Managing multimedia messages being transmitted to recipient devices of foreign networks

• US 9,143,534 B1
• Filed: 03/29/2011
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Cahoon, Byron R., Kelliher, Ginger, Kaufman, Samira, Leyba, Kelly Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Steve
• Application Number:
  US13/074,684
• Time in Patent Office: 1,638 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/206, 709/246
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/36 by determining packet size, e.g. maximum transfer unit [MTU]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/06 Message adaptation to terminal or network requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A method, system, and medium are provided for managing multimedia messages being transmitted to recipient devices of foreign networks. The method includes sending a multimedia message having a message size that exceeds a maximum allowable size supported or accepted by a foreign network of a recipient device. The method also includes receiving an indication that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign network of the recipient device.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for managing multimedia messages being transmitted to recipient devices of foreign networks, the method comprising:

sending a multimedia message having a message size that exceeds a maximum allowable size supported or accepted by a foreign telecommunications network of a recipient device;

receiving an indication that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign telecommunications network of the recipient device, wherein a determination that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign telecommunications network of the recipient device is performed in a home network component of a home telecommunications network of a user device sending the multimedia message after the computing component receives the multimedia message from the user device and prior to the multimedia message being communicated from the home network component to the recipient device; and

receiving an error notification at the user device when a message type of the sent multimedia message does not match one or more predetermined message types.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein the indication that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign telecommunications network of the recipient device comprises an error notification that provides a notification to a user of a source device that the multimedia message could not be delivered to the foreign telecommunications network.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the indication that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign telecommunications network of the recipient device comprises a modification notification that provides a notification to a user of a source device that the multimedia message has been modified for successful transmission to the recipient device.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the indication that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign telecommunications network of the recipient device comprises a modification request that provides a request of whether a user desires to have the multimedia message, or a corresponding object, modified to successfully transmit the multimedia message to the recipient device.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the indication that the sent multimedia message exceeded the maximum allowable size supported or accepted by the foreign telecommunications network of the recipient device is displayed via a user device that sent the multimedia message.

6. The media of claim 5, wherein the indication comprises a short message service (SMS) message.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein the message size is designated by the foreign telecommunications network or a provider thereof.

8. A method for managing multimedia messages being transmitted to recipient devices of foreign networks, the method comprising:

referencing a multimedia message having a message size sent from a user device in a home telecommunications network;

referencing a size threshold associated with a foreign telecommunications network that services a recipient device to which the multimedia message is being sent;

determining, via a computing device, that the message size of the multimedia message exceeds the size threshold associated with the foreign telecommunications network, wherein the determination that the message size of the multimedia message exceeds the size threshold is performed in association with the home telecommunications network of the user device sending the multimedia message upon the multimedia message being communicated from the user device but prior to the multimedia message being communicated to the recipient device;

determining a message type of the multimedia message does not match one or more predetermined message types; and

providing an error notification to the user device that sent the multimedia message, the error notification providing a notification to a user of the user device that the multimedia message could not be delivered to the foreign telecommunications network.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising identifying the foreign telecommunications network that services the recipient device to which the multimedia message is being sent.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the foreign telecommunications network is identified based on the recipient device being associated with a mobile device number, a network address identifier, a mobile station identification, or an email address.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the error notification is provided as a short message service (SMS) message.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising referencing a message type of the multimedia message.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the size threshold is referenced using an index, a lookup table, an algorithm, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the error notification indicates that the multimedia message could not be delivered to the foreign telecommunications network due to a size limitation associated with the foreign telecommunications network.

15. The method of claim 8 further comprising modifying the multimedia message to reduce the message size below the size threshold.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for managing multimedia messages being transmitted to recipient devices of foreign networks, the method comprising:

determining that a message size of a multimedia message being transmitted to a recipient device serviced by a foreign telecommunications network exceeds a size threshold associated with the foreign telecommunications network to which the multimedia message is directed, the multimedia message being transmitted from a source device of a home telecommunications network, wherein the determination that the message size of the multimedia message exceeds the size threshold is performed by a home network component in association with the home telecommunications network of the source device transmitting the multimedia message upon the home network component receiving the multimedia message and prior to the multimedia message being communicated to the recipient device;

determining whether a message type of the multimedia message matches an acceptable message type for which modification of the multimedia message is appropriate;

when it is determined the message type matches an acceptable message type;

verifying that modifying the multimedia message to reduce the message size below the size threshold fails to degrade the multimedia message beyond a degradation threshold,

modifying the multimedia message to reduce the message size below the size threshold,

communicating the modified multimedia message to the recipient device within the foreign telecommunications network; and

when it is determined the message type does not match an acceptable message type, generating an error notification for providing to the source device.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein modifying the multimedia message comprises transcoding, changing a file type, applying a compression, reformatting, or a combination thereof.

18. The media of claim 16 further comprising communicating a modification notification to the source device, the modification notification notifying a user of the source device that the multimedia message has been modified for successful transmission to the recipient device.

19. The media of claim 16 further comprising communicating a modification request to the source device, the modification request providing a request of whether a user of the source device desires to have the multimedia message or a corresponding object modified to successfully transmit the multimedia message.

20. The media of claim 19 further comprising, in response to the modification request, receiving an indication that the user of the source device desires to have the multimedia message or a corresponding object modified to successfully transmit the multimedia message.