Patent ID: 8528014

Claim:
A cable backend for enabling a user with a location-aware mobile device to have at least partial control of a closest cable device associated with a closest television, the cable backend comprising: a login server; a location system configured to store fixed locations of a plurality of cable devices; and an accounting system configured to maintain account details of the user, the login server configured to receive a login command from the location-aware mobile device, the login command includes at least account information associated with the user and a current location of the user; the login server configured to send the current location of the user to the location system; the location system configured to store the current location of the user; the login server configured to send a query to the location system to determine which one of the plurality of cable devices is located closest to the current location of the user; the location system configured to determine which one of the plurality of cable devices is located closest to the current location of the user; the location system configured to send information identifying the closest cable device to the login server; the login server configured to send the information identifying the closest cable device to the location-aware mobile device; the login server configured to send a request to the accounting system for at least a portion of the account details of the user stored therein; the accounting system configured to send the at least a portion of the account details of the user to the login server; the login server configured to send the at least a portion of the account details of the user to the closest cable device; the login server configured to send a login confirmation to the location-aware mobile device to indicate to the user that they now have at least partial control of the closest cable device to control content displayed on the closest television; the login server logs-out the user from the closest cable device if the user utilizes the location-aware mobile device to actively close the at least partial control of the closest cable device or the user moves the location-aware mobile device a predetermined distance away from the closest cable device; the login service sends a logout message to the accounting system which then stops billing the user for content displayed on the closest television and starts billing an original subscriber-user of the closest cable device for the content displayed on the closest television; the plurality of cable devices includes one or more cable devices associated with one or more televisions located in a home of the user and multiple cable devices associated with multiple televisions located outside of the home of the user; and the closest cable device is located outside of the home of the user but functions in an identical manner as the one or more cable devices located in the home of the user after the login server sends the at least a portion of the account details of the user to the closest cable device.