The deployment of advanced high bit-rate mobile networks has opened up new opportunities for delivering a host of services in a way that was not possible with earlier second generation wireless networks. Recent systems including third generation (3G) systems, such as those specified for use with the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) wireless standard, enable the delivery of new digital services such as video calls and the playback of multimedia applications that are comprised of audio and video clips. Although the increased bit rates of 3G systems widen the possibilities for providing digital services.
The increased bit rates of 3G systems provide adequate performance for delivering high quality digital audio and acceptable quality moving image clips. However, at these transfer rates it may be difficult to handle exceedingly high data intensive tasks such as delivering high quality full-motion video and transferring very large data files to mobile terminals. In this regard, attempts at downloading large data files may lead to inconveniently long downloading times that can be undesirably costly for users. For this and other reasons, alternative broadband delivery techniques have been investigated that could provide a practical solution for high data intensive tasks in terms of lower cost and convenience for the users involved.
One such delivery technique that has shown promise is Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB). In this regard, DVB-T, which is related to DVB-H (handheld), DVB-C (cable) and DVB-S (satellite), is the terrestrial variant of the DVB standard. As is well known, DVB-T is a wireless point-to-multipoint data delivery mechanism developed for digital TV broadcasting, and is based on the MPEG-2 transport stream for the transmission of video and synchronized audio. DVB-T has the capability of efficiently transmitting large amounts of data over a broadcast channel to a high number of users at a lower cost, when compared to data transmission through mobile telecommunication networks using, e.g., 3G systems. Advantageously, DVB-T has also proven to be exceptionally robust in that it provides increased performance in geographic conditions that would normally affect other types of transmissions, such as the rapid changes of reception conditions, and hilly and mountainous terrain.
Digital broadband data broadcast networks are known. As mentioned, an example of such a network enjoying popularity in Europe and elsewhere world-wide is DVB which, in addition to the delivery of television content, is capable of delivering data, such as Internet Protocol (IP) data. Other examples of broadband data broadcast networks include Japanese Terrestrial Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting (ISDB-T), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), and MBMS, and those networks provided by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). In many such networks, a containerization technique is utilized in which content for transmission is placed into MPEG-2 packets which act as data containers. Thus, the containers can be utilized to transport any suitably digitized data including, but not limited to High Definition TV, multiple channel Standard definition TV (PAUNTSC or SECAM) and, of course, broadband multimedia data and interactive services.
The combined use of mobile telecommunications with a broadband delivery technique such as DVB-T has been proposed in the past in order to achieve efficient delivery of digital services to users on the move. This would take advantage of existing infrastructures in the effort to provide personal communications (already prevalent) and the growing demand for Internet access, together with the expected rise of digital broadcasting, so that users can receive these services with a single device. Furthermore, DVB-T is a cross platform standard that is shared by many countries thereby making frequency compatibility and roaming less of an issue. The combination of mobile telecommunication and relatively very low cost digital broadband delivery techniques provides the possibility of interactive services such as uni-directional and bi-directional services such as audio and video streaming (e.g., TV, radio, etc.), file downloads and advanced gaming applications, etc.
In mobile terminals for combined use of mobile telecommunications and digital broadband data broadcast techniques, mobile terminals typically download content in accordance with a “pull” technique. In this regard, mobile terminals typically pull content from a server, such as by dispatching a uniform resource indicator (URI) from a mobile terminal to a server, which responds by providing information associated with the URI. Although mobile terminals typically download content in accordance with a pull technique, the server or content provider must typically have control over the content flow policy to the mobile terminal. For example, the server or content provider must typically have control over when pieces of content expire and are removed from the mobile terminal, when to deliver new pieces of content to the mobile terminal, what new pieces of content to deliver, etc.
As will be appreciated, in various instances, user preferences, capabilities of the mobile terminal and/or previous contents stored or otherwise received by the mobile terminal can have an affect on the flow of new content to the mobile terminal. Current techniques for downloading content from mobile terminals, however, do not provide for such user preferences, capabilities, previous contents and/or use of previous contents. Thus, current techniques for downloading content can suffer from inefficient content flow control between the mobile terminal and the server or content provider. More particularly, current techniques for downloading content can suffer from inefficient control of content received and thereafter stored by mobile terminals, as well as inefficient control of content stored by mobile terminals.