Technique for Providing Service Availability Indications

Abstract

A technique for providing a service availability indication to a user terminal is described. In a method realization, the technique comprises providing a data structure representative of user terminals and of inter-terminal relationships derived from one or more communication parameters pertaining to communications between the user terminals. Additionally, for at least some of the user terminals service utilization information for each of a plurality of services is provided. The technique further includes selecting, for at least one user terminal and from the plurality of services, a service not used by the at least one user terminal, wherein the service selection is based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals having a predefined association with the at least one user terminal as determined by the inter-terminal relationships, and sending a message indicative of the selected service to the at least one user terminal.

1 . A method of recommending one or more services to a user terminal, comprising:
 obtaining a data structure that indicates a degree to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to each of a plurality of other user terminals;   obtaining service utilization information that indicates services utilized by the other user terminals;   selecting for recommendation to the user terminal one or more of the services that, according to the obtained data structure and service utilization information, are utilized by other user terminals to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to at least a predefined degree; and   sending to the user terminal a message indicative of the one or more services selected for recommendation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the service utilization information indicates the extent to which the services are utilized by the other user terminals, and wherein said selecting comprises selecting one or more of the services that are utilized to at least a predefined extent. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data structure represents a network graph with nodes and edges that connect those nodes together, wherein the nodes correspond to user terminals and the edges are derived from the degree to which the user terminals are communicatively networked. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said selecting is based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals within a predefined distance to the user terminal in the network graph. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein each edge is associated with metrics information quantifying an interrelation between nodes connected by the edge, and wherein the metrics information is derived from one or more communication parameters pertaining to communication between the user terminals. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said selecting is based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals communicatively networked to at least the predefined degree, as quantified by the metrics information associated with respective edges connecting those user terminals to the user terminal. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the user terminals are ranked based on at least one of their membership in cliques and the extent to which their relationship with the user terminal is transitive, and wherein said selecting is based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals having at least a predefined rank. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the degree to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to each of a plurality of other user terminals is derived from one or more communication parameters pertaining to communications between the user terminals. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more communication parameters pertaining to communications between the user terminals include at least one of the particular user terminals involved in the communications, the duration of those communications, the number of communications, the direction of those communication, and the kind of communication service utilized for those communications. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more communication parameters are obtained from at least one of call detail records, event detail records, communication network interface probing, and user terminal agents. 
     
     
         11 . A device configured to recommend one or more services to a user terminal, the device comprising:
 a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor whereby the device is configured to:
 obtain a data structure that indicates a degree to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to each of a plurality of other user terminals; 
 obtain service utilization information that indicates services utilized by the other user terminals; 
 select for recommendation to the user terminal one or more of the services that, according to the obtained data structure and service utilization information, are utilized by other user terminals to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to at least a predefined degree; and 
 send to the user terminal a message indicative of the one or more services selected for recommendation. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the service utilization information indicates the extent to which the services are utilized by the other user terminals, and wherein said memory contains instructions executable by said processor whereby the device is configured to select one or more of the services that are utilized to at least a predefined extent. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the data structure represents a network graph with nodes and edges that connect those nodes together, wherein the nodes correspond to user terminals and the edges are derived from the degree to which the user terminals are communicatively networked. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein said memory contains instructions executable by said processor whereby the device is configured to select one or more services for recommendation based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals within a predefined distance to the user terminal in the network graph. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein each edge is associated with metrics information quantifying an interrelation between nodes connected by the edge, and wherein the metrics information is derived from one or more communication parameters pertaining to communication between the user terminals. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein said memory contains instructions executable by said processor whereby the device is configured to select one or more services for recommendation based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals communicatively networked to at least the predefined degree, as quantified by the metrics information associated with respective edges connecting those user terminals to the user terminal. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein at least some of the user terminals are ranked based on at least one of their membership in cliques and the extent to which their relationship with the user terminal is transitive, and wherein said memory contains instructions executable by said processor whereby the device is configured to select one or more services for recommendation based on the service utilization information provided for user terminals having at least a predefined rank. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the degree to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to each of a plurality of other user terminals is derived from one or more communication parameters pertaining to communications between the user terminals. 
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more communication parameters pertaining to communications between the user terminals include at least one of the particular user terminals involved in the communications, the duration of those communications, the number of communications, the direction of those communication, and the kind of communication service utilized for those communications. 
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more communication parameters are obtained from at least one of call detail records, event detail records, communication network interface probing, and user terminal agents. 
     
     
         21 . A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to:
 obtain a data structure that indicates a degree to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to each of a plurality of other user terminals;   obtain service utilization information that indicates services utilized by the other user terminals;   select for recommendation to the user terminal one or more of the services that, according to the obtained data structure and service utilization information, are utilized by other user terminals to which the user terminal is communicatively networked to at least a predefined degree; and   send to the user terminal a message indicative of the one or more services selected for recommendation.