Pre-Fetching of Data in a Mobile Communications Environment

A method performed by a cache management server for controlling a pre-fetching of data items into a cache associated with a first mobile terminal, the method comprising:

• receiving a pre-fetching request for data items to be provided by a mobile communications network to the first mobile terminal, for presentation of those data items to a user of the first mobile terminal, responsive to a geographical indication provided by the mobile communications network exceeding a detection threshold for a location granularity indicating entering of a retailer location by the first mobile terminal, wherein the pre-fetching request comprises a first user identification associated with the first mobile terminal;
• obtaining, based on the first user identification, at least one second user identification from a community database containing user profiles of users of a social network;
• selecting items for the pre-fetching based on the obtained at least one second user identification and the entered retailer location;
• retrieving data items corresponding to the selected items from a server associated with the entered retailer location;
• and
• providing the retrieved data items in response to the pre-fetching request.

A cache management server configured to control a pre-fetching of data items into a cache associated with a mobile terminal, comprising:

• a reception circuit configured to receive a pre-fetching request for data items to be provided by a mobile communications network to the mobile terminal, for presentation of those data items to a user of the mobile terminal, responsive to a geographical indication provided by the mobile communications network exceeding a detection threshold for a location granularity indicating entering of a retailer location by the mobile terminal, wherein the pre-fetching request comprises a first user identification associated with the mobile terminal;
• a query circuit configured to obtain, based on the first user identification, at least one second user identification from a community database containing user profiles of users of a social network;
• a selection circuit configured to select items for the pre-fetching based on the obtained at least one second user identification and the entered retailer location;
• a retrieval circuit configured to retrieve data items corresponding to the selected items from a server associated with the entered retailer location;
• and
• a provisioning circuit configured to provide the selected items in response to the pre-fetching request.

A cache management system comprising:

• a cache management server configured to control a pre-fetching of data items into a cache associated with a mobile terminal, comprising:
• a reception circuit configured to receive a pre-fetching request for data items to be provided by a mobile communications network to the mobile terminal, for presentation of those data items to a user of the mobile terminal, responsive to a geographical indication provided by the mobile communications network exceeding a detection threshold for a location granularity indicating entering of a retailer location by the mobile terminal, wherein the pre-fetching request comprises a first user identification associated with the mobile terminal;
• a query circuit configured to obtain, based on the first user identification, at least one second user identification from a community database containing user profiles of users of a social network;
• a selection circuit configured to select items for the pre-fetching based on the obtained at least one second user identification and the entered retailer location;
• a retrieval circuit configured to retrieve data items corresponding to the selected items from a server associated with the entered retailer location;
• and
• a provisioning circuit configured to provide the selected items in response to the pre-fetching request;
• and
• a user data repository that is coupled to and that is configured to support a cache management server, wherein the user data repository is associated with a second mobile terminal and comprises:
• a memory configured to store, triggered by an operation performed by the second mobile terminal, one or more item indications;
• and
• a control circuit configured to provide, in response to a query from the cache management server, one or more of the stored item indications for pre-fetching into the cache associated with the first mobile terminal.