Mobility Management Authentication for UICC-Less IoT Network Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low-cost, simple-structure terminals, such as IoT devices, lack a UICC card and cannot perform network layer authentication, hindering their access to networks in innovative application scenarios.
Innovation Solution
Implementing third-party authentication through a mobility management network element that determines authentication based on request message indicators, user or application identifiers, and application containers, allowing terminals to access networks without local authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If terminals use low-cost, simple-structure design without UICC cards, then device cost and complexity are reduced, but network layer authentication capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third-party authentication server as an intermediary between the terminal and the network. This server performs authentication on behalf of the network, allowing terminals without UICC cards to be authenticated through alternative credentials stored in the terminal's memory, thus resolving the contradiction between simplified terminal structure and authentication capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses application containers that contain credential information as a copy or alternative to the traditional UICC card credentials. These containers can be stored in the terminal's internal memory, providing the necessary authentication data without requiring physical card infrastructure, thereby enabling authentication in simplified terminals
2Adaptability or versatility
If third-party authentication is implemented, then network access flexibility is improved for devices without local authentication, but authentication system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal authentication framework where the third-party authentication server can handle multiple types of terminals (both those with and without UICC cards) through a single interface. The application container mechanism provides a universal credential storage solution that works across different terminal types, improving adaptability while managing system complexity through standardization
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a communications apparatus, to implement a purpose that a terminal can perform normal communication without local authentication. In the embodiments of this application, the method includes: receiving, by a mobility management network element, a request message that is from a terminal and that is used to request access to a network; and triggering, by the mobility management network element, third-party authentication when the mobility management network element determines, based on the request message, to perform third-party authentication on the terminal. In this case, after authentication is performed between the terminal and a third party, even if local authentication is not performed, the terminal may access the network for communication after third-party authentication is performed.