Clientless method for context driven wireless interactions
Described herein are methods and apparatuses for the provision and management of value added services without a requirement for specific client software on a wireless receive/transmit unit (WRTU). The methods and apparatuses described may be applied to wireless networks supporting HTTP transfers without disrupting the wireless network configuration. In the embodiments described herein, a web request may be received by a Service Management Entity (SME) that may be located in an access point (AP) from a WRTU. The SME may transmit a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file to the WRTU. This PAC file may include a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with a Service Delivery Entity (SDE), and the URL chosen may be based on rules associated with a location of the WRTU. The SDE may then receive a second web request from the WRTU and respond by transmitting a message to the WRTU such as a transaction trigger.
1. A method for providing services to a wireless receive/transmit unit (WRTU), the method comprising:
receiving, by a service management entity (SME) located in an access point (AP), a first web request from the WRTU;
transmitting, by the SME, a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file to the WRTU, wherein the PAC file includes a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with a service delivery entity (SDE) based on rules associated with a location of the WRTU to enable trapping by the SDE of subsequent web requests from the WRTU;
receiving, by the SDE, a second web request from the WRTU;
determining, by the SDE, information associated with a transaction to transmit to the WRTU based on the location of the WRTU; and
transmitting, by the SDE, the information associated with the transaction to the WRTU.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first web request is a PAC file request.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the AP is SSID dependent.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the AP is IP dependent.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SME is a RADIUS server.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SDE is a RADIUS server.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the SDE, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of AP controllers to be managed by the SME in an internal registry.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
granting, by the SME, permission by the SDE to transmit messages.
9. A server configured to provide services to a wireless receive/transmit unit (WRTU), the server comprising:
a service management entity (SME) configured to receive a first web request from the WRTU;
the SME further configured to transmit a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file to the WRTU, wherein the PAC file includes a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with a service delivery entity (SDE) based on rules associated with a location of the WRTU to enable trapping by the SDE of subsequent web requests from the WRTU;
the SDE configured to receive a second web request from the WRTU; and
the SDE configured to determine information associated with a transaction to transmit to the WRTU based on the location of the WRTU; and
the SDE further configured to transmit the information associated with the transaction to the WRTU.
10. The server of claim 9 , wherein the first web request is a PAC file request.
11. The server of claim 9 , wherein the SDE is a RADIUS server.
12. The server of claim 9 , further comprising:
The SME further configured to transmit Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of access point (AP) controllers to be managed in an internal registry.
13. A wireless receive/transmit unit (WRTU) configured to receive services from a network, the WRTU comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a first web request to a service management entity (SME);
a receiver configured to receive a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file from the SME, wherein the PAC file includes a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with a service delivery entity (SDE) based on rules associated with a location of the WRTU to enable trapping by the SDE of subsequent web requests from the WRTU;
the transmitter further configured to transmit a second web request to the URL associated with the SDE; and
the receiver further configured to receive information associated with a transaction from the SDE, wherein the information associated with the transaction is determined to be transmitted based on the location of the WRTU.
14. The WRTU of claim 13 , wherein the first web request is a PAC file request.
15. The WRTU of claim 13 , wherein the SME is a RADIUS server.
16. The WRTU of claim 13 , wherein the SDE is a RADIUS server.
17. The WRTU of claim 13 , wherein the WRTU is a smartphone.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction is an incentive offer.
19. The server of claim 9 , wherein the transaction is an incentive offer.
20. The WRTU of claim 13 , wherein the transaction is an incentive offer.