Patent ID: 8577391

Claim:
A method performed by a server associated with a service provider network, the method comprising: receiving, by the server and from a radio access network (RAN), information associated with a flow being transported via a cell, of a plurality of cells associated with the RAN, to or from the service provider network; identifying, by the server, a user device with which the flow is associated based on the information associated with the flow; retrieving, by the server and from a memory associated with the server, information associated with one or more locations that correspond to one or more cells of the plurality of cells; identifying, by the server, a location, of the one or more locations, associated with the cell, of the one more cells, based on the information associated with the one or more locations; encoding, by the server, information associated with the location, to create one or more location codes, where each of the one or more location codes, when decoded, represent a respective different geographical area in which the location or the user device are located; and transmitting, by the server and to a content provider, the one or more location codes, where the one or more location codes permit a geographical area that encompasses the user device or the location associated with the cell, to be identified, and advertising content to be targeted to the user device via the cell.