Content delivery architecture for mobile access networks

• US 20030206520A1
• Filed: 04/08/2003
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Tao, Ahuja, Sadhna, Dixit, Sudhir Sharan
• Granted Patent: US 7,039,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for delivering content in a communications system. A communications system is provided that includes a plurality of terminals and a content director. The terminals are adapted to communicate via a communications network, and are each capable of requesting and thereafter receiving content via the communications network. The content director, on the other hand, is capable of receiving a request for content from one terminal. The content director can then push the content to the terminal based upon the request, and push the content to at least one other terminal before the other terminals request the content. Each terminal can have an associated user interest correlation with each other terminal. In such instances, the content director can push the content to other terminals based upon the user interest correlation of the other terminals with respect to the terminal requesting the content.

Claims

1. A method of delivering content over a communications system, wherein the communications system comprises a plurality of terminals capable of communicating via a communications network, wherein the plurality of terminals are capable of requesting, and thereafter receiving, content, the method comprising:

requesting content at a terminal; and

delivering the content to the terminal based upon the request, and thereafter delivering the content to at least one other terminal of the system before the at least one other terminal requests the content.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein each terminal includes a cache for storing data, and wherein delivering the content comprises:

retrieving the content from cache when the content is stored in the cache of the respective terminal; and

transmitting a request to an origin server when the content is not stored in the cache, and thereafter delivering the content to the terminal from the origin server based upon the request, and delivering the content to at least one other terminal of the system before the at least one other terminal requests the content.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein each terminal has an associated user interest correlation with each other terminal, and wherein delivering the content to at least one other terminal comprises delivering the content to at least one other terminal based upon the user interest correlation of the at least one other terminal with the terminal requesting the content.

4. A method according to claim 3 further comprising creating a user interest correlation for each terminal with respect to each other terminal, wherein the user interest correlation is created based upon content requested by the respective terminals.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein creating a user interest correlation based upon content requested by the respective terminal comprises at least one of receiving and creating Web access traces from content requested by the respective terminal to thereby determine the content requested by the respective terminal.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein creating a user interest correlation for each terminal with respect to each other terminal comprises computing a probability of the terminal requesting content after each other terminal requests the content.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein computing a probability comprises computing a conditional access probability for each terminal with respect to each other terminal.

8. A method according to claim 3, wherein delivering the content to at least one other terminal based upon the user interest correlation comprises delivering the content to at least one other terminal that has a user interest correlation with respect to the terminal requesting the content that meets a predefined threshold.

9. A method according to claim 3, wherein delivering the content further comprises decreasing the predefined threshold when utilization of the communications network increases.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein delivering the content to at least one other terminal comprises delivering the content to at least one other, active terminal.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein delivering the content to at least one other terminal comprises delivering the content to at least one other terminal based upon a power condition of the at least one other terminal.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein delivering the content to at least one other terminal comprises delivering the content to at least one other terminal when the at least one other terminal initiates an activity on the communications network.

13. A communications system comprising:

a plurality of terminals adapted to communicate via a communications network, wherein each terminal is capable of requesting and thereafter receiving content via the communications network; and

a content director capable of receiving a request for content from one terminal, wherein the content director is capable of pushing the content to the terminal based upon the request, and capable of pushing the content to at least one other terminal before the at least one other terminal requests the content.

14. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein each terminal includes a cache for storing data, wherein each terminal is capable of retrieving the content from cache when the content is stored in the cache of the respective terminal, wherein each terminal is capable of transmitting a request for content when the content is not stored in the cache, wherein the system further comprises:

an origin server capable of receiving the request from the terminal, and thereafter transmitting the requested content through to the content director such that the content director can push the content to the terminal based upon the request, and push the content to at least one other terminal before the at least one other terminal requests the content.

15. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein each terminal has an associated user interest correlation with each other terminal, and wherein the content director is capable of pushing the content to at least one other terminal based upon the user interest correlation of the at least one other terminal with respect to the terminal requesting the content.

16. A communications system according to claim 15, wherein the content director is capable of creating a user interest correlation for each terminal with respect to each other terminal, wherein the user interest correlation is created based upon content requested by the respective terminal.

17. A communications system according to claim 16, wherein the content director is capable of creating a user interest correlation based upon content requested by the respective terminal by at least one of receiving and creating Web access traces from content requested by the respective terminal to thereby determine the content requested by the respective terminal.

18. A communications system according to claim 16, wherein the content director is capable of creating the user interest correlation for each terminal with respect to each other terminal by computing a probability of the terminal requesting content after each other terminal requests the content.

19. A communications system according to claim 18, wherein the content director is capable of computing a conditional access probability for each terminal with respect to each other terminal.

20. A communications system according to claim 15, wherein the content director is capable of pushing the content to at least one other terminal that has a user interest correlation with respect to the terminal requesting the content that meets a predefined threshold.

21. A communications system according to claim 15, wherein the content director is also capable of decreasing the predefined threshold when utilization of the communications network increases.

22. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein the content director is capable of delivering the content to at least one other, active terminal.

23. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein the content director is capable of delivering the content to at least one other terminal based upon a power condition of the at least one other terminal.

24. A communications system according to claim 13, wherein the content director is capable of delivering the content to at least one other terminal when the at least one other terminal initiates an activity on the communications network.

25. A communications system comprising:

a data network comprising at least one origin server;

a cellular network in electrical communication with the data network, wherein the cellular network comprises;

a content director capable of receiving a request for content from a terminal and thereafter receive the content from the at least one origin server via the data network, and wherein the content director is capable of pushing the content to the terminal via the cellular network based upon the request, and capable of pushing the content via the cellular network to at least one other terminal before the at least one other terminal requests the content.

26. A communications system according to claim 25 further comprising a plurality of terminals, wherein each terminal is capable of requesting and thereafter receiving content from the at least one origin server.

27. A communications system according to claim 26, wherein each terminal includes a cache for storing data, wherein each terminal is capable of retrieving requested content from cache when the content is stored in the cache of the respective terminal, wherein each terminal is capable of transmitting a request for content when the content is not stored in the cache.

28. A communications system according to claim 25, wherein each terminal has an associated user interest correlation with each other terminal, and wherein the content director is capable of pushing the content to at least one other terminal based upon the user interest correlation of the at least one other terminal with respect to the terminal requesting the content.

29. A communications system according to claim 28, wherein the content director is capable of creating a user interest correlation for each terminal with respect to each other terminal, wherein the user interest correlation is created based upon content requested by the respective terminal.

30. A communications system according to claim 29, wherein the content director is capable of creating the user interest correlation for each terminal with respect to each other terminal by computing a probability of the terminal requesting content after each other terminal requests the content.

31. A communications system according to claim 28, wherein the content director is capable of pushing the content to at least one other terminal that has a user interest correlation with respect to the terminal requesting the content that meets a predefined threshold.

32. A communications system according to claim 28, wherein the content director is also capable of decreasing the predefined threshold when utilization of the communications network increases.