Patent ID: 8792921

Claim:
A location-based messaging system comprising: a plurality of location tracking servers operably coupled to a mobile access network to receive data of communications between base stations and mobile switching devices of the mobile access network, each of the location tracking servers being configured to calculate latest locations of a plurality of mobile communication devices supported by the mobile access network as location data using the received data of communications, the location tracking servers being further configured to maintain at least one location database that includes information of the plurality of mobile communication devices supported by the mobile access network and the location data; and a messaging control system operably coupled to the location tracking servers, the messaging control system being configured to generate location-based messages for a target geographical area and to send the location-based messages to the mobile communication devices within the target geographical area using at least the information of the mobile communication devices supported by the mobile access network and the location data that corresponds to the latest locations of the mobile communication devices in the at least one location database, the location-based messages being one of short message service (SMS) messages and multimedia message service (MMS) messages, said messaging control system being configured to function as one of a short message service center (SMSC) and a multimedia message service center (MMSC) and being configured to identify appropriate mobile switching devices associated with the mobile communication devices on the basis of data held by the location tracking servers, wherein the messaging control system is directly connected to mobile switching devices of the mobile access network so that the location-based messages in the form of SMS or MMS messages are routed directly from the messaging control system to the identified mobile switching devices and then to the mobile communication devices within the target geographical area.