Provisioning of digital media files to resident media devices in controlled-environment facilities

• US 10,198,586 B1
• Filed: 09/17/2014
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Original Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Inventors: Keiser, Luke, Passe, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Parsons, Theodore C
• Application Number:
  US14/489,345
• Time in Patent Office: 1,602 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A controlled-environment facility local or remote content server downloads and caches a digital media file and determines whether a resident of the facility is allowed access to the digital media file. This determination may be made by the content server accessing a controlled-environment facility administration system. In response to a determination that the resident is allowed access, the digital media file is streamed and/or downloaded, from the content server, within a portion of the facility, to a controlled-environment facility resident media device adapted and/or approved for use by residents of the controlled-environment facility and disposed within the aforementioned portion of the facility. The streaming and/or downloading may be carried out, at least in part, via a wireless access point disposed within the portion of the controlled-environment facility to provide access by the resident media device disposed within the portion of the controlled-environment facility.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting a controlled-environment facility resident request for an electronic media file to a content provider;

downloading and caching the electronic media file by a controlled-environment facility content server from a content provider in response to the request;

determining whether the resident is allowed access to content of the electronic media file; and

streaming and/or downloading, only within a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility, the electronic media file from the controlled-environment facility content server to a controlled-environment facility resident media device disposed within that portion of the controlled-environment facility, in response to a determination that the resident is allowed access to content of the electronic media file, the predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility compartmentalized by structure of the controlled-environment facility limiting wireless local area networking connectivity from a wireless access point disposed in the predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to only provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed in that predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlled-environment facility server is located local to the controlled-environment facility.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlled-environment facility server is located remote with respect to the controlled-environment facility.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlled-environment facility is a correctional facility and the portion of the correctional facility is a cellblock, pod, common area, outdoor yard, cafeteria, or exercise facility.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the resident is allowed access to the content of the electronic media file is carried out by the controlled-environment facility content server and the streaming and/or downloading is carried out in response to a determination by the controlled-environment facility content server that the resident is allowed access to the content of the electronic media file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining whether the resident is allowed access to the content of the electronic media file further comprises accessing a controlled-environment administration system by the controlled-environment facility content server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlled-environment facility resident media devices are tablet computing devices adapted and/or approved for use by residents of the controlled-environment facility.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises at least one of a podcast, streaming music, employment site content, job search results, training content, law library content, game, communications, e-books, movies, streaming television content, and job search results.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein signal strength of the wireless local area networking signals further compartmentalizes wireless local area networking connectivity from the wireless access point disposed in a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed only in that portion of the controlled-environment facility.

10. A controlled-environment facility digital media distribution system comprising:

a controlled-environment facility content server, comprising storage caching content from content providers, and configured to determine whether a controlled-environment facility resident is allowed access to content requested by the resident and to stream and/or download the content requested by the resident in response to a determination that the resident is allowed access to the content;

a network connection linking the controlled-environment facility content server to at least one content provider, the content requested by the resident requested by the controlled-environment facility content server from the at least one content provider and downloaded over the network connection; and

connectivity from the controlled-environment facility content server to controlled-environment facility resident media devices within the controlled-environment facility including wireless local area network connectivity from a wireless access point disposed in a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility and structure of the controlled-environment facility and directionality of wireless local area networking signals compartmentalizes wireless local area networking connectivity from the wireless access point to only provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed in that predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility server is located local to the controlled-environment facility.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility server is located remote with respect to the controlled-environment facility.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the content comprises at least one of a podcast, streaming music, employment site content, job search results, training content, law library content, game, communications, e-books, movies, streaming television content, and job search results.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein signal strength of the wireless local area networking signals further compartmentalizes wireless local area networking connectivity from the wireless access point disposed in a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed only in that portion of the controlled-environment facility.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility is a correctional facility and the portion of the correctional facility is a cellblock, pod, common area, outdoor yard, cafeteria, or exercise facility.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility resident media devices are tablet computing devices adapted and/or approved for use by residents of the controlled-environment facility.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility content server comprises a firewall.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility content server streams and/or downloads the content to the resident media device in response to the determination that the resident is allowed access to the content.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlled-environment facility content server accesses a controlled-environment facility administration system to determine whether the resident is allowed access to the content.

20. A method comprising:

transmitting by a controlled-environment facility content server a controlled-environment facility resident request to a content provider for a digital media file;

downloading and caching the digital media file by the controlled-environment facility content server as a result of the request;

determining by the controlled-environment facility content server whether the resident is allowed access to content of the digital media file;

streaming and/or downloading the digital media file within only a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility, in response to a determination by the controlled-environment facility content server that the resident is allowed access to content of the digital media file, from the controlled-environment facility content server to a controlled-environment facility resident media device adapted and/or approved for use by residents of the controlled-environment facility and disposed within that portion of the controlled-environment facility, the predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility compartmentalized by structure of the controlled-environment facility limiting wireless local area networking connectivity from a wireless access point disposed in the predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to only provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed in that predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the controlled-environment facility server is located local to the controlled-environment facility.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the controlled-environment facility server is located remote with respect to the controlled-environment facility.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the controlled-environment facility is a correctional facility and the portion of the correctional facility is a cellblock, common area, outdoor yard, cafeteria, or exercise facility.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein determining whether the resident is allowed access to content of the digital media file further comprises accessing a controlled-environment facility administration system by the controlled-environment facility content server.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein signal strength of the wireless local area networking signals further compartmentalizes wireless local area networking connectivity from the wireless access point disposed in a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed only in that portion of the controlled-environment facility.

26. A method comprising:

receiving by a media device adapted and/or approved for use by residents of a controlled-environment facility a request from a controlled environment facility resident for a digital media file;

determining by the media device whether the resident is allowed access to content of the digital media file;

transmitting by a controlled-environment facility content server the resident request for the digital media file to a content provider;

downloading and caching the digital media file by the controlled-environment facility content server as a result of the request;

determining by the controlled-environment facility content server whether the resident is allowed access to content of the digital media file;

streaming and/or downloading the digital media file, only within a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility, in response to a determination by the controlled-environment facility content server that the resident is allowed access to content of the digital media file, from the controlled-environment facility content server to the media device within the portion of the controlled-environment facility, the predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility compartmentalized by structure of the controlled-environment facility limiting wireless local area networking connectivity from a wireless access point disposed in the predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to only provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed in that predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility; and

allowing access to the digital media file by the media device upon application of security measures with respect to the digital media file by the media device.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein security measures with respect to the digital media file applied by the media device comprise DNS spoofing detection, DNS redirection, use of proxy servers for privacy and security;

biometric validation, password validation and reboot elimination.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein signal strength of the wireless local area networking signals further compartmentalizes wireless local area networking connectivity from the wireless access point disposed in a predefined portion of the controlled-environment facility to provide access by controlled-environment facility resident media devices disposed only in that portion of the controlled-environment facility.