif. The wireless service plans are provided on a monthly or annual fee basis, with the fee depending on the type of services and geographic coverage desired.
Typically, users purchase the service plan at a retail store, web site associated with the wireless service provider, or by calling a customer service representative. Users may purchase the service plan together or after purchasing the wireless device. In addition, users may add or change a service plan at any time after purchase.
To use the services provided in the service plan, users must first “activate” the services in their wireless devices. The activation process typically requires a series of steps involving the user and the wireless service provider. The steps may consist of the user providing a unique identification code associated with the wireless device or wireless modem, selecting a specific service plan, and providing personal and financial information to the wireless service provider for the purposes of billing the service plan. The activation process may also require the user to select a user name and a password for accessing the wireless services. The information may be provided on a web site or by calling a personal customer representative.
As part of the activation process, the wireless service provider registers the wireless device on user databases, servers, and/or billing systems. The wireless service provider may also assign an IP address to the wireless device, and may further instruct the user to install any activation codes or software on the wireless device. During the installation process, the user may be required to install software and/or enter an activation code on the wireless device.
At present, the activation process cannot be performed without requiring human interaction with a customer service representative or a time delay before the wireless services become activated on the wireless device. Users of the Ricochet network, for example, are required to wait 48 hours for a service plan to be activated on their wireless devices after selecting a service plan on a web site. Users dealing with customer service representatives quite often incur delays before their service plans are ready for use. In short, there are currently no provisions in place for wireless service providers to automatically activate wireless services for wireless device users without requiring human interaction or time delays in activating the services.
In view of the foregoing drawbacks, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for automatically activating wireless services on multiple wireless devices.
It further would be desirable to provide systems and methods for a wireless service provider to automatically register a wireless device on a wireless network and provision wireless services for the wireless device without requiring the user to interact with a customer service representative or incur time delays to activate the services.
It also would be desirable to provide sys
Melnicki Michael S.
Rosenberg Dave H.
Earthlink, Inc.
Gelin Jean A
Morris Manning & Martin LLP
Vo Nguyen T.
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