Mobile Device Network Personalization via SPN Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network personalization methods for mobile devices cannot distinguish between SIM cards issued by different service providers with identical mobile country code (MCC) and mobile network code (MNC), limiting normal operation to specific service providers even if cooperative operators share these codes.
Innovation Solution
The method acquires and stores the mobile country code (MCC), mobile network code (MNC), and service provider name (SPN) from the SIM card, using these as feature data to differentiate between service providers during the booting process, allowing the mobile device to enter normal or restricted mode based on matching data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If network personalization uses only MCC and MNC for service provider identification, then the personalization process is simple, but it cannot distinguish between SIM cards from different service providers with identical MCC and MNC codes
Solution Approach 1:
The service provider identification is segmented into multiple components: MCC (mobile country code), MNC (mobile network code), and SPN (service provider name). This segmentation allows the system to first filter using MCC and MNC for quick identification, then use SPN as an additional distinguishing factor when MCC and MNC are identical across different providers, thereby resolving the contradiction between simple personalization and accurate identification.
2Reliability
If the mobile device restricts operation to specific service providers through network personalization, then security is improved, but cooperative operators with shared codes cannot both provide full functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The network personalization system dynamically adjusts its identification criteria based on the inserted SIM card. During the booting process, the system reads MCC, MNC, and SPN from the SIM card and compares them against stored feature data. This dynamic comparison allows the system to maintain security by verifying service provider authorization while simultaneously supporting cooperative operators with shared MCC and MNC codes, as long as their SPN values are distinct and registered in the system.
Data Source
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AI summary
A mobile device is network-personalized according to an MCC, an MNC and an SPN of a smartcard issued by a specific service provider. During the booting process, the mobile device may directly access an IMSI elementary file and an SPN elementary file of a currently inserted smartcard and thus determine whether the currently inserted smartcard is issued by the specific service provider. Therefore, even if the smartcards issued by two different service providers have the same MCC and MNC in its IMSI elementary file due to cooperation, the present method of performing network personalization is able to determine whether these smartcards can be used to provide full function on the mobile device.