Optimizing mobile electronic program guide delivery

• US 9,420,354 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Kotecha, Lalit R., Aguirre, Sergio
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tilahun, Alazar
• Application Number:
  US13/238,387
• Publication Number:
  US 20130074127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,791 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 62, 725 86-100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64746 Control signals issued by the network directed to the server or the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

A network device may receive, via a network, a request for electronic program guide content, from a user device connected to the network, and monitor, a network condition (e.g., network congestion, user device location, etc.) corresponding to the network. The network device may determine, based on the network condition, whether to provide the electronic program guide content using a first radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to the network or a second radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to the network. The user device may communicate, via the network, the electronic program guide content using the first radio frequency bandwidth or the second radio frequency bandwidth. The first radio frequency bandwidth may correspond to unicast, multicast, or broadcast services, and the second radio frequency bandwidth may correspond to a different one of unicast, multicast, or broadcast services.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a network device and via a network, a request for electronic program guide content from a user device connected to the network,

the user device including a wireless mobile communication device;

monitoring, by the network device, a network condition corresponding to the network,

the network condition comprising a network congestion associated with the network;

determining, by the network device and based on the network condition, whether to provide the electronic program guide content using a first radio frequency bandwidth or using a second radio frequency bandwidth;

communicating, by the network device and via the network, the electronic program guide content using a first transmission service that comprises the first radio frequency bandwidth when the network congestion has not exceeded a threshold;

communicating, by the network device and via the network, the electronic program guide content using a second transmission service that comprises the second radio frequency bandwidth, when the network congestion has exceeded the threshold,

the first radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to a unicast service, and

the second radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to at least one of a multicast service or a broadcast service; and

disabling, by the network device, the first transmission service when the network congestion associated with the network has exceeded the threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, where the network condition further comprises a current time relative to a period of time corresponding to peak network activity or the current time relative to a transmission schedule received from a network operator.

3. The method of claim 1, where determining whether to provide the electronic program guide content comprises:

determining that the network congestion associated with the network has exceeded the threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, where determining whether to provide the electronic program guide content comprises:

determining that the network congestion associated with the network has not exceeded the threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, where the network condition further comprises a location of the user device relative to a service venue area, and

where determining whether to provide the electronic program guide content includes:

determining whether to provide the electronic program guide content using the first radio frequency bandwidth or the second radio frequency bandwidth based on the location of the user device relative to the service venue area.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating electronic program guide availability data to the user device,

the electronic program guide availability data comprising information regarding availability of an electronic program guide; and

where receiving the request for the electronic program guide content includes;

receiving the request for the electronic program guide content based on communicating the electronic program guide availability data to the user device.

7. The method of claim 1, where the electronic program guide content identifies at least one of:

a plurality of scheduled programming information,

a plurality of scheduled programming dates,

a plurality of scheduled programming times, or

a plurality of channels that correspond to the plurality of scheduled programming information.

8. The method of claim 1, where:

the network condition further comprises a location of the user device relative to a service venue area,

the unicast service is used to transmit the electronic program guide content to user devices located outside of the service venue area or to user devices located within the service venue area and that have requested the electronic program guide content in between scheduled broadcast services, and

the broadcast service is used to transmit the electronic program guide content to user devices located within the service venue area.

9. The method of claim 1, where the network condition further comprises one or more of:

a geographic location of the user device relative to a service venue area, or

a quantity of requests from user devices for the electronic program guide content over a particular time interval.

10. A network device comprising:

a processor to;

receive, via a network, a request for electronic program guide content from a user device connected to the network,

the electronic program guide content comprising content information corresponding to an electronic program guide stored by the network device,

the user device including a wireless mobile communication device;

monitor one or more network conditions corresponding to the network,

the one or more network conditions comprising a network congestion associated with the network;

determine, based on the network conditions, whether to provide the electronic program guide content using a first radio frequency bandwidth or using a second radio frequency bandwidth;

communicate, via the network, the electronic program guide content using the first radio frequency bandwidth when the network congestion has not exceeded a threshold,

the first radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to a unicast service; and

communicate, via the network, the electronic program guide content using the second radio frequency bandwidth when the network congestion has exceeded the threshold,

the second radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to a transmission service different than the unicast service,

the unicast service being disabled when the network congestion has exceeded the threshold.

11. The network device of claim 10, where the second radio frequency bandwidth corresponds to one of:

a multicast service, or

a broadcast service.

12. The network device of claim 10, where, when determining whether to provide the electronic program guide content, the processor is to:

determine that the network congestion, associated with the network, has exceeded the threshold.

13. The network device of claim 12, where, when communicating the electronic program guide content using the second radio frequency bandwidth, the processor is to:

determine that the network congestion has exceeded the threshold; and

communicate the electronic program guide content using a multi-cast service or a broadcast service.

14. The network device of claim 10, where the one or more network conditions further comprise a location of the user device relative to a service venue area, and

where the processor is further to:

determine whether to provide the electronic program guide content using the first radio frequency bandwidth or using the second radio frequency bandwidth based on the location of the user device relative to the service venue area.

15. The network device of claim 10, where the processor is further to:

communicate electronic program guide availability data to the user device,

the electronic program guide availability data comprising information regarding availability of the electronic program guide, and

where, when receiving the request for the electronic program guide content, the processor is to;

receive the request for the electronic program guide content based on communicating the electronic program guide availability data.

16. The network device of claim 10, where:

the one or more network conditions further comprise a location of the user device relative to a service venue area,

the unicast service is used to transmit the electronic program guide content to user devices located outside of the service venue area, and

a broadcast service, corresponding to the second radio frequency bandwidth, is used to transmit the electronic program guide content to user devices located within the service venue area.

17. The network device of claim 10, where the one or more network conditions further comprise one or more of:

a geographic location of the user device relative to a service venue area,

a current time relative to a transmission schedule received from a network operator, or

a quantity of requests from user devices for the electronic program guide content over a particular time interval.

18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to;

receive, via a network, a request for electronic program guide content from a user device connected to the network

the user device including a wireless mobile communication device;

monitor a network condition associated with the network,

the network condition comprising a network congestion associated with the network;

determine, based on the network condition, whether to provide the electronic program guide content using a first radio frequency bandwidth or using a second radio frequency bandwidth,

the first radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to a unicast service, and

the second radio frequency bandwidth corresponding to another transmission service that is different from the unicast service; and

communicate, via the network, the electronic program guide content using the first radio frequency bandwidth or the second radio frequency bandwidth,

the electronic program guide content being communicated using the first radio frequency bandwidth when the network congestion has not exceeded a threshold,

the electronic program guide content being communicated using the second radio frequency bandwidth when the network congestion has exceeded the threshold,

the unicast service being disabled when the network congestion has exceeded the threshold.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 18, where the one or more instructions to determine whether to provide the electronic program guide content include:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

determine that the network congestion has exceeded the threshold.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, where the other transmission service comprises a multicast transmission service or a broadcast transmission service.

21. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 18, where the network condition further comprises a location of the user device relative to a service venue area, and

where the one or more instructions to determine whether to provide the electronic program guide content include:

one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

determine whether to provide the electronic program guide content using the first radio frequency bandwidth or using the second radio frequency bandwidth based on the location of the user device relative to the service venue area.

22. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 18, where the network condition further comprises a location of the user device relative to a service venue area,

where the unicast service is used to transmit the electronic program guide content to user devices located outside of the service venue area, and

where the other transmission service comprises a broadcast transmission service used to transmit the electronic program guide content to user devices located within the service venue area.