FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention relates to the field of location based services and more specifically to supporting the provision of such services.

BACKGROUND

Location based services of various kinds are known in the art. Examples include navigation services or services pointing out points of interest in the environment.

SUMMARY OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

An example embodiment of a method comprises, performed by at least one apparatus of a mobile communication network, determining whether a user of a mobile device, which accesses the mobile communication network via a base station serving a particular radio cell, has subscribed to a location based service associated with the particular radio cell. The method further comprises in the case it is determined that the user of the mobile device has subscribed to a location based service associated with the particular radio cell, assembling information, the information including information on a location of the mobile device. The method further comprises providing the assembled information to an apparatus of a service provider external to the mobile communication network to cause the service provider to provide the subscribed location based service.

An example embodiment of a first apparatus comprises means for causing performance of the actions of any presented embodiment of the presented example method, as far as performed in the mobile communication network.

The means of the apparatus may be implemented in hardware and/or software. They may comprise for instance a processor for executing computer program code for realizing the required functions, a memory storing the program code, or both. Alternatively, they may comprise for instance a circuit that is designed to realize the required functions, for instance implemented in a chipset or a chip, like an integrated circuit.

An example embodiment of a second apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause at least one apparatus of a mobile communication network at least to perform the actions of any presented embodiment of the presented example method, as far as performed in the mobile communication network. Any of the described apparatuses may comprise only the indicated components or one or more additional components. Moreover an example embodiment of a system is presented, which comprises means for causing performance of the actions of any presented embodiment of the presented example method, and a base station serving a particular radio cell and/or an apparatus of a service provider external to the mobile communication network. Moreover an example embodiment of a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is presented, in which computer program code is stored. The computer program code causes at least one apparatus of a mobile communication network to perform the actions of any presented embodiment of the presented example method when executed by a processor. The computer readable storage medium may be for example a disk or a memory or the like. The computer program code may be stored in the computer readable storage medium in the form of instructions encoding the computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may be intended for taking part in the operation of a device, like an internal or external hard disk of a computer, or be intended for distribution of the program code, like an optical disc.

It is to be understood that any embodiment of the computer program code by itself has to be considered an example embodiment of the invention as well. The computer program code could also be distributed to several computer readable storage mediums. In certain embodiments, any of the presented methods is an information providing method, and the presented first apparatus is an information providing apparatus. In certain embodiments, the means of the presented first apparatus are processing means.

In certain embodiments, any of the presented methods is a method for supporting a provision of a location based service. In certain embodiment, any of the presented apparatuses is an apparatus for supporting a provision of a location based service.

It is to be understood that any feature presented for a particular example embodiment may also be used in combination with any other described example embodiment of any category. Further, it is to be understood that the presentation of the invention in this section is merely exemplary and non-limiting.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale and that they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig . 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of an example embodiment of an apparatus;

Fig . 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method;

Fig . 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a system;

Fig . 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of operations in the system of Figure 3;

Fig . 5A-E are diagrams further illustrating operations of the flow chart of Figure 4;

Fig . 6 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of an apparatus;

Fig . 7 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of an apparatus; and

Fig . 8 schematically illustrates example removable storage devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of an apparatus 100 according to the invention. Apparatus 100 comprises a processor 101 and, linked to processor 101 , a memory 102. Memory 102 stores computer program code for supporting a provision of location based services.

Processor 101 is configured to execute computer program code stored in memory 102 in order to cause an apparatus to perform desired actions. Memory 102 may be an example computer readable storage medium according to the invention, and the computer program code stored in memory 102 may be an example computer program code according to the invention.

Apparatus 100 may be for instance a server of a mobile communication network or a module for such a server. Such a module may be for instance a chip, circuitry on a chip or a plug-in board. Optionally, apparatus 100 may comprise various other components, like a data interface, a user interface, a further memory, a further processor, etc. An example operation of apparatus 100 will now be described with reference to the flow chart of Figure 2. The operation is an example embodiment of a method according to the invention. Processor 101 and the program code stored in memory 102 cause at least one apparatus of a mobile communication network to perform the operation when program code according to the invention is retrieved from memory 102 and executed by processor 101. The at least one apparatus that is caused to perform the operation may be or comprise apparatus 100, for example but not necessarily a server comprising apparatus 100, or some other apparatus.

The at least one apparatus determines whether a user of a mobile device, which accesses the mobile communication network via a base station serving a particular radio cell, has subscribed to a location based service associated with the particular radio cell, (action 201) The user may be a person, but it could equally be a machine, like a mobile robot. For checking a possible subscription, the user may be identified for instance based on an international mobile subscriber identity and/or based on an international mobile station equipment identity provided by the mobile device.

The at least one apparatus furthermore assembles information, in the case it is determined that the user of the mobile device has subscribed to a location based service associated with the particular radio cell, the information including information on a location of the mobile device, (action 202) The at least one apparatus furthermore provides the assembled information for transmission to an apparatus of a service provider external to the mobile communication network to cause the service provider to provide the subscribed location based service, (action 203) For some embodiments, the apparatus may thus be considered to be or to comprise a signaling interface to a service provider. Location based services require information about the location of a mobile device.

Certain embodiments of the invention therefore provide that a mobile communication network checks whether a mobile device that enters a particular radio cell transmits an identifier that is linked to a user, which has subscribed to a service that is offered specifically for the area of the radio cell. If this is the case, the apparatus informs a service provider offering the service so that the service provider may offer or provide the service to the user of the mobile device or to some other entity. The requirement that a user has subscribed to a location based service has to be understood in a broad sense. The service does not necessarily have to be a service that is provided to the user. The subscription may, for example, also be a declaration of consent of the user that service data may be provided to another entity in response to the mobile device of the user being detected to enter the radio cell. Certain embodiments of the invention may have the effect that location based services may be tailored to a sited that is known to be served by a particular base station, for instance to a particular building or to a plurality of such sited. The coverage of the base station may be adjusted for instance to the area for which the service is of relevance. Certain embodiments of the invention may have the effect that location based services may be provided in the absence of reception of signals of a satellite navigation system, like GPS (Global Positioning System), and of signals of any WLAN (Wireless Local Access Network). Certain embodiments of the invention may furthermore have the effect that location based services may be user specific and/or mobile device specific. Apparatus 100 illustrated in Figure 1 and the method illustrated in Figure 2 may be implemented and refined in various ways.

In an example embodiment, the particular radio cell may be a radio cell hosted and maintained by the operator of the mobile communication network.

In an example embodiment, the particular radio cell may have a range of less than 300 meters.

In an example embodiment, the particular radio cell may be a picocell or a femtocell. In an example embodiment, the particular radio cell may be configured and arranged to cover a particular indoor space. Such an indoor space may be for example a building or an underground parking.

A mobile device may access the mobile communication network via the base station serving the particular radio cell for instance upon a handover from another base station, for instance a base station serving a macrocell or a microcell of the mobile communication network. It is to be understood, however, that the access to the mobile communication network via the base station serving the particular cell may also be a newly initiated access to the mobile communication network. The particular radio cell may be fixed to a certain location, and thus stationary, or mobile. It may be mobile, for instance, if the base station is installed in a vehicle, like a car, a train, an airplane or a ship. In this case the information on a location of the mobile device may be for instance information on the vehicle in which the mobile device is located. The particular radio cell may furthermore cover a public area or a private area. The base station serving the particular radio cell may support at least one air interface of any desired kind, including for instance an air interface complying with at least one of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication), CDMA2000 (Code Divisional Multiple Access 2000), TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (Wideband Code Divisional Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), any 5G (5th generation mobile networks) standard and/or other future standard. It may support in particular the same access technology as the mobile communication network. This may have the effect that handovers to and from base stations of the mobile communication network may be supported. Furthermore, this may have the effect that a mobile device accessing the mobile communication network via the base station serving the particular radio cell can be authenticated and authorized by the mobile communication network in the same way as when accessing the mobile communication network via any other base station of the mobile communication network.

The identifier linked to the user of the mobile device and the information on a location of the mobile device in the assembled information may be of various kinds. In addition, any other useful information may be included in the information that is assembled and provided for transmission.

In an example embodiment, the information on the location of the mobile device is neither satellite signal based nor WLAN based.

In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises an identifier of the radio cell as information on the location of the mobile device. The service provider may link a service that is offered directly to such a cell identifier or it may match the cell identifier to a geographical location for which a service is offered. In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises at least one cell parameter of the radio cell as information on the location of the mobile device. Such cell parameters may comprise for instance an indication of the geographical location of the base station and a range of the radio cell. In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises an indication of a location of the mobile device determined on results of radio signal measurements. The radio signal measurements may be measurements at the mobile device or measurements at the base station. The results of measurements may comprise a received signal strength indication, an indication of a round trip time, an indication of a determined timing advance, etc. Measurements at the mobile device may be performed on radio signals from different base stations. This enables a triangulation to determine the position of the mobile device taking account of an estimated distance to each of the base stations based on the results of measurements. In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises results of radio signal measurements, which enable the service provider to estimate the location of the mobile device, as information on a location of the mobile device. In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises an indication of a type of the mobile device. This may have the effect that the service provision may be adjusted to the capabilities of the mobile device. In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises an indication of a time. The time may be for instance the time at which the mobile station accessed the mobile communication network via the base station or the time for which information on a location of the mobile station has been determined.

In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises an identifier that is linked to the user of the mobile device. This may have the effect that providing a user specific location based service is facilitated. In an example embodiment, the assembled information comprises a user name. Such a user name may be for instance the official name of the user or a name that has been selected as a reference name for the service. In an example embodiment, it may be determined whether the mobile device connects to the base station; and a corresponding indication may be provided to the apparatus of the service provider. In an example embodiment, it may be determined whether the mobile device disconnects from the base station; and a corresponding indication may be provided to the apparatus of the service provider. In an example embodiment, it may be determined at regular intervals whether the mobile device is connected to the base station; and a corresponding indication may be provided to the apparatus of the service provider. This may have the effect that the service provider may be informed about arrival and/or departure and/or presence of the mobile device in the area of the particular radio cell. This may support different kinds of services. In an example embodiment, information on the location of the mobile device may be determined and provided to the apparatus of the service provider repeatedly, for instance though not necessarily on a regular basis, as long as the mobile device is accessing the mobile communication network via the base station serving the particular radio cell. Such regular location information may be used by the service provider as a basis for selecting respective service data that may be provided on a regular basis to the mobile device.

In an example embodiment, furthermore user-specific service related data may be received at the at least one apparatus of the mobile communication network from an apparatus of the service provider and be forwarded to the mobile device and/or to another device rendering the service. Such service related data may belong for instance to the actual service, or it may be an inquiry whether the service is currently desired. The service that is provided by the service provider may be a service of any kind that is related to a certain location. Optionally, it may be user specific in addition. In an example embodiment, the service relates to queueing for a service or an appointment. It may comprise for instance upfront information - automatically distributed - about the expected time to wait for a certain event, like a boarding for a flight, an arrival of a bus, an arrival of a tram, a boarding of a ship, an appointment at a doctor's office, etc. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to infotainment. Such infotainment may comprise for instance peering with a local screen that may be provided for instance in an aircraft, a bus, a train, a tram, a taxi, pubs/shops and/or restaurants, to obtain customized content. Such customized content may be for instance content provided by an entertainment company like Netflix, a specialized movie offer, local information, news, next stops of a public transportation vehicle, next connections, etc. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to any kind of proximity navigation. Proximity navigation may comprise navigation at public places, at airports, at car parks, at historical destinations, in city centers, in shops, etc., to allow a user reaching a location of interest or passing various locations of interest in shortest time or most conveniently. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to notifications that a person of interest is nearby. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to special offers, for instance advertisements from nearby vendors. Such special offers may optionally be user specific personalized offers in the proximity. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to security guidance, for instance in high risk or emergency situations. The security guidance may be for instance a guidance to the next doctor or a hospital in case of emergency; or it may be a guidance to switching the mobile device in flight mode during take-off and landing of an airplane or while being at sensitive places, like special hospital areas, etc.; or it may be a guidance for leaving areas, shops, ships during emergency situations in the shortest and safest way. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to monitoring an area. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to an interoperation of machines including mobile robots. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to quality control. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to safety or security enforcement. For instance, only specific users may be permitted to enter a protected sub-area of the area covered by the radio cell; or certain devices are required to be present in an area before certain actions are permitted to take place. In an example embodiment, the service relates alternatively or in addition to a coordination of multiple-site operations. In an example embodiment, the at least one apparatus of the mobile communication network comprises a dedicated signaling interface for an exchange of data with the apparatus of the service provider. Such a signaling interface may be designed to take care entirely or in part of any of the operations required for any of the presented embodiments. The signaling interface may be a software interface or a combined software and hardware interface. It may be integrated in general purpose components of the at least one apparatus or be provided in a dedicated signaling interface module. Such a signaling interface may be defined for instance in a standard to facilitate the interaction between mobile communication networks and apparatuses of third party service providers. In an example embodiment, the apparatus of the service provider receives the information about the mobile device, checks a service subscription of the user of the mobile device and provides service related data to the mobile device based on the service subscription.

Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a system supporting a provision of location based services.

The system comprises a server 300 of a mobile communication network, base stations 310 serving macrocells and microcells of the mobile communication network, base stations 320 serving additional picocells and femtocells, a mobile device 330 and a server 340 of a service provider.

Server 300 may be for instance a part of the core network of the mobile communication network. Server 300 comprises at least one processor 301 that is linked to a first memory 302, a second memory 303 and one or more interfaces (I/Fs) 305. Processor 301 is configured to execute computer program code, including computer program code stored in memory 302, in order to cause server 300 to perform desired actions. To this end, it may make use of a volatile working memory not shown.

Memory 302 may be a non-volatile main memory of server 300. Memory 302 is configured to store computer program code for detecting an access of a mobile device 330 to the mobile communication network via a pico- or femtocell, for determining the identity of the user of such a mobile device 330, for checking possible subscriptions of the user, for determining information on the location of the mobile device 330, for assembling and providing information for transmission to a server 340 of a service provider and for forwarding data from this server 340 to the mobile device 330. Some of the data in memory 302 may be similar to the data in memory 102. In addition, memory 302 may store computer program code configured to realize other functions, for instance computer program code for handling a handover of mobile devices between base stations and for checking authentication and authorization of mobile devices desiring to access the mobile communication network. In addition, memory 302 may also store other kind of data. Memory 303 may be a non- volatile data storage unit that is configured to store data, including subscription data for various users. In addition, it may store other data, like data required for authenticating and authorizing mobile devices desiring to access the mobile communication network. It is to be understood that memory 303 could also be external to server 300; or that the data in memory 303 could also be stored as well in memory 302.

Processor 301 , memory 302 and any other components of server 300 may optionally be parts of a module 304 for server 300. Processor 301 and memory 302 may optionally belong to a microcontroller unit (MCU) of an integrated circuit on a single chip 304. The integrated circuit or the chip 304 may comprise in addition various other components, for instance a further processor or memory, for example memory 303. Alternatively or in addition, processor 301 and memory 302 may be arranged on a plug-in board 304 of the server. Alternatively or in addition, processor 301 , memory 302 and memory 303 may belong to a signaling interface 304 of server 300 that is configured to interact with servers 340 of one or more service providers. The at least one interface 305 may comprise an interface con configured to enable a communication with apparatus 340 of the service provider, for instance via the Internet, and an interface configured to enable a communication with other entities of the mobile communication network.

It is to be understood that server 300 may comprise various other components.

Module 304 or server 300 may be an example embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention.

Base stations 310 serving various macro- and microcells may belong to the access network of the mobile communication network and they may support any desired kind of access technology. The mobile communication network enables mobile devices to be handed over between the base stations 310 when moving around between the areas of different cells.

Base stations 320 serving various pico- and femtocells are arranged for indoor coverage. Base stations 320 may serve stationary or mobile cells. Base stations 320 may be hosted and maintained by the mobile communication network operator. Base stations 320 may be provided to extend the coverage of the mobile communication network indoors in general and support location based services in addition, or they may be provided specifically for supporting location based services in certain areas. Any pico- and femtocell may be used for providing location based services of a single service provider or of several different service providers. The base stations 320 of picocells may have a range of up to 200 meters, for example, and be connected directly to the core network of the mobile communication network. The base stations 320 of femtocells may have a range of up to 20 meters, for example, and be connected to the core network of the mobile communication network via the Internet. Base stations 320 may support the same kind of access technology as base stations 310.

Mobile device 330 may be for instance a regular mobile terminal, like a smartphone or general purpose tablet PC, or a dedicated survey device. It is reachable via at least one kind of radio signals

(GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE, 5G, etc.) used by the mobile communication network. The user of mobile device 330 may be referred to as pico-/femtocell roamer. The user may be human or a machine. The roamer accepts any kind of location based services and the determination of the location based on measurements on radio signals, cell details and other methods, when GPS and WLAN may not be available or not desired to be used. The roamer accepts certain terms and conditions to be detected as pico-/femtocell roamer and to receive a certain service that is provided by a service provider. Mobile device 330 has a client-application installed to use specifically a service provided by the service provider. It is to be understood that several mobile devices 330 could be provided for use in the system of Figure 3.

Server 340 is a server of a particular service provider. The service provider may offer one or more location based services, and it may offer location based services for one or more pico- and/or femtocells. The service provider may thus be for instance a local service provider or a service provider taking account of local situations.

It is to be understood that servers 340 of several service providers could used in the system of Figure 3. An example operation of the system of Figure 3 will now be described with reference to Figure 4 and Figures 5A - 5E. Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of the system in its entirety, and Figures 5A-5E are diagrams further illustrating some of the actions.

Figure 4 presents on the left hand side example actions of the mobile communication network and on the right hand side example actions of server 340 of a service provider. It is assumed by way of example that the actions of the mobile communication network are performed by server 300. It is to be understood, however, that some of the actions may as well be performed by other entities of the mobile communication network. Processor 301 and some of the program code stored in memory 302 may cause server 300 to perform these actions when the program code is retrieved from memory 302 and executed by processor 301. It is equally to be understood that some of the actions on behalf of the service provider may be performed by other entities of the service provider rather than by server 340.

In a preparatory action, a user of mobile device 330 subscribes to a desired location based service that is offered by the service provider. Such a subscription may be enabled in various ways. For instance, the user could use mobile device 340 for accessing a website of the service provider, subscribe on the website for a service and download and install a dedicated client- application. Subscribing to the service may require the user to accept certain terms and conditions, which relate to being detected as pico-/femtocell roamer and to receive the selected service. In this scope, the user may also be requested to accept that its location is determined in any suitable manner by the mobile communication network and/or the service provider, and that an indication of the location or information required for determining the location is passed on from the mobile communication network to the service provider. The subscription process may also enable the user to select or deselect certain options or to set certain parameters. For instance, if the location based service consists in pointing out special offers that are available at different shops in a mall, a user may be enabled to select to be informed about special offers for certain types of products only, for instance only food or only electric devices or only clothing, etc. For instance, if the location based service consists in pointing out and being pointed out to persons of interest in the proximity, a user may be enabled to identify such persons of interest. A user may also be enabled for instance to choose whether a service is to be started automatically or only upon confirmation. In both cases, the user may optionally be enabled in addition to choose whether the service is to be scheduled to be carried out once, or in one or more time intervals, or with a predetermined or selectable frequency. Server 340 of the service provider stores the information in a database - including e.g. a selected user name to be used for the service as a key entry, (action 441) Server 340 of the service provider may furthermore provide a limited set of information about the subscription to the mobile communication network, and server 300 may store information about the subscription in memory 303. (action 401) Server 340 may include in the provided information an indication of at least one pico- or femtocell for which the subscribed service is offered. Server 300 may store in particular an identification of the user - e.g. in the form of the IMSI of the used mobile device - with a link to the selected user name for the service, to at least one pico- /femtocell identifier and to an identification of at least one service provider for at least one subscribed service, for instance in the form of the IP-address of a server 340 of the respective service provider. Alternatively, the subscription to a location based service that is linked to at least one particular pico- or femtocell may be offered for instance automatically by the mobile communication network to any user of a mobile device that enters the at least one pico-/femtocell (either only once or any time), and server 300 may then act as agent for the subscription with the service provider. The further subscription may then take place in the same manner as described above.

Further alternatively, the entire subscription may be handled by server 300 (either upon request by mobile device 330 at any location, or offered to mobile device 330 when entering a pico-/femtocell in which a special service is available). Server 300 may then inform server 340 about any details relating to the completed subscription. This may have the effect that the implementation and operation requirements on the service provider are reduced, since, for example, required terms and conditions may be prescribed and handled in a uniform manner for a plurality of external service providers by server 300. When mobile device 330 tries to access the mobile communication network, the mobile communication network checks authentication and authorization of mobile device 330 in a conventional manner, before an access via any of the base stations of the mobile communication network is enabled, (action 402) While mobile device 330 moves around, it is handed over between macrocells and microcells 310 of the mobile communication network as needed for a continuous connection to the mobile communication network. For example, mobile device 330 may measure the signal strength of the serving base station and of neighboring base stations and provide the result of the measurements along with an identifier of the base stations to the mobile communication network for evaluation.

By way of illustration, figure 5A presents an environment with three example macrocells 501 served by a respective base station 310 of a mobile operator 500. The mobile operator 500 in Figure 5A represents the equipment of the mobile communication network operator, including in particular server 300 of Figure 3.

When mobile device 330 enters the area of a pico- or femtocell, signals of the base station 320 serving the pico-/femtocell are detected by mobile device 330 in the scope of regular signal measurements.

As indicated in Figure 5A, such an area of a pico-/femtocell 511 served by a base station 320 and entered by mobile device 330 may be for instance a subarea of the area that is covered in principle by one of the macrocells 501. A handover may be initiated thereupon either by mobile device 330 or by the mobile communication network. As a result, mobile device 330 accesses the mobile communication network via base station 320. (action 403) By way of illustration, figure 5B presents the same environment as Figure 5A, with line 550 between base station 320 and mobile operator 500 indicating that mobile device 330 has been handed over to base station 320 for accessing the mobile communication network, when entering the area of pico- /femtocell 511. When server 300 detects that mobile device 330 entered the pico- or femtocell, it checks whether the user of mobile device 330 has subscribed to any location based service associated with the pico- /femtocell based on the subscription data stored in memory 303. (action 404) Server 300 may be aware of the handover either because it is involved in supporting the handover or because it is informed accordingly by some other entity of the mobile communication network.

If server 300 determines that a subscription has been effected, server 300 assembles information including for instance user information, location related information, and a current time. The user information may include for instance a stored user name that has been selected for the subscribed service and an indication of the type of mobile device the user is using. Location related information may include for instance an identifier (ID) of the pico-/femtocell as implicit indication of the location.

Alternatively or in addition, server 300 may determine the geographic location of the user by means of a triangulation using results of measurements on radio signals by mobile device 330 and include this geographic location as location related information in the assembled information. Alternatively or in addition, server 300 may include results of measurements on radio signals by mobile device 330, which enable a determination of a location of mobile device 330, as location related information in the assembled information. The assembled information is provided for transmission to server 340. (action 405) Server 340 may be identified in memory 303 for instance by its IP-address in the set of information that is available for the specific user using mobile device 330 and the specific pico-/femtocell that mobile device 330 currently entered.

Server 300 transmits the assembled information to server 340, for instance via the Internet using the IP- address of server 340. (action 406) This has the effect that the service access is limited to authenticated users which are known to have accepted terms and conditions when subscribing to the service. This may facilitate the operation of the service provider. By way of illustration, figure 5C presents the same environment as Figure 5A, with arrow 551 pointing from mobile operator 500 to local service provider 540 indicating the transmission of assembled information about a pico-/femtocell roamer. The local service provider 540 represents the equipment of the service provider offering a location based service in pico-/femtocell 511, the equipment including in particular server 340 of Figure 3.

When receiving the assembled information about a user which has subscribed to a location based service and which entered the area of a pico-/femtocell with which the service is associated, server 340 of the service provider checks the details of the subscription of the user that are stored in the database that is managed by server 340. (action 442) If the service provider offers a service for different pico- /femtocells, it may take the identity of the relevant pico-/femtocell from the received information. If necessary, it may furthermore determine the exact geographical location of the user. For example, if the special service relates to special offers in the area of the pico-/femtocell, it may be sufficient to known that the user is located in the area of the pico-/femtocell. For example, if the special service relates to switching mobile device 340 into a flight mode during take-off of a plane, it may be equally be sufficient to known that the user is located in the area of a pico-/femtocell corresponding to the indoor space of the plane. If the special service relates for instance to proximity navigation, in contrast, the exact geographical location of the user has to be known in order to be able to indicate the shortest path to a desired location in the area of the pico-/femtocell. The geographical location of the user may be determined for instance either by extracting a corresponding indication from the information received from server 300 or by estimating the geographical information based on results of measurements on radio signals included in the information received from server 300.

Server 340 assembles service related data for a user specific location based service taking account of the subscription details and optionally of the pico-/femtocell identifier and/or the current geographical location of the user, (action 443)

The service related data may be transmitted to server 300, which takes care of forwarding the service data to mobile device 330. (action 407) Mobile device 330 receives the service data, which is processed by the installed client-application for the service in order to provide the subscribed service to the user of mobile device 330.

By way of illustration, figure 5D presents the same environment as Figure 5A. An arrow 552 pointing from service provider 540 via mobile operator 500 and base station 320 to mobile device 330 illustrates the route of the service related data. In some constellations, the actual service may only be started after a confirmation by the user of mobile device 330. In this case, server 300 first forwards an inquiry from server 340 to mobile device 330, then the response from mobile device 330 to server 340, and then, as the case may be, the actual service data from server 340 to mobile device 330.

The service may be a service that is provided only once whenever mobile device 330 is detected to have entered the area of the pico-/femtocell, like an indication of special offers, or it may be continuous service, like a navigation service. A continuous service may be based on the presence of mobile device 330 in the pico-/femtocell; for instance if the service relates to queuing, it may provide a regular update on the remaining waiting time. In this case, server 300 may regularly check whether mobile device 330 is still connected to base station 320 and provide a corresponding indication of the presence of user of mobile device 330 in the pico-/femtocell to server 340 and equally provide an indication of departure as soon as server 300 detects that mobile station 330 is no longer connected to base station 320. As long as the user of mobile station 330 is indicated to be present in the pico-/femtocell, server 340 may then determine and provide updated service data to mobile station 320 via server 300 and base station 320. Alternatively, a continuous service may be based on a respective location estimate for mobile device 330 in the pico-/femtocell. In this case, server 300 may repeatedly estimate the geographic location of mobile device 330 in the pico-/femtocell, for instance based on measurements on radio signals, and inform server 340 accordingly, as long as mobile device 330 stays connected to base station 320 serving the pico-/femtocell; or it may repeatedly transmits results of measurements on radio signals to server 340 in order to enable server 340 to repeatedly estimate the geographic location of mobile device 330. In either case, server 300 may repeatedly collect the results of measurements on radio signals of neighboring base stations 310, 320 from mobile device 330 to enable the estimation of its current location, (actions 443, 407)

An indication whether or not location related information should be provided repeatedly by server 300 to server 340 may be stored along with the subscription data in memory 303 of server 300.

Alternatively, server 340 may inform server 300 whether location related information should be provided repeatedly for mobile device 330 with the first communication in the scope of action 443.

As soon as server 300 detects that mobile devices 330 is disconnected from base station 320 - for instance because mobile device 330 leaves the area of the pico-/femtocell or because mobile device 330 is switched off or set to a flight mode - server 300 may inform server 340 of the service provider and the service is stopped. By way of illustration, figure 5E presents the same environment as Figure 5D. In addition to arrow 552 illustrating again the route of the service data from local service provider 540 to mobile device 330, arrow 553 pointing from mobile operator 500 to service provider 540 illustrates the updates about mobile device 330 provided by mobile operator 500 to service provider 540 as a basis for a continuous service.

It is to be understood that memory 303 may store information relating to subscribed services offered by different service providers to a specific user and for a specific pico-/femtocell. In this case, the information assembled in action 405 may be provided for transmission to a server of each of these service providers. Actions 406, 407, 442 and 443 may then be carried out separately for/by each of these service providers.

Actions 401 and 404-407 may be caused by a dedicated signaling interface 304 of server 300 defined and provided for supporting location based services - in particular pico-/femtocell based services - that are provided by external service providers.

It is to be understood that the presented example systems, apparatuses and operations may be varied in many ways. The operations may be varied for instance by modifying actions, by omitting actions and/or by adding actions. In addition, the order of actions may be modified.

To provide an example of a variation, service related data provided by server 340 in action 443 of Figure 4 does not necessarily have to be forwarded by server 300 in action 407 of Figure 4 to mobile device 330. The actual service may be provided to the user by means of some other entity than mobile device 330 and the service data may thus be forwarded to this other entity. For example, if the provided service relates to infotainment, the service data may be forwarded to a local screen. A local screen in a passenger transportation vehicle, possibly associated with a particular seat, may be provided with data to render personalized content, like heads-up about a next stop or information on possible connection(s) to reach a final destination. Possible connections may include for instance the shortest connection, connections via most interesting sightseeing sites, connections enabling a meeting of friends of a contact list, etc. Alternatively or in addition, a local screen in a passenger transportation vehicle may render sightseeing information tailored to the user's subscription profile - which may indicate an interest in arts, architecture, history, etc. -, or a movie downloaded from a streaming account to enable the user to watch content of interest. A local screen in a shop may be provided for instance with service data to enable personalized support (e.g. in the form of an assistant of the shop displayed on the screen) to find goods of interest based on a subscription profile. Alternatively or in addition, a local screen in a shop may enable personalized support to find objects that might fit the user's profile. The service provider may have detailed information about the user of the service and propose goods that belong to a similar "like-category". A local screen in a restaurant or pub may present a menu-card, a wine-list, a drink-list, a dessert-card, etc.; and based on provided service data, the user may receive personalized menu(s) tailored for the user based on nutrition-details like "vegetarian", "calories", "alcohol", "non-alcohol", etc.

To provide a further example of a variation, the location based service may not be user specific but mobile device specific. For instance, the service may not be carried out primarily for the user of a mobile device but rather for some external entity, and relate to the existence of a device type and/or the existence of a certain number of devices in a certain area. The server of the service provider may receive the information that a mobile device has entered an area as a basis for assembling service data that is to be provided to the external local entity, like an external service provider or an authority. Depending on the use case, the collected data may be anonymized. It may not be anonymized, for instance, if the user is a machine, like robot equipped with a mobile communication unit and a subscriber identity module (SIM), and the presence of this particular machine is to trigger a service.

To provide a further example of a variation, a service that is provided by a server of a service provider may not only depend on a single mobile device entering an area of a radio cell. It may also be required at a server of a service provider that multiple instances of a particular mobile device type or a certain number of users of a specified group of users are detected to have entered the area before the service is started. Requiring that a certain number or a set of differentiated devices of specific type(s) or users with specific identities have entered the area of a radio cell may be useful for instance for (industrial) multiple machine directed and orchestrated services. By way of example, a service may have to be provided to robots of an assembly process which depend on robots that carry parts for the assembly. Both the transport robots and well as the assembly robots may then be subscribers of services which, among a number of criteria, may depend on group presence recognition. In another example, certain services, which may be provided for quality control (e.g. activation, deactivation or throttling of actions) or for safety/security enforcement purposes, may require the presence or arrival of a set of mobile devices or users at a site. The set may be defined in terms of quantity and/or specifically differentiated types and/or unique identities.

To provide a further example of a variation, a service may be a multi-site coordinated service.

In this case, the service may require for instance that specific users and/or devices and/or specific quantities of users and/or devices are present at different locations covered by different radio cells (multiple-sites) before a service is activated or deactivated. The number and/or type of devices and the number and/or identity of users may also define the type of a service or details of a service that is to be provided, including variables of scheduling and or frequency. For each of these variations, a server 300 of a mobile operator may be configured to provide the required information about relevant mobile devices 330 entering a radio cell to a server 340 of an external service provider; and to forward any service related data that may be provided by the server to an appropriate entity or entities.

Summarized, certain embodiments of the invention provide for a signaling between servers of a mobile communication network operator and a third party service solution provider. The signaling enables an efficient and secure provision of location based services, for example though not exclusively user specific location based services in situations in which GPS or WLAN is not available.

Any presented connection in the described embodiments is to be understood in a way that the involved components are operationally coupled. Thus, the connections can be direct or indirect with any number or combination of intervening elements, and there may be merely a functional relationship between the components.

Further, as used in this text, the term 'circuitry' refers to any of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry)

(b) combinations of circuits and software (and/or firmware), such as: (i) to a combination of processor(s) or (ii) to portions of processor(s)/ software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone, to perform various functions) and

(c) to circuits, such as a microprocessor s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present.

This definition of 'circuitry' applies to all uses of this term in this text, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this text, the term 'circuitry' also covers an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term 'circuitry' also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone.

Any of the processors mentioned in this text could be a processor of any suitable type. Any processor may comprise but is not limited to one or more microprocessors, one or more processor(s) with accompanying digital signal processor(s), one or more processor(s) without accompanying digital signal processor(s), one or more special-purpose computer chips, one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAS), one or more controllers, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICS), or one or more computer(s). The relevant structure/hardware has been programmed in such a way to carry out the described function. Any of the memories mentioned in this text could be implemented as a single memory or as a combination of a plurality of distinct memories, and may comprise for example a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory or a hard disc drive memory etc.

Moreover, any of the actions described or illustrated herein may be implemented using executable instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor and stored on a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., disk, memory, or the like) to be executed by such a processor. References to 'computer-readable storage medium' should be understood to encompass specialized circuits such as FPGAs, ASICs, signal processing devices, and other devices. Example embodiments using at least one processor and at least one memory as a non-transitory data medium are shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a device 600. Device 600 includes a processor 602. Processor 602 is connected to a volatile memory 603, such as a RAM, by a bus 608. Bus 608 also connects processor 602 and RAM 603 to a non- volatile memory 604, such as a ROM. A communications interface or module 605 is coupled to bus 608, and thus also to processor 602 and memories 603, 604. Within ROM 604 is stored a software (SW) application 607. Software application 607 may be a location based service support application, although it may take some other form as well. An operating system (OS) 606 also is stored in ROM 604.

Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a device 700. Device 700 may take any suitable form.

Generally speaking, device 700 may comprise processing circuitry 702, including one or more processors, and a storage device 703 comprising a single memory unit or a plurality of memory units 704. Storage device 703 may store computer program instructions 707 that, when loaded into processing circuitry 702, control the operation of device 700. Generally speaking, also a module 701 of device 700 may comprise processing circuitry 702, including one or more processors, and storage device 703 comprising a single memory unit or a plurality of memory units 704. Storage device 703 may store computer program instructions 707 that, when loaded into processing circuitry 702, control the operation of module 701. The software application 607 of Figure 6 and the computer program instructions 707 of Figure 7, respectively, may correspond e.g. to the computer program code in memory 102 of Figure 1 or memory 302 of Figure 3. Device 600 and device 700 may correspond e.g. to apparatus 100 of Figure 1 or to server 300 or module 304 of Figure 3.

In example embodiments, any non-transitory computer readable medium mentioned in this text could also be a removable/portable storage or a part of a removable/portable storage instead of an integrated storage. Example embodiments of such a removable storage are illustrated in Figure 8, which presents, from top to bottom, schematic diagrams of a magnetic disc storage 800, of an optical disc storage 801 , of a semiconductor memory circuit device storage 802 and of a Micro-SD semiconductor memory card storage 803.

The functions illustrated by processor 101 in combination with memory 102, or processor 301 in combination with memory 302, or component 304 can also be viewed as means for determining whether a user of a mobile device, which accesses a mobile communication network via a base station serving a particular radio cell, has subscribed to a location based service associated with the particular radio cell; means for assembling information, in the case it is determined that the user of the mobile device has subscribed to a location based service associated with the particular radio cell, the information including information on a location of the mobile device; and means for providing the assembled information for transmission to an apparatus of a service provider external to the mobile communication network to cause the service provider to provide the subscribed location based service.

The program codes in memory 102 and memory 302 can also be viewed as comprising such means in the form of functional modules.

It will be understood that all presented embodiments are only examples, and that any feature presented for a particular example embodiment may be used with any aspect of the invention on its own or in combination with any feature presented for the same or another particular example embodiment and/or in combination with any other feature not mentioned. It will further be understood that any feature presented for an example embodiment in a particular category may also be used in a corresponding manner in an example embodiment of any other category.