Patent ID: 7707109

Claim:
Apparatus for use in conjunction with a telecommunications network provided by a telecommunications service provider and implementable in a computer environment, the apparatus comprising: a service mediator, being operated by the telecommunications service provider and connected to the network, for receiving, over the network, digital content to be rendered on a mobile terminal connected to the network, from a content provider connected to the network, wherein the mediator is adapted, in response to a request for the content issued by a requesting customer to the content provider and through the network, to determine whether the customer is entitled to receive the content based on subscription details of the customer and, when so entitled, to send the content over the network to the mobile terminal, wherein the mediator comprises: means connected to or in the mediator for receiving the content, over the network, from the content provider; means, responsive to the receiving means, for determining, once the content is received, and in conjunction with a payment/billings system, connected to the mediator, whether the customer is entitled to the content based on whether the customer is pre-paid or post-paid and whether, when the customer is pre-paid, a minimum sum then exists on deposit in an account associated with the customer; means, responsive to the determining means and as a result of an indication, from the payment/billing system to the determining means, that the customer is entitled to the content for sending the content, via the service mediator of the telecommunications service provider and over the network, to the mobile terminal; and means for billing, through the payment/billing system, the customer for the content sent to the mobile terminal.