Mobile device-based bandwidth throttling

• US 8,437,736 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rubin, Andrew E., Greenwalt, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): CAI, WAYNE HUU
• Application Number:
  US13/613,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20130012161A1
• Time in Patent Office: 236 Days
• Field of Search: 455405-407, 455/412.2, 455/414.2
• US Class Current: 455/405
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/535 based on resource usage policies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for implementing mobile device-based bandwidth throttling. In one aspect, a method includes receiving policy from a wireless carrier that specifies one or more data usage thresholds allotted by the wireless carrier for data transferred over a wireless carrier network during a predetermined period of time, determining an amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network during the predetermined period of time, determining that the amount exceeds one or more of the data usage thresholds, and throttling the bandwidth of a mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the amount exceeds one or more of the data usage thresholds.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage device encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that if executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving a policy from a wireless carrier, wherein the policy specifies a data usage threshold allotted by the wireless carrier for data transferred over a wireless carrier network during a predetermined period of time;

determining an amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at a particular time during the predetermined period of time;

determining a prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time during the predetermined period of time;

selecting a non-zero, minimum notification amount;

determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount; and

providing a notification that the bandwidth of the mobile device will be throttled, based on determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise displaying representations of the amount and the data usage threshold.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the policy comprises a Fair Access Policy for the wireless carrier.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

providing a control for display that allows a user of the mobile device to purchase an updated policy;

determining that the user has selected the control; and

receiving the updated policy based on determining that the user has selected the control.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

throttling the bandwidth of the mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the policy specifies a maximum data transfer rate available to the mobile device associated with the data usage threshold.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the predetermined period of time has elapsed; and

resetting the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the predetermined period of time has elapsed.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a policy from a wireless carrier, wherein the policy specifies a data usage threshold allotted by the wireless carrier for data transferred over a wireless carrier network during a predetermined period of time;

determining an amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at a particular time during the predetermined period of time;

determining a prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time during the predetermined period of time;

selecting a non-zero, minimum notification amount;

determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount; and

providing a notification that the bandwidth of the mobile device will be throttled, based on determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising displaying representations of the amount and the data usage threshold.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the policy comprises a Fair Access Policy for the wireless carrier.

11. The method of claim 8, comprising:

providing a control for display that allows a user of the mobile device to purchase an updated policy;

determining that the user has selected the control; and

receiving the updated policy based on determining that the user has selected the control.

12. The device of claim 8, further comprising

throttling the bandwidth of the mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount.

13. The device of claim 8, wherein the policy specifies a maximum data transfer rate available to the mobile device associated with the data usage threshold.

14. The device of claim 8, comprising:

determining that the predetermined period of time has elapsed; and

resetting the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the predetermined period of time has elapsed.

15. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors having instructions stored thereon which, if executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

receiving a policy from a wireless carrier, wherein the policy specifies a data usage threshold allotted by the wireless carrier for data transferred over a wireless carrier network during a predetermined period of time;

determining an amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at a particular time during the predetermined period of time;

determining a prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time during the predetermined period of time selecting a non-zero, minimum notification amount;

determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount; and

providing a notification that the bandwidth of the mobile device will be throttled, based on determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations comprise displaying representations of the amount and the data usage threshold.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the policy comprises a Fair Access Policy for the wireless carrier.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations comprise:

throttling the bandwidth of the mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network at the particular time during the predetermined period of time exceeds the prorated amount of the data usage threshold corresponding to the particular time by the minimum notification amount.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the policy specifies a maximum data transfer rate available to the mobile device associated with the data usage threshold.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the predetermined period of time has elapsed; and

resetting the amount of data that has been transferred by the mobile device over the wireless carrier network based on determining that the predetermined period of time has elapsed.