Truphone, has announced that it has been awarded a patent for one of its core network technologies by the European Patent Office. The patent for ‘International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) Broker’ is the latest in a long line of mobile innovations developed by Truphone. These breakthroughs include the Truphone SIM and the Parachute Box – both enabling mobile networks to treat roaming subscribers to the same quality of service as local ones.
Truphone’s IMSI Broker has also been patented in Great Britain (separately to the EU process), USA, Australia, Singapore, Nigeria and South Africa.
The Truphone IMSI Broker allows a SIM to automatically switch its identity from home market to the visited country without user intervention. This means a customer can take their phone across international borders and rest assured the device will automatically select a local network that offers better data speed, network coverage – or lower costs – without the need to change their physical SIM card. The Broker also supports users with multiple always-on local numbers allowing them to truly appear local in multiple countries.
The Truphone IMSI Broker could have far reaching impact in the international mobile device and mobile connected machine (M2M) industries. Machines, such as connected cars, must be able to cross borders without generating significant cellular roaming costs. The Truphone IMSI Broker could play a key role in ensuring full compliance with local regulators. Moreover, it could safeguard cost effective, convenient and quality mobile performance for connected devices while crossing borders.
James Tagg, founder and chief technology officer at Truphone, said: “This is an important step forward for Truphone as we continue to secure our intellectual property portfolio for the coming years. IMSI Broker is a critical component of Truphone’s network architecture. It is one of the unique technologies that differentiate us from other mobile operators. IMSI Broker allows us, and our customers, to make global connectivity simple and local. This new European patent is a result of the imaginative and collaborative efforts of Truphone development teams in Portugal, New Jersey and London”.
