Patent ID: 8509748

Claim:
A reverse path transaction management system for providing transaction services to end users who are equipped with wireless end user devices via a wireless communication network that implements a plurality of cell sites, comprising: a multicast manager for identifying subscribers, whose wireless end user device is active in a cell site of the wireless communication network, using a unique address for each wireless end user device; a processor for identifying groups of the identified subscribers, whose wireless end user device is active in the cell site of the wireless communication network, that have commonality of interest in one of a plurality of available multi-media program sources; a unidirectional wireless forward broadcast path, operable in the cell site and connected to and shared by the wireless end user devices of subscribers in an identified group, for concurrently transmitting multi-media content from the one of a plurality of available multi-media program sources to the wireless end user devices of subscribers in the identified group via a multicast on the unidirectional wireless forward broadcast path; a plurality of wireless private bidirectional communication paths, each separate from the unidirectional wireless forward broadcast path and unique to each of the wireless end user devices of subscribers in the identified group, for exchanging data between the wireless end user devices and the multicast manager; a transaction manager, responsive to one of the wireless end user devices of subscribers in the identified group transmitting a transaction initiation signal on their associated wireless private bidirectional communication path to the multicast manager concurrently with receipt of the multi-media content multicast on the unidirectional wireless forward broadcast path, for identifying the one wireless end user device using the unique address as well as tag information retrieved from the multicast that identifies one of goods and services for purchase presently displayed in the multi-media content multicast; and a transaction processor for exchanging data with the one wireless end user device via the wireless private bidirectional communication path using the unique address for the wireless end user device to implement a transaction while the wireless end user device is concurrently receiving the multicast content via the unidirectional wireless forward broadcast path.