WO2004040881A1

WO2004040881A1 - Method and system for initiating a bootstrap

Info

Publication number: WO2004040881A1
Application number: PCT/IB2002/004547
Authority: WO
Inventors: Claus Pedersen; Hossein Djelogiry
Original assignee: Nokia Corporation
Priority date: 2002-10-31
Filing date: 2002-10-31
Publication date: 2004-05-13
Also published as: AU2002343142A1

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and system for initiating a bootstrap on a communication terminal such as a cellular or mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, or a wireless computer. In particular, this invention relates to initiating a bootstrap on a communication terminal, which bootstrap initiation enables an operator of the communication terminal to utilise services such as provided for by wireless application protocol services, mail services, short messaging service, multimedia messaging service, or any services provided by a proxy server.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INITIATING A BOOTSTRAP

Field of invention

This invention relates to a method and system for initiating a bootstrap on a communication terminal such as a cellular or mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, or a wireless computer. In particular, this invention relates to initiating a bootstrap on a communication terminal, which bootstrap initiation enables an operator of the communication terminal to utilise services such as provided for by wireless application protocol services, mail services, short messaging service, multimedia messaging service, or any services provided by an proxy server.

Background of invention

The mobility of a communication terminal provides great advantages compared with previous wired technologies since it enables a user to continuously travel in any desired geographical area while maintaining a communication link. However, since the communication terminal may move around in areas covered by a plurality of operators having a plurality of access points to a typical computer network such as the Internet, the communication terminal settings simultaneously should be updated in order to take advantage of the operator's computer networking facilities.

International patent application WO 99/16263 discloses a communication system facilitating a mobile terminal (e . g. a cellular or mobile phone) access to the Internet via an

Internet access point (IAP) . The IAP settings required to establish a connection between the mobile terminal and the Internet are stored in the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal roams to identify the nearest IAP, when the user of the mobile terminal requires Internet access. However, as described above, the mobile terminal might move in any geographical direction thus the IAP identified during roaming is not necessarily the closest if the mobile terminal has travelled since the roaming.

The communication system, disclosed in WO 99/16263, broadcasts updated system information whenever a mobile terminal identifies that the IAP in the mobile terminal's settings is not the closest IAP.

This above described communication system provides a continuous update of IAP settings during a mobile terminal's travel in any geographical area. The communication system comprises a serving cell for broadcasting system information including the optimum IAP for a mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal compares the broadcasted system information with the latest IAP information stored in the mobile terminal and updates the IAP information if necessary. By utilising a broadcast for spreading system information to mobile terminals the communication system requires some bandwidth of the telecommunication network thus reducing bandwidth for ordinary service such as audio transmissions between mobile terminals.

Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and method for effectively establishing a session for a communication terminal with a service such as a WAP service, mail service, short or multimedia messaging service, or a service provided by a proxy server.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for enabling a communication terminal to initiate a session by executing a bootstrap so as to limit the use of bandwidth of the telecommunication network.

A particular advantage of the present invention is utilisation of a text type format thus obtaining a method and system which easily and simply may be applied in telecommunication network.

The above object and advantage together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will become evident from below detailed description, is obtained according to a first aspect of the present invention by a system for initiating a bootstrap, comprising:

(a) a communication terminal adapted to communicate over a telecommunication network in accordance with a first communication protocol;

(b) a communication server adapted to communicate with said communication terminal through said telecommunication network and providing a computer network access point for said communication terminal and adapted to convert a first data package of said first communication protocol to a second data package of a second communication protocol of said computer network;

(c) a telecommunication network server providing said telecommunication network for said communication terminal and adapted to generate said bootstrap for said communication terminal; and said communication terminal being adapted to generate and forward an initiation message comprising terminal identity data to said telecommunication network server, said telecommunication network server being adapted to generate a provisioning bootstrap message comprising said terminal identity data and bootstrap data and forward said provisioning bootstrap message to said communication terminal, and said communication terminal upon receipt of said provisioning bootstrap message being adapted to verify said provisioning bootstrap message by identifying said terminal identity data and adapted to execute said bootstrap data on said communication terminal so as to enable communication with said communication server.

The system according to the first aspect of the present invention may provide a wide variety of services for a communication terminal even though the communication terminal is moving through a plurality of geographical regions having any number of telecommunication operators. Thus the communication terminal initiates the utilisation of the services rather than the operators continuously provide updated information to the communication terminal.

The bootstrap according to the first aspect of the present invention may be adapted to initiate a wireless application protocol session for the communication terminal. Obviously, the bootstrap may be adapted to initiate any services offered by the communication server such as a mail service, SMS service, MMS service or services such as provided for by a proxy server. The bootstrap thus may provide the basis for initiating a plurality of service sessions.

The communication server according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a proxy server, a gateway, or any combination thereof. The communication server may be adapted to provide a wide variety of services for the communication terminal. In particular, the communication server advantageously may operate as a translator or a gateway between a communication terminal and a wireless application protocol server .

The first communication protocol according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a wireless application protocol and/or the first data package may comprise wireless mark-up language data. The second communication protocol may comprise a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol

(TCP/IP) and/or the second data package may comprise hypertext mark-up language . The first data package and/or the second data package may further comprise an extendable mark-up language

(XML) . The system may in fact be customized in order to fulfill any number of requirements and thus any mark-up language may be used in either the first and/or the second data package.

The computer network according to first aspect of the present invention may comprise a wired or wireless local area network (LAN) , wide area network (WAN) , metropolitan area network (MAN), internetwork, or any combination thereof. The computer network may further comprise dedicated lines.

The initiation message according to a first aspect of the present invention may comprise a text format such as short message service format (SMS) or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format. The provisioning bootstrap message may comprise a text format such as short message service format (SMS) or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format. The initiation message and/or the provisioning bootstrap message may comprise wireless mark-up language data, extendable mark-up language data, or any combination thereof. Similarly, as described above with reference to the first and second data package the initiation message and/or the provisioning bootstrap message may in fact be implemented in accordance with any specific customer requirements.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may comprise a storage module adapted to store parts of or all the terminal identity data. By storing the parts of or all the terminal identity data locally on the communication terminal decreases the required start-up time of the system.

The initiation message according to the present invention may comprise data on communication terminal type, PIN code, short message service number, and International Mobile Station Identifier. The provisioning bootstrap message may comprise the PIN code defined as user PIN.

The communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention may be adapted to forward an acknowledgement to the telecommunication network server following the verification. By forwarding an acknowledgement to the telecommunication network server the network server is notified directly by the communication terminal of the safe receipt of the provisioning bootstrap message.

The above object and advantage together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will become evident from below detailed description, is obtained according to a second aspect of the present invention by a method for initiating a bootstrap, comprising:

(a) generating a initiation message comprising terminal identity data by means of a communication terminal and thereby requesting a telecommunication network server a bootstrap;

(b) forwarding said initiation message from said communication to said telecommunication network server;

(c) generating a provisioning bootstrap message comprising system identity data and bootstrap data by means of said telecommunication network server, said system identity data is generated from said terminal identity data for said communication terminal;

(d) forwarding said provisioning bootstrap message from said telecommunication network server to said communication terminal;

(e) comparing said terminal identity data and said system identity data by means of said communication terminal so as to verify said provisioning bootstrap message is intended for said communication terminal; and

(f) executing said bootstrap data by means of said communication terminal.

The method according to the second aspect of the present invention may incorporate any features of the system according to the first aspect of the present invention.

Brief description of the drawings

The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the appended drawing, wherein:

figure 1, shows a system for initiating a wireless application protocol bootstrap; and figure 2, shows a method for initiating a wireless application protocol bootstrap.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Figure 1, shows a system for initiating a wireless application protocol designated in entirety by reference numeral 10 and according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The system 10 comprises a communication terminal 12 enabling communication between a user of the communication terminal 12 and a user of any other communication device connected to a communication network. The communication terminal 12 may transmit and receive audio signals such as used during an ordinary telephone conversation, image signals such a picture, a series of pictures, a video, a series of videos, or any combination thereof. In addition, the communication terminal 12 may transmit and receive messages such as messages in a short message service (SMS) format, an unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format, or a multimedia message service (MMS) format. The communication terminal 12 comprises a storage module 14 for storing system data required for utilising a wireless application protocol (WAP) access point. Prior to the communication terminal's 12 access of a WAP access point, the communication terminal 12 communicates an initiation message, illustrated by an arrow 16, to a wireless telecommunication network server 18. The message comprises request data such as a command line e.g. "INIT BOOTSTRAP/PROVISIONING" ; a communication terminal type, which could be hard coded; PIN code, which PIN code may be generated by the communication terminal or generated by the user of the communication terminal; message number i.e. the operator's service centre number, which may be obtained from the communication terminal's 12 SIM card; and the International Mobile Station Identifier (IMSI) obtained from the communication terminal's 12 SIM card.

If the PIN code is generated by the communication terminal and the operator's service centre number and IMSI are obtained from the communication terminal's 12 SIM card such as from the SIM application tool kit, a significant advantage is provided since the initiation may be generated by a single menu driven application or a single button on the communication terminal. The user interaction is reduced thereby providing a simple initiation process.

The wireless telecommunication network server 18 transmits on the basis of the initiation message, illustrated by the arrow 16, a WAP provisioning message, illustrated by arrow 20, for performing a WAP bootstrap of the communication terminal 12. The network server 18 generates the WAP provisioning message on the basis of information stored in a local storage device 22 comprising system data regarding a WAP gateway access point 24 and on the basis of the data transmitted to the network server 18 in the initiation message. That is, the network server 18 utilises the PIN code forwarded in the initiation message as user PIN for accessing the WAP gateway access point 24. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the local storage device 22 comprises system data regarding a plurality of access points 25 for services such as email, short messaging service, multimedia messaging service or Internet services.

These services may be provided by a plurality of servers or gateways connected to servers .

The provisioning message comprises a WAP bootstrap to be executed by the communication terminal when the user PIN in the provisioning message matches the PIN code forwarded in the initiation message. The communication terminal 12 upon reception of the provisioning message compares the user PIN in the provisioning message with the PIN code forwarded to the network server 18 in the initiation message. By letting the communication terminal 12 randomly generate the PIN code user interaction may be avoided thus simplifying the initiation and provisioning session.

The WAP gateway access point 24 enables the communication terminal 12 access to Internet facilities through a communication link 26. The WAP gateway access point 24 translates the requests from the WAP binary protocols used by the communication terminal 12 to the text based World Wide Web protocols and forwards the translated requests to the content servers in the Internet, illustrated by cloud 28, through the Internet communication link 30 using the TCP/IP network protocol .

The initiation and provisioning messages according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is in a text format such as the short message service (SMS) format or the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format. Figure 2, shows a method for initiating a wireless application protocol designated in entirety by reference numeral 100 and according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The method 100 comprises a start step 102 during which the fundamental requirements such as transmission format and implementation procedure is established.

The method 100 further comprises a step 104 for generating an initiation message comprising system identity data, during which step 104 a communication terminal assembles relevant system data to be communicated to a network server in order to establish a WAP session. The communication terminal forwards the initiation message to a network server during a step 106. The communication in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is performed using a text format such as the SMS format or USSD format .

Furthermore, the method 100 comprises a step 108 for generating a provisioning message during which the network server generates a WAP provisioning message comprising WAP bootstrap data and system identity data. The network server forwards the provisioning message during step 110 to the communication terminal .

When the provisioning message is received by the communication terminal, the communication terminal compares whether the provisioning message matches the communication terminal by comparing the system identity data in the provisioning message with system identity data forwarded in the initiation message. If the communication terminal verifies that the system identity data match, then the communication terminal during step 114 executes the WAP bootstrap contained in the WAP bootstrap data in the provisioning message.

Finally, the method 100 comprises a termination procedure 116 during which the method 100 makes itself available for further applications .

The system 10 and the method 100 are described with reference to the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) being a digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world. GSM uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and is the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephone technologies (TDMA, GSM, and code-division multiple access (CDMA) ) . It should be understood that the system 10 and the method 100 may be implemented in any of wireless telecommunication system.

Claims

1. A system for initiating a bootstrap, comprising:

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said computer network comprises a wired or wireless local area network (LAN) , wide area network (WAN) , metropolitan area network (MAM) , internetwork, or any combination thereof.

3. A system according to any of claims 1 to 2 , wherein said initiation message comprises a text format such as short message service (SMS) format unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format.

4. A system according to any of claims 1 to 3 , wherein said provisioning bootstrap message comprises a text format such as short message service (SMS) format or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format .

5. A system according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said communication terminal comprises a storage module adapted to store parts of or all said terminal identity data.

6. A system according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said initiation message comprises data on communication terminal type, PIN code, short message service number, and International Mobile Station Identifier.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein said provisioning bootstrap message comprises said PIN code defined as user PIN.

8. A system according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein said terminal identity data comprises a PIN code.

9. A system according to any of claims 1 to 8 , wherein said communication terminal is adapted to forward an acknowledgement to said telecommunication network server following verification of said provisioning bootstrap message.

10. A system according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein said bootstrap is adapted to initiate a wireless application protocol session for the communication terminal.

11. A system according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein said communication server comprises a proxy server, a gateway, or any combination thereof.

12. A system according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein said first communication protocol comprises a wireless application protocol and/or said first data package comprises wireless mark-up language data.

13. A system according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein said second communication protocol comprises a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol and/or said second data package comprises hypertext mark-up language.

14. A system according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein said first data package and/or the second data package further comprise an extendable mark-up language.

15. A system according to any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said initiation message comprises a text format such as short message service (SMS) format or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format .

16. A system according to any of claims 1 to 15, wherein said provisioning bootstrap message comprises a text format such as short message service format (SMS) or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) format .

17. A system according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein said initiation message and/or said provisioning bootstrap message comprise wireless mark-up language data, extendable mark-up language data, or any combination thereof.

18. A method for initiating a bootstrap, comprising:

(f) executing said bootstrap data by means of said communication terminal .

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said method incorporates any features of the system according to claims 1 to 17.