Method of activating a wireless communication system in a mobile vehicle

DETAILED DESCRIPTION One aspect of the invention provides a method of activating an in-vehicle wireless communication system.
A vehicle identification number associated with a vehicle may be received.
An electronic serial number of a network access device (NAD) located in the vehicle may be determined based on the vehicle identification number.
Identification information of a user of the vehicle may be received.
The electronic serial number and the user identification information may be sent to a selected wireless carrier to obtain a mobile phone number.
The mobile phone number may be loaded into a vehicle communications unit containing the network access device.
The mobile phone number may be loaded into the vehicle communications unit from the selected wireless carrier using an over-the-air service provisioning operation.
The mobile phone number may be loaded into the vehicle communications unit from a call center using an air interface function.
The mobile phone number may be loaded into the vehicle communications unit using an in-vehicle voice recognition system.
A user alert signal may be provided in response to a system status.
The user alert signal may be a flashing light emitting diode, a progression tone, or a system message.
An activation key signal may be received to initiate an activation algorithm.
At least one initial parameter may be set in a vehicle communications unit.
The initial parameter may be an electronic serial number, a station identification number, an authentication code, an enrollment cleared number, an emergency cleared number, an analog cleared number, a preferred roaming list, a call setting, a factory setting, a feature setting, a flag setting, a progression tone, a light emitting diode setting, a discontinuous-receive setting, a button feature state, an air-bag notification state, or a system setting.
At least one system parameter may be downloaded to a vehicle communications unit.
The system parameter may be a preferred roaming list (PRL) update, a mobile phone number, a call setting, a feature setting, or a system setting