Selective esim services transfers

Abstract

An apparatus configured to process, based on information entered by a user via a user interface (UI), a selection of one or more services associated with an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored to be transferred to a target user equipment (UE), wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with the eSIM profile and generate, for transmission to an entitlement server of a network, a request to transfer the one or more services associated with the eSIM profile to the target UE.

Description

Selective eSIM Services TransfersInventors: Jean-Marc Padova, Aurelien P Raboisson, Li Li and Ngabin S NgPRIORITY / INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 519,887 filed on August 16, 2023, and entitled "Selective eSIM Services Transfers," the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND

[0002] Embedded subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) may include eSIM profiles that may include various data. This data may relate to telecommunications capabilities (e.g., phone number information, user credential information, etc.) and may also relate to information related to support contactless functionality (e.g., payment, transit, access, identification, lock / key security, etc.) . When a user obtains a new device, the user may only want to transfer some the information that is on the eSIM of a current device to the new device. There is currently no mechanisms that allow a user to transfer only some of the data on an eSIM to a new device.Summary

[0003] Some example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process, based on information entered by a user via a user interface (UI) , a selection of one or more services associated with an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored to be transferred to a target user equipment (UE) , wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with theeSIM profile and generate, for transmission to an entitlement server of a network, a request to transfer the one or more services associated with the eSIM profile to the target UE .

[0004] Othe r example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process, based on signals received from a source user equipment (UE) , a first request to transfer one or more services of an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored on the source UE to a target UE, wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with the eSIM profile and generate, for transmission to a service provider associated with each of the one or more services, a second request to transfer the corresponding one or more services to the target UE, wherein the second request comprises authentication information for the corresponding one or more services.

[0005] Still further example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process, based on signals received from an entitlement server, an identification of a first embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored on a source user equipment (UE) that is to be transferred to a target UE, wherein the first eSIM profile comprises a plurality of services, process, based on signals received from a service provider, an application corresponding to one of the plurality of services and generate a second eSIM profile comprising telecom information and a subset of the plurality of services from the first eSIM profile, wherein the subset comprises the application corresponding to one of the plurality of services and the telecom information comprises a phone number.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] Fig. 1 shows an example network arrangement according to various example embodiments.

[0007] Fig. 2 shows an example user equipment (UE) according to various example embodiments.

[0008] Fig. 3 shows an example subscription manager data preparation+ (SM-DP+) according to various example embodiments.

[0009] Fig. 4 shows an example entitlement server according to various example embodiments.

[0010] Fig. 5 shows a source UE selectively transferring eSIM information to a target UE according to various example embodiments .

[0011] Fig. 6 shows an example call flow for selectively transferring eSIM information from the source UE to the target UE according to various example embodiments.Detailed Description

[0012] The example embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The example embodiments relate to selective transfer of services from a first embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) (e.g., Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) ) , where an existing eSIM profile is stored, to a second eUICC, where a new eSIM profile for a new UE will be stored.

[0013] The example embodiments are described with regard to a user equipment (UE) . However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may include an eSIM (e.g., eUICC) and that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and / or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any electronic component.

[0014] The example embodiments are also described with reference to a 5G New Radio (NR) network. However, the example embodiments may also be implemented in other types of networks, including but not limited to LTE networks, future evolutions of the cellular protocol (e.g., 5G advanced, 6G, etc.) , or any other type of network. In the examples, it will be considered that the example UE receives eSIM profiles and other information using the 5G network. However, the UE may receive the eSIM profiles and other information via any wired or wireless network .

[0015] The example embodiments are also described with reference to contactless services that may be a service that removes physical contact from transactions or other interactions but may use electronic interactions between a user device (e.g., a UE) and other electronic systems. The electronic interactions may include the exchange of information via wireless communications such as WiFi communications, Bluetooth communications, near-field communications (NFC) , etc. Nonlimiting examples of contactless services banking services,transit services, payment services, identification services, lock services, key services, etc. Contactless services allow a UE to complete contactless transactions associated with the corresponding contactless service (e.g., a user can scan a code on their device or bring their device near a payment terminal or transit gate to complete a transaction) .

[0016] While the example eSIMs profiles are described as including telecom information and / or contactless information, these are only examples. The example embodiments may be applied to any type of information that is stored in an eSIM profile.

[0017] The example embodiments are also described with reference to a subscription manager data preparation+ (SM-DP+) service that is a network element (typically a server) that prepares, stores, and protects carrier profiles (including operator credentials) . However, the nomenclature SM-DP+ is only example and other entities may refer to a device, component or function performing the functionality of the SM-DP+ as described herein using different terminology.

[0018] The example embodiments are also described with reference to an entitlement server that is a network element (typically a server) that determines whether a user is entitled to use a particular subscription or service. However, the nomenclature entitlement server is only example and other entities may refer to a device, component or function performing the functionality of the entitlement server as described herein using different terminology.

[0019] The example embodiments provide manners for selectively transferring services from an eSIM profile of a first device to an eSIM profile of a second device, e.g., the example embodiments do not require that all services from the eSIM profile of the first device be transferred to the eSIM profile of a second device. The example embodiments will be described in greater detail below.

[0020] Fig. 1 shows an example network arrangement 100 according to various example embodiments. The example network arrangement 100 includes a UE 110. The UE 110 may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (loT) devices (including connected vehicles) , etc. An actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of one UE 110 is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

[0021] The UE 110 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration 100, the network with which the UE 110 may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network (RAN) 120. However, the UE 110 may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g., 5G cloud RAN, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) , a legacy cellular network, etc.) and the UE 110 may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the example embodiments, the UE 110 may establish a connection with the 5G NR RAN 120. Therefore, the UE 110 may have a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the NR RAN 120.

[0022] The 5G NR RAN 120 may be portions of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. ) . The RAN 120 may include cells or base stations that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. In this example, the 5G NR RAN 120 includes the gNB 120A. However, reference to a gNB is merely provided for illustrative purposes, any appropriate base station or cell may be deployed (e.g., Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBs, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc. ) .

[0023] Any association procedure may be performed for the UE 110 to connect to the 5G NR RAN 120. For example, as discussed above, the 5G NR RAN 120 may be associated with a particular network carrier where the UE 110 and / or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g. , stored on a SIM card) . Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR RAN 120, the UE 110 may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR RAN 120. More specifically, the UE 110 may associate with a specific cell (e.g. , gNB 120A) .

[0024] The network arrangement 100 also includes a cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet 140. The IMS 150 may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE 110 using the IP protocol. The IMS 150 may communicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 to provide the multimedia services to the UE 110. The network services backbone 160 is in communication eitherdirectly or indirectly with the Internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network services backbone 160 may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE 110 in communication with the various networks.

[0025] In some example embodiments, the SM-DP+ may be included as part of the network services backbone 160. The SM- DP+ may be a network element (typically a server) that prepares, stores, and protects carrier profiles (including operator credentials) . The SM-DP+ being included in the network services backbone 160 is only example and the SM-DP+ may be included as part of other network services or as a third party service that is connected to the network.

[0026] Fig. 2 shows an example UE 110 according to various example embodiments. The UE 110 will be described with regard to the network arrangement 100 of Fig. 1. The UE 110 may represent any electronic device and may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an input / output (I / O) device 220, a transceiver 225, and other components 230. The other components 230 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery that provides a limited power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE 110 to other electronic devices, sensors to detect conditions of the UE 110, etc. The UE 110 may include an Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) 240, which may be a hardware component embedded into the UE 110 and configured to store a number of carrier profiles, e.g., eSIM profiles .

[0027] The processor 205 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the UE 110. For example, the engines may include an eSIM profile engine 235 for performing operations related to transferring selected services of an eSIM profile, including, but not limited to, collating services of an eSIM profile, displaying the services, receiving a user selection related to the selected services and initiating the transfer of the selected services. These and other operations will be described in greater detail below.

[0028] The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 205 is only an example. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE 110 or may be a modular component coupled to the UE 110, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor 205 is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE .

[0029] The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110. The display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I / O device 220 may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs.The display device 215 and the I / O device 220 may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen.

[0030] The transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G-NR RAN 120. Accordingly, the transceiver 225 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies) . The transceiver 225 includes circuitry configured to transmit and / or receive signals (e.g. , control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 205 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 225 and configured to receive from and / or transmit signals to the transceiver 225. The processor 205 may be configured to encode and / or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a base station of a network) for implementing any one of the methods described herein .

[0031] Fig. 3 shows an example SM-DP+ 300 according to various example embodiments. The SM-DP+ 300 may represent a network element that prepares, stores, and protects carrier profiles (including operator credentials) . In some examples, the SM-DP+ 300 may be implemented in a server device such as illustrated in the example of Fig. 3. In other examples, the SM- DP+ 300 may be implemented in a distributed manner such as in a cloud computing implementation or as a network function.

[0032] The SM-DP+ 300 may include a processor 305, a memory arrangement 310, an input / output (I / O) device 315, a transceiver 320, and other components 325. The other components 325 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio outputdevice, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the SM-DP+ 300 to other electronic devices and / or power sources, etc.

[0033] The processor 305 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the SM-DP+ 300. For example, the engines may include an eSIM profile engine 330 for performing operations related to transferring selected services of an eSIM profile, including, but not limited to, generating an eSIM profile comprising the selected services and provisioning a UE with the initiating the eSIM profile comprising the selected services. These and other operations will be described in greater detail below.

[0034] The memory 310 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the SM-DP+ 300. The I / O device 315 may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the SM-DP+ 300.

[0035] The transceiver 320 may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UE 110 and any other UE in the network arrangement 100 either directly or indirectly. Because the SM-DP+ 300 is typically resident within the network, the transceiver 320 includes a wired network interface such as an Ethernet or other wired type network interface. In some examples, the transceiver 320 may include a wireless interface and operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies) . Therefore, the transceiver 320 may include one or more components (e.g., radios) to enable the data exchange with the various networks and UEs. The transceiver 320 includes circuitry configured totransmit and / or receive signals (e.g., control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 305 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 320 and configured to receive from and / or transmit signals to the transceiver 320. The processor 305 may be configured to encode and / or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a UE) for implementing any one of the methods described herein.

[0036] Fig. 4 shows an example entitlement server 400 according to various example embodiments. The entitlement server 400 may represent a network element that determines whether a user is entitled to use one or more of the selected services that are to be transferred. In some examples, the entitlement server 400 may be implemented in a server device such as illustrated in the example of Fig. 4. In other examples, the entitlement server 400 may be implemented in a distributed manner such as in a cloud computing implementation or as a network function.

[0037] The entitlement server 400 may include a processor 405, a memory arrangement 410, an input / output (I / O) device 415, a transceiver 420, and other components 425. The other components 425 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the entitlement server 400 to other electronic devices and / or power sources, etc.

[0038] The processor 405 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the entitlement server 400. For example, the engines may include an eSIM profile engine 430 forperforming operations related to transferring selected services of an eS IM profile , including, but not limited to, receiving an identi fication of the selected services from a UE and contacting service providers of the selected services to verify that the user of the UE is entitled to trans fer the selected services . These and other operations will be described in greater detail below .

[0039] The memory 410 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the SM-DP+ 400 . The I / O device 415 may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the entitlement server 400 .

[0040] The transceiver 420 may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UE 110 and any other UE in the network arrangement 100 either directly or indirectly . Because the entitlement server 400 is typically resident within the network, the transceiver 420 includes a wired network interface such as an Ethernet or other wired type network interface . In some examples , the transceiver 420 may include a wireless interface and operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels ( e . g . , set of consecutive frequencies ) . Therefore , the transceiver 420 may include one or more components ( e . g . , radios ) to enable the data exchange with the various networks and UEs . The transceiver 420 includes circuitry configured to transmit and / or receive signals ( e . g . , control signals , data signals ) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein . The processor 405 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 420 and configured to receive from and / or transmit signals to the transceiver 420 . The processor 405 may beconfigured to encode and / or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a UE) for implementing any one of the methods described herein.

[0041] A user may have a UE that is provisioned with an eSIM that includes various information such as telecom information and contactless information. Throughout this description, this original UE will be described as a source UE . At a later time, the user may acquire a new device, e.g., a second UE . The user may want to only transfer some of the services of the eSIM profile to the second UE . Throughout this description, this second UE or new device will be described as a target UE . The example embodiments allow the user to transfer some of the information of the eSIM profile of the source UE to the target UE .

[0042] Fig. 5 shows a source UE 500 selectively transferring eSIM information to a target UE 520 according to various example embodiments. Prior to describing the transfer of information, the initial conditions of the source UE 500 will be described. These initial conditions are only an example and the example embodiments may be applied to a source UE having other initial conditions .

[0043] In this example, it may be considered that the source UE 500 has an eSIM profile 510 stored on the eUICC of the source UE 500 (e.g. , eUICC 240) . This example eSIM profile 510 may include telecom information such as a telephone number. The example eSIM profile 510 may also include contactless information. In this example, the contactless information may comprise three applets, each of the applets may have an associated application ID (AID) . These applets may includeapplet 1 (AID1) that is a payment applet (e.g., a credit card) , applet 2 (AID2) that is also a payment applet (e.g., a second credit card) and applet 3 (AID3) that is a transit applet (e.g., allows the user to access a transit system) . The source UE 500 may list these applets in the user's digital wallet.

[0044] As will be described in greater detail below, the user may desire to transfer some of the information from the eSIM profile 510 of the source UE 500 to the eSIM profile 530 of the target UE 520. In this example, it may be considered that the user has selected to transfer the phone number associated with the eSIM profile 510 and the applet 1 (AID1) and applet 3 (AID3) associated with the eSIM profile 510 to the target UE 520. This is shown in Fig. 5 as the completed transfer where the target UE 520 includes the eSIM profile 530 having the phone number, the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AID3) that were previously part of the eSIM profile 510. This transfer will be described in greater detail below with reference to Fig. 5 and the call flow 600 of Fig. 6.

[0045] Fig. 6 shows an example call flow 600 for selectively transferring eSIM information from the source UE 500 to the target UE 520 according to various example embodiments. The call flow 600 is performed by the source UE 500 that includes the source digital wallet 502 and the source eUICC 504 that stores the eSIM profile 510. The call flow 600 is also performed by the target UE 520 that includes the target digital wallet 522 and the target eUICC 524 that stores the eSIM profile 530. In the initial state, the eSIM profile 530 is not yet stored on the target UE 430. The call flow 600 also includes the user 526 because, as will be described in greater detail below, the user526 may provide one or more inputs to user interfaces (UIs) displayed on the source UE and / or the target UE 520 during the call flow 600. The call flow 600 further includes an entitlement server 540, an SM-DP+ 550, a carrier subscription system 560, and service providers 1-3 570-590. Each of these entities / components participating in the call flow 600 will be described in greater detail below.

[0046] Again, in the initial state (e.g., prior to commencement of the call flow 600) , the user 526 has the source UE 500 with the eSIM profile 510. The user 526 obtains the target UE 520 and desires to transfer some of the information from the eSIM profile 510 to the target UE 520. Thus, the user 526 will initiate the call flow 600 to perform this transfer.

[0047] In 602, the user 526 will initiate the transfer by entering information in a UI of the target UE 520. This will cause, in 604, the target UE 520 and the source UE 500 to form a wireless connection (e.g. , pair) . The connection may be a short range connection such as a Bluetooth or NFC connection or a longer range connection such as through a network (e.g., a cellular network, a WiFi network, etc. ) . In 606, the target UE 520 will provide device information related to the target UE 520 to the source UE 500. The device information may include any information that the source UE 500 may use for the transfer process .

[0048] In 608, the source UE 500 initiates the source UE transfer flow. The operations 610-622 are being performed by the source UE 500 (and may also include receiving input from the user 526) . These operations may be performed by differentcomponents or logical constructs of the source UE 500, e.g., source eUICC 504, source digital wallet 502, application processor (not shown) , source UE UI (not shown) , etc.

[0049] The source UE transfer flow may include, in 610, the source UE 500 requesting a list of eSIMs and contactless services from the source eUICC 504. In the present example, it is considered that the source UE 500 includes a single eSIM profile 510 that has three (3) contactless services (AID1, AID2 and AID3) . In some examples, the source UE 500 may include multiple eSIM profiles and these eSIM profiles may have the same or different contactless services. In some examples, the contactless services may be globalized, e.g., the contactless services may apply to more than one eSIM profile for a particular mobile network operator (MNO) . The example embodiments may apply to any of these examples. In 612, the source eUICC 504 may provide this information to the source UE500.

[0050] In 614, the source UE 500 and the source digital wallet 502 may use this list of eSIM profiles and contactless services provided by the source eUICC 504 to build a user readable list of the eSIM profiles and contactless services. For example, the eSIM profile 510 may be identified by the phone number associated with the eSIM profile 510. The contactless services may be identified by a human readable name that provides information to the user 526. For example, the applet 1 (AID1) that is a payment applet may be identified by the name of the credit card (e.g., Visa) , the applet 2 (AID2) that is also a payment applet may also be identified by the name of the credit card (e.g., American Express) , and the applet 3 (AID3) that is atransit applet may be identified by the transit system (e.g., New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) ) .

[0051] In 616, a UI of the source UE 500 may display the list of eSIM profiles and contactless services to the user 526, e.g., the eSIM profile 510 and the applets 1-3. In 618, the user 526 may select the eSIM profile and the contactless services that are to be transferred to the target UE 520 using the UI of the source UE 500. In this example, it may be considered that the user 526 selected the eSIM profile 510 and the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AID3) , e.g., the user 526 decided not to transfer the applet 2 (AID2) to the target UE 520.

[0052] In 620, the source UE 500 requests the user 526 (e.g., via the UI of the source UE 500) for authori zation / authentication information to begin the transfer process. This authorization / authentication information may include passcodes (e.g., personal identification numbers (PINs) , biometric information (e.g., face recognition, fingerprints, etc.) or any other type of authorization / authentication information that indicates to the source UE 500 that the user is authorized to transfer the information to the target UE 520. In 622, the user 526 provides the authorization / authentication information to the source UE 500. In this example, it is considered that the authorization / authentication is successful.

[0053] In 624, the source UE 500 initiates the transfer by contacting the entitlement server 540. The entitlement server 540 may be a network component that is controlled by the MNO or a third party and that is responsible for, among other things, managing operations related to eSIMs for the MNO. Theseoperations may include determining whether a user is entitled to use certain services. Examples of determining these entitlements are described below with reference to the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AID3) . The source UE 500 may provide the entitlement server 540 with various information including information related to the source UE 500 (e.g., device ID, device capabilities, etc.) , information related to the target UE 520 (e.g., device ID, device capabilities, etc. that was provided to the source UE 500 in 606) and an identification of the contactless services that the user has selected to transfer to the target UE 520 (e.g., the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AIDS) ) .

[0054] In 626, the entitlement server 540 initiates the entitlement process including verifying the user credentials with the various service providers. This includes identifying, in 628, the eSIM profile that is to be transferred to the SM-DP+ 550. As described above, the SM-DP+ 550 is a network element (typically a server) that prepares, stores, and protects carrier profiles (including operator credentials) . In this case, the entitlement server 540 will identify the eSIM profile 510 that is to be transferred to the target UE 520.

[0055] In 630, the entitlement server 540 will contact the service provider 1 570 associated with the applet 1 (AID1) and indicate that the applet 1 (AID1) associated with the eSIM profile 510 is to be transferred to the target UE 520. For example, the entitlement server 540 may store or access a database or other storage mechanism that relates the AID1 to the service provider 1 570 such that the entitlement server 540 may contact the correct entity when determining whether the user 526is entitled to transfer the applet 1 (AID1) to the target UE 520. As described above, in this example, the service provider 1 570 may be the credit card processor associated with the applet 1 (AID1) (e.g., servers, other network components, domains, functions, etc. of the credit card processor) .

[0056] The service provider 1 570 may request user credentials to authorize the transfer of the applet 1 (AID1) to the target UE 520. Since the applet 1 (AID1) is a credit card, the service provider 1 570 may request, in 632, a Card Verification Value (CW) .

[0057] In 634, the entitlement server 540 will send the CW request to the source UE 500, which will then, in 636, display the CW request on the source UE 500 UI to the user 526. In 638, the user 526 will enter the CW for the applet 1 (AID1) and this CW information will be sent to the entitlement server 540 in 640. The entitlement server 540 will, in turn, provide the CW information to the service provider 1 570 in 642.

[0058] In this example, it may be considered that the user 526 provided the correct CW information. Thus, in 544, the service provider 1 570 provides the applet 1 (AID1) to the SM- DP+ 550 with an indication that the applet 1 (AID1) may be included in the transfer to the target UE 520.

[0059] In 646, the entitlement server 540 will contact the service provider 3 590 associated with the applet 3 (AID3) and indicate that the applet 3 (AID3) associated with the eSIM profile 510 is to be transferred to the target UE 520. As described above, in this example, the applet 3 (AID3) may berelated to a transit service and the service provider 3 590 may be servers, other network components, domains, functions, etc. of the transit service. In this example, it may be considered that the entitlement server 540 already has received the user credentials associated with the applet 3 (AID3) , e.g., in 624. Thus, in 646, the entitlement server 540 may include these user credentials when contacting the service provider 3 590. In some examples, 646 may include multiple messages being exchanged between the entitlement server 540 and the service provider 3 590.

[0060] Again, in this example, it may be considered that the service provider 3 590 accepted the user credentials. Thus, in 648, the service provider 3 590 provides the applet 3 (AID3) to the SM-DP+ 550 with an indication that the applet 3 (AID3) may be included in the transfer to the target UE 520.

[0061] As noted above, the user 526 did not select to transfer the applet 2 (AID2) to the target UE 520. Thus, in the example call flow 600, the entitlement server 540 did not contact the service provider 2 580 because the applet 2 (AID2) is not being transferred and therefore the user credentials associated with the applet 2 (AID2) do not need to be verified.

[0062] In 650, the SM-DP+ 550 has received information that the eSIM profile 510 including the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AID3) is to be transferred to the target UE 520. The SM-DP+ 550 will use this information to generate the eSIM profile 530. As described above, the eSIM profile 530 will include the phone number associated with the eSIM profile 510, the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AID3) .

[0063] In the example embodiments, when it is described that services of an eSIM profile are transferred from a source UE to a target UE, this typically means that the SM-DP+ generates a new eSIM profile (e.g., eSIM profile 530) that includes the information from the old eSIM profile (e.g., eSIM profile 510) . The old eSIM profile (e.g., eSIM profile 510) is not copied to the target UE 520 but rather the new eSIM profile (e.g., eSIM profile 530) is provisioned from the SM-DP+ to the target UE 520. Thus, in 550, the SM-DP+ 550 generates the eSIM profile 530.

[0064] In 652, the entitlement server 540 contacts the carrier subscription system 560 to provision the phone number into the new eSIM profile 530, e.g., the phone number will become inactive for the eSIM profile 510 and active for the eSIM profile 530. In 654, the carrier subscription system 560 will contact the SM-DP+ 550 to indicate that the transfer to the target UE 520 should occur.

[0065] In 656, the SM-DP+ 550 will provision the target UE 520 with the eSIM profile 530 including the phone number, the applet 1 (AID1) and the applet 3 (AID3) . In 658, the target UE 520 will store the eSIM profile 530 on the target eUICC 524. In 660, the target eUICC 524 and the target UE 520 will prepare a list of contactless services included in the eSIM profile 530. In 662, the target UE 520 will store these contactless services in the target digital wallet 522.

[0066] Thus, at the completion of the call flow 600, some of the information from the eSIM profile 510 of the source UE 500has been transferred to the eSIM profile 530 of the target UE 520.Examples

[0067] In a first example, a method, comprising processing, based on information entered by a user via a user interface(UI) , a selection of one or more services associated with an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored to be transferred to a target user equipment (UE) , wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with the eSIM profile and generating, for transmission to an entitlement server of a network, a request to transfer the one or more services associated with the eSIM profile to the target UE .

[0068] In a second example, the method of the first example, wherein the request comprises an identification of the eSIM profile and an identification of the one or more services, wherein the identification of each of the one or more services comprises an application identification (AID) .

[0069] In a third example, the method of the second example, wherein the request further comprises information related to the target UE .

[0070] In a fourth example, the method of the first example, further comprising processing authentication information of the user related to the eSIM profile and the one or more services.

[0071] In a fifth example, the method of the fourth example, wherein the authentication information comprises a passcode or biometric information of the user.

[0072] In a sixth example, the method of the fourth example, further comprising processing, based on signals received from the entitlement server, a request for further authentication information related to one of the one or more services, displaying the request for the further authentication information to the user via the UI, processing the further authentication information and preparing, for transmission to the entitlement server, the further authentication information.

[0073] In a seventh example, the method of the fourth example, wherein the one or more services comprises a credit card service and the further authentication information is a Card Verification Value (CW) of a credit card associated with the credit card service.

[0074] In an eighth example, the method of the first example, further comprising determining one or more stored eSIM profiles, determining services associated with each of the stored eSIM profiles and generating, for display on the UI, the one or more stored eSIM profiles and the services associated with each of the stored eSIM profiles, wherein the selection by the user is based on the display.

[0075] In a ninth example, the method of the first example, wherein the eSIM comprises telecom information allowing telecommunications related operations to be performed, the telecom information comprising a phone number.

[0076] In a tenth example, the method of the first example, wherein the one or more services comprise contactless services allowing contactless transactions.

[0077] In an eleventh example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the first through tenth examples.

[0078] In a twelfth example, a user eguipment (UE) configured to perform any of the methods of the first through tenth examples .

[0079] In a thirteenth example, a method, comprising processing, based on signals received from a source user eguipment (UE) , a first request to transfer one or more services of an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored on the source UE to a target UE, wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with the eSIM profile and generating, for transmission to a service provider associated with each of the one or more services, a second request to transfer the corresponding one or more services to the target UE, wherein the second request comprises authentication information for the corresponding one or more services .

[0080] In a fourteenth example, the method of the thirteenth example, wherein the first request comprises an identification of the eSIM profile and an identification of the one or more services, wherein the identification of each of the one or more services comprises an application identification (AID) .

[0081] In a fi fteenth example, the method of the fourteenth example , wherein the first request further comprises information related to the source UE and information related to the target UE .

[0082] In a sixteenth example, the method of the fourteenth example , wherein the first request further comprises authentication information related to the eSIM profile and the one or more services .

[0083] In a seventeenth example , the method of the thirteenth example , further comprising processing, based on signals received from the service provider, a third reguest for further authentication information related to one of the one or more services , generating, for transmission to the source UE, a fourth request for the further authentication information, processing, based on signals received from the source UE, the further authentication information related to the one of the one or more services and generating, for transmission to the service provider, the further authentication information .

[0084] In an eighteenth example , the method of the seventeenth example , wherein the one of the one or more services is a credit card service and the further authentication information is a Card Verification Value ( CW) of a credit card associated with the credit card service .

[0085] In a nineteenth example, the method of the thirteenth example , wherein the eS IM comprises telecom information allowing the source UE to perform telecommunications related operations , the telecom information comprising a phone number .

[0086] In a twentieth example, the method of the thirteenth example, wherein the one or more services comprise contactless services allowing the source UE to complete contactless transactions .

[0087] In a twenty first example, one or more processors configured to perform any of the methods of the thirteenth through twentieth examples.

[0088] In a twenty second example, an entitlement server configured to perform any of the methods of the thirteenth through twentieth examples.

[0089] In a twenty third example, a method, comprising processing, based on signals received from an entitlement server, an identification of a first embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored on a source user equipment (UE) that is to be transferred to a target UE, wherein the first eSIM profile comprises a plurality of services, processing, based on signals received from a service provider, an application corresponding to one of the plurality of services, and generating a second eSIM profile comprising telecom information and a subset of the plurality of services from the first eSIM profile, wherein the subset comprises the application corresponding to one of the plurality of services and the telecom information comprises a phone number.

[0090] In a twenty fourth example, the method of the twenty third example, further comprising processing, based on signals received from a subscription manager of a network, an indicationthat the phone number is activated for the second eSIM profile and preparing the second eSIM profile for transmission to the target UE .

[0091] In a twenty fifth example, the method of the twenty third example, wherein the plurality of services comprise contactless services allowing the source UE to complete contactless transactions.

[0092] In a twenty sixth example, one or more processors configured to perform any of the methods of the twenty third through twenty fifth examples.

[0093] In a twenty seventh example, a network server configured to perform any of the methods of the twenty third through twenty fifth examples.

[0094] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described example embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An example hardware platform for implementing the example embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The example embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor .

[0095] Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations , those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not speci fically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments .

[0096] It is well understood that the use of personally identi fiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recogni zed as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users . In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimi ze risks of unintentional or unauthori zed access or use , and the nature of authori zed use should be clearly indicated to users .

[0097] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modi fications may be made in the present disclosure , without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure . Thus , it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent .

Claims

What is claimed:

1. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: process, based on information entered by a user via a user interface (UI) , a selection of one or more services associated with an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored to be transferred to a target user equipment (UE) , wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with the eSIM profile; and generate, for transmission to an entitlement server of a network, a request to transfer the one or more services associated with the eSIM profile to the target UE .

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request comprises an identification of the eSIM profile and an identification of the one or more services, wherein the identification of each of the one or more services comprises an application identification (AID) .

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: process authentication information of the user related to the eSIM profile and the one or more services.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the authentication information comprises a passcode or biometric information of the user .

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:process , based on signals received from the entitlement server, a request for further authentication information related to one of the one or more services ; display the request for the further authentication information to the user via the UI ; process the further authentication information; and prepare , for transmission to the entitlement server, the further authentication information .6 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the one or more services comprises a credit card service and the further authentication information is a Card Verification Value ( CW) of a credit card associated with the credit card service .7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to : determine one or more stored eS IM profiles ; determine services associated with each of the stored eSIM profiles ; and generate , for display on the UI , the one or more stored eS IM profiles and the services associated with each of the stored eS IM profiles , wherein the selection by the user is based on the display .8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the eS IM comprises telecom information allowing telecommunications related operations to be performed, the telecom information comprising a phone number .9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more services comprise contactless services allowing contactless transactions .

10. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: process, based on signals received from a source user equipment (UE) , a first request to transfer one or more services of an embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored on the source UE to a target UE, wherein the one or more services is less than all the services associated with the eSIM profile; and generate, for transmission to a service provider associated with each of the one or more services, a second request to transfer the corresponding one or more services to the target UE, wherein the second request comprises authentication information for the corresponding one or more services.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first request comprises an identification of the eSIM profile and an identification of the one or more services, wherein the identification of each of the one or more services comprises an application identification (AID) .

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first request further comprises information related to the source UE and information related to the target UE .

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first request further comprises authentication information related to the eSIM profile and the one or more services.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:process, based on signals received from the service provider, a third request for further authentication information related to one of the one or more services; generate, for transmission to the source UE, a fourth request for the further authentication information; process, based on signals received from the source UE, the further authentication information related to the one of the one or more services; and generate, for transmission to the service provider, the further authentication information.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one of the one or more services is a credit card service and the further authentication information is a Card Verification Value (CW) of a credit card associated with the credit card service.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the eSIM comprises telecom information allowing the source UE to perform telecommunications related operations, the telecom information comprising a phone number.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more services comprise contactless services allowing the source UE to complete contactless transactions.

18. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: process, based on signals received from an entitlement server, an identification of a first embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) profile stored on a source user equipment (UE) that is to be transferred to a target UE, wherein the first eSIM profile comprises a plurality of services;process, based on signals received from a service provider, an application corresponding to one of the plurality of services; and generate a second eSIM profile comprising telecom information and a subset of the plurality of services from the first eSIM profile, wherein the subset comprises the application corresponding to one of the plurality of services and the telecom information comprises a phone number.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: process, based on signals received from a subscription manager of a network, an indication that the phone number is activated for the second eSIM profile; and prepare the second eSIM profile for transmission to the target UE .

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the plurality of services comprise contactless services allowing the source UE to complete contactless transactions.

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