Verizon, the leading American telecommunications conglomerate is gearing up to come up with the creation of virtual SIM cards focused around the blockchain technology.
Verizon has earned the patent right from the U.S Patent and Trademark Office for employing virtual subscriber identity modules (vSIMs) for customers’ devices. The patent outlays how a physical SIM card can be used in place of vSIMs that are secured with blockchain network encryption.
A device on the mobile network will help to create a user account for storing one or multiple vSIMs and will also offer a chance for the selection of network services to be linked with the account.
The network device then facilitates a blockchain record, including a vSIM certificate for the network services. It also assigns an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number that renders a unique identification to all the users operating on a cellphone network.
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Later, the vSIM certificate is linked to the account of the user and activated on the client’s mobile device.
The participating nodes on the new network manage a list of records, commonly referred to as the vSIM blockchain by Verizon. This network will be free from malicious attacks as VSIMs are secured through a special authentication code which stops intruding activities from any party trying to access it, if the authentication code received from the user’s tool fails to match the authentication code registered on the vSIM platform.
The document filed clarifies that:
The network device initiates creation of a blockchain including a vSIM certificate for the network services, wherein the vSIM certificate includes an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). […] The vSIM can be retrieved and used by anyone of different devices associated with the user account, transferred between devices associated with the same user account, or temporarily assigned to other users.
A vSIM platform will work as the backing force behind the entire process. The platform will be hosted by the mobile network provider that stores the user repository of vSIMs with the help of APIs or Application Programming Interfaces.
Verizon announced that the vSIM can be assigned to any of the various mobile devices linked to the user account and can also be shared between the devices. It can also be assigned to other users temporarily.
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The firm had earlier supported a $15 million funding process for Filament, a firm which is dedicated to developing blockchain technology for the internet of things.
