Patent ID: 6871065

Claim:
A mobile communication system comprising: a content server for providing content data requested via a network; a mobile communication terminal for issuing a request to provide said content data via a mobile communication network; and a plurality of gateway units located respectively in predetermined areas, for executing protocol conversion of said request and said content data transmitted between said network and said mobile communication network and for continuously providing said content data from said content server to said mobile communication terminal by transmitting and receiving communication information to provide said content data, wherein each of said plurality of gateway units comprises: a service management information storing section for storing service management information including at least identification information of said content data so as to correspond to identification information of said mobile communication terminal to which said content data is provided via each of said plurality of gateway units; an inquiry section, when said request is received from said mobile communication terminal, for inquiring of each of other gateway units whether said identification information of said mobile communication terminal is registered in said service management information storing section using said identification information as a search key; a search section for searching said service management information in response to an inquiry from said inquiry section of an arbitrary one of other gateway units; a communication information transmitting section, when said identification information of said mobile communication terminal is searched by said search section, for transmitting communication information used to provide said content data to said identification information of said mobile communication terminal to said gateway unit which has issued said inquiry; a content request section for requesting said content server to provide said content data corresponding to said request based on said communication information transmitted by said communication information transmitting section of each of said other gateway units in accordance with said inquiry from said inquiry section; and a content transferring section for transferring said content data from said content server, said content data requested by said content request section to said mobile communication terminal.