Providing communication services using sets of I/O user devices

A method by a user terminal emulation server for providing communication services using sets of input and/or output, I/O, user devices, the method comprising:

• maintaining a database that identifies network addresses of I/O user devices, user interface, UI, capabilities of the I/O user devices, and communication protocols of the I/O user devices, based on content of received registration messages;
• receiving a communication request from a network entity for establishing a communication service between a user and the network entity;
• and
• responsive to the communication request, performing:
• providing communication sessions between a user terminal emulation application and the network entity and between the user terminal emulation application and a set of the I/O user devices that are determined to be proximately located to a location of the user and that satisfy a combined capability rule for being combinable to provide a combined I/O user interface for the user to interface with the user terminal emulation application to perform the communication service;
• determining delay profiles for the communication sessions between the user terminal emulation application and the I/O user devices in the set, wherein each of the delay profiles indicates a communication delay associated with communicating with a different one of the I/O user devices in the set;
• receiving a downlink flow from the network entity;
• splitting the downlink flow into a plurality of downlink flow components that are assigned to different ones of the I/O user devices in the set, the different ones of the downlink flow components in the set having different UI characteristic that match the UI capabilities identified by the database for the different ones of the I/O user devices in the set;
• repeating for each of the downlink flow components,
• formatting the downlink flow component for transmission to the assigned I/O user device based on the communication protocol of the assigned I/O user device identified by the database, and
• initiating transmission of the formatted downlink flow component to the assigned I/O user device;
• and
• controlling timing for when the formatted downlink flow component is transmitted to the assigned I/O user device based on the delay profile associated with communicating with the assigned I/O user device.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing program code that is executed by at least one processor of a user terminal emulation server for providing communication services using sets of input and/or output, I/O, user devices, the program code when executed by the at least one processor performing operations comprising:

• maintaining a database that identifies network addresses of I/O user devices, user interface, UI, capabilities of the I/O user devices, and communication protocols of the I/O user devices, based on content of received registration messages;
• receiving a communication request from a network entity for establishing a communication service between a user and the network entity;
• and
• responsive to the communication request, performing:
• providing communication sessions between a user terminal emulation application and the network entity and between the user terminal emulation application and a set of the I/O user devices that are determined to be proximately located to a location of the user and that satisfy a combined capability rule for being combinable to provide a combined I/O user interface for the user to interface with the user terminal emulation application to perform the communication service;
• determining delay profiles for the communication sessions between the user terminal emulation application and the I/O user devices in the set, wherein each of the delay profiles indicates a communication delay associated with communicating with a different one of the I/O user devices in the set;
• receiving a downlink flow from the network entity;
• splitting the downlink flow into a plurality of downlink flow components that are assigned to different ones of the I/O user devices in the set, the different ones of the downlink flow components in the set having different UI characteristic that match the UI capabilities identified by the database for the different ones of the I/O user devices in the set;
• and
• repeating for each of the downlink flow components,
• formatting the downlink flow component for transmission to the assigned I/O user device based on the communication protocol of the assigned I/O user device identified by the database,
• initiating transmission of the formatted downlink flow component to the assigned I/O user device;
• and
• controlling timing for when the formatted downlink flow component is transmitted to the assigned I/O user device based on the delay profile associated with communicating with the assigned I/O user device.