Method and system for access point customization

• US 8,666,816 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2004
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Chan, Wesley T., Shen, Shioupyn
• Primary Examiner(s): HOAR, COLLEEN A
• Application Number:
  US10/941,491
• Time in Patent Office: 3,458 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/14.64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

In one embodiment, information pertaining to preferences of end users with respect to network access is received from a first entity, and properties of one of wireless access points (WAPs) are then configured based on the information pertaining to the preferences of end users.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for a wireless access point (WAP), comprising:

receiving, at the WAP, information from an advertisement provider, the information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users with respect to network access characteristics to be provided by the WAP to any of the plurality of end users, the plurality of end users including end users that have used the WAP for network access and end users that have not used the WAP for network access, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

identifying network access characteristics that are likely to increase a number of mobile devices utilizing the WAP for network access based on the preferences;

configuring, at the WAP, properties of the WAP based on the identified network access characteristics; and

providing, by the WAP, a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the WAP, the network access experience defined by the configured properties of the WAP.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the preferences of the plurality of end users with respect to the network access further comprise one or more of a desired speed of a provided connection, a desired level of security, and a desired type of a network connection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying network access characteristics that are likely to increase a number of mobile devices utilizing the WAP for network access further comprises:

evaluating the information pertaining to the preferences of the plurality of end users.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving statistics concerning the end users that have used the WAP for network access;

and re-configuring the properties of the WAP based on the statistics.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the network access is Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Internet Access.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the WAP provides network access for the end users free of charge in exchange to consent of the end users to receive advertisements.

7. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at an advertisement provider, user preferences with respect to network access characteristics from each of a plurality of clients, the network access characteristics to be provided by a plurality of wireless access points (WAPs) to any of the plurality of clients, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

creating, at the advertisement provider, information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users based on user preferences received from each of the plurality of clients; and

distributing the information pertaining to the preferences of the plurality of end users to the plurality of WAPs, wherein the information being distributed to an individual WAP pertains to end users that have used the individual WAP for network access and end users that have not used the individual WAP for network access, and wherein the individual WAP reconfigures its properties based on the distributed information to provide a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the individual WAP.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the user preferences with respect to the network access further comprise one or more of:

a desired speed of a provided connection, a desired level of security, and a desired type of a network connection.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein creating, at the advertisement provider, information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users comprises:

evaluating the preferences of the plurality of end users;

determining, for each network access characteristic referenced in the preferences, a number of end users desiring said each network characteristic; and

including data identifying the number of end users desiring said each network characteristic in the information to be sent to the plurality of WAPs.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

generating, for each of the plurality of WAPs, statistics concerning end users of said each of the plurality of WAPs; and

sending the statistics to said each of the plurality of WAPs.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the network access is Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Internet Access.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the plurality of WAPs provide network access for the end users free of charge in exchange to consent of the end users to receive advertisements.

13. A wireless access point (WAP) apparatus, comprising:

a user preferences evaluator to receive, from an advertisement provider, information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users with respect to network access characteristics to be provided by the WAP to any of the plurality of end users, the plurality of end users including end users that have used the WAP for network access and end users that have not used the WAP for network access, and to identify network access characteristics that are likely to increase a number of mobile devices utilizing the WAP for network access, mad wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen; and

an access point properties customizer to configure properties of the WAP based on the identified network access characteristics, the configured properties defining a network access experience to be provided by the WAP to a plurality of subsequent users of the WAP.

14. An advertisement provider apparatus comprising:

a user preferences collector to receive user preferences with respect to network access characteristics from each of a plurality of clients, the network access characteristics to be provided by a plurality of wireless access points (WAPs) to any of the plurality of clients, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

a user preferences evaluator to create information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users based on user preferences received from each of the plurality of clients; and

a user preferences distributor to distribute the information pertaining to the preferences of the plurality of end users to the plurality of WAPs, wherein the information being distributed to an individual WAP pertains to end users that have used the individual WAP for network access and end users that have not used the individual WAP for network access, and wherein the individual WAP reconfigures its properties based on the distributed information to provide a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the individual WAP.

15. An apparatus for a wireless access point (WAP), comprising:

means for receiving, at the WAP, information from an advertisement provider, the information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users with respect to network access characteristics to be provided by the WAP to any of the plurality of end users, the plurality of end users including end users that have used the WAP for network access and end users that have not used the WAP for network access, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

means for identifying network access characteristics that are likely to increase a number of mobile devices utilizing the WAP for network access based on the preferences;

means for configuring, at the WAP, properties of the WAP based on the identified network access characteristics; and

means for providing, by the WAP, a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the WAP, the network access experience defined by the configured properties of the WAP.

16. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, at an advertisement provider, user preferences with respect to network access characteristics from each of a plurality of clients, the network access characteristics to be provided by a plurality of wireless access points (WAPs) to any of the plurality of clients, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

means for creating, at the advertisement provider, information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users based on user preferences received from each of the plurality of clients; and

means for distributing the information pertaining to the preferences of the plurality of end users to the plurality of WAPs, wherein the information being distributed to an individual WAP pertains to end users that have used the individual WAP for network access and end users that have not used the individual WAP for network access, and wherein the individual WAP reconfigures its properties based on the distributed information to provide a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the individual WAP.

17. A computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method for a wireless access point (WAP), the method comprising:

receiving, at the WAP, information from an advertisement provider, the information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users with respect to network access characteristics to be provided by the WAP to any of the plurality of end users, the plurality of end users including end users that have used the WAP for network access and end users that have not used the WAP for network access, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

identifying network access characteristics that are likely to increase a number of mobile devices utilizing the WAP for network access;

configuring, at the WAP, properties of the WAP based on the identified network access characteristics; and

providing, by the WAP, a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the WAP, the network access experience defined by the configured properties of the WAP.

18. A computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method comprising:

receiving, at an advertisement provider, user preferences with respect to network access characteristics from each of a plurality of clients, the network access characteristics to be provided by a plurality of wireless access points (WAPs) to any of the plurality of clients, and wherein the preferences comprise a number of advertisements to be displayed on a screen;

creating, at the advertisement provider, information pertaining to preferences of a plurality of end users based on user preferences received from each of the plurality of clients; and

distributing the information pertaining to the preferences of the plurality of end users to the plurality of WAPs, wherein the information being distributed to an individual WAP pertains to end users that have used the individual WAP for network access and end users that have not used the individual WAP for network access, and wherein the individual WAP reconfigures its properties based on the distributed information to provide a network access experience to a plurality of subsequent users of the individual WAP.