Parallel registration to offload plmn with single sim

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus establishes a first cellular communication link with a first cellular network based on a subscriber identifier, establishes a second cellular communication link with a second cellular network based on the subscriber identifier, and maintains the first cellular communication link concurrently with the second cellular communication link.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of wireless communication comprising:
 establishing a first cellular communication link, using a first instance of a radio protocol stack of a user equipment (UE), by attaching to a first cellular network managed by a mobile network operator (MNO) based on a subscriber identifier of the UE;   establishing a second cellular communication link, using a second instance of the radio protocol stack, by attaching to a second cellular network managed by a non-MNO based on the subscriber identifier of the UE; and   maintaining the first cellular communication link concurrently with the second cellular communication link, wherein the first cellular network continues to function as a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) of the UE after establishing of the second cellular communication link.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and the second cellular networks comprise a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network or a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) network. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subscriber identifier is associated with the first cellular network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subscriber identifier is a third generation partnership project (3GPP) international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) associated with a Subscriber Identifier Module (SIM) card. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein establishing the first cellular communication link or the second cellular communication link comprises at least one of attaching to a 3GPP network, connecting to an Internet access point name (APN), establishing a packet data protocol (PDP) context, and establishing a default bearer. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 maintaining a first security context for communication with the first cellular network, and a second security context for communication with the second cellular network.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first security context is maintained within a Subscriber Identifier Module (SIM) card and the second security context is maintained outside of the SIM card. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting or receiving a first Internet protocol (IP) packet to or from the first cellular network via a first IP interface; and   transmitting or receiving a second IP packet to or from the second cellular network via a second IP interface.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising dynamically selecting whether to use the first IP interface or the second IP interface for transmitting an IP packet. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the dynamic selection is based on at least a characteristic associated with each of the first and second IP interfaces, a state of the first or second cellular communication link, an expected communication quality via the first or second IP interfaces, or a policy on network usage and user input. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first cellular network comprises a home public land mobile network (PLMN) and the second cellular network comprises an offload PLMN. 
     
     
         12 . A method of wireless communication comprising:
 receiving information associated with a user equipment (UE) that comprises a subscriber identifier, the UE attached to a first cellular network managed by a mobile network operator (MNO) via a first cellular communication link using a first instance of a radio protocol stack of the UE;   establishing a second cellular communication link with the UE, using a second instance of the radio protocol stack of the UE, by attaching to a second cellular network managed by a non-MNO based at least on the received information; and   maintaining the second cellular communication link while the UE is in communication with the first cellular network via the first cellular communication link,   wherein the information associated with the UE is received from a home subscriber server (HSS) of the first cellular network through a Wx interface, wherein the information associated with the UE is received at an offload authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA)/mobility management entity (MME) server, and   wherein the first cellular network continues to function as a serving public land mobile network (PLMN) of the UE after establishing of the second cellular communication link.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the information associated with the UE comprises at least one of authentication information for the UE, authorization information for the UE, subscriber information for the UE, or accounting information for the UE. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 maintaining a first security context for communication with the first cellular network, and a second security context for communication with the second cellular network.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first security context is maintained within a Subscriber Identifier Module (SIM) card and the second security context is maintained outside of the SIM card. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the information associated with the UE comprises an authentication of the UE from the first cellular network, and wherein the authentication of the UE is received from an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) server of the first cellular network. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising performing a pass-through function to facilitate an authentication between the UE and the first cellular network, and wherein the pass-through function is performed at a mobility management entity (MME). 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first cellular network comprises a home public land mobile network and the second cellular network comprises an offload public land mobile network. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the subscriber identifier is associated with the first cellular network. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the subscriber identifier is a 3GPP international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) associated with the SIM card.