Content Access Control via Mesh Fingerprinting and Intermediary Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Service providers face challenges in determining the location of customer devices to manage content access effectively, especially with the increasing use of diverse devices like tablets and mobile devices, which complicates inferring whether a device is within a household subscription area.
Innovation Solution
A content management server determines whether a customer device is in communication with additional devices associated with the customer, using techniques such as mesh fingerprint analysis, network hop count, and latency evaluation, to assess if the device is within a subscription area and accordingly grants or restricts access rights to content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If service providers allow content access on diverse customer devices (tablets, mobile devices, PCs), then customer experience and satisfaction are enhanced, but the ability to infer device location within subscription area deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediary devices (authenticated access devices such as cable set-top boxes, satellite set-top boxes, or cable modems) that serve as mediators between the content delivery system and diverse customer devices. These intermediary devices are authenticated and located within the subscription area, and they facilitate content delivery to various customer devices regardless of whether those devices can be directly authenticated or their locations determined. This resolves the contradiction by allowing versatile device support while maintaining location control through the intermediary.
2Reliability
If service providers restrict content access to devices within subscription area, then content distribution requirements are satisfied, but customer flexibility and convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content delivery system into multiple components: authenticated access devices that enforce location-based access control, and customer devices that consume content. The access control function is separated from the content consumption function. This allows the system to maintain strict compliance with content distribution requirements at the access device level while providing convenient content access to customers on various devices within the subscription area.
Solution Approach 2:
Authenticated access devices act as intermediaries that enforce content distribution requirements while enabling convenient customer access. These intermediaries handle the complex authentication and location verification processes, shielding customers from these complexities and providing simple, convenient content access on supported devices within the subscription area.
3Measurement precision
If service providers use traditional authenticated access devices (set-top boxes, modems), then location inference within household is relatively certain, but device type flexibility and modern content consumption options are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal content delivery architecture where authenticated access devices serve multiple functions: they authenticate themselves to the content delivery system, establish their location within the subscription area, and simultaneously enable content access for multiple different customer devices (smartphones, tablets, PCs, traditional TVs). This multi-functional approach maintains precise location inference through the authenticated device while providing universal support for diverse modern devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatus for delivering content are provided. A request for desired content may be received by a content management server from a customer device associated with a customer. The content management server may include one or more computers. Additionally, the content management server may determine whether the customer device is in communication with one or more additional devices associated with the customer. Based at least in part upon the communication determination, the content management server may determine whether the customer device is located within a subscription area for the customer. Based at least in part upon the determination of whether the customer device is located within the subscription area, the content management server may determine access rights to the desired content.