System and method for automatically downloading software applications to a remote terminal

A system for automatically downloading radio or protocol personalities over defined channels to a mobile terminal in a wide area network, the system comprising:

• an adaptable terminal, a spatial location service for providing geographic location information to said terminal, at least one component repository, and a download server,
• the component repository including at least one downloadable component and further including a service template that defines the service attributes of said downloadable component,
• said adaptable terminal including a location module in communication with the spatial location service to define the geographic location of the mobile terminal,
• the terminal further including a User Agent for locating downloadable components in the defined geographic location using a service request that enumerates the service needs of mode attributes,
• the server directory including a listing of service templates of component repositories in a defined geographic location and a Service Agent for communicating with said component depositories and User Agents,
• wherein said User Agent queries said Service Agent in the defined geographic location and neighboring locations to locate service components that match the terminals service need attributes such that when a matching component is located said terminal automatically downloads said component to said terminal.

An adaptable terminal for automatically downloading applications, the terminal comprising:

• a user interface,
• a location module,
• a download module for locating downloadable components for a selected location,
• a protocol module,
• an air interface module for enabling remote transmission,
• a reconfiguration module;
• and
• a download cache.