Scrubbing for edge-based communications in commercial communications

Abstract

A scrubbing edge device for edge-based communications of commercial communications may receive commercial communications, a scrubbed token list, and a telephone number list. In response to determining that the mobile device has been detected in a specific area, it may be determined whether the telephone number of the mobile device is included in the telephone number list. In response to determining that the telephone number of the mobile device is included in the telephone number list, the telephone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list, and the commercial communications may be communicated to an outgoing access provider, which communicates the commercial communications to the mobile device, at least in part, based on whether the telephone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system, and more specifically, to mobile communication.

[0002] Mobile communication has become ubiquitous throughout much of the world. People generally carry those mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones) that are used for telephony communication, text messaging, and email communication. As such, people can virtually send and receive communications from anywhere they move.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] The method may include receiving, by an edge device, a commercial communication. The method may include receiving, by the edge device, a list of scrubbed tokens and a list of phone numbers, where the edge device does not know which token in the list of scrubbed tokens corresponds to which phone number in the list of phone numbers. The method may also include determining that a mobile device has been detected in a particular area. The method may also include, in response to determining that the mobile device has been detected in the particular area, determining, by the edge device, whether the phone number of the mobile device is included in the list of phone numbers. The method may also include, in response to determining that the phone number of the mobile device is included in the list of phone numbers, communicating, by the edge device, the phone number of the mobile device, the list of scrubbed tokens, and the commercial communication to an outgoing access provider, where the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communication to the mobile device at least partially based on whether the phone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the list of scrubbed tokens.

[0004] The system comprises a processor programmed to initiate a executable operation. The executable operation may include a step by the edge device to receive commercial communications. The executable operation may also include a step by the edge device to receive a scrubbed token list and a telephone number list, wherein the edge device does not know which tokens in the scrubbed token list correspond to which telephone numbers in the telephone number list. The executable operation may also include a step by the edge device to determine whether a mobile device has been detected in a particular area. In response to the determination that the mobile device has been detected in the particular area, the executable operation may also include a step by the edge device to determine whether the telephone number of the mobile device is included in the telephone number list. In response to the determination that the telephone number of the mobile device is included in the telephone number list, the executable operation may also include a step by the edge device to communicate the telephone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list and the commercial communications to an outgoing access provider, wherein the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communications to the mobile device, at least in part, on whether the telephone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list.

[0005] A computer program product comprises a computer-readable storage medium on which program code is stored. The program code is executable by a data processing system to initiate operation. Operation may include the step of receiving commercial communications by an edge device. Operation may also include the step of receiving a scrubbed token list and a telephone number list by the edge device, where the edge device does not know which token in the scrubbed token list corresponds to which telephone number in the telephone number list. Operation may also include the step of determining that a mobile device has been detected in a particular area. Operation may also include, in response to determining that the mobile device has been detected in the particular area, the step of determining by the edge device whether the telephone number of the mobile device is included in the telephone number list. The operation may also include the step of the edge device, in response to determining that the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list, communicating the phone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list, and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider, wherein the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communication to the mobile device, at least in part on whether the phone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list.

[0006] This “Summary of the Invention” section is provided solely to introduce a particular concept and does not identify any important or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following modes for carrying out the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described here, by reference only to the following drawings.

[0008] [Figure 1]This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a network data processing system.

[0009] [Figure 2] This is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture for a mobile communication system.

[0010] [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary communication between components of a mobile communication system.

[0011] [Figure 4] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary communication between components of a mobile communication system.

[0012] [Figure 5] This flowchart illustrates an example of how to transmit commercial communications to a mobile device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] This invention relates to a communication system, and more specifically, to mobile communication.

[0014] The configuration described herein is for computer technology and brings about improvements to computer technology. Specifically, the current configuration improves the security and confidentiality of a user's private information in a communication system in which commercial communications are transmitted to a user's mobile device. In this regard, user preferences used to determine whether a user is allowed to transmit commercial communications to their mobile device are maintained by the user's telecommunications service provider, while the transmission of commercial communications to the user's mobile device may still be adjusted based on user preferences, even while the mobile device is roaming with other outgoing access providers.

[0015] In this regard, the configuration described herein provides proactive group scrubbing for the timely delivery of commercial communications by edge device operators, while ensuring that individual consent data is neither unintentionally shared nor leaked to edge device operators. Furthermore, the configuration enables on-demand verifiability of charges imposed by the outgoing access provider for delivering commercial communications using scrubbed virtual tokens (hereinafter, "tokens"), without unintentionally sharing or leaking private consent data. In addition, the configuration described herein uses edge devices to share commercial communications (e.g., promotional messages) with users of mobile devices who have provided their consent to the telecommunications service provider to receive such commercial communications.

[0016] Furthermore, the current deployment implements proactive scrubbing against a group of entities to route relevant commercial communications to users' mobile devices. The current deployment also assigns automatically generated tokens to phone numbers. These tokens can be used by telecommunications service providers to perform scrubbing against user preference lists. Using the tokens, telecommunications service providers can securely perform proactive scrubbing against a group of commercial entities via edge servers without exposing either the edge servers or the commercial entities to any arbitrary user preference information.

[0017] Furthermore, the configurations described herein may prioritize and rank commercial communications (e.g., promotional offers) on edge devices based on the user's proximity to a specific area and user preferences. In this regard, the scrubbing services described herein may optimize the delivery of commercial communications based on user preferences and, accordingly, change the prioritization of commercial communications.

[0018] Various aspects of this disclosure are described by explanatory text, flowcharts, block diagrams of computer systems, and / or block diagrams of mechanical logic included in embodiments of computer program products (CPPs). With respect to any flowchart, depending on the technology involved, operations may be performed in a different order than those shown in a given flowchart. For example, also depending on the technology involved, two operations shown in consecutive blocks of a flowchart may be performed in reverse order, as a single integrated stage, simultaneously, or with at least partial time overlap.

[0019] Embodiments of a computer program product ("CPP Embodiment" or "CPP") are terms used in this disclosure to describe any set of one or more storage media ("mediums") that are collectively comprised of one or more storage devices that collectively contain machine-readable code corresponding to instructions and / or data for performing computer operations specified in a given CPP claim. "Storage device" is any tangible device capable of holding and storing instructions for use by a computer processor. Computer-readable storage media may, but are not limited to, electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, mechanical storage media, or any preferred combination thereof. Some known types of storage devices, including these media, include diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital purpose disks (DVDs), memory sticks, floppy disks, mechanically encoded devices (such as pits / lands formed on the main surface of punch cards or disks), or any suitable combination of those described above. When the term "computer-readable storage medium" is used in this disclosure, it shall not be construed as storage in the form of a transient signal itself, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through waveguides, optical pulses passing through optical fiber cables, electrical signals communicated through wires, and / or other transmission media. As those skilled in the art will understand, data is moved at several intermittent points in the normal operation of the storage device, such as during access, defragmentation, or garbage collection; however, data is not transient while it is stored, so the foregoing does not make the storage device transient.

[0020] The computing environment 100 includes an example of an environment for executing at least some computer code involved in performing the method of the invention, such as an edge device module 200. In addition to block 200, the computing environment 100 includes, for example, a computer 101, a wide area network (WAN) 102, an end-user device (EUD) 103, a remote server 104, a public cloud 105, and a private cloud 106. In this embodiment, the computer 101 includes a processor set 110 (including processing circuits 120 and a cache 121), a communication fabric 111, volatile memory 112, persistent storage 113 (including an operating system 122 and the block 200 shown above), a peripheral device set 114 (including a user interface (UI) device set 123, storage 124, and an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor set 125), and a network module 115. The remote server 104 includes a remote database 130. The public cloud 105 includes a gateway 140, a cloud orchestration module 141, a host physical machine set 142, a virtual machine set 143, and a container set 144.

[0021] Computer 101 may take the form of a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, smartwatch or other wearable computer, mainframe computer, quantum computer, or any other form of computer or mobile device currently known or to be developed in the future that is capable of running programs, accessing networks, or querying databases such as remote database 130. As is well understood in the field of computer technology, and depending on the technology, the execution of a computer implementation may be distributed among multiple computers and / or multiple locations. On the other hand, in this description of the computing environment 100, in order to make the explanation as concise as possible, the detailed discussion will focus on a single computer, specifically computer 101. Although computer 101 is not shown in the cloud in Figure 1, it may be located in the cloud. On the other hand, computer 101 does not need to be located in the cloud, except to any extent that can be definitively shown.

[0022] The processor set 110 includes one or more computer processors of any kind currently known or to be developed in the future. The processing circuitry 120 may be distributed across multiple packages, for example, multiple interconnected integrated circuit chips. The processing circuitry 120 may implement multiple processor threads and / or multiple processor cores. The cache 121 is memory located within the processor chip package and is typically used for data or code that should be available for high-speed access by threads or cores running on the processor set 110. The cache memory is typically organized into multiple levels depending on its relative proximity to the processing circuitry. Alternatively, some or all of the cache for the processor set may be located "off-chip". In some computing environments, the processor set 110 may operate using qubits and be designed to perform quantum computing.

[0023] Computer-readable program instructions are typically loaded onto computer 101 and cause a set of operational steps to be executed by the processor set 110 of computer 101, thereby implementing a computer-implemented method. As a result, the instructions so executed will instantiate the method set forth in the flowchart and / or description of the computer-implemented method (collectively referred to herein as "the method of the invention"). These computer-readable program instructions are stored in various types of computer-readable storage media such as cache 121 and other storage media discussed below. The program instructions and associated data are accessed by the processor set 110 to control and direct the execution of the method of the invention. In computing environment 100, at least some of the instructions for executing the method of the invention may be stored in block 200 within persistent storage 113.

[0024] Communication fabric 111 is a signal conduction path that enables various components of computer 101 to communicate with each other. Typically, this fabric is created with switches and conductive paths such as buses, bridges, switches that form physical input / output ports, and similar items, and conductive paths. Other types of signal communication paths may be used, such as optical fiber communication paths and / or wireless communication paths.

[0025] Volatile memory 112 is any type of volatile memory known currently or developed in the future. Examples include dynamic random access memory (RAM) or static RAM. Typically, volatile memory 112 is characterized by random access, although this is not required unless expressly stated. In computer 101, volatile memory 112 is located within a single package and exists within computer 101. Alternatively or additionally, volatile memory may be distributed across multiple packages and / or located external to computer 101.

[0026] The persistent storage 113 is any form of non-volatile storage for a computer, whether currently known or developed in the future. The non-volatility of this storage means that the stored data is maintained regardless of whether power is being supplied to the computer 101 and / or directly to the persistent storage 113. The persistent storage 113 may be read-only memory (ROM), but usually at least a portion of the persistent storage enables writing, deleting, and rewriting of data. Some well-known forms of persistent storage include magnetic disks and solid-state storage devices. The operating system 122 may take several forms, such as various known proprietary operating systems that employ a kernel or open-source portable operating system interface type operating systems. The code included in block 200 typically includes at least some of the computer code involved in the execution of the method of the present invention.

[0027] The peripheral device set 114 includes a set of peripheral devices for the computer 101. Data communication connections between the computer 101's peripheral devices and other components may be implemented in various ways, such as Bluetooth® connections, near-field communication (NFC) connections, connections made by cables (such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) type cables), insert-type connections (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards), connections made through local area communication networks, and even connections made through wide area networks such as the Internet. In various embodiments, the UI device set 123 may include components such as a display screen, speakers, microphones, wearable devices (such as goggles and smartwatches), keyboards, mice, printers, touchpads, game controllers, and haptic devices. Storage 124 is external storage such as an external hard drive, or insertable storage such as an SD card. Storage 124 may be persistent and / or volatile. In some embodiments, storage 124 may take the form of a quantum computing memory device for storing data in the form of qubits. In embodiments where computer 101 requires a large amount of storage (for example, when computer 101 locally stores and manages a large database), this storage may be provided by peripheral storage devices designed to store very large amounts of data, such as a storage area network (SAN) shared by multiple geographically distributed computers. The IoT sensor set 125 consists of sensors that can be used in Internet of Things applications. For example, one sensor may be a thermometer, and another may be a motion detector.

[0028] The network module 115 is a collection of computer software, hardware, and firmware that enables computer 101 to communicate with other computers via the WAN 102. The network module 115 may include hardware such as a modem or Wi-Fi signal transceiver, software for packetizing and / or depacketizing data for communication network transmission, and / or web browser software for transmitting data over the internet. In some embodiments, the network control and network forwarding functions of the network module 115 are performed on the same physical hardware device. In other embodiments (e.g., embodiments utilizing Software-Defined Networking (SDN)), the control and forwarding functions of the network module 115 are performed on physically separate devices, such that the control function manages several different network hardware devices. Computer-readable program instructions for performing the method of the present invention can typically be downloaded from an external computer or external storage device to computer 101 via a network adapter card or network interface included in the network module 115.

[0029] WAN102 is any wide area network (e.g., the Internet) that can transmit computer data over non-local distances using any technology currently known or to be developed for transmitting computer data. In some embodiments, WAN102 may be replaced and / or complemented by a local area network (LAN), such as a Wi-Fi network, designed to transmit data between devices located in a local area. WANs and / or LANs typically include computer hardware such as copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and edge servers.

[0030] The end-user device (EUD) 103 is any computer system used and controlled by an end-user (e.g., a customer of the company operating computer 101), and may take any of the forms described above in relation to computer 101. The EUD 103 typically receives useful and valuable data from the operation of computer 101. For example, in a hypothetical case where computer 101 is designed to provide recommendations to the end-user, these recommendations would typically be transmitted from computer 101's network module 115 to the EUD 103 via the WAN 102. Thus, the EUD 103 can display or otherwise present recommendations to the end-user. In some embodiments, the EUD 103 may be a client device such as a thin client, heavy client, mainframe computer, or desktop computer.

[0031] The remote server 104 is any computer system that provides at least some data and / or functionality to computer 101. The remote server 104 may be controlled and used by the same entity that operates computer 101. The remote server 104 represents a machine that collects and stores useful and beneficial data for use by other computers, such as computer 101. For example, in a hypothetical case where computer 101 is designed and programmed to provide recommendations based on historical data, this historical data may be provided to computer 101 from the remote database 130 of the remote server 104.

[0032] The public cloud 105 is any computer system available for use by multiple entities, providing on-demand availability of computer system resources and / or other computing capabilities, particularly data storage (cloud storage) and computing capabilities, without requiring direct and active management by the user. Cloud computing typically leverages resource sharing to achieve coherence and economies of scale. Direct and active management of the computing resources of the public cloud 105 is performed by the computer hardware and / or software of the cloud orchestration module 141. The computing resources provided by the public cloud 105 are typically implemented by virtual computing environments running on various computers that make up the host physical machine set 142, which is a universe of physical computers located within and / or available to the public cloud 105. The virtual computing environment (VCE) typically takes the form of virtual machines from the virtual machine set 143 and / or containers from the container set 144. These VCEs can be stored as images and transferred between and between various physical machine hosts, either as images or after VCE instantiation. The cloud orchestration module 141 manages the transfer and storage of images, deploys new VCE instantiations, and manages the active instantiation of VCE deployments. The gateway 140 is a collection of computer software, hardware, and firmware that enables the public cloud 105 to communicate over the WAN 102.

[0033] Here, some further explanation of virtualized computing environments (VCEs) is provided. A VCE can be stored as an "image." A new active instance of a VCE can be instantiated from an image. Two well-known types of VCEs are virtual machines and containers. A container is a VCE that uses operating system-level virtualization. This refers to an operating system feature where the kernel allows for the existence of multiple isolated user-space instances called containers. These isolated user-space instances typically behave like actual computers in terms of the programs running within them. Computer programs running on a normal operating system can utilize all the resources of that computer, including connected devices, files and folders, network shares, CPU power, and quantifiable hardware capabilities. However, programs running inside a container can only use the contents of the container and the devices allocated to the container; this feature is known as containerization.

[0034] The private cloud 106 is similar to the public cloud 105, except that its computing resources are available only for use by a single enterprise. While the private cloud 106 is shown as being in communication with the WAN 102, in other embodiments, the private cloud may be completely isolated from the internet and accessible only via a local / private network. A hybrid cloud is a combination of multiple clouds of different types (e.g., private, community, or public cloud types), often implemented by different vendors. Each of the multiple clouds remains a separate discrete entity, but the larger hybrid cloud architecture is bound together by standardized or proprietary technologies that enable orchestration, management, and / or data / application portability between the multiple configuration clouds. In this embodiment, both the public cloud 105 and the private cloud 106 are part of a larger hybrid cloud.

[0035] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture 205 for a mobile communication system. Architecture 205 may include a telecommunications service provider (TSP) 210 that hosts one or more computers hosting a TSP module 212. Such a computer may be equivalent to computer 100 but includes a TSP module 212 instead of an edge device module 200. The TSP module 212 may include a scrubbing service 215 configured to generate multiple virtual tokens (hereinafter, "tokens") 220 in a token list 225 and to store the token list 225 in one or more blockchains 230. Each token 220 may be assigned to a telephone number of a respective mobile device 235. Thus, each token 220 may correspond to a single telephone number. The mobile device 235 may be, for example, a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, smart glasses, smartwatch, or any other type of mobile communication device to which a telephone number may be assigned. A token 220 may be a unique sequence of symbols (e.g., numbers, letters and / or symbols). For example, token 220 could be a unique hash value, a unique fake phone number (e.g., a phone number not assigned to a device), or any other unique sequence of symbols. For each token 220, token list 225 may comprise token 220, the mobile number to which token 220 is assigned, and a header. The header could be a string of symbols assigned to a commercial entity 265 and could be specific to a particular commercial communication 270 communicated to one or more client devices, such as a mobile device 235.

[0036] The scrubbing service 215 may communicate the blockchain 230, including the token list 225, to the originating access provider (OAP) 240. The OAP 240 may be another telecommunications service provider implemented using a computer, such as a computer using the architecture described for computer 101. For example, a mobile device 235 may subscribe to the TSP 210 but may roam to another service area serviced by the OAP 240. Accordingly, other OAPs covering the service area to which the mobile device 235 may roam may store a copy of the blockchain 230, including the token list 225.

[0037] Architecture 205 may also include multiple edge devices 245. An edge device 245 is hardware having at least one processor and memory that provides an entry point to an enterprise or service provider core network. An edge device 245 could be, for example, a computer 101 implemented as an edge server. Each edge device 245 may include an edge device module 200. In this example, an edge device 245 may provide a mobile device 235 with an entry point to the TSP 210 and OAP 240. In this regard, each edge device 245 may include one or more access points 250 through which the mobile device 235 can access the edge device 245 and thus access the TSP 210 and / or OAP 240. A scrubbing service 215 may scrub the token list 225 to remove telephone numbers from the token list 225 and communicate the scrubbed token list 255 to the edge device 245, for example, as a hash of the scrubbed token list 255. The scrubbing service 215 may also communicate a list of telephone numbers 260, which includes telephone numbers, to the edge device 245. The list of telephone numbers 260 may include telephone numbers that have been removed from the token list 225 in order to generate the scrubbed token list 255, but the order of the telephone numbers may be shuffled (e.g., randomized) so that the order of the telephone numbers does not match the order of their corresponding tokens 220 in the scrubbed token list 255. Accordingly, the edge device 245 must not (or cannot) compare the scrubbed token list 255 with the list of telephone numbers 260 in order to determine which telephone numbers are assigned to which tokens.

[0038] The edge device 245 may be accessed by a commercial entity 265 and configured to provide commercial communications 270 (e.g., promotions, coupons, messages, etc.) to be communicated to mobile devices 235 on which such commercial communications 270 are authorized. In the example, the TSP module 212 may include user preferences 275. Users of mobile devices 235 may set their user preferences 275 to indicate the type of commercial communications 270 that they have chosen to receive on their mobile devices 235, the permitted communication modes for receiving commercial communications 270, and appropriate times (e.g., time zone, day of the week, etc.) for receiving such commercial communications 270. For example, a user may specify categories such as products / services on which commercial communications 270 are authorized, or companies / brands on which commercial communications 270 are authorized. Users can also block commercial communications 270 for specific types, categories and / or brands, block commercial communications 270 at specific times, block commercial communications 270 communicated via one or more specific communication modes (e.g., phone calls, voicemails, pop-up messages, etc.), or even block commercial communications 270 entirely. Commercial communications 270 may be delivered as text messages (e.g., SMS messages), email messages, pop-up messages, content presented in one or more mobile applications, voice messages, voice calls, etc. For example, commercial communications 270 may include coupons presented in a particular mobile application, which may generate an alert in response to receiving the coupon, thereby informing the user that the coupon has been received and is available.

[0039] The edge device 245 may generate a ranked list 280 of commercial entities 265 for the mobile device 235, at least in part, based on the commercial entity ranking 285 stored by the edge device 245. The commercial entity ranking 285 may rank commercial entities 265 based on one or more parameters. Such parameters may include, but are not limited to, parameters indicating the popularity of commercial entities 265 among users of the mobile device 235. For a particular mobile device 235, the edge device 245 may determine the ranked list 280 based on the commercial entity ranking 285. The edge device 245 may execute an algorithm to determine the ranked list 280 for that mobile device 235 based on the commercial entity ranking 285.

[0040] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary communication between specific components of the mobile communication system shown in Figure 2. The process described in Figure 2 can be performed with any number and any combination of the TSP210, mobile device235, OAP240, edge device245, and commercial entity265.

[0041] In step 302, the user may use the mobile device 235 to set user preferences 275 for the user and / or the mobile device 235. User preferences 275 may include, for example, preferences for receiving commercial communications as previously described.

[0042] In step 304, the commercial entity 265 may communicate a commercial communication 270 to the edge device 245. In addition, the commercial entity 265 may specify parameters relating to the commercial communication 270. Such parameters may include, but are not limited to, parameters specifying when the commercial communication 270 is communicated to the mobile device 235, parameters specifying the geographical area of ​​the mobile device 235 targeted to receive the commercial communication 270 (e.g., within a specific area such as within a threshold distance of a store), parameters specifying the type of product / service, the category of product / service, the brand of product / service to which the commercial communication 270 relates, etc.

[0043] In one or more non-restrictive configurations, a commercial entity 265 may designate one or more OAPs 240 through which a commercial communication 270 is intended to communicate. Accordingly, the communication of the commercial communication 270 may be restricted to the designated OAPs 240.

[0044] In the example, the commercial entity 265 could be a store in a shopping mall, the edge device 245 could be maintained by the shopping mall, and the commercial communication 270 could be a coupon or other promotion that is scheduled to be communicated to the mobile device 235 if the mobile device 235 is within a threshold distance from the store and / or within a specific time frame. For example, if the store is a restaurant, the commercial communication 270 could be a coupon that is communicated to the mobile device 235 if it is within 25 meters of the restaurant between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

[0045] In step 306, OAP240 may detect the mobile device 235 in the approximate area and communicate information to the edge device 245 indicating that the mobile device 235 has been detected in the approximate area. This information may include, for example, the telephone number and / or the media access control (MAC) address of the mobile device 235. In an example, OAP240 may use the global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the mobile device 235 communicated to OAP240 by the mobile device 235 to determine the location of the mobile device 235. In another example, OAP240 may detect the mobile device 235 roaming to an access point in the approximate area.

[0046] In one or more configurations, the TSP210 may detect a mobile device 235 in a general area and communicate information to the edge device 245 indicating that the mobile device 235 is within the general area. Again, the information may include, for example, a telephone number assigned to the mobile device 235 and / or the MAC address of the mobile device 235. In an example, the TSP210 may determine the location of the mobile device 235 using the GPS coordinates of the mobile device 235 communicated to the TSP210 by the mobile device 235. In another example, the TSP210 may detect a mobile device 235 roaming to an access point in a general area.

[0047] A general area can be, for example, an area that is divided into many smaller areas. For instance, a shopping mall divided into multiple shops could be a general area. In another example, a building with multiple offices / rooms could be a general area.

[0048] In step 308, the edge device 245 may communicate a request for a scrubbed token list to the TSP 210. In response to such a request, in step 310, the scrubbing service 215 may generate a token list 225 and scrub the token list 225 by removing phone numbers from the token list 225 in order to generate a scrubbed token list 255. The scrubbed token list 255 may contain a number of tokens 220 in a random order, where each token 220 is assigned to a phone number of each mobile device 235 in a general area.

[0049] In step 312, TSP210 may communicate the scrubbed token list 255 and the telephone number list to the edge device 214. The telephone number list may include multiple telephone numbers, including the telephone numbers of the mobile device 235. The multiple telephone numbers are provided in a shuffled (e.g., random) order. Accordingly, the edge device 245 does not need to know (e.g., does not know) which telephone number each token 220 is assigned to, and therefore does not need to know (e.g., does not know) which mobile device 235 each token 220 is assigned to. In one or more configurations, TSP210 may add the token list 225 to one or more blockchains 230. TSP210 may communicate one or more blockchains 230 to OAP240, and other OAP240 that may provide mobile communication services in the general area.

[0050] In step 314, the edge device 245 may detect the mobile device 235 in a specific area that is smaller than the outline area. For example, the specific area may be specified as an area included in the outline area, or it may be specified as being within a threshold distance such as a store or office. In the example, the mobile device 235 approaches a store, and the mobile device 235 may pass the threshold distance to the specific area, and the edge device 245 may detect such a situation.

[0051] In one or more configurations, the edge device 245 may monitor the location of the mobile device 235 within a general area by monitoring the roaming of the mobile device 235 between access points 250 that are communicably linked to the edge device 245. In one or more configurations, the OAP 240 (or TSP 210) may communicate the GPS coordinates and telephone number of the mobile device 235 to the edge device 245, for example, at a periodic rate (e.g., every 5 seconds, every 10 seconds, every 30 seconds, every minute, etc.). Based on the GPS coordinates, the edge device 245 may track the location of the mobile device 235. Furthermore, the edge device 245 may determine which OAP 240 is the primary OAP 240 for the mobile device 235.

[0052] In response to detecting a mobile device 235 within a specific area, edge device 245 may determine whether the mobile device 235's phone number is included in the phone number list 260. If not, edge device 245 does not need to take any further action regarding the mobile device 235. However, if the mobile device 235's phone number is included in the phone number list 260, edge device 245 may determine whether commercial communication 270 is applicable to the situation of the mobile device 235 within a specific area. For example, edge device 245 may determine whether the parameters assigned to commercial communication 270 specify that specific area and whether commercial communication 270 is communicated via the primary OAP 240 for the mobile device 235. If such parameters also specify a time frame for commercial communication 270, edge device 245 may determine whether the current time is within the specified time frame. Still, if any other parameters regarding whether commercial communication 270 is communicated are specified, edge device 345 may determine whether those parameters are met.

[0053] In response to the parameters for transmitting the commercial communication 270 being met, in step 318, the edge device 245 may communicate to the OAP 240 the phone number of the mobile device 235, the scrubbed token list 255, and the commercial communication 270 with the parameters met. In response, in step 320, the OAP 240 may communicate to the TSP 210 the phone number of the mobile device 235, the scrubbed token list 255, and the commercial communication 270 with the parameters met.

[0054] In step 322, TSP210 may determine whether the phone number corresponds to a token 220 included in the scrubbed token list 255. For example, TSP210 may determine the token 220 assigned to the phone number in the token list 225 and determine whether that token 220 is included in the scrubbed token list 255. If so, TSP210 may compare the parameters assigned to the commercial communication 270 with the user preference 275 of the user to whom the phone number is assigned and determine whether the commercial communication 270 conforms to the user preference 275 for authorized commercial messages. In an example, TSP210 may determine whether the commercial communication 270 is of an authorized type of commercial communication, whether the commercial communication 270 is for an authorized brand, whether the current time is an authorized time for the commercial communication 270, etc.

[0055] If the phone number corresponds to a token 220 included in token list 225, and the token 220 included in token list 225 matches a token included in the scrubbed token list 255, and the commercial communication 270 conforms to the user preference 275 of the user of the mobile device 235, then in step 324, TSP 210 may communicate the phone number of the mobile device 235 and the commercial communication 270 to OAP 240. In one or more configurations, rather than communicating the phone number of the mobile device 235, TSP 210 may communicate the token 220 assigned to the phone number to OAP 240. OAP 240 may access blockchain 230 to select a phone number based on the token 220. Regardless of how OAP 240 determines the phone number, using the phone number, OAP 240 may communicate a commercial message to the mobile device 235 in step 326. In one or more configurations, the OAP 240 may communicate commercial messages to the terminating access provider (TAP) to which the mobile device 235 subscribes, and the TAP may communicate commercial messages to the mobile device 235.

[0056] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary communication between components of the mobile communication system shown in Figure 2. In this example, multiple mobile devices 235-1, 235-2, 235-3, and 235-4 may be located within a general area 405 (e.g., a shopping mall, shopping plaza, or office building).

[0057] The edge device 245 may be assigned to the outline region 405. The edge device 245 may communicate the scrubbed token request 410 to the TSP 210. In response, the TSP 210 may communicate the scrubbed token list 255 to the edge device 245. The TSP 210 may also communicate the token list 225 to the OAP 240, for example, in a blockchain.

[0058] Multiple commercial entities 365-1, 365-2, and 365-3 may each communicate one or more of their respective commercial communications 270 to the edge device 245. For example, commercial entity 365-1 may communicate commercial communication 270-1 to the edge device 245, commercial entity 365-2 may communicate commercial communication 270-2 to the edge device 245, and commercial entity 365-3 may communicate commercial communication 270-3 to the edge device 245. Each commercial entity 265 may specify one or more OAPs 240 that are intended to be used to communicate its respective commercial communications 270. For example, commercial entity 265-1 may specify that commercial communication 270-1 is intended to be communicated via OAP 240-1 (for example, to a mobile device 235 registered with OAP 240-1). Similarly, commercial entity 265-2 may specify that commercial communication 270-2 is to be communicated via OAP240-2. Commercial entity 265-3 may specify that commercial communication 270-3 is to be communicated via OAP240-2 and OAP240-3. Edge device 245 and / or OAP240 may charge commercial entities a fee for using OAP240 to communicate commercial communication 270.

[0059] In this example, we assume that mobile device 235-1 is registered with OAP 240-1, is located within a specific area 420 designated for commercial communication 270-1, and is within a period designated for commercial communication 270-1. We also assume that the user preference 275 of the user of mobile device 235-1 allows commercial communication from commercial entity 265-1. In response, edge device 245 may initiate communication of commercial communication 270-1 to mobile device 235-1 via OAP 240-1, for example, as previously described. In some cases, mobile device 235-1 may be located within overlapping specific areas 420, 425. Edge device 245 may determine which commercial entity 265 mobile device 235-1 is closest to and prioritize commercial communication 270-1 over commercial communication 270-2. For example, the edge device 245 may first initiate a commercial communication 270-1 to the mobile device 235-1, and later initiate a commercial communication 270-2 to the mobile device 235-1.

[0060] The edge device 245 and / or OAP 240-1 may charge the commercial entity 265-1 for the delivery of commercial communications 270-1 using the scrubbed token list 255, in accordance with the arrangement described herein.

[0061] In another example, we assume that mobile devices 235-2,235-3 are registered with OAP 240-2, located within a specific area 425 designated for commercial communications 270-2, and within a period designated for commercial communications 270-2. We also assume that the user preferences 275 of the users of mobile devices 235-2,235-3 enable commercial communications from commercial entity 265-2. In response, edge device 245 may initiate commercial communications 270-2 to mobile devices 235-2,235-3 via OAP-2, for example, as previously described. The edge device 245 and / or OAP 240-2 may charge the commercial entity 265-2 for the delivery of commercial communications 270-2 using the scrubbed token list 255, in accordance with the arrangement described herein.

[0062] In a further example, suppose mobile device 235-4 is registered with OAP 240-2 and OAP 240-3, is located within a specific area 430 designated for commercial communications 270-3, and is within the period designated for commercial communications 270-3. However, suppose the user preference 275 of the user of mobile device 235-4 does not allow commercial communications from commercial entity 265-3. Therefore, even if mobile device 235-4 meets the location and time requirements for receiving commercial communications 270-3, based on user preference 275, commercial communications 270-3 will not be communicated to mobile device 235-4. Since commercial communications 270-3 are not communicated to mobile device 235-4, charges should not be levied on commercial entity 265-3 until commercial communications 270-3 are actually communicated to mobile device 235, which user preference 275 authorizes for commercial communications 270-3.

[0063] Using a further example, let S={S_1,…,S_n} be n commercial entities registered to push commercial communications using edge devices in a given common location (e.g., a shopping mall, an airport, etc.). Let D_i be the message header intended to be used to send commercial communications by commercial entity S_i. Multiple mobile devices 235 enter a common location within time slot t in [t_1,t_2]. A request for proactive scrubbing may be generated by edge device 245 to receive a scrubbed token list 255, where each token 220 corresponds to a specific telephone number. Let (V_j,m_j) be the telephone number and token generated for mobile device j. Note that token 220 may also be generated if the user of mobile device j provides consent to receive any commercial communications 270 from commercial entity 265. The scrubbed token list 255 and telephone number list 260 may be communicated to edge device 245.

[0064] The token list 225 may be shared with each OAP 240 used by the commercial entity 265 to communicate commercial communications. Furthermore, the hash of this data may be shared with the edge device 245. However, it should be noted that individual user preferences 275 and user consent will not be leaked to the edge device 245.

[0065] Therefore, whenever a user is near an edge device in a particular area, the mobile device 235 identifies a commercial entity 265 registered for that particular area, and the phone number of the mobile device 235 is identified by the edge device 245.

[0066] If the phone number is in the phone number list 260, the edge device 245 may send the scrubbed token list 255, the phone number of the mobile device 235, and the selected commercial communications 270 to the OAP 240 used by the commercial entity 265. Note that tokens may be shared to ensure that the edge device 245 has performed scrubbing for the user. The edge device 245 may also send the ranked list 280 of commercial entities 265 for the mobile device 235 to the OAP 240. The OAP 240 may determine which commercial communications 270 will communicate with the mobile device 235 based at least in part on the ranked list 280 of commercial entities 265. For example, if multiple commercial entities request that commercial communications be transmitted to a mobile device 235 (e.g., subscribers), the edge device 245 may transmit a ranked list 280 of the commercial entities 265 to the OAP 240, which may then transmit one or more commercial communications 270 to the mobile device 235 according to the ranked list 280 of the commercial entities 265. The ranking in the ranked list may be a resolution of the commercial entity ranking by the edge device 245, which has a preference ranking set by the user of the mobile device 235. The TSP 210 may determine the preference ranking based on user preferences 275.

[0067] The TSP210 may look up a token 220 for a given phone number and determine whether the token is in the list of scrubbed tokens 255 provided by the edge device 245. This can ensure that scrubbing has been performed. The TSP210 may also ensure that the transmitted commercial communications 270 are attached to message headers and templates. If so, the commercial communications 270 can be delivered to the mobile device 235 via the OAP240. Periodically, each OAP240 may communicate to the edge device 245 or the TSP210 the total number of commercial communications 270 to be delivered via the edge device 245 for each commercial entity 265.

[0068] In some cases, the operator of edge device 245 may challenge OAP 240 to explain the charges for transmitting commercial communications 270 over a specific period. OAP 240 may wish to convince the operator of edge device 245 that the calculated charges are correct without releasing any confidential information. For example, suppose R is a request sent to OAP 240 by the operator of edge device 245 during the period.

[0069] The following is a proof generation that OAP240 may use to verify charges: Let H_1, H2, ..., H_k be hashes of data D_1, D_2, ..., D_k shared with OAP240 after a scrubbing process over a given period. OAP240 may concatenate the data into D and generate a column-by-column hash of the concatenated dataset. OAP240 may also generate a zero-knowledge proof to show that the concatenated data D was filtered as a request shared by OAP240 and that the aggregate count of delivered commercial communications 270 was correctly calculated.

[0070] The following is a proof of verification that may be used by the operator of edge device 245: The operator of edge device 245 may verify the charges for a given period by using the hash of the data and the zero-knowledge proof submitted by OAP240.

[0071] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method 500 for transmitting commercial communications to a mobile device. The method can be implemented by an edge device 245.

[0072] In step 505, the edge device 245 can receive commercial communications.

[0073] In step 505, the edge device 245 may receive a scrubbed token list and a telephone number list, where the edge device does not know which token in the scrubbed token list corresponds to which telephone number in the telephone number list.

[0074] In step 515, the edge device 245 may determine that a mobile device has been detected in a specific area.

[0075] In step 520, the edge device 245 may, in response to determining that the mobile device has been detected in the specific area, determine whether the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list.

[0076] In step 525, the edge device 245 may, in response to determining that the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list, communicate the phone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list, and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider, where the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communication to the mobile device, at least in part on whether the phone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list.

[0077] The above description is merely an example of embodiments, variations, and substitutions of the present invention. This disclosure concludes with claims defining novel features, but it is believed that the various features described herein will be better understood in conjunction with the descriptions and drawings. The processes, machines, products, and any variations thereof described herein are provided for illustrative purposes only. No particular structural and functional details described herein should be construed as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as representative grounds to teach those skilled in the art to adopt various features described herein in substantially any well-detailed structure. Furthermore, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather to provide an easily understandable description of the features described.

[0078] The present invention may be an integrated system, method, and / or computer program product at any possible level of technical detail. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium (or a plurality of computer-readable storage media) having computer-readable program instructions for causing a processor to perform aspects of the present invention.

[0079] A computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device capable of holding and storing instructions for use by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium may be, but is not limited to, electronic storage devices, magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, electromagnetic storage devices, semiconductor storage devices, or any preferred combination of those described above. A non-exclusive list of more specific examples of computer-readable storage media is as follows: portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), memory sticks, floppy disks, mechanically encoded devices such as punch cards or grooved raised structures on which instructions are recorded, and any preferred combination of those described above. As used herein, computer-readable storage media should not be interpreted as being radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through waveguides or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through optical fiber cables), or transient signals such as electrical signals transmitted through wires.

[0080] The computer-readable program instructions described herein may be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to each computing / processing device, or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and / or a wireless network. The network may include copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface within each computing / processing device receives computer-readable program instructions from the network and transfers the computer-readable program instructions for storage in the computer-readable storage medium within each computing / processing device.

[0081] The computer-readable program instructions that perform the operation of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, configuration data for integrated circuits, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, C++, or similar, and procedural programming languages ​​such as the C programming language or similar. The computer-readable program instructions may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), or this connection may be to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet service provider). In some embodiments, for example, an electronic circuit including a programmable logic circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a programmable logic array (PLA) may be personalized by executing computer-readable program instructions using state information of computer-readable program instructions in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

[0082] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that each block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions.

[0083] These computer-readable program instructions can be provided to a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device to create a machine, and as a result, instructions executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create means for implementing functions / operations specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram. These computer-readable program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium on which the instructions are stored, which can instruct a computer, a programmable data processing device, and / or other device to function in a particular manner, such that the storage medium has a product containing instructions that implements a mode of function / operation specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0084] Computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded into a computer, other programmable data processing device, or other device to perform a series of operational steps on the computer, other programmable device, or other device, thereby generating a computer implementation process in which the instructions executed on the computer, other programmable device, or other device implement the functions / operations specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0085] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions containing one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. In some alternative implementations, the functions described in the blocks may occur in an order different from the order shown in the drawings. For example, two blocks shown consecutively may actually be implemented as a single step, executed simultaneously, substantially simultaneously, partially or entirely, with overlapping timelines, or blocks may, in some cases, be executed in reverse order depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagram and / or flowchart, and combinations of blocks in the block diagram and / or flowchart, may be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs a specified function or operation, or executes a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions. The terms used herein are intended to describe only specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to also include the plural forms unless explicitly indicated otherwise in the context. It will be further understood that, as used in this disclosure, the terms “includes,” “comprises,” and / or “comprising” identify the presence of described features, integers, steps, actions, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0086] The terms used herein are intended to describe only specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to also include the plural forms unless explicitly indicated otherwise in the context. It will be further understood that, as used in this disclosure, the terms “includes,” “comprises,” and / or “comprising” identify the presence of described features, integers, steps, actions, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0087] Throughout this disclosure, any reference to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “one arrangement,” “an arrangement,” “one aspect,” “an aspect,” or similar wording means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in relation to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment described within this disclosure. Thus, throughout this disclosure, where the words “one embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “one arrangement,” “one aspect,” “an aspect,” and similar wording appear, they may all, though not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0088] As used herein, the term “plural” is defined as two or more. As used herein, the term “another” is defined as at least the second or subsequent. As used herein, the term “combined” is defined as connected, whether directly without any intervening elements or indirectly with one or more intervening elements, unless otherwise indicated. Two elements may also be mechanically or electrically coupled, or linked communicatively through a communication channel, route, network, or system. As used herein, the term “and / or” refers to and encompasses any possible combination of one or more of the associated enumerated items. While terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, it will be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms, as they are used only to distinguish one element from another, unless otherwise stated or indicated in the context.

[0089] The term "if" can be interpreted, depending on the context, as "when," "upon," "in response to a judgment," or "in response to detection." Similarly, the phrase "if judged" or "[the described condition or event] detected" can be interpreted, depending on the context, as "when the described condition or event" is "judged," "in response to being judged," "when detected," or "in response to detecting [the described condition or event]."

[0090] As defined herein, the term “general area” means a geographical area comprising several specific areas. For example, a general area could be a shopping center, a shopping mall, or an office building.

[0091] As defined herein, the term “specific area” means a geographical area smaller than the general area, but within the general area. For example, a specific area may be the area inside a store or office and / or within a threshold distance of the store or office.

[0092] As defined herein, the term “telecommunications service provider” means a provider of telecommunications services to mobile devices.

[0093] As defined herein, the term “outgoing access provider” means a telecommunications service provider that provides telecommunications resources to commercial entities communicating commercial communications.

[0094] As defined herein, the term “Terminal Access Provider” means a telecommunications service provider that provides telecommunications resources to a mobile device. As defined herein, the term “Commercial Communication” means a text message or voice message transmitted to a mobile device for the purpose of conveying a commercial request or advertisement.

[0095] As defined herein, the term "token" means a sequence of symbols assigned to a telephone number.

[0096] As defined herein, the term “token list” means a list containing tokens to which tokens have been assigned and telephone numbers, and the token list indicates which tokens are assigned to which telephone numbers.

[0097] As defined herein, the term “scrubbed token list” means a token list from which telephone numbers have been removed, or from which instructions indicating which tokens were assigned to which telephone numbers have been masked or removed.

[0098] As defined herein, the term “edge device” means a hardware system comprising at least one processor and memory that provides an entry point to an enterprise or service provider core network. An example of an edge device is an edge server.

[0099] As defined herein, the term “blockchain” means a distributed ledger containing an immutable record used to track tokens assigned to phone numbers.

[0100] As defined herein, the term “in response” means to immediately respond to or react to an action or event. Therefore, if a second action is performed “in response” to a first action, there is a causal relationship between the occurrence of the first action and the occurrence of the second action, and the term “in response” indicates such a causal relationship.

[0101] As defined herein, the term “computer-readable storage medium” means a storage medium that contains or stores program code for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. As defined herein, a “computer-readable storage medium” is not a transient propagating signal in itself.

[0102] As defined herein, the term “data processing system” means one or more hardware systems configured to process data, each hardware system including at least one processor programmed to initiate executable operations, and memory.

[0103] As defined herein, the term “processor” means at least one piece of hardware circuitry (e.g., an integrated circuit) configured to execute instructions contained in program code. Examples of processors include, but are not limited to, central processing units (CPUs), array processors, vector processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic circuits, and controllers.

[0104] As defined herein, the term “server” means a data processing system configured to share services with one or more other data processing systems.

[0105] As defined herein, the term “mobile device” means a mobile data processing system to which a telephone number has been assigned. Examples of mobile devices include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablet computers, personal digital assistants, smartwatches, smart glasses, mobile computers, laptop computers, netbooks, gaming devices, and similar devices. Network infrastructure such as routers, firewalls, switches, access points, and similar devices are not mobile devices as defined herein.

[0106] As defined herein, the term “real-time” means a level of processing responsiveness that a user or system perceives as sufficiently immediate for a particular process or decision to be performed, or that allows a processor to keep up with some external processing.

[0107] As defined herein, the term “output” means storage in a memory element, writing to a display or other peripheral output device, sending or transmitting to another system, exporting, or similar operations.

[0108] As defined herein, the term "automatically" means without user intervention.

[0109] As defined herein, the term "user" means a person (i.e., a human being).

[0110] The descriptions of various embodiments of the present invention are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be comprehensive or limitless to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein has been selected to best describe the principles of the embodiments, their practical applications, or technical improvements to the technology available on the market, or to enable other persons skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. The stage where edge devices receive commercial communications; The edge device receives a scrubbed list of tokens and a list of telephone numbers, where the edge device does not know which token in the scrubbed list corresponds to which telephone number in the list of telephone numbers; The stage at which it is determined that a mobile device has been detected in a specific area; In response to determining that the mobile device has been detected in the specific area, the edge device determines whether the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list; and In response to determining that the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list, the edge device communicates the phone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list, and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider, wherein the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communication to the mobile device, at least in part, based on whether the phone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list. A method that includes [a certain feature].

2. The step of determining that the mobile device has been detected in a general area, where the specific area is located within the general area; and In response to determining that the mobile device is within the general area, the edge device communicates a request for the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider; Furthermore, Here, the step of the edge device receiving the scrubbed token list and the telephone number list is followed by the step of the edge device communicating the request for the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider. The method according to claim 1.

3. The outgoing access provider communicates the telephone number of the mobile device and the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider, wherein the telecommunications service provider determines whether the telephone number of the mobile device matches the tokens included in the scrubbed token list. The method according to claim 1.

4. The outgoing access provider further transmits the commercial communication to the telecommunications service provider; In response to the telecommunications service provider determining that the telephone number of the mobile device matches the token included in the scrubbed token list, the telecommunications service provider communicates the telephone number of the mobile device and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider; In response to receiving the telephone number and commercial communication of the mobile device from the telecommunications service provider, the outgoing access provider transmits the commercial communication to the mobile device. The method according to claim 3.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outgoing access provider transmits the commercial communications to the mobile device based at least in part on the user preferences of the user of the mobile device.

6. The edge device communicates a ranked list of commercial entities to the outgoing access provider, where the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communications to the mobile device, at least partially based on the ranked list of commercial entities. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining that the mobile device has been detected in the specific area includes the step of the edge device detecting the mobile device in the specific area.

8. Procedure for receiving commercial communications via an edge device; The edge device receives a scrubbed list of tokens and a list of telephone numbers, wherein the edge device does not know which tokens in the scrubbed list correspond to which telephone numbers in the list of telephone numbers; Procedure for determining whether a mobile device has been detected in a specific area; A procedure by which the edge device determines, in response to the determination that the mobile device has been detected in the specific area, whether the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list; and In response to determining that the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list, the edge device communicates the phone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list, and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider, wherein the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communication to the mobile device, at least in part, based on whether the phone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list. A processor programmed to initiate an executable operation having A system that includes these features.

9. The aforementioned executable actions are: A procedure for determining that the mobile device has been detected in a general area, wherein the specific area is located within the general area; and In response to determining that the mobile device is within the general area, the edge device communicates a request for the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider; Furthermore, Here, the procedure by which the edge device receives the scrubbed token list and the telephone number list is in response to the procedure by which the edge device communicates the request for the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider. The system according to claim 8.

10. The outgoing access provider communicates the telephone number of the mobile device and the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider, wherein the telecommunications service provider determines whether the telephone number of the mobile device matches the tokens included in the scrubbed token list. The system according to claim 8.

11. The outgoing access provider further transmits the commercial communication to the telecommunications service provider; In response to the telecommunications service provider determining that the telephone number of the mobile device matches the token included in the scrubbed token list, the telecommunications service provider communicates the telephone number of the mobile device and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider; In response to receiving the telephone number and commercial communication of the mobile device from the telecommunications service provider, the outgoing access provider transmits the commercial communication to the mobile device. The system according to claim 10.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the outgoing access provider transmits the commercial communications to the mobile device based at least in part on the user preferences of the user of the mobile device.

13. The aforementioned executable actions are: The edge device communicates a ranked list of commercial entities to the outgoing access provider, where the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communications to the mobile device, at least partially based on the ranked list of commercial entities. The system according to claim 8, further comprising:

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein the step of determining that the mobile device has been detected in the specific area includes the step of the edge device detecting the mobile device in the specific area.

15. One or more computer-readable storage media in which program code is stored, the program code stored in the one or more computer-readable storage media is Procedure for receiving commercial communications via an edge device; The edge device receives a scrubbed list of tokens and a list of telephone numbers, wherein the edge device does not know which tokens in the scrubbed list correspond to which telephone numbers in the list of telephone numbers; Procedure for determining whether a mobile device has been detected in a specific area; A procedure by which the edge device determines, in response to the determination that the mobile device has been detected in the specific area, whether the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list; and In response to determining that the phone number of the mobile device is included in the phone number list, the edge device communicates the phone number of the mobile device, the scrubbed token list, and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider, wherein the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communication to the mobile device, at least in part, based on whether the phone number of the mobile device matches a token included in the scrubbed token list. To initiate an operation that includes this, it is possible to perform it collectively by the data processing system. A computer program product that includes the following features.

16. The aforementioned program code is: A procedure for determining that the mobile device has been detected in a general area, wherein the specific area is located within the general area; and In response to the step of determining that the mobile device is within the approximate area, the edge device communicates a request for the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider; The data processing system can perform the following actions to initiate an operation that further includes the following: Here, the procedure by which the edge device receives the scrubbed token list and the telephone number list is in response to the procedure by which the edge device communicates the request for the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider. The computer program product according to claim 15.

17. The outgoing access provider communicates the telephone number of the mobile device and the scrubbed token list to the telecommunications service provider, wherein the telecommunications service provider determines whether the telephone number of the mobile device matches the tokens included in the scrubbed token list. The computer program product according to claim 15.

18. The outgoing access provider further transmits the commercial communication to the telecommunications service provider; In response to the telecommunications service provider determining that the telephone number of the mobile device matches the token included in the scrubbed token list, the telecommunications service provider communicates the telephone number of the mobile device and the commercial communication to the outgoing access provider; In response to receiving the telephone number and commercial communication of the mobile device from the telecommunications service provider, the outgoing access provider transmits the commercial communication to the mobile device. The computer program product according to claim 17.

19. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the outgoing access provider transmits the commercial communications to the mobile device, at least in part, based on the user preferences of the user of the mobile device.

20. The aforementioned program code is: The edge device communicates a ranked list of commercial entities to the outgoing access provider, where the outgoing access provider communicates the commercial communications to the mobile device, at least partially based on the ranked list of commercial entities. The computer program product according to claim 15, which is executable by the data processing system to initiate an operation further comprising the above.

21. A computer program comprising, when the program is executed on a computer, program code means adapted to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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