Cell broadcast via encoded message to an embedded client

• US 7,444,137 B1
• Filed: 11/01/2005
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: McNamara, Justin, Tuthill, Carolyn, Mikan, Jeffrey Clinton
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): MITCHELL, NATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/265,601
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/270, 370/338, 455/410, 455/411, 4554141-4143, 455/456.3, 709/219, 725/62
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/16 with lock-out or secrecy provision in party-line systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/04 Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks

Abstract

A system for authorizing information services that are provided via broadcast messages to mobile stations. The broadcast messages are encrypted prior to being communicated to devices within a geographic area. The mobile stations are provided with a client application that retrieves cryptographic keys associated with the information services to which a customer is subscribed. When the mobile station receives encrypted broadcast messages, the client application determines if it has the cryptographic key to decrypt the message. If so, the information contained in the message is displayed. If not, then the message is ignored by the mobile station.

Claims

1. A method of receiving of a communication at a mobile station having a subscriber identity module for uniquely identifying a subscriber, said mobile station communicatively connected to a wireless network serving said uniquely identified subscriber, comprising:

running an embedded client application for recognizing services provisioned for said uniquely identified subscriber, said embedded client application being within said mobile station;

transmitting from said mobile station a location update and international subscriber identity to said wireless network including current location information;

receiving authorization for a particular service responsive to a service subscription of said uniquely identified subscriber to said particular service, said particular service being related to a particular event occurring in a predetermined geographic area;

receiving a broadcast encrypted document communication from said wireless network directed to all mobile stations within said predetermined geographic area proximate to said current location of said mobile station;

displaying information contained in said communication in accordance with said authorization for said particular service of said service subscription;

transmitting a request for additional information; and

receiving a streaming download responsive to said request and related to said displayed information and said particular service.

2. The method of claim 1, said receiving authorization further comprises providing said mobile station a cryptographic key associated with said particular service, said cryptographic key for decrypting said broadcast encrypted document information and said streaming download.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising expiring said cryptographic key at a predetermined time, the cryptographic key associated with said particular service being time dependent.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising decrypting said broadcast encrypted document communication if said mobile station is authorized for said particular service using said cryptographic key associated with said service stored in said mobile station to obtain said information in such a manner that if one of a promotion for said particular service has ended and payment is not received for said particular service, said cryptographic key associated with said service expires or is removed.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

retrieving additional information from said wireless network based on said information decrypted from said broadcast encrypted document communication, said communication comprising multiple parts; and

displaying said additional information on said mobile station in near real-time where said additional information comprises an event replay.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising instructing said mobile station to retrieve said cryptographic key from said wireless network via a one-to-one short message service (SMS) message.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

provisioning said service at said wireless network via a home subscriber server for containing a subscriber profile in accordance with a subscriber request for said particular service, the home subscriber server adapted to contain the subscriber profile for said uniquely identified subscriber; and

communicating said one-to-one short message service message as a result of said provisioning.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the embedded client application is an embedded JAVA client application.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the encrypted document communication is an encrypted XML document communication.

8. A method of providing information related to a particular service to mobile stations of a wireless network in a geographic area, comprising:

receiving a location update message and international subscriber identity, the message including the current location information of a mobile station including a subscriber identity module including the unique identification of a subscriber, the current location information corresponding to said geographic area;

storing a subscriber profile for said subscriber at a home subscriber server including the current wireless network node handling said subscriber;

providing to predetermined ones of said mobile stations a cryptographic key via a device management message using short message service associated with said information related to said particular service in accordance with a customer subscription to said particular service and, said predetermined ones of said mobile stations having presubscribed to said particular service and said cryptographic key being associated with said particular service, each such predetermined mobile station having an embedded client application for recognizing said particular service being provisioned for an associated subscriber;

encrypting said information related to said particular service with said cryptographic key associated with said particular service;

broadcasting said encrypted information to said mobile stations in a one-to-many communication within said geographic area, said encrypted information being decrypted by said cryptographic key by said predetermined ones of said mobile stations, said encrypted information being associated with an event occurring within said geographic area according to said embedded client application, the event being related to said particular service;

responsive to a request for additional information related to said particular service, broadcasting said additional information as a streaming download; and

billing said unique subscribers associated with said predetermined ones of said mobile stations for said particular service.

9. The method of claim 8, said cryptographic key being time dependent, further comprising expiring said cryptographic key at a predetermined time, said mobile stations receiving new valid time dependent keys via a device management message of short message service.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a request for said customer subscription for said particular service; and

instructing a mobile station associated with said customer subscription to retrieve said cryptographic key for said particular service using a one-to-one short message service message.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing an embedded client application that is downloaded to said predetermined ones of said mobile stations that accesses said cryptographic key for said particular service to decrypt said information.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising broadcasting said encrypted information related to said particular service from a cell broadcast center.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a request for additional information from said predetermined ones of said mobile stations after said predetermined ones of said mobile stations have decrypted said encrypted information related to said particular service; and

providing said additional information to said predetermined ones of said mobile stations as a one-to-one short message service communication.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said additional information is multimedia content and related to said event occurring in said geographic area according to said embedded client application.

15. A system for delivering content via a wireless network to a mobile station using a broadcast mechanism, comprising:

a mobile switching center/visiting location register for receiving a location update and international mobile subscriber identity including a current location of said mobile station and forwarding same to a home location register;

a push proxy gateway (PPG) for pushing content of a particular service to a mobile station within a geographic area, the content being associated with said current location within said geographic area, the mobile station having a subscriber identity module for uniquely identifying a subscriber associated with said mobile station;

the subscriber having subscribed to said particular service;

a home subscriber server containing a subscriber profile for said uniquely identified subscriber, the home subscriber server for supporting authentication and authorization functions;

a short message peer to peer (SMPP) router that receives SMPP messages including content of said particular subscribed to service from said push proxy gateway and converts said SMPP messages to cell broadcast messages;

a cell broadcast center that communicates said cell broadcast messages; and

an embedded mobile station client that is provided to mobile stations to receive said cell broadcast messages, said embedded mobile station being provisioned and authorized for said particular subscribed-to service.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said cell broadcast messages are encrypted using a cryptographic key associated with said particular subscribed-to service.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said home location register is interrogated for routing information to said mobile station and said embedded mobile station client for said mobile station accesses a cryptographic key to decrypt said cell broadcast messages via a device management message using short message service.

18. The system of claim 17, the cryptographic key associated with said particular service being time dependent, wherein said cryptographic key expires at a predetermined time.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein a one-to-one short message service message is communicated to said mobile station client to update said mobile station client in accordance with a customer subscription to said content of said particular subscribed-to service.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said message instructs said mobile station to fetch a cryptographic key associated with said content of said particular subscribed-to service.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the embedded client application is an embedded JAVA client application.