Patent ID: 8738040

Claim:
A method for monitoring the presence of a mobile station in one or more special areas associated with the mobile station, the method comprising: (a) repeatedly transmitting from at least one radio communication defining device a radio distinctive defining signal in at least one channel that at least partially defines one of the special areas by its coverage, (b) observing the channel and processing any received signal by the mobile station in order to determine whether or not it is receiving a defining signal, (c) processing any received defining signal by the mobile station and the mobile station determines whether or not the defining signal received is a distinctive defining signal that at least partially defines one of the special areas, and determines whether or not the mobile station is present in one or more of the special areas, (d) sending an updating signal from the mobile station to a mobile telephone network about the mobile station presence in one or more of the special areas, where the updating signal sending is uncorrelated to any mobile station phone call establishment and is based on the last determination performed by the mobile station about its presence in each of the special areas, and said updating signal being sent at least one of (i) periodically, (ii) when the mobile station enters into or exits from one of the special areas, and (iii) when the mobile station remains into a special area, (e) routing the updating signal from the mobile telephone network to special operating means that adapt the value of at least one operating parameter taking into account the presence of the mobile station in each of the special areas, (f) associating the special areas with the mobile station by transmitting a checking data to the mobile station, this checking data being sent to any mobile station whose presence in the special areas is monitored and being used by the mobile station for determining whether or not the defining signal received is a distinctive defining signal that defines, alone or with other distinctive defining signals, one or more of the special areas associated with the mobile station.