(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (io> Pub. No.: US 2003/0101246 Al
`(43) Pub. Date:
`May 29,2003
`Lahti
`
`US 20030101246A1
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING
`AND ACCESSING NETWORK SERVICES
`
`(52) U.S. Cl............................................. 709/221; 709/245
`
`(75) Inventor: Jerry Eahti, Budapest (FI)
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Correspondence Address:
`Steven R. Funk
`Crawford PEEC
`1270 Northland Drive
`Suite 390
`St. Paul, MN 55120 (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Nokia Corporation, Espoo (FI)
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`09/998,367
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Nov. 29, 2001
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 ....................... G06F 15/177; G06F 15/16
`
`A system and method for facilitating mobile terminal access
`to a particular network application available via multiple
`application servers on a network. An application identifier
`corresponding to the network application, and associated
`application access parameters including an application
`server address of one of the multiple applications servers, is
`embedded into provisioning information. The provisioning
`information is transmitted to at least one mobile terminal in
`connection with a provisioning procedure. The mobile ter­
`minal is provisioned to facilitate access to the network
`application via the application server identified by the appli­
`cation server address provided with the provisioning infor­
`mation.
`
`Netflix v. VideoLabs
`IPR2023-00628
`Netflix. Ex. 1016
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 29,2003 Sheet 1 of 6
`
`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`100
`
`200
`
`FIG. 1
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 29,2003 Sheet 2 of 6
`
`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 29,2003 Sheet 3 of 6
`
`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 29,2003 Sheet 4 of 6
`
`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`500
`
`FIG. 5
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 29,2003 Sheet 5 of 6
`
`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`FIG. 6
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 29,2003 Sheet 6 of 6
`
`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`700
`
`FIG. 7
`
`

`

`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`1
`
`May 29, 2003
`
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING AND
`ACCESSING NETWORK SERVICES
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`[0001] The present invention relates generally to network
`communications systems, and more particularly, to a system
`and method for facilitating mobile terminal access to appli­
`cations available via application servers on a network.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`[0002] Today’s communications technologies have
`brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and
`wireless networks. Wireless networking technologies have
`addressed a number of traditional consumer demands, while
`further providing more flexibility and immediacy of infor­
`mation transfer. Current and impending landline networking
`technologies have expanded to increasingly include wireless
`and mobile technologies. Through these networks, informa­
`tion can be downloaded to desktop systems, wireless sys­
`tems, etc. For example, information available via the Inter­
`net can be downloaded onto mobile wireless units, such as
`cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), lap­
`top computers, etc.
`[0003] One such technology facilitating the transfer of
`Internet content to and from wireless devices is the Wireless
`Application Protocol (WAP), which integrates the Internet
`and other networks with wireless network platforms. Gen­
`erally, WAP is a set of protocols that accounts for charac­
`teristics and functionality of both Internet standards and
`standards for wireless services. It is independent of wireless
`network standards, and is designed as an open standard.
`WAP bridges the gap between the wireline Internet paradigm
`and the wireless domain, to allow wireless device users to
`enjoy the benefits of the Internet across both platforms.
`[0004] The types of information accessible via these wire-
`line and wireless networks includes software applications
`and services, such as wireless services operable on wireless
`terminals. Improvements to wireless services are continually
`being made, including improvements in capacity, speed, and
`efficiency. Users of wireless services are obtaining increas­
`ing access to multimedia services such as video-on-demand,
`video conferencing, fast web access and file transfer. Exist­
`ing and future services are, and will continue to be, provided
`by network service operators who make services and appli­
`cations available to mobile device users via the network.
`[0005] The “mobile Internet” relates to the accessibility of
`these services and applications to mobile devices operable
`on wireless networks. At present, the mobile Internet is
`being build on the World Wide Web (WWW) or WAP
`infrastructure. However, there is currently no official stan­
`dard for identifying applications or services on the mobile
`Internet. Rather, applications or services are identified by the
`Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that is used to specify the
`network address at which these applications or services can
`be accessed. For example, a particular Internet service or
`application is accessed by entering a URL that points to the
`network host offering that service or application. While this
`approach in some respects is a sufficient manner of accessing
`such services, this is largely due to the fact that generally
`there has been no standardization of Web or WAP applica­
`tions. For example, currently available search services pro­
`vided by two or more different web searching applications
`
`likely provide similar functionality, but may not operate in
`the same way. Identifying non-standardized applications
`using URLs embedding real network addresses may there­
`fore be acceptable in some cases for accessing the respective
`applications.
`[0006] This approach, however, breaks down when appli­
`cations and services are standardized (including standards
`recognized by standards bodies, proprietary standards or
`arrangements, etc.). This is because accessing such applica­
`tions through dedicated URLs fails to address situations
`where standardized applications and services are provided
`by multiple service providers. For example, Multimedia
`Messaging Service (MMS) is a service which has been
`standardized together by the WAP Forum and 3GPP. Thus,
`many different service providers may offer the use of the
`same application, and therefore the existing practice can no
`longer be used to properly identify the application. This is
`because the URL will include the network addresses of
`respective application/service providers. As a result, it will
`identify the instance of the service provided by a particular
`application/service provider instead of the standardized ser­
`vice itself. For example, a web address including “. . .
`companyXYZ.com/MMS” cannot identify the MMS appli­
`cation in general, as other operators such as companyABC
`will also offer the application.
`[0007] Another problem with the present methodology is
`that in the case of a standardized application, the user agent
`(application software) in the mobile device will typically not
`be the browser that is used to access URLs in general. If the
`only piece of information that the mobile device has is a
`URL pointing to a specific host, it has no means of deciding
`what the appropriate user agent is to be used.
`[0008] Provisioning techniques, such as the existing WAP
`bootstrap provisioning, address some of the needs of mobile
`Internet users. One reason that provisioning is used for
`mobile devices is that mobile terminals are by nature limited
`devices. They typically have limited memory, storage, and
`processing capabilities. Therefore, mobile devices do not
`include all of the components required to access new or
`upgraded services that may be available on the network.
`When a mobile user wants to utilize new or upgraded
`services available on the network, the terminal must be
`configured to use those new services. Configuring a terminal
`to use a service on a network is generally referred to as
`“provisioning” the terminal. Provisioning may be performed
`upon initial setup of a mobile device, or may also be
`performed to upgrade and/or update services and applica­
`tions already being used at that mobile device.
`[0009] However, current provisioning techniques do not
`solve the problems identified above. Rather, current provi­
`sioning techniques have a scope that is limited to parameters
`required to establish basic network connectivity. The infor­
`mation is implicitly assumed to be applicable to all appli­
`cations, and there is no means of associating parameter
`settings with a particular application.
`[0010] Accordingly, there is a need in the network com­
`munications industry to allow mobile terminals to identify
`specific applications provided in various network applica­
`tion servers, particularly where such applications are stan­
`dardized and hosted by different addressable network ele­
`ments. The present invention solves these and other
`
`

`

`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`2
`
`May 29, 2003
`
`shortcomings of the prior art, and offers numerous advan­
`tages over prior art provisioning systems and methodolo­
`gies.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`[0011] The present invention is directed to a system and
`method for facilitating mobile terminal access to a particular
`application available via multiple application servers on a
`network. The present invention involves providing an appli­
`cation identifier and access parameters via a network server,
`such as a provisioning server, to a mobile terminal. The
`mobile terminal in turn utilizes the application identifier to
`identify and access the targeted application on a particular
`one of the multiple application servers hosting that applica­
`tion on the network.
`[0012] In accordance with one embodiment of the inven­
`tion, a method is provided for facilitating mobile terminal
`access to a network application that is hosted by multiple
`application servers on a network. An application identifier
`corresponding to the network application, and associated
`application access parameters including an application
`server address of one of the multiple applications servers, is
`embedded into provisioning information. The provisioning
`information is transmitted to at least one mobile terminal in
`connection with a provisioning procedure. The mobile ter­
`minal is provisioned to facilitate access to the network
`application via the application server identified by the appli­
`cation server address provided with the provisioning infor­
`mation. In accordance with another embodiment of the
`invention, a computer-readable medium having computer­
`executable instructions for carrying out such a method is
`provided. In accordance with a more particular embodiment
`of the invention, the method further includes pre-configuring
`a software module, such as a user agent, at the mobile
`terminal to recognize the application identifier, and access­
`ing the network application via the application server cor­
`responding to the application server address using the soft­
`ware module.
`[0013] In accordance with another embodiment of the
`invention, a system is provided for facilitating mobile ter­
`minal access to a target application available via a plurality
`of application servers on a network. The system includes a
`provisioning element to provide one or more provisioning
`information files. As used herein, files, records, documents,
`blocks, or other terminology is not intended to connote any
`particular structure or type of information block, but rather
`is intended to generically include any type of format used to
`provide such provisioning information, including merely a
`sequence of information bytes. At least one of the provi­
`sioning files includes an application identifier corresponding
`to the target application. The provisioning file(s) further
`includes application access parameters associated with the
`application identifier, where at least one of the application
`access parameters includes an application server address of
`one of the plurality of application servers. The system
`includes a mobile terminal pre-configured to recognize the
`embedded application identifier upon receipt of the provi­
`sioning files. The mobile terminal accesses the target appli­
`cation at the application server address as prescribed by one
`or more of the application access parameters associated with
`the application identifier. In more particular embodiments,
`the provisioning network element includes a provisioning
`server coupled to the network, which implements push
`
`technology to push the provisioning information to the
`mobile terminal via the network. In accordance with another
`particular embodiment, the provisioning network element
`includes a portable or device-embedded component, such as
`a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), WAP identify module
`(WIM), or a smart card that stores the provisioning infor­
`mation for transfer to the mobile device.
`[0014] In accordance with another embodiment of the
`invention, a network element comprising a provisioning
`server is provided. The provisioning server transmits a data
`signal embodied in a carrier wave readable by a mobile
`terminal and encoding one or more provisioning documents.
`The provisioning documents include an application identi­
`fier corresponding to a standardized network application
`hosted by a plurality of application servers. The provisioning
`documents further include application access parameters
`associated with the application identifier, where at least one
`of the application access parameters is an application server
`address of one of the plurality of application servers in
`which a mobile terminal recipient of the data signal can
`access the standardized network application.
`[0015] The above summary of the present invention is not
`intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or imple­
`mentation of the present invention. This is the purpose of the
`figures and the associated discussion which follows.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`[0016] The invention is described in connection with the
`embodiments illustrated in the following diagrams.
`[0017] FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a network
`system that employs the application identification provision­
`ing and access in accordance with the principles of the
`present invention;
`[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates another exemplary embodiment
`of a network system employing the application identification
`provisioning and access in accordance with the principles of
`the present invention;
`[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a particular embodiment of a
`network system employing the application ID provisioning
`and access principles of the present invention in a Wireless
`Application Protocol (WAP) environment;
`[0020] FIG. 4 is an exemplary embodiment illustrating the
`manner in which an application ID provided via a provi­
`sioning process is used to access a particular application in
`accordance with the invention;
`[0021] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a portion of the
`provisioning content that may be delivered to a mobile
`terminal in accordance with the present invention;
`[0022] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodi­
`ment of a method for accessing targeted network applica­
`tions using the application identification provisioning and
`access principles of the present invention; and
`[0023] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a more par­
`ticular embodiment of a method for accessing network
`applications using the application identification provisioning
`and access principles of the present invention.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS
`EMBODIMENTS
`[0024] In the following description of the various embodi­
`ments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings
`
`

`

`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`3
`
`May 29, 2003
`
`which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of
`illustration various embodiments in which the invention
`may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodi­
`ments may be utilized, and structural and functional modi­
`fications may be made without departing from the scope of
`the present invention.
`[0025] The present invention is directed to a system and
`method for facilitating mobile terminal access to a particular
`application available via multiple application servers on a
`network. The present invention involves providing an appli­
`cation identifier by a network server, such as a provisioning
`server, to a mobile terminal. Along with the application
`identifier are various access parameters that the mobile
`terminal uses to facilitate access to the application identified
`by the application identifier. The mobile terminal accesses
`the network application corresponding to the application
`identifier at a particular application server identified by the
`access parameters The access parameters also allow the
`mobile terminal to configure other access characteristics and
`connectivity settings associated with the targeted application
`server and application.
`[0026] FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a network
`system 100 which employs the application identification
`provisioning and access in accordance with the principles of
`the present invention. The invention allows a mobile termi­
`nal to access a network application at a specific application
`server where multiple application servers provide that appli­
`cation. The mobile terminals receive an application identi­
`fier (application ID) and associated access parameters during
`a provisioning process, which allows the mobile terminal to
`identify the appropriate application server and access char­
`acteristics in which to access the application identified by
`the application ID.
`[0027] When a mobile user wants to utilize new services
`available on the network, the terminal must be configured to
`use those new services. Configuring a terminal to use a
`service on a network is generally referred to as “provision­
`ing” the terminal. In accordance with one embodiment of the
`invention, the mobile terminal 102 receives an application
`ID and associated access parameters over-the-air (OTA) via
`a network 104 from a provisioning source 106. In another
`embodiment, the application ID and associated access
`parameters may be received via direct provisioning means,
`such as via a smart card, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM),
`WAP identify module (WIM), or other analogous portable or
`device-embedded component. The application ID is sup­
`plied by the provisioning source 106 to the mobile termi­
`nals) during mobile terminal provisioning procedures. The
`provisioning process which supplies the application ID in
`accordance with the present invention can take place at any
`time. For example, the provisioning process may occur in
`connection with providing a new service to a mobile device,
`or in connection with upgrading services and applications
`already being used at that mobile terminal. In other
`examples, the provisioning process may be a bootstrap
`provisioning process that occurs upon initial setup of the
`mobile terminal, or a re-provisioning process to update the
`provisioning information after the initial bootstrap provi­
`sioning.
`[0028] The provisioning source 106 may be any device
`coupled to the network 104 that can provide such provi­
`sioning information, such as a provisioning server. The
`
`provisioning source 106 may also be a portable or device­
`embedded component, such as a SIM, WIM, etc. In the
`illustrated embodiment, the application ID is provided by
`the provisioning source 106 over-the-air through implemen­
`tation of a “push” feature, also known as a “notification”
`feature or “alert” feature. Such push features are described
`in greater detail below.
`[0029] In accordance with one embodiment of the inven­
`tion, the application ID is embedded within the provisioning
`information supplied by the provisioning source 106. There­
`fore, rather than merely being included in a header as a basis
`for dispatching the message to some other receiving appli­
`cation at the mobile terminal 102, the application ID
`received by the mobile terminal 102 can in turn be used by
`the mobile terminal to ultimately access a specific applica­
`tion^) 108. The application 108 may be made available by,
`for example, an application server or service available via
`the network 104.
`[0030] As is described more fully below, the mobile
`terminal(s) 102 receive and process an application ID and
`corresponding access parameters including an identification
`of one of a plurality of application servers which is to serve
`the application 108. By recognizing the application ID, the
`mobile terminal can ascertain the application server that is to
`serve the application, as well as ascertain other parameters
`that make access more efficient and/or to allow specific
`network connectivity settings to be associated with the
`application 108. One or more software modules or user
`agents 110 are provided at the mobile terminal 102, where
`each user agent/software module 110 is originally config­
`ured to recognize an application ID and access the appro­
`priate application 108 on the network. Thus, the user agent/
`software module 110 recognizes the application ID, and uses
`the application server address information to access the
`appropriate application server in a manner set forth by the
`various access parameters.
`[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates another exemplary embodiment
`of a network system 200 employing the application identi­
`fication provisioning and access in accordance with the
`principles of the present invention. The exemplary embodi­
`ment of FIG. 2 includes one or more mobile terminals 202
`which receives an application ID and associated access
`parameters from a provisioning source. In one embodiment,
`the provisioning source providing the application ID and
`associated parameters is a SIM, WIM, smart card, or other
`portable or embedded component 208 that can be coupled to
`the terminal 202. In another embodiment, the application ID
`and associated parameters are provided to the terminal 202
`via a provisioning server 204, where the terminal and
`provisioning server communicate over any one or more
`cooperating wireless and landline networks 206.
`[0032] The mobile terminals 202 may include any type of
`wireless computing device. For example, the mobile termi­
`nal 202 may represent any of a number of wireless com­
`munication devices, such as a wireless/cellular telephone
`210, a personal digital assistant (PDA) 212, a notebook or
`laptop computer 214, or any other type of terminal repre­
`sented by device 216.
`[0033] An unprovisioned terminal 202 is one that has not
`undergone a configuration of device/infrastructure connec­
`tion parameters required to access and use the desired
`application or service. In a mobile network such as the
`
`

`

`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`4
`
`May 29, 2003
`
`mobile Internet made possible through technologies such as
`the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), proper access to
`an application may require various types of information. For
`example, the application may require a specific quality of
`service (QoS), which can be provided by using network
`access point information (e.g., GPRS network access point)
`with specific parameter settings that must be known before
`the mobile device attempts to contact the application. A
`network access point definition may include multiple param­
`eters including, for example, dial-up number, line speed,
`modem initialization string, PPP username and password,
`used authentication protocol, etc. Further, with the mobile
`Internet, it is desirable to avoid protocol exchanges so that
`network delays will not degrade the user experience. As a
`result, there may be a large number of parameters that need
`to be provided to the mobile device before it can access and
`use applications properly.
`[0034] The provisioning server 204 or other provisioning
`element provides such provisioning information to the ter­
`minal 202 in order to allow the terminal 202 to make the
`appropriate and most effective connection to the targeted
`application. In accordance with the invention, this provi­
`sioning information includes an application ID serving to
`notify the mobile terminal 202 of the desired application.
`The provisioning information includes access parameters
`associated with that application ID which allow the mobile
`terminal 202 to be provisioned to access the desired appli­
`cation from a particular one of a plurality of network
`elements from which the desired application is available.
`The access parameters also allow the connection to be
`specifically tailored for the most efficient or otherwise
`desirable access and use of the application(s).
`[0035] There are various manners in which the provision­
`ing server 204 may initiate provisioning of the mobile
`terminal 202. For example, remote servers (not shown) may
`instigate a communications session with the provisioning
`server device 204, and provide the provisioning server with
`provisioning information. As a further example, two existing
`standards for remote configuration of terminals are the WAP
`bootstrap provisioning protocol and the Synchronization
`Markup Language (SyncML) device management protocol.
`The WAP bootstrap provisioning protocol is an example of
`a push technology, and SyncML device management is an
`example of provisioning that may include push technology
`as well as terminal-initiated provisioning processes. In
`another embodiment, the provisioning server 204 may insti­
`gate the provisioning process and provide the provisioning
`information and the application ID to the mobile terminal(s)
`202 using push technology.
`[0036] FIG. 3 illustrates a particular embodiment of a
`network system 300 employing the application ID provi­
`sioning and access principles of the present invention in a
`Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) environment. WAP is
`a technology facilitating the transfer of Internet content to
`and from wireless devices. WAP integrates the Internet and
`other networks with wireless network platforms. Generally,
`WAP is a set of protocols that accounts for characteristics
`and functionality of both Internet standards and standards
`for wireless services. It is independent of wireless network
`standards, and is designed as an open standard. WAP bridges
`the gap between the wireline Internet paradigm and the
`wireless domain, to allow wireless device users to enjoy the
`benefits of the Internet across both platforms.
`
`[0037] In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, the mobile
`terminals employ WAP technology, and the provisioning
`server is a WAP “push” provisioning server 302. In a typical
`client/server model, a client requests a service or informa­
`tion from a server, which then responds in transmitting
`information to the client. This is generally referred to as
`“pull” technology, where the client pulls the information
`from the server. For example, entry of a URL at a client
`device which is then dispatched to the server to retrieve the
`associated information is a pull transaction. In contrast,
`“push” technology generally refers to a means to transmit
`information to one or more devices without a previous user
`action. Thus, there is no explicit request from the client
`before the server transmits its information, and therefore
`push technology essentially includes server-initiated trans­
`actions. Push technologies can be used in connection with
`various protocols and communication technologies. For
`example, some representative push technologies include
`WAP Push, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia
`Messaging Service (MMS), Session Initiation Protocol
`(SIP), as well as others. For purposes of the present example,
`a WAP environment is assumed.
`[0038] It should be noted that the illustrated WAP push
`provisioning server 302 may be used in an embodiment
`employing WAP bootstrap provisioning protocols. However,
`WAP provisioning may be extended to other protocols, such
`as protocols permitting two-way communication of provi­
`sioning information. Therefore, while the description pro­
`vided in connection with FIG. 3 relates to WAP push
`provisioning, the invention is clearly not limited thereto.
`Rather, any type of provisioning protocol or technology may
`be used in accordance with the invention.
`[0039] With respect to WAP Push technology, WAP speci­
`fies a general Protocol (Push Access Protocol) for the
`communication between a Push service provider and a push
`gateway of the wireless network. The gateway and the
`mobile device use a special protocol to communicate, such
`as Push Over-the-Air Protocol. More particularly, a push
`operation in WAP occurs when a push initiator (PI) transmits
`content to a client using either the Push Over-the-Air Pro­
`tocol or the Push Access Protocol. The PI is on a network,
`such as the Internet, and the WAP client is in the WAP
`domain. Often times intermediary management of the com­
`munication between the PI and the WAP client is facilitated
`via a WAP gateway. The PI contacts the gateway from the
`Internet side, delivering content using Internet protocols.
`The Internet side gateway access protocol is the Push Access
`Protocol, which uses extensible Markup Language (XML)
`messages that may be tunneled through various well-known
`Internet protocols such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
`(HTTP). The gateway forwards the pushed content to the
`WAP domain, where the content is transmitted over-the-air
`(OTA) in the mobile network to the WAP client. The WAP
`side (OTA) protocol is the Push Over-the-Air Protocol that
`is based on the Wireless Session Protocol (WSP), which is
`essentially a binary version of HTTP. There are currently a
`large number of mobile push and pull technologies, and
`more such technologies are likely to arise in the future, any
`of which may be utilized in connection with the present
`invention.
`[0040] A standard WAP provisioning server currently
`includes parameters needed to establish basic network con­
`nectivity. This information is implicitly assumed to be
`
`

`

`US 2003/0101246 Al
`
`5
`
`May 29, 2003
`
`applicable to all applications, and there is no means of
`associating specific parameter settings with a particular
`application. In accordance with the present invention, the
`WAP push provisioning server 302 provides an application
`ID(s) and various access parameters, shown at block 304, to
`the WAP terminal 306 via the network 316. The application
`IDs and parameters provided to the mobile terminal 306
`solve shortcomings of the prior art where the mobile termi­
`nal 306 needs to access one of a plurality of equivalent or
`standardized applications 308 hosted by different address­
`able application servers 310, 312, 314 available on the
`network 316. In particular, an application ID corresponding
`to the equivalent or standardized applications 308, along
`with a specific URL/network address and other access
`parameters 304, are provided to terminal 306. The URL/
`network address may provide the address of the application
`server to be accessed by the mobile terminal. In addition, or
`alternatively, the URL/network address may provide the
`path, such that the address is also associated with a particular
`service, such as . . . /companyABC/MMS, where MMS
`represents a portion of the path to identify the target service.
`A user agent 307, pre-configured to recognize the applica­
`tion ID, uses the associated access parameters to identify the
`appropriate application server 310, 312, 314 in which to
`access the application 308, as well as to associate specific
`network connectivity settings and access characteristics with
`the application 308 for that server 310, 312, 314.
`[0041] For example, the application ID 304 is associated
`with parameters including the URL or network address of
`the application server that is to be accessed, such as the
`application server 312. The parameters associated with the
`application ID provided to the terminal 306 identify the URL
`or network address of application server 312 as the particu­
`lar server to contact in order to use the application 308. In
`addition, other parameters associated with the application ID
`may be used to associate specific network connectivity
`settings with the application 308, and configure other access
`characteristics required to access, or to facilitate access to,
`the application 308 at the server 312
`[0042] WAP push architectures currently implement an
`application identifier which can be a Uniform Resource
`Identifier (URI) or an abbreviated registered value. How­
`ever, the scope of its usage is very limited, as it is defined to
`be used in the headers of a WAP push message as a basis of
`dispatching the message to some receiving application
`within the WAP terminal 306 other than the default appli­
`cation (e.g., browser) wh