Pre-Caching Location Based Advertising for Repeated Out Of Coverage Scenarios Based On Commuter or Regular Travel Patterns

1 . A method of providing location-based advertising at a mobile device, the method comprising:

identifying a device travel path;

identifying an out-of-coverage portion of the path;

determining location-based advertising (LBA) based on the out-of-coverage portion of the path; and

pre-caching on the mobile device the LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the path.

2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

identifying a fringe coverage zone;

determining LBA for the fringe coverage zone; and

pre-caching on the mobile device the LBA for the fringe coverage zone.

3 . The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring user activity on the mobile device to determine if the user activity relates to location-based advertising;

determining if the location-based advertising is pre-cached in a cache on the mobile device; and

where the location-based advertising is pre-cached on the mobile device, obtaining the location-based advertising from the cache on the mobile device.

4 . The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

enabling programming of a route over which the mobile device will travel;

determining the out-of-coverage portion of the route;

determining LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the route; and

pre-caching on the mobile device the LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the route.

5 . The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein identifying the frequent path comprises collecting travel data and wherein identifying the out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path comprises collecting coverage data for the frequent path.

6 . The method as claimed in claim 1 comprising triggering the pre-caching of LBA in response to receipt of user input.

7 . A computer-readable medium comprising instructions in code which when loaded into memory and executed on a processor of a mobile device is adapted to cause the mobile device to:

identify a frequent path over which the device has repeatedly traveled;

identify an out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path;

determine LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path; and

pre-cache on the mobile device the LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path.

8 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 wherein the code is further adapted to cause the mobile device to:

identify a fringe coverage zone;

determine LBA for the fringe coverage zone; and

pre-cache on the mobile device the LBA for the fringe coverage zone.

9 . A mobile device comprising:

a location-determining subsystem for determining a current location of the mobile device;

a memory coupled to a processor that is configured to receive current location data from the location-determining subsystem to identify a frequent path over which the device has repeatedly traveled; and

a radiofrequency transceiver for wirelessly receiving location-based advertising (LBA),

wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify an out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path;

determine LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path; and

pre-cache in the memory of the mobile device the LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the frequent path.

10 . The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify a fringe coverage zone;

determine LBA for the fringe coverage zone; and

pre-cache on the mobile device the LBA for the fringe coverage zone.

11 . The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor is further configured to:

monitor user activity on the mobile device to determine if the user activity relates to location-based advertising;

determine if the location-based advertising is pre-cached in the memory of the mobile device; and

where the location-based advertising is pre-cached on the mobile device, obtain the location-based advertising from the memory of the mobile device.

12 . The device as claimed in claim 9 comprising a user input device for receiving user input that programs a route over which the mobile device will travel and wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine the out-of-coverage portion of the route;

determine LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the route; and

pre-cache on the mobile device the LBA for the out-of-coverage portion of the route.

13 . The device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the processor is further configured to:

collect travel data to identify the frequent path; and

collect coverage data for the frequent path to identify the out-of-coverage portion.

14 . The device as claimed in claim 9 comprising a user input device for receiving user input that triggers the pre-caching of the LBA.