Clearinghouse system, method, and process for inventorying and acquiring infrastructure, monitoring and controlling network performance for enhancement, and providing localized content in communication networks

• US 8,224,794 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2008
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Theodore S. Rappaport
• Original Assignee: Theodore S. Rappaport
• Inventors: Rappaport, Theodore S.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANNAVAJJALA, SRIRAMA T
• Application Number:
  US12/208,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20090070379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 709215-220, 707608-609, 707/688, 707/705, 707/748, 707/825, 707/827, 707/694, 707/758, 707/805, 707/922, 707/944, 705/14.33, 705/14.1, 705/14.11, 705/39, 705 26- 27, 705/64, 455/408, 455/417, 455/445, 455/560, 455405-406, 379/1.01, 379/9.04, 379/32.01, 379/88.09, 379/114.08, 340/4.42
• US Class Current: 707/694
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

A computerized system, method and process allows telecommunications carriers to find, evaluate and select locations for equipment through direct access to end users, while providing citizens the opportunity to offer the use of their dwelling or other assets to carriers. The system and method further provides a computerized mechanism for (a) creating an inventory and marketplace for available properties for use in telecommunications networks, (b) providing quality and/or performance monitoring and control for wireless communication systems based on data in the clearinghouse, and (c) providing localized content over wireless networks using the clearinghouse.

Claims

1. A clearinghouse system for communications networks, comprising:

one or more computers which interface with a database, said database including

records for one or more telecommunications carriers which identify infrastructure needs for one or more telecommunications carriers in terms of one or more of (i) types of equipment and performance characteristics for said types of equipment, (ii) location information including one or more of geographical areas, and (iii) desired business terms for said infrastructure needs, and

records of a plurality of end users which identify one or more of (i) telecommunications assets owned or controlled by said end users including geographic location and type of available or existing telecommunications assets (ii) property assets owned or controlled by said end users including geographic location, and (iii) desired business terms or preferences for use of said telecommunications assets or said property assets;

one or more electronic interfaces to said one or more computers which permit one or more telecommunications carriers and one or more end users to selectively view or catalog information about (a) available telecommunications assets or properties and locations thereof, (b) the owners or tenants of said available telecommunications assets or properties, (c) infrastructure needs of one or more telecommunications carriers, and (d) proposed business terms for fulfilling said infrastructure needs with said telecommunications assets or said property assets,

wherein notification is provided to either or both;

one or more of the owners or tenants of said available telecommunications assets or properties; and

the one or more telecommunications carriers;

when suitable available telecommunications assets or properties for said infrastructure needs of said one or more telecommunications carriers at one or more locations are identified.

2. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 wherein said database includes

public records which include, for a plurality of geographic locations, one or more of mapping information for said geographic locations, zoning information for said geographic locations, local ordinances for said geographic locations, contact information for government officials for said geographic locations, and information about carriers serving said geographic locations.

3. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 wherein said one or more electronic interfaces permits one or more public users, who are not telecommunications carriers or end users, to selectively view or catalog information about said available telecommunications assets or properties and locations thereof, and said infrastructure needs of one or more telecommunications carriers for one or more locations.

4. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 wherein said one or more electronic interfaces includes one or more of an Internet interface, a telephone, a speech, handwriting or fingerprint recognition device, electronic mail interface, a facsimile, voicemail, a webserver, a wireless or portable computing or communications device, VoIP, or a digital recorder.

5. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said one or more electronic interfaces is connected to the world wide web, and wherein said records for one or more telecommunications carriers and said records for a plurality of end users can be viewed using a browser and can be retrieved by a web crawler.

6. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 further comprising a security application which protects the identity and infrastructure needs of said one or more telecommunications carriers.

7. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 further comprising a security application and billing application which permits charging said one or more telecommunications carriers or said one or more end users at selectable rates for use of said clearinghouse system.

8. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 further comprising a communications application which permits secure negotiation and acceptance of business and legal terms between one or more telecommunications carriers and one or more end users for use of said one or more telecommunications assets or one or more property assets.

9. The clearinghouse system of claim 8 wherein said property assets are selected from a building, a roof top, a billboard, a tower, and a lot or acreage.

10. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 wherein said database includes performance or quality of service information for specific locations.

11. The clearinghouse system of claim 10 wherein one of said one or more electronic interfaces provides automatic or manual updates of said performance or quality of service information from one or more mobile or fixed devices located in said specific locations.

12. The clearinghouse system of claim 10 wherein said one or more electronic interfaces provides performance or quality of service information to one or more mobile or land devices that is located in or will be located in said specific locations.

13. The clearinghouse system of claim 10 wherein said performance or quality of service information includes multiple bands and multiple carriers.

14. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 further comprising

one or more local ad servers connected to said one or more electronic interfaces, said local ad servers providing localized content to one or more mobile or fixed devices in a specific location.

15. The clearinghouse system of claim 14 further comprising

one or more base stations connected to said one or more electronic interfaces.

16. The clearinghouse system of claim 14 wherein said local ad servers provide web page view and usage statistics to said database through said one or more electronic interfaces.

17. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 further comprising a computation application, which interfaces with at least one of said one or more computers, and which identifies optimum or prioritized locations for said infrastructure needs based on said records of said plurality of end users.

18. The clearinghouse system of claim 2 further comprising a computation application, which interfaces with at least one of said one or more computers, and which identifies optimum or prioritized locations for said infrastructure needs based on both said records of said plurality of end users and said public records.

19. The clearinghouse system of claim 1 further comprising an application program for forming binding agreements between at least one of said one or more telecommunications carriers and at least one of said plurality of end users.

20. A clearinghouse system for communications networks, comprising:

one or more computers which interface with a database, the database including performance or quality of service information for one or more specific locations, and one or more of

records for one or more telecommunications carriers which identify infrastructure and location information for one or more specific locations,

records for one or more end users which identify telecommunications assets or property assets owned or controlled by said one or more end users, and

public records which include, for a plurality of geographic locations, one or more of mapping information for said geographic locations, zoning information for said geographic locations, local ordinances for said geographic locations, contact information for government officials for said geographic locations, and information about carriers serving said geographic locations;

one or more electronic interfaces to said one or more computers which permit performance or quality of service information obtained from one or more mobile or fixed devices that are located in one of said one or more specific locations to be automatically or manually updated into said database, and which permits at least one of said one or more telecommunications carriers or said one or more end users or one or more parties which are not telecommunications carriers or end users to review, catalog or sort information in said database; and

one or more applications operable with said one or more mobile or fixed devices or said one or more computers for obtaining and providing said performance or quality of service information to said one or more electronic interfaces.

21. The clearinghouse system of claim 20 wherein said one or more electronic interfaces provides performance or quality of service information to one or more mobile or fixed devices that are located in or will be located in said specific locations.

22. The clearinghouse system of claim 20 wherein said performance or quality of service information includes multiple bands and multiple carriers.

23. The clearinghouse system of claim 20 further comprising means for sending instructions from one of said one or more electronic interfaces to one or more wireless devices for configuring or reconfiguring said one or more wireless devices based on a ranking of performance or specific requests of an end user.

24. The clearinghouse system of claim 20 further comprising means for sending a rank ordering of available telecommunications services from one of said one or more electronic interfaces to one or more wireless devices.

25. The clearinghouse system of claim 20 further comprising a monitoring application which permits monitoring of radio operating conditions of one or more wireless devices, wherein monitored radio operating conditions are used to update performance or quality of service information in said database.

26. The clearinghouse system of claim 20 further comprising one or more wireless devices which are configured to provide said performance or quality of service information to one of said one or more of said electronic interfaces.

27. A content providing system which provides selected content to one or more mobile or fixed devices located in specific locations, comprising:

a clearinghouse system for communications networks, said clearinghouse system including

one or more computers which interfaces with a database, said database including one or more of

performance or quality of service information for one or more specific locations,

records for one or more telecommunications carriers which identify infrastructure and location information for one or more specific locations,

records for one or more end users which identify telecommunications assets or property assets owned or controlled by said one or more end users, and

public records which include, for a plurality of geographic locations, one or more of mapping information for said geographic locations, zoning information for said geographic locations, local ordinances for said geographic locations, contact information for government officials for said geographic locations, and information about carriers serving said geographic locations; and

one or more electronic interfaces to said one or more computers which permit one or more mobile or fixed devices to be connected to said clearinghouse system, said one or more electronic interfaces permitting one or more of

performance or quality of service information obtained from said one or more mobile or fixed devices that are located in one of said one more specific locations to be automatically or manually updated into said database, and

at least one of said one or more telecommunications carriers or said one or more end users or one or more parties which are not telecommunications carriers or end users to review, catalog or sort information in said database;

wherein a geographic location of one or more mobile or fixed devices is identified; and

one or more local ad servers in communication with said one or more electronic interfaces of said clearinghouse system configured to use said geographic location, said local ad servers providing localized content to said one or more mobile or fixed devices.

28. The content providing system of claim 27 further comprising

one or more base stations in communication with said one or more electronic interfaces of said clearinghouse system.

29. The content providing system of claim 27 wherein said local ad servers provide web page view and usage statistics to said database of said clearinghouse system through said one or more electronic interfaces.

30. The content providing system of claim 27 wherein said means for identifying a geographic location includes a GPS associated with each of said one or more mobile or fixed devices.

31. The content providing system of claim 27 wherein said means for identifying a geographic location includes a means for determining one more of towers and frequencies being used by said one or more mobile or fixed devices.

32. The content providing system 27 wherein said local ad servers provide content to said one or more mobile or fixed devices tuned to a specific transmitted signal.