Self-Service Number Porting for Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face inconvenience when switching from one user device to another while maintaining an existing number and service plan, often requiring visits to service provider stores or websites, especially when transitioning from 3G CDMA to 4G LTE devices or replacing lost/stolen/damaged SIM cards.
Innovation Solution
A self-service application on the new user device allows users to connect to the service provider network, access a self-service portal, and move an existing number from one device to another without physical visits or calls, using login information and self-service portal communication to facilitate the provisioning process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users follow traditional service provider procedures to move numbers between devices, then service continuity is maintained, but user time and effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service application that allows users to autonomously initiate and complete number porting operations between devices without requiring service provider agent assistance. The application automatically retrieves user information, submits porting requests to the service provider network, and manages the entire provisioning process, thereby eliminating the need for users to visit stores or call customer service while maintaining service continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring the porting request information and automatically retrieving necessary user data before the actual number transfer occurs. The self-service application prepares all required provisioning details in advance, including device identifiers and service plan information, enabling the number porting process to execute seamlessly without user intervention during critical transfer phases.
2Manufacturing precision
If users visit service provider locations to move numbers, then accurate provisioning is ensured, but device complexity and operational steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of in-person service provider interactions with an automated electronic communication system. The self-service application substitutes physical store visits and manual agent processing with automated data exchange between the user device, self-service portal, and service provider network, thereby maintaining provisioning accuracy while eliminating complex operational steps involving travel, scheduling, and face-to-face interactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The self-service portal acts as an intermediary between the user device and the service provider network, facilitating automated number porting operations. This intermediary system retrieves user information, validates porting requests, and coordinates the number transfer process, ensuring accurate provisioning while simplifying the user experience to basic application-based interactions without requiring users to navigate complex service provider procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
An un-provisioned user device may send, via a cellular network, a request associated with receiving a service provided by a service provider. The user device may receive, via the cellular network, a response indicating that the user device has limited access to the cellular network. The user device may identify, based on a user account with which the user device is to be associated, a particular existing mobile directory number (MDN), associated with the user account, that is to be moved to the user device. The user device may send, via the cellular network, a movement request to move the particular existing MDN to the user device. The movement request may be sent to cause the particular existing MDN to be associated with the user device such that the user device is provisioned to receive the service using the particular existing MDN.