Patent ID: 7376433

Claim:
A method of providing location-based services to a subscriber of a wireless network, the method comprising: storing, on the network platform, subscriber profile information regarding the subscriber, the subscriber using a mobile unit; thereafter receiving, on a network platform in communication with the subscriber, a service request from the mobile unit requesting information regarding the location-based services; obtaining, on the network platform, location information regarding a location of the mobile unit; identifying, on the network platform, a plurality of candidate service providers from a database of service providers, based upon the location of the mobile unit; identifying, on the network platform, service provider information associated with the plurality of candidate service providers; selecting, on the network platform, a subset of the plurality of candidate service providers based on the subscriber profile information, wherein selecting a subset comprises not selecting at least one of the plurality of candidate service providers; outputting information regarding the subset of the plurality of candidate service providers to the mobile unit; receiving an input from the mobile unit, wherein the input comprises a selection of a preferred service provider; transmitting information regarding the subscriber to the preferred service provider; initiating a transaction between the subscriber and the preferred service provider based on the information regarding the subscriber; and receiving a transaction confirmation from the preferred service provider.