Provision of services to a mobile phone user without disclosing the user's identity to the service provider

摘要

Application service providers ASP1-ASP5 are linked to a mobile telecommunications network N for providing information services to users MS1-MS4 in the network.. The network intercepts a user request for service and generates a user tag identifying the user, the service provider to whom the request is directed and the time and date of the request. The network encodes or encrypts the user tag and transmits it in a request signal to the ASP such that the service provider cannot obtain the user's identity or access the user directly. The ASP then uses the user tag to request the current location of the user. The network transmits the user's location to the ASP in association with the user tag and the ASP responds by transmitting back the requested information (which may be location dependent) again in association with the user tag. The network passes the information to the user. Finally the ASP uses the user tag to request the network to levy charge against the user for the service, through the network.. The user tag may have a predetermined short lifetime for further security.