Data structures and methods for location-based services within a wireless network

A computer-readable medium containing a data structure for use by a wireless system that provides communication between a wireless device and multiple network access points, the data structure comprising:

• at least one location-based services data structure for a wireless device or a user of the wireless device, wherein the location-based services data structure comprises:
• a first data structure representing a table of friends who may receive, via the system, a current location of the user's wireless device;
• and
• a second data structure representing a table of friends who have permitted the user to receive, via the system, a location of wireless devices associated with them.

In a telecommunications system providing location-based services, an apparatus for managing location requests from subscribers to the location-based service, the apparatus comprising:

• means for maintaining a first list of friends who have permission to receive location information regarding a location of a mobile device associated with the user, or a second list of friends that have allowed the user to receive location information regarding locations of mobile devices associated with them, wherein each friend in the first or second lists of friends is identified by, at least in part, a subscriber identifier,
• means, coupled to the means for maintaining, for receiving a request to allow the user to receive location information regarding a location of a mobile device associated with another subscriber, or a request to allow another subscriber to receive location information regarding the user's mobile device;
• and
• means, coupled to the means for receiving, for managing the received requests and updating the first or second lists of friends.

In a telecommunications system providing location-based services, a method:

• receiving user data from a user, wherein at least a portion of the user data is to be provided to the public, and wherein the user is a subscriber to the location-based services;
• and
• creating a user data structure representing a table based on the received user data, wherein the table includes at least some publicly available fields associated with the user, and wherein the publicly available fields include information about the user that the user has agreed to provide to at least subscribers to the location-based services;
• receiving a request, from a subscriber to the location-based services, for at least some data from the user data structure;
• and
• providing at least some of the fields in the user data structure based on the request.

A wireless data processing apparatus comprising at least a display device and a memory, wherein the display is configured to display a visual representation of a data structure stored in the memory,

• wherein the visual representation includes multiple user-selectable choices associated with location-based services provided by a telecommunications service provider,
• wherein the choices are arranged in a hierarchical set of choices, and wherein a top-level set of choices in the hierarchical set of choices includes user-selectable choices for:
• obtaining location information with respect to wireless devices associated with friends;
• prohibiting friends from obtaining location information with respect to the wireless data processing apparatus;
• and
• altering a list of friends who have permission to receive location information regarding a location of the wireless data processing apparatus, or altering a list of the friends that have allowed the wireless data processing apparatus to obtain location information regarding locations of wireless devices associated with them.