The present invention relates to a method for configuring a user equipment.

The present invention further relates to a system for configuring a user equipment.

Although applicable to configuration of a user equipment in general the present invention will be described with regard to a configuration of one or more network connections on a user equipment.

The configuration of a network connection in mobile devices is a tedious process for most users and therefore a high market entry barrier for the subset of users with limited information technology knowledge. Conventional solutions, for example as disclosed in US 2006/0183462 A1, in US 2010/0093278 A1 or in US 2011/0090886 A1 require typing user names and passwords or getting security certificates in advance which can be very inconvenient in terms of user friendliness and/or increase of time required to get access to a network connection to the point of being not useful anymore.

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a method and a system for configuring a user equipment which decreases the level of user interaction required for configuration of a user equipment.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a method and a system for configuring a user equipment enabling an easier and faster configuration of the user equipment.

It is an even further objective of the present invention to provide a method and a system which are flexible while providing a lower complexity for a user.

The aforementioned objectives are accomplished by a method and a system.

A method for configuring a user equipment is defined.

The method is characterized by the steps of

a) accessing user related information, preferably account information, on the user equipment,

b) transmitting the user related information to a dedicated configuration server,

c) matching the user related information to a specific configuration information,

d) upon matching, transmitting the configuration information to the user equipment,

e) configuring the user equipment with the configuration information,

and wherein initiation of the steps a)-e) is performed by a one-touch-client and

wherein the configuration server is provided as a one-touch-server.

A system for configuring a user equipment, preferably for performing with a method is defined. The system is characterized in that the user equipment is operable to access local user related information, preferably account information, and to transmit the user related information to a dedicated configuration server and that the configuration server is operable to match the user related information to a specific configuration information and upon matching, transmitting the configuration information to the user equipment and wherein the user equipment is operable to be configured with the configuration information.

According to the invention it has been recognized that by exploiting available user related information in the user device, for example a mobile device, an easier and faster configuration of the user equipment is enabled.

According to the invention it has been further recognized that by using a one touch client user satisfactional level is increased in particular by decreasing the level of user interaction required for configuring the user equipment.

According to the invention it has been further recognized that flexibility is ensured.

According to the invention it has been recognized that a fast and reliable as well as easy configuration of the user equipment is enabled.

The matching step c) may be performed by comparing the information provided by the user equipment against a set of information per user required by the configuration server to accept a request.

Further features, advantages and preferred embodiments are described in the following sub-claims.

According to a preferred embodiment a near-field-communication connection between the user equipment and the configuration server for steps b) and/or d) is established. By using a near-field-communication the security is enhanced, since only in a close distance from the user equipment respectively from the configuration server an attacker might be able to listen to the data exchange between the user equipment and the configuration server. Further flexibility is enhanced since near-field-communication enables a pairing of the user equipment and the communication server without explicit authentication of each other.

According to a further preferred embodiment the user related information to be transmitted is pre-configured by a user. This enables enhanced flexibility as well as a fast configuration of the user equipment since the user related information which is to be transmitted to the configuration server may be selected in advance.

According to a further preferred embodiment the configuration information provided by the configuration server include network access configuration information. This reduces the level of user interaction required to configure a network connection based on the network access configuration information. User friendliness is increased and the market entry barrier for users with limited information technology knowledge is lowered.

According to a further preferred embodiment before matching according to step c) the user of the user equipment is authenticated by the configuration server based on the user related information. This enables a “softer” authentication than a conventional authentication performed for instance by a third party entities or based on digital signatures.

According to a further preferred embodiment for performing step e) an explicit acknowledgement by the user has to be performed, preferably by using a one touch gesture on the user equipment. This enhances the flexibility for a user as well as the security, since a user might accept or decline a corresponding configuration of the user equipment based on transmitted configuration information.

According to a further preferred embodiment before configuring according to step e) the transmitted configuration information is presented to the user on the user equipment and if the configuration information comprise a plurality of different separate sub configuration information the user selects one or more of the sub configuration information, preferably by a one-touch to be used for step e). This further enhances the flexibility of a user when configuring by user equipment. The security is enhanced too, since the user may recognize the configuration information before configuring the user equipment. Further by using a one-touch gesture on the user equipment for selecting one or more of the sub configuration information a user may select corresponding information in a very simple way enabling also users with limited technology knowledge to configure the user equipment.

According to a further preferred embodiment for performing step c) available user related information of the user in the internet, preferably accounts of internet services and/or mobile phone numbers are verified against the transmitted user related information. This enables an authentication of a user by the configuration server without requiring an interaction of the user. Therefore the configuration of the user equipment is enabled in a simple way.

According to a further preferred embodiment the transmitted user related information is stored on the configuration server, preferably temporarily for a predefined time period. This further enhances the flexibility, e.g. storing of the transmitted user related information may be performed if a local logging of connection configuration information provided is desired.

According to a further preferred embodiment a communication connection between the user equipment and the configuration server is encrypted. This enhances the security even further when configuring the user equipment with the configuration information.

According to a further preferred embodiment a set of rules for matching according to step c) are pre-defined for each specific configuration information. This enables a configurable set of matching rules. If, for example the set of information provided by the configuration client fulfills the required configurable set of matches defined for a specific network connection configuration, the user identity is considered to be positively authenticated and the request granted.

The configuration server's acceptable set of information required per user may be configured a priori by a corresponding configuration administrator. This can be done per network connection or for all network connection configurations available. This set can comprise in one or the combination of several elements of information provided by the user equipment configuration client and associated relationships. Examples of the set of information for the successful user authentication by matching of information are for instance: 1) user picture, telephone number and address; 2) Google+account identifier matching one inside the configuration server owner “family” circles; 3) LinkedIn account identifier matching the configuration server owner company “x” contacts; 4) user name, email address and phone number matching the configuration server owner customer list stored data; 5) Facebook account identifies matching the configuration server owner “family”, “friends”, “hobbies”, “business” etc. circles.

According to a further preferred embodiment the set of rules for matching is based on a, preferably assigned, unique identifier of the user equipment like MACaddress and/or an IPv6 address. This ensures a reliable matching.

There are several ways how to design and further develop the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous way. To this end, it is to be referred to the patent claims subordinate to patent claim1and to the following explanation of preferred examples of embodiments of the invention, illustrated by the figures. In connection with the explanation of the preferred examples of embodiments of the invention by the aid of the figures, generally preferred embodiments and further developments of the teaching will be explained.

