DATA ACQUISITION PERTAINING TO CONNECTIVITY OF CLIENT APPLICATIONS OF A SERVICE PROVIDER NETWORK

• US 20140250229A1
• Filed: 03/04/2013
• Published: 09/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vigo Software Ltd (GO2 Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Rawllin International Inc.
• Inventors: Prokopenko, Anton, Malets, Konstantin, Kulikov, Denis
• Granted Patent: US 9,621,480 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/788 Autonomous allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Providing for external control of data network client resources for application-based client network access is described herein. By way of example, the external control can be implemented by a third party service provider in conjunction with delivery of content to the client devices. The external control can be provided over a network gateway, for instance, and facilitate a proxy access to resource allocation components of the data network, or alternatively a direct communication access between the resource allocation components and third party service provider. The external control enables a content service provider to allocate resources on an as-needed basis to subsets of client devices requesting such content. Billing for data network resources as well as for service provider content can be reconciled among the respective networks and client according to a predetermined billing arrangement.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an external gateway device configured to facilitate electronic communication with a network device of an external network;

a client communication interface having finite communication resources and configured to facilitate communication with a population of client devices; and

a remote control component configured to facilitate allocation of a subset of the finite communication resources to the external network, wherein the subset of the finite communication resources are controlled in response to instructions received from the network device of the external network via the external gateway device.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a resource management component configured to monitor and compile a record pertaining to consumption of the subset of the finite communication resources.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the resource management component is further configured to export current metrics of the consumption of the subset of the finite communication resources to the network device of the external network via the external gateway device.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the resource management component is further configured to parse the consumption of the subset of the finite communication resources as a function of at least one of the following criterion:

identity of the external network, amount of resources consumed, type of resources consumed, or network impact caused by resources consumed.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data network gateway device configured to facilitate electronic communication between the system and a data network device of a data network.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the external gateway device comprises the data network gateway device.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the external gateway device comprises a second set of finite communication resources configured to facilitate communication with the data network device of the data network.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a subset of the second set of finite communication resources are configured by the remote control component to be allocated for control by the network device of the external network.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the data network gateway device comprises a device facilitating communication with the Internet, an intranet, or a public or private computer web.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the subset of the finite communication resources are configured to form a plurality of communication models.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of communication models includes a content preview model facilitating access to a data network device of a data network or to the network device of the external network for one of the population of client devices for previewing content or services of the network device of the external network.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein a billing rate for the content preview model is at a reduced or no cost.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of communication models includes a content consumption model facilitating access to a data network device of a data network or to the network device of the external network to consume content or services of the network device of the external network.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein a billing rate for the content consumption model incorporates a billing rate for data network services utilized to deliver content to an application operating on the one of the population of client devices in addition to a charge for the delivered content.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the external gateway device is configured to integrate network resources of a plurality of Internet service provider networks for control by the network device of the external network via the remote control component.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the external gateway device is configured to provision a plurality of external networks with access to control the subset of the finite communication resources via the remote control component.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the network device is one of a set of network devices facilitating electronic communication with a set of networks that comprises the external network, further wherein a first of the set of network devices facilitates control of the allocation of the subset of the finite communication resources for one of the client devices by a corresponding one of the set of network devices, and a second of the set of network devices facilitates delivery of content to the one of the client devices, and further wherein the allocation of the subset of the finite communication resources is adapted to accommodate acquisition and playback of the content by the one of the client devices.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to aggregate network resources of a plurality of Internet service providers, and provide access to a subset of the aggregated resources to a plurality of external networks including the external network, and is further configured to facilitate control by the plurality of external networks of provisioning subsets of the aggregated resources to client devices of the respective Internet service providers, or client devices of the respective external networks.

19. A method, comprising:

providing, by a system comprising a processor, limited Internet access to an application operating on a client device, for browsing information indicative of content provided by a network device of a service provider network, wherein the limited Internet access is less than a full Internet access;

receiving indication of a selection of the content pertaining to the application;

providing access to Internet service provider (ISP) network resources to the network device of the service provider network; and

facilitating regulation of the ISP network resources from the network device of the service provider network in conjunction with delivering the content from the network device of the service provider network at least in part over the Internet to the application operating on the client device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the providing the limited Internet access to the application comprises receiving a signaling system request for limited ISP access.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving an indication of a request originating from the application operating on the client device for the limited Internet access.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising submitting an authentication query for the limited Internet access, the authentication query specifying a reduced fee or no cost billing rate for the limited Internet access.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising charging no cost, or charging the reduced fee to a subscriber account associated with the application or with the client device in response to providing the limited Internet access.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising submitting an authentication query for the selection of content to the application in response to receiving the indication, the authentication query specifying a content playback fee for delivery of the content.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising charging the content playback fee to a subscriber account associated with the application or with the client device in response to delivering the content to the application operating on the client device.

26. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

facilitating limited network access to a client device, wherein the limited network access is less than a full network access;

receiving a fee-based content selection of the client device via the limited network access;

exporting control of communication resources of an access network to an external entity sponsoring the fee-based content; and

facilitating allocation of the communication resources to the client device as directed by the external entity.

27. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the operations further comprise tracking communication resources of the access network utilized for the limited network access.

28. The computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the operations further comprise reconciling costs for the tracked communication resources among the access network and external entity.

29. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the operations further comprise tracking communication resources consumed in conjunction with delivering the fee-based content to the client device.

30. The computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the operations further comprise reconciling costs for the tracked communication resources among the access network and external entity.

31. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the facilitating allocation of the communication resources further comprises submitting to the external entity real-time resource consumption and demand for network resources of the client device.

32. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the operations further comprise implementing resource allocation commands issued by the external network at the access network.

33. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the operations further comprise communicatively interconnecting the external network with a resource allocation component of the access network.

34. A system for network communication, comprising:

means for facilitating limited network access to a client device, wherein the limited network access is less than a full network access;

means for receiving a fee-based content selection of the client device via the limited network access;

means for exporting control of communication resources of an access network to an external entity sponsoring the fee-based content; and

means for facilitating allocation of the communication resources to the client device as directed by the external entity.