Patent ID: 8229470

Claim:
A method for providing location based service in a cellular data service network (CDSN) having a plurality of base stations, comprising: obtaining, from the CDSN, a plurality of accounting data packets and a plurality of application data packets associated with at least a portion of users of the CDSN, wherein the plurality of accounting data packets comprises metering information of CDSN usage by at least the portion of the users for transmitting the plurality of application data packets; analyzing, using a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer, the plurality of accounting data packets to determine a user mobility pattern representing a statistical pattern of time correlated user base station connections of at least the portion of the users in the CDSN, comprising: formulating a plurality of binary rules for association rule mining of the plurality of accounting data packets, wherein each of the plurality of binary rules is associated with a proposition of an antecedent implying an consequent and corresponds to a hypothetical user mobility pattern, wherein the antecedent states a first connection to a source base station within a time window with a pre-determined start time, wherein the consequent states a second connection to a target base station within a pre-determined time duration subsequent to the first connection; performing the association rule mining of the plurality of accounting data packets based on the plurality of binary rules to generate a confidence probability of the hypothetical user mobility pattern; and identifying the hypothetical user mobility pattern as the user mobility pattern in response to the confidence probability exceeding a pre-determined threshold; classifying, using the CPU, each of the plurality of application data packets as belonging to one or more of a plurality of pre-determined application categories based on keyword search; analyzing, using the CPU, the plurality of accounting data packets and the plurality of application data packets, based on network addresses and timestamps contained therein, to associate the user mobility pattern and a pre-determined application category of the plurality of pre-determined application categories; comparing, in response to receiving by the CDSN an accounting data packet associated with a first user of the users, the accounting data packet and the user mobility pattern to identify a match; and providing, in response to identifying the match, the location based service to the first user based on the pre-determined application category.