Systems and methods for providing flexible provisioning architectures for a host in a cable system
View Patent ↗Flexible systems and methods are disclosed that may be used for provisioning, configuring, and controlling a host embodied in a cable set top box or other digital device attached to a digital communication network, such as cable distribution network. An enhanced services system maintains various host files for various types of hosts that a cable subscriber may purchase and connect to the cable network. The Enhanced Services Server interacts with the host using the host files. The host files may be downloaded from the host manufacturer into a database that distributes the modules as required to the various enhanced services systems. The host may be purchased by the cable subscriber and provisioning may be initiated by the retailer at the time of purchase using a provisioning network interacting with the appropriate cable system serving the subscriber. This abstract is not intended to limit or construe the scope of the claims.
1. A system for provisioning a cable television service comprising:
an Internet Service Provisioning Gateway (ISPG) operatively connected to a communications network, capable of hosting a web site accessed by a user at a computer connected to the communications network wherein the ISPG is configured to provide cable television service options to the computer and receiving a first provisioning message comprising service related input data entered by the user comprising a user identifier and a host identifier, the ISPG capable of generating a second provisioning message including the service related input data, the user identifier, and the host identifier; and
an enhanced services system (ESS) operatively connected to the ISPG receiving said second provisioning message, said ESS configured to use said host identifier to ascertain a host file associated with a host type, said host type determined in part by said host identifier, the host file used to identify one of a plurality of a host protocol files used for generating a message for provisioning a host identified by said host identifier wherein said message is transmitted to said host and wherein the second provisioning message further includes a host manufacturer identifier and a host model identifier.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the second provisioning message further includes a conditional access module identifier.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the host file contains a configuration message associated with the host type, the configuration message further associated with a service identified by the service related input data.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the ESS is capable of generating a legacy based command to a cable headend.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the legacy based command initializes a host.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the ESS is capable of generating a third provisioning message that is received by a host on a cable network.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the ISPG is operatively connected to a location serviceability database.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein the location serviceability database receives location data associated with the user and selects at least one cable system provider based on the location data.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the ISPG is capable of selecting one of a plurality of ESSs operatively connected to the ISPG, the selection determined in part on data received from the computer.