Abstract: A wireless access point (WAP) supports one or more physical layer (PHY) operational parameters which can be restricted from use to lessen congestion within a wireless network (WN). The WAP periodically transmits a management frame to enable one or more communication devices to establish and/or maintain communication with the WAP. The wireless network can restrict one or more of the one or more PHY operational parameters, such as PHY data rates to provide an example, that are supported by the WAP from being utilized for communicating the management frame. This restriction of the one or more PHY operational parameters allows the WAP to periodically transmit the management frame at an increased PHY data rate thereby decreasing time needed for communicating the management frame which can lessen the congestion within the WN.

Abstract: Proximity of a user/device to a designated location or other user/device can be determined and used to trigger automatic reconfiguration of a telephone ring list associated with the user/device. Accordingly, there is no need for manual reconfiguration to accommodate changes in the user's location or schedule. Specific phone numbers may be added or removed from a user's ring list based on the user's location, and the ring list may be reconfigured as the user enters or leaves a location. The user's desired phones will automatically ring for incoming calls based on the ring list and/or an identification of the incoming call.

Abstract: Embodiments utilize viewership data collected via a set top box (STB) at individual households (HHs) to enable a network operator to recommend ad spots to customers based on a percentage of HHs that are likely to view the ad spots (e.g., the % of HHs reached by the ad spots), and/or based on the average number of times (e.g., average frequency) that the reached HHs are likely to view the ad spot. Embodiments compile the available network/daypart ad spots per broadcast week, and determine a number of ad spots for each network/daypart that satisfy a reached threshold of HHs, and/or satisfies the minimum frequency threshold.

Abstract: A wireless access point (WAP) determines whether to switch from one or more first communication channels to one or more second communication channels when the one or more first communication channels are experiencing congestion. The WAP determines an amount of congestion the one or more first communication channels are experiencing. When the one or more first communication channels are experiencing congestion, the WAP determines whether one or more communication devices can support, or reliably support, a channel switching announcement signal using the one or more first communication channels. If a sufficient number of communication devices from among the one or more communication devices can support, or reliably support, the channel switching announcement signal, the WAP broadcasts the channel switching announcement signal to the one or more communication devices to announce its intention to switch from the one or more first communication channels to the one or more second communication channels.

Abstract: Tracking and analysis of the location of user and device access to telecommunications services may be used to validate that a given user or device is part of an authorized subscriber household and is therefore properly accessing those services in accordance with the terms of service. A service provider may determine, based on previously collected data and user information collected while a user accesses a service, whether the user's pattern of access establishes a required pattern of access determined by the service provider, such as access on a minimum periodic basis from the home of an authorized subscriber.

Abstract: An event capture and notification system (ECN), and applications thereof. In an embodiment, the ECN permits communication between customer premises equipment (CPE) and a server (such as a back-end server) of a service provider. The real-time ECN system includes a method for communicating real-time notifications between a CPE device and a server. The ECN system may include methods and components to communicate captured events through a communication channel by which client device events may be transmitted in real time to a server, and vice versa. The ECN system may include a full-duplex communication channel for communicating events. By the ECN system, communication between a CPE device and a server may be realized efficiently and timely.

Abstract: Systems and methods to remotely store and provide telecast programs are provided. The method includes storing an exclusive first transcoded copy of a program in a first configuration for a user along with multiple shared transcoded copies in respective multiple configurations. The method includes receiving a request from the user to view the program, streaming the first transcoded copy, determining based on one or more criteria whether the first transcoded copy is supported, and continuing to stream the first transcoded copy or switching to a second transcoded copy from the multiple transcoded copies based on the criteria.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a communication environment having a service provider server that receives an audio command from a display control device within the communication environment. The service provider server can translate this audio command into an electrical command for controlling the display device. The service provider server autonomously performs a specifically tailored search of a catalog of command words and/or phrases for the audio command to translate the audio command to the electrical command. This specifically tailored search can include one or more searching routines having various degrees of complexity. The most simplistic searching routine from among these searching routines represents a textual search to identify one or more command words and/or phrases from the catalog of command words and/or phrases that match the audio command.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a targeted advertising system that harnesses an expansive device footprint to create targeted advertisements based on household demographics and characteristics about persons in the households. The targeted advertising system uses device identifiers and longitude/latitude data to map devices to households. After associating devices with a household, the targeted advertising system leverages a wide-array of data assets to create an enormous panel of households, devices, persons, locations, and demographic information for use creating high-precisions, targeted advertising campaigns. This greatly enhanced device footprint creates the opportunity for highly accurate ad targeting across a far greater amount of devices and a larger footprint at any time and place.

Abstract: Embodiments include a system and method for a real-time distributed Transport Stream (TS) analysis that utilizes many parts of an available network to concurrently monitor TSs across a geographic region. Embodiments include the selection of a profile for each combination of a TS and a collection point where the profile includes one or more sets of acceptable transmission values or ranges associated with the combination. The profile may include for example, program service information tables, service information, TS transmission parameters, and/or general TS quality index analysis rules. Embodiments include real-time concurrent monitoring and analysis of multiple TSs from collection points distributed throughout the geographic region. As services associated with the TSs at different collection points evolve, the respective profiles and rules adapt accordingly to maintain the quality of service and performance associated with respective TS and collection point combinations.

Abstract: Embodiments enable seamless Wi-Fi roaming by providing a user with a single username that is associated with a set of resources in the seamless network that includes different Wi-Fi networks (e.g., Wi-Fi networks with different domain names). As a user travels from a first access point in a first Wi-Fi network to a second access point in a second Wi-Fi network within the seamless network, network elements in the seamless network may recognize the user's single username as an already established session (e.g., with the first access point) and direct traffic accordingly to the second access point. Embodiments also satisfy business requirements by updating accounting data accordingly by indicating that the user accessed the seamless network from the first Wi-Fi network. Embodiments allow a user roaming on the seamless network to experience the policies and network requirements associated with the Wi-Fi domain of the second access point.

Abstract: Embodiments include a system, method, and a computer program product for broadcasting a universal message to a plurality subscriber devices. Embodiments include generating a universal message comprising information identifying one or more target subscriber devices from among the plurality of subscriber devices to execute an update or an event, broadcasting the universal message to each subscriber device of the plurality of subscriber devices, receiving a request, from the one or more target subscriber devices, to transmit a payload when the universal message comprises instructions to execute the update, and transmitting the payload to the one or more target subscriber devices.

Abstract: Embodiments include a system, method, and a computer program product for notifying a technician when a repair task the technician is addressing may be negatively impacted by a nearby fault and/or if the technician is qualified to repair a nearby fault. The technician is qualified if the technician has the necessary skills, parts (e.g., materials), and/or equipment (test equipment) required to repair the nearby fault. In addition, embodiments include receiving and responding to queries from a technician to: determine whether any of the repair tasks associated with the technician's assigned tickets are futile tasks based on newly received faults or pending tickets; and determine whether the querying technician is qualified to address (e.g., repair) any newly received faults or pending tickets.

Abstract: A remote querying system and a service provider repository system functionally cooperate to efficiently store configuration information of one or more subscriber devices within the service provider repository system. The remote querying system receives the configuration information of the one or more subscriber devices from a service provider system. Thereafter, the remote querying system determines differences between this received configuration information and configuration information that is previously stored in the service provider repository system. Next, the remote querying system communicates these differences to the service provider repository system to allow the service provider repository system to update the previously stored configuration information.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a service provider system within a point-to-multipoint communication system that commandeers unused or under-utilized subscriber devices within the point-to-multipoint communication system to perform various tasks within the point-to-multipoint communication system. By harnessing these otherwise unused or under-utilized subscriber devices, the service provider system identities, locates, and/or resolves problems, gathers data/analytics, and/or performs system maintenance in a real-world environment, as opposed to a beta, testing, or staging environment. Thus, the service provider system can be used to analyze, investigate, and scrutinize actual experiences of subscribers to the service across disparate geographical regions, settings, and testing scenarios.

Abstract: Methods and systems for providing a service are provided. A request is received to provide the service to a device. A location of the device, or a network interface through which the device is coupled, is determined. Finally, the delivery of the service is authorized based on the determined location of the device, or the determined network interface.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and machine-readable mediums for discovering a service group are provided. In an embodiment, a subscriber device receives a configuration file that stores a listing of mappings, each association of the listing of mappings maps network characteristics to a service group identification (SGID), a list of transport stream IDs (TSIDs), and a list of radio frequencies (RFs). The subscriber device selects one or more associations, from the listing of mappings, that are related to a network characteristic. Then, the subscriber device tunes to an RF, selected from the list of frequencies associated with a selected association, to identify a TSID of the tuned RF. Upon verifying whether the identified TSID matches a TSID from the list of TSIDs within the selected association, the subscriber device determines that the SGID in the selected association identifies the service group for the subscriber device.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a point-to-multipoint communication system having a service provider system and one or more subscriber devices. The one or more subscriber devices include multiple physical layer (PHY) devices that can be used for upstream direction and/or downstream direction transfer of information to and/or from the service provider system. The one or more subscriber devices receive subscriber device configuration information from the service provider system indicating which of these multiple PHY devices are to be used for the upstream direction and/or the downstream direction transfer of the information to and/or from the service provider system. In some situations, the subscriber device configuration information identifies various types of information, such as video, audio, and/or data to provide some examples, to be transferred in the upstream direction and/or the downstream direction and/or one or more PHY devices to be used for transferring the various types of information.

Abstract: Providing a conditional access system (CAS) to a set-top box is described. An example method includes encapsulating a CAS application in a NCAS (Next CAS) container, and objects associated with the CAS application are executed in the NCAS container. Resources for the CAS application and other applications running on the set-top box are pre-allocated so that each application has a pre-fixed resource allocation upon startup of the set-top box. An execution of the CAS application is validated using a linked chain of trust.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for an access gateway control function server to convert between network-based call signaling messages and session initiation protocol messages. An embodiment operates by receiving in a first access gateway control function server, a first session initiation protocol (SIP) message sent from a first device and converting the SIP message in the first access gateway control function server to a first network-based call signaling (NCS) message to be received by a second device.