Systems And Methods For Managing And Monitoring Mobile Data, Content, Access, And Usage

• US 20080098062A1
• Filed: 10/20/2006
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Services Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Balia, Hinal K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,095,124 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/053 remote terminal provisioning, e.g. of applets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface

Abstract

A system, method, and process for managing and monitoring mobile data, content, access, and usage of mobile devices are provided. The described exemplary system, method, and process provide an infrastructure for managing and monitoring various applications and services of mobile devices such as Internet access, voice, messaging, gaming, music, and video.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a web account access portal that provides an interface to a subscriber enabling the subscriber to configure a policy profile for association with at least one mobile device;

a policy profile database that contains at least one policy profile associated with at least one mobile device; and

a deep inspection application control server that includes at least one inspection application that inspects data requested from a user'"'"'s mobile device for compliance with the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the web account access portal updates the policy profile database with a policy profile associated with a user'"'"'s mobile device according to the configuration set by the subscriber.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a subscriber monitoring device wherein the deep inspection application control server updates the subscriber monitoring device with information regarding the data requested from the user'"'"'s mobile device.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the subscriber monitoring device records information about the data requested by a user'"'"'s mobile device and further allows a subscriber to view this information through the web account access portal via a interface

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a partner web portal that is provided by a service provider from the service provider'"'"'s own network wherein the partner web portal includes at least one media server from which a user'"'"'s mobile device may request services according to the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a policy authentication server that is enabled to make requests to the policy profile database to have the policy profile database determine if a policy profile is associated with a user'"'"'s mobile device and wherein the policy authentication server is further operable to take action in response to the replies received from the policy profile database.

7. A process comprising:

receiving a data request from a user'"'"'s mobile device;

determining if the user'"'"'s mobile device has an associated policy profile; and

in response to determining that the user'"'"'s mobile device has a policy profile associated with it, sending a copy of the data directed to the user'"'"'s mobile device to an inspection application for inspection of the data according to the policy profile and only allowing the data complying with the policy profile to be sent the user'"'"'s mobile device.

8. The process of claim 7 further comprising, in response to determining that the user'"'"'s mobile device does not have a policy profile associated with it, allowing all data requested by the user'"'"'s mobile device to be transmitted to the user'"'"'s mobile device without inspecting the data.

9. The process of claim 7 further comprising:

providing a web account access portal to a subscriber via a interface wherein a subscriber can configure a policy profile and associate the policy profile with a user'"'"'s mobile device.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the web account access portal includes sending a request to a policy profile database to store the policy profile configured by a subscriber.

11. The process of claim 7 further comprising:

selecting one or more inspection applications to be associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device based upon the associated policy profile; and

examining the data sent to a user'"'"'s mobile device in accordance with the selected inspection application(s) for compliance with the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device and only allowing the data complying with the policy profile to be sent the user'"'"'s mobile device.

12. The process of claim 11 wherein examining the data includes sending a message to the user'"'"'s mobile device if the selected inspection applications determine that the data does not comply with the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device and preventing access to the data if the data does not comply with the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device.

13. The process of claim 7 further comprising:

monitoring the data requests from the user'"'"'s mobile device; and

recording the information about the data requested from the user'"'"'s mobile device.

14. The process of claim 13 further comprising providing information about the data requested from the user'"'"'s mobile device to a portal for viewing by a subscriber.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored therein, the computer-readable instructions comprising:

first instructions configured to allow a user to configure a policy profile and associate the policy profile with a user'"'"'s mobile device;

second instructions configured to store the policy profile;

third instructions configured to receive a request for data from a user'"'"'s mobile device;

fourth instructions configured to determine if the user'"'"'s mobile device has an associated policy profile; and

fifth instructions configured, in response to a determination that the user'"'"'s mobile device has an associated policy profile, to send a copy of the data to an inspection application for inspection of the data according to the policy profile and only allowing the data that complies with the policy profile to be sent to the user'"'"'s mobile device; and

16. The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising sixth instructions configured, in response to a determination that the user'"'"'s mobile device does not have a policy profile associated with user'"'"'s mobile device, to allow all data to pass to the user'"'"'s mobile device without inspecting the data.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising sixth instructions configured to send a message to the user'"'"'s mobile device if the data request does not comply with the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising:

sixth instructions configured to select one or more inspection applications to be associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device based upon the associated policy profile; and

seventh instructions configured to examine the data sent to a user'"'"'s mobile device in accordance with the selected inspection application(s) for compliance with the policy profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile device and to only allow the data complying with the policy profile to be sent the user'"'"'s mobile device.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a server configured to receive a data request from a user'"'"'s mobile device, said server comprising a processor configured to;

determine if the user'"'"'s mobile device has an associated policy profile;

send a copy of the data directed to the user'"'"'s mobile device to an inspection application for inspection of the data according to the policy profile; and

only allow the data complying with the policy profile to be sent the user'"'"'s mobile device in response to determining that the user'"'"'s mobile device has a policy profile associated with it.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processor is further configured, in response to determining that the user'"'"'s mobile device does not have a policy profile associated with it, to allow all data requested by the user'"'"'s mobile device to be transmitted to the user'"'"'s mobile device without inspecting the data.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processor is further configured to:

monitor the data requests from the user'"'"'s mobile device; and

record the information about the data requested from the user'"'"'s mobile device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the processor is further configured to provide information about the data requested from the user'"'"'s mobile device to a portal for viewing by a subscriber.