Traffic congestion management when providing realtime information to service providers

• US 6,725,048 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2001
• Issued: 04/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Hussain, Tahir, Mao, Xiaohong, van Elburg, Hans Erik, Harpanhalli, Kiran
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Pablo N.
• Application Number:
  US09/862,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20020037731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,065 Days
• Field of Search: 455/453, 455/456, 455/432, 455/435, 455/517, 455/552, 455/433, 455/515, 455/67.1, 455/550, 455/551, 455/422, 455/434, 455/458, 455/524-525, 455/417, 455/414, 455/560, 455/418
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/028 by filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• 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 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

Methods, systems, and arrangements facilitate information interexchange between a telecommunications network and an information service provider. For example, a business-to-business (B2B) engine includes one or more logic modules for interfacing with the telecommunications network and with the information service provider. The B2B engine facilitates the reporting of, e.g., realtime information from the telecommunications network to the information service provider. This realtime information may include subscriber unit location that is proactively sent by the subscriber unit to the B2B engine for forwarding to the information service provider. To avoid possibly congesting the telecommunications network, the B2B engine is empowered to monitor the number of proactively-transmitted location messages and to limit them if they exceed a defined threshold.

Claims

1. A method for reducing telecommunications network congestion, comprising the steps of:

monitoring received location messages that are transmitted from a plurality of mobile equipment, the received location messages being transmitted from the plurality of mobile equipment responsive to a plurality of requests from an external service provider;

determining a total number of received location messages responsive to said step of monitoring;

comparing the total number of received location messages to a predetermined threshold;

if the total number of received location messages exceeds the predetermined threshold, then

selecting at least one mobile equipment from the plurality of mobile equipment; and

p2 ordering the at least one mobile equipment to lower the number of location messages being transmitted therefrom.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a telecommunications node, the telecommunications node comprising a service capability service that interfaces with a plurality of external service providers.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the external service provider comprises an internet-based portal.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received location messages monitored in said step of monitoring are limited to a specified geographic area.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the specified geographic area comprises at least one of a cell and a location area.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of ordering the at least one mobile equipment to lower the number of location messages being transmitted therefrom comprises the step of ordering the at least one mobile equipment to cease transmitting location messages therefrom.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of selecting at least one mobile equipment from the plurality of mobile equipment comprises the step of selecting more than one mobile equipment from the plurality of mobile equipment.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

transmitting, by the plurality of mobile equipment, a plurality of location messages periodically at a given frequency responsive to the plurality of requests from the external service provider.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of ordering the at least one mobile equipment to lower the number of location messages being transmitted therefrom comprises the step of ordering the at least one mobile equipment to transmit location messages therefrom periodically at another frequency, the another frequency being lower than the given frequency.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of selecting at least one mobile equipment from the plurality of mobile equipment comprises the step of selecting the at least one mobile equipment based, at least partly, on a service level agreement associated with the at least one mobile equipment, the service level agreement being related to a quality of service.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of selecting at least one mobile equipment from the plurality of mobile equipment comprises the step of selecting the at least one mobile equipment based, at least partly, on a frequency at which the at least one mobile equipment was previously transmitting location messages.

12. A method for controlling traffic congestion in a location area of a wireless network, comprising the steps of:

requesting a plurality of mobile equipment within the location area to provide location information whenever their respective locations change;

receiving packets that include location information from at least a portion of the plurality of mobile equipment, the location information identifying the respective locations;

monitoring a traffic level associated with the received packets;

determining whether the monitored traffic level exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

if so, instructing at least some of the plurality of mobile equipment to cease providing location information when their respective locations change.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined threshold is set responsive to a total number of mobile equipment within the location area.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein said step of requesting is performed responsive to a transaction agreement with an external, non-telecommunications service provider.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the at least some of the plurality of mobile equipment are associated with a lower service level agreement as compared to the other mobile equipment of the plurality of mobile equipment.

16. An arrangement for reducing telecommunications network congestion, comprising:

means for monitoring received location messages that are transmitted from a plurality of mobile equipment, the received location messages being transmitted from the plurality of mobile equipment responsive to a plurality of requests from an external service provider;

means for determining a total number of received location messages, said means for determining in communication with said means for monitoring;

means for comparing the total number of received location messages to a predetermined threshold, said means for comparing in communication with said means for determining; and

means for selecting at least one mobile equipment from the plurality of mobile equipment and for ordering the at least one mobile equipment to lower the number of location messages being transmitted therefrom, said means for selecting and ordering operating if the total number of received location messages exceeds the predetermined threshold.