WO2016057808A1

WO2016057808A1 - Device, method and article to broadcast works

Info

Publication number: WO2016057808A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/054724
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eric TEMPLE
Original assignee: Temple Eric
Priority date: 2014-10-08
Filing date: 2015-10-08
Publication date: 2016-04-14

Abstract

A system includes one or more memories and circuitry coupled to the one or more memories. In operation, the system provides wireless network access services, maintains a list of available content and provides broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the wireless network access services. The system provides licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services.

Description

DEVICE, METHOD AND ARTICLE TO BROADCAST WORKS BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to devices, methods and articles to broadcast copyright works.

Description of the Related Art

Currently, commercial establishments, such as clothing stores, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, etc., may broadcast content or works such as music to entertain their customers and make the experience for their customers more pleasant. Broadcasting in this context refers to playing a work such as a song or a video in a commercial establishment, for example, playing a song on a jukebox in a bar.

In some cases, commercial establishments may pay a service to provide a feed containing works to broadcast {e.g., MUZAK), with the service arranging to pay any appropriate fees to the copyright owners for the broadcast of the works. In some cases, commercial establishments may make arrangements to pay the appropriate copyright fees for broadcasting works through a licensing body.

In some cases, commercial establishments may install a jukebox, which allows customers to choose works {e.g., songs) from a selection of works in the jukebox. The establishment may pay a flat fee, for example annually, for a license to broadcast the works available on the jukebox. In some cases, the jukebox may keep track of the number of times each work is broadcast, and this information may be used to determine the license fee, or to determine how to distribute a flat license fee to the appropriate artists or other copyright owners.

The licensing fees may be substantial and tracking the fees may present a significant burden to a commercial establishment. Moreover, not all commercial establishments may make arrangements to track or pay the appropriate licensing fees. Thus, licensing bodies sometimes engage in enforcement programs to identify commercial establishments which are not paying appropriate licensing fees for the broadcasting of works.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a system comprises: one or more memories; and circuitry coupled to the one or more memories, which, in operation: provides wireless network access services; maintains a list of available content; provides broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the wireless network access services from the list of available content; and provides licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services. In an embodiment, the circuitry comprises a sound system and, the providing broadcast services includes broadcasting content on the sound system based on received indications of content selections; and the providing licensing services includes tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system. In an embodiment, the tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system includes generating audit report information. In an embodiment, the circuitry comprises a wireless hub which, in operation, selectively establishes wireless service connections with mobile devices. In an embodiment, the circuitry, in operation, provides financial transaction services. In an embodiment, the circuitry, in operation, provides marketing services. In an embodiment, providing marketing services comprises providing electronic coupons to a mobile device receiving wireless network access services provided by the system. In an embodiment, providing electronic coupons is based on at least one of: a location of the system; previous use of the system associated with the mobile device; previous use of the system by a plurality of mobile devices; information pertaining to a particular user of the mobile device; and information pertaining to a set of users of the system. In an embodiment, the providing marketing services comprises tracking information associated with users of the system. In an embodiment, the providing marketing services comprises providing marketing information associated with users of the system without including information identifying specific user identities in the provided marketing information. In an embodiment, the system is a broadcast system of a commercial establishment and the wireless network access services provide Internet access to mobile telephone devices. In an embodiment, providing the broadcast services includes charging users to select content to broadcast from the list of available content. In an embodiment, the charging is based on a number of selections made by the user. In an embodiment, the charging is based on an order associated with a selection in a plurality of selections. In an embodiment, a fee associated with a subsequent selection is higher than a fee associated with a previous selection. In an embodiment, a fee schedule associated with the charging is based on a timing of a selection.

In an embodiment, a device comprises: means for providing wireless network access services; means for providing broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of wireless network access services; and means for providing licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services. In an embodiment, the device comprises: a sound system, wherein providing broadcast services broadcasting content on the sound system based on received indications of content selections. In an embodiment, the means for providing wireless network access services comprises a wireless hub configured to establish wireless service connections with mobile telephones.

In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprises: providing, using one or more processing devices, wireless network access services to a plurality of mobile communication devices; maintaining, using the one or more processing devices, a list of available content; providing, using the one or more processing devices, broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the mobile communication devices from the list of available content; and providing, using the one or more processing devices, licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services. In an embodiment, the providing broadcast services includes broadcasting content on a sound system based on received indications of content selections and the providing licensing services includes tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system. In an embodiment, the tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system includes generating audit report information. In an embodiment, the method comprises providing financial transaction services. In an embodiment, the method comprises providing marketing services. In an embodiment, the providing marketing services comprises providing electronic coupons to a mobile communication device receiving wireless network access services. In an embodiment, the network access services and the broadcast services are provided in a commercial establishment and the providing broadcast services includes charging users of the mobile communication devices to select content to broadcast from the list of available content.

In an embodiment, a non-transitory, computer-readable medium contains contents which, when executed by a broadcast system, cause the broadcast system to perform a method, the method comprising: providing wireless network access services to a plurality of mobile communication devices; maintaining a list of available content; providing broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the mobile communication devices from the list of available content; and providing licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services. In an embodiment, the broadcast system comprises a broadcast controller and a wireless network hub. In an embodiment, the contents are instructions executed by a broadcast controller of the broadcast system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Figures 1 and 2 show example embodiments of environments to broadcast works and provide related services.

Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system to broadcast works and provide related services.

Figures 4-5D and 9 are flow diagrams illustrating embodiments of methods of broadcasting works and providing related services. Figure 6 illustrates an example of an interface to facilitate the providing of broadcast services.

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a data structure to store a list of available content for broadcast.

Figure 8 illustrates an example of a data structure to store broadcast pricing information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of devices, systems, methods and articles. However, one of skill in the art will understand that other embodiments may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well- known structures and methods associated with, for example, mobile devices such as smart phones, jukeboxes, audio/visual systems, point-of-sale systems, computing systems, virtual computing systems, telecommunication networks, web browsers, web servers, wireless hubs, etc., have not been shown or described in detail in some figures to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as "comprising," and "comprises," are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is, as "including, but not limited to."

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment, or to all embodiments. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments to obtain further embodiments. The headings are provided for convenience only, and do not interpret the scope or meaning of this disclosure.

The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn are not necessarily intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of particular elements, and have been selected solely for ease of recognition in the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 100 to broadcast works and provide related services. As illustrated, the system 100 includes a local server 102, which may be located, for example, at a commercial establishment, an audio/visual system 104, a remote server 106, a control terminal 108, a point of sale terminal 1 10, and a wireless hub 1 12. Embodiments of the system 100 may include more than one of the various illustrated components, may include additional components, or may not include all of the illustrated components. For example, some embodiments may not include a remote server 106, some embodiments may combine the functionality of the control terminal 108 and the point of sale terminal 1 10 into a single terminal, some embodiments may incorporate the wireless hub 1 12 into the local server 102, some embodiments may employ multiple wireless hubs 1 12, some embodiments may include a card reader (not shown), etc., and various combinations thereof.

One or more communication links 1 14 communicatively couple the components of the system 100 to each other. The communication links 1 14 may be wired or wireless communication links {e.g., POTS links, Internet links, GSM links, LTE links, LAN links, 802.1 1 η links, short distance communication links, etc.), and various combinations thereof. For example, as illustrated the local server 102 is coupled to a remote server 106 through a POTS link 1 15 and through the Internet. The communication links are not limited to the illustrated links. For example, the control terminal 108 may communicate with the local server 102 through communication links with the wireless hub 1 12.

The local server 102 as illustrated includes a processor P, a memory M and discrete circuitry 120. As discussed in more detail elsewhere, broadcast controller 122 of the local server 102 controls the broadcasting of audio, visual, or audio visual works, such as songs, videos, music videos, movies, comedy routines, etc., through, for example, the audio/visual system 104. As discussed in more detail elsewhere, the broadcast controller 122 may be implemented, for example, by executing instructions stored in the memory M on the processor P, by using state machines implemented, for example, with discrete circuitry 120, by using look-up tables, etc., and various combinations thereof.

The audio/visual system 104 as illustrated includes one or more speakers 103 and one or more monitors 105 to broadcast works under control of the broadcast controller 122. Embodiments of the audio/visual system 104 may include additional components, may not include all of the illustrated components, etc., and various combinations thereof. For example, some embodiments of the audio/visual system 104 may comprise an audio system including a plurality of speakers without including a monitor, some embodiments may include a light display {e.g., configured to respond to characteristics of a work by producing a light show), etc., and various combinations thereof.

The remote server 106 may facilitate the providing of broadcast and related services by the local server, such as by providing access to additional works, facilitating financial transactions {e.g., payments for playing particular works, sales at the point of sale terminals, etc.), providing reports to licensing services, home offices, etc., and various combinations thereof.

The control terminal 108 may be employed to facilitate configuring the broadcast controller 122, for example, to create or modify a list of works available for broadcasting, to create or modify schedules for works, such as pricing schedules, works available in particular time frames, maximum and minimum volume levels, lighting levels, etc., to facilitate configuring the point of sale terminals, etc., and various combinations thereof.

The point of sale terminal 1 10 may be employed to facilitate sales of goods or the providing of services or combinations thereof by the commercial establishment.

The wireless hub 1 12 may be employed to facilitate communications between various components of the system 100, between the system 100 and other devices {e.g., between the system 100 and electronic devices 1 16, which as illustrated are smart phones), between other local devices and other remote devices {e.g., to allow an electronic device 1 16 to communicate with a remote server 106), etc. As illustrated, the wireless hub 1 12 comprises a processor P, a memory M, discrete circuity 120 and an antenna 122, which may be employed to implement the functionality of the wireless hub 1 12.

For example, the system 100 may communicate with one or more electronic devices 1 16 {e.g., smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc.), which as illustrated are smart phones, using the wireless hub 1 12. As discussed in more detail herein, a user (such as a customer of a commercial establishment), may use an application, as illustrated a music app 1 17 installed on the electronic device 1 16, to select works to be broadcast by the system 100. For example, a user may download and install an application 1 17 on an electronic device 1 16 which allows the user select a song for playing from a list of songs provided by the broadcast controller 122 of the system 100. The broadcast controller 122 of the system 100 may respond to an indication of a selection of a song receive by the wireless hub 1 12 from a music app 1 17 of an electronic device 1 16 by broadcasting the song using the audio/visual system 104, by broadcasting the song to the electronic device 1 16 for playback (for example, by transmitting the song to the electronic device 1 16 through the wireless hub 1 12 for playback by the electronic device 1 16 under control of the music app 1 17), etc.

The following discussion provides a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Although not required, various embodiments will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program application modules, objects, or macros being executed by one or more electronic devices, such as a smart phone, a point-of-sale terminal, a control terminal, a personal computer, a server, etc., and various combinations thereof. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that various embodiments can be practiced with other computing system configurations, including other handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor- based or programmable consumer electronics, networked personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers, virtual systems, and the like. Various embodiments can be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices, which are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of an environment 200 that may be employed to facilitate broadcast services and transactions as described herein. The environment 200 includes a computing system 10. For example, the computing system 10 may be configured as a smart phone, a point-of-sale terminal, a local server, a host server, such as a financial transactions server, a communications server, etc. The computing system 10 may, for example, be operated by a business providing goods or services to a consumer, by a consumer purchasing goods or services from a business, by a vendor, such as a broadcast services provider, a licensing body, a financial institution, a communication service provider (for example, a financial institution or financial transaction service provider, a telecom service provider, an Internet service provider), etc. The computing system 10 may take the form of any of the variety of types discussed above, which may run a networking client, for example a server, a Web browser, an application, etc. The computing system 10 comprises a processor unit 12, a system memory 14 and a system bus 16 that couples various system components including the system memory 14 to the processing unit 12. The processing unit 12 may be any logical processing unit, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), etc. Unless described otherwise, the construction and operation of the various blocks shown in Figure 2 are of conventional design. As a result, such blocks need not be described in further detail herein, as they will be understood by those skilled in the relevant art.

The system bus 16 can employ any known bus structures or architectures, including a memory bus with memory controller, a peripheral bus, and/or a local bus. The system memory 14 includes read-only memory ("ROM") 18 and random access memory ("RAM") 20. A basic input/output system ("BIOS") 22, which can form part of the ROM 18, contains basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the computing system 10, such as during startup.

The computing system 10 also includes one or more spinning media memories such as a hard disk drive 24 for reading from and writing to a hard disk 25, and an optical disk drive 26 and a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from and writing to removable optical disks 30 and magnetic disks 32, respectively. The optical disk 30 can be a CD-ROM, while the magnetic disk 32 can be a magnetic floppy disk or diskette. The hard disk drive 24, optical disk drive 26 and magnetic disk drive 28 communicate with the processing unit 12 via the bus 16. The hard disk drive 24, optical disk drive 26 and magnetic disk drive 28 may include interfaces or controllers coupled between such drives and the bus 16, as is known by those skilled in the relevant art, for example via an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) interface. The drives 24, 26 and 28, and their associated computer-readable media, provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computing system 10. Although the depicted computing system 10 employs hard disk 25, optical disk 30 and magnetic disk 32, those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that other types of spinning media memory computer-readable media may be employed, such as, digital video disks (DVD), Bernoulli cartridges, etc. Those skilled in the relevant art will also appreciate that other types of computer-readable media that can store data accessible by a computer may be employed, for example, non-spinning media memories such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, RAMs, ROMs, SSDs, ReRAMs, smart cards, etc.

Program modules can be stored in the system memory 14, such as an operating system 34 (for example, Windows, Android, etc), one or more application programs 36 (for example, a music application), other programs or modules 38, and program data 40. The system memory 14 also includes a server 41 for permitting the computing system 10 to exchange data with sources such as Websites of the Internet, corporate intranets, or other networks, as well as other server applications on server computers. The server 41 may be markup language based, such as hypertext markup language (HTML), and operate with markup languages that use syntactically delimited characters added to the data of a document to represent the structure of the document, etc.

While shown in Figure 2 as being stored in the system memory 14, the operating system 34, application programs 36, other program modules 38, program data 40 and server 41 can be stored on the hard disk 25 of the hard disk drive 24, the optical disk 30 and the optical disk drive 26 and/or the magnetic disk 32 of the magnetic disk drive 28, etc. A user can enter commands and information to the computing system 10 through input devices such as a keypad or keyboard 42 and a pointing device such as a mouse 44. Other input devices can include a microphone, joystick, game pad, scanner, touch screen, card reader, chip reader, etc. These and other input devices as illustrated are connected to the processing unit 12 through an interface 46 such as a serial port interface that couples to the bus 16, although other interfaces such as a parallel port, a game port or a universal serial bus (USB) can be used. A display or monitor 48 or other display devices may be coupled to the bus 16 via video interface 50, such as a video adapter. The computing system 10 can include other output devices such as speakers, headphones, printers, etc.

The computing system 10 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more repositories 6 and/or other computing systems 8a-8n. While example embodiments may be discussed in terms of an example means of communication {e.g., WiFi), the computer system 10 may employ any known means of communications, such as through a local area network (LAN) 52 or a wide area network (WAN), a telecommunications network or the Internet 54. Such networking environments are well known and may include, for example, any type of telecommunications network or other network, such as CDMA, OFDMA, GSM, LTE, WiMAX, VoIP, WiFi, Internet Protocol, various IEEE standard protocols, etc.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computing system 10 may be coupled to the LAN 52 through an adapter or network interface 56 (communicatively linked to the bus 16). When used in a WAN networking environment, the computing system 10 often includes a device, such as a modem 57, a mobile phone communication module or other device for establishing communications over the WAN/Internet 54. As illustrated, a modem 57 is shown in Figure 2 as communicatively linked between the interface 46 and the WAN/lnternet/Telecommunications network 54. In a networked environment, program modules, application programs, or data, or portions thereof, can be stored in a server computer (for example, another configured computing system similar to the computing system 10). Those skilled in the relevant art will readily recognize that the network connections shown in Figure 2 a are only some examples of establishing communication links between computers and/or other systems and devices 60, and other links may be used, including wireless links.

The computing system 10 may include one or more interfaces such as slot 58 to allow the addition of devices either internally or externally to the computing system 10. For example, suitable interfaces may include ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), IDE, PCI (Personal Computer Interface) and/or AGP (Advance Graphics Processor) slot connectors for option cards, serial and/or parallel ports, USB ports (Universal Serial Bus), audio input/output (I/O) and MID l/joystick connectors, slots for memory, credit card readers, scanners, bar code readers, RFID readers, etc., collectively referenced as 60.

The term computer-readable medium as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor unit 12 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, hard, optical or magnetic disks 25, 30, 32, respectively. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as system memory 14.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, as described herein, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor unit 12 for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem 57 local to computer system 10 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to the system bus 16 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on system bus 16. The system bus 16 carries the data to system memory 14, from which processor unit 12 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by system memory 14 may optionally be stored on storage device either before or after execution by processor unit 12.

The repository 6 is a permanent storage medium for data. The repository 6 may be specific to each end user, or shared between some or all end users. For example, different financial services vendors (for example, banks or bank exchanges, VISA, Mastercard) may have separate repositories or may share repositories. The repository 6 (only one illustrated) may run on the same computing system as an application accessing the repository, or on another computing system accessible over the network 52, 54.

Embodiments of the computing system 10 of Figure 2 may not include all of the illustrated components of the computing system 10, may contain additional components not shown in Figure 10, and may not be configured as shown in Figure 10. For example, a computing system 10 configured as smart phone system (see Figure 1 ), may not include an optical disk drive and may include an application specific integrated circuit or a digital signal processor (not shown) to perform one or more of the functions of the smart phone system. In another example, a smart phone system may include one or more telecommunications modules to handle call processing, such as CDMA, OFDMA, LTE, GSM, etc., call processing.

Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a system 300 for providing broadcast services. The system 300 includes a smart phone 302 and one or more servers 304. The smart phone 302 may comprise one or more configured computing systems, such as an embodiment of the computing system 10 of Figure 2. Similarly, the one or more servers 304 may comprise one or more configured computing systems, such as an embodiment of the computing system 10 of Figure 2.

As illustrated, the smart phone 302 comprises an operating system 310 (for example, a Windows™ or Andriod™ operating system), and application modules 312 (for example, in a system memory, see system memory 14 of Figure 2). As illustrated, the application modules include a broadcast application manager 314, a communication manager 316, and a device driver 318, which may, for example, control a USB interface 307, a wireless interface 309, etc. As illustrated, the wireless interface includes an antenna. As illustrated, the one or more servers 304 comprise an operating system 320 (for example, a Windows™ or Andriod™ operating system), and application modules 322 (for example, in a system memory, see system memory 14 of Figure 2). As illustrated, the application modules include a broadcast application manager 324, a communication manager 326, and a device driver 328, which may, for example, control a network interface 330, etc. The smart phone 302 and the one or more servers 304 may communicate via a wireless hub 332, via other communication networks {e.g., GSM, LTE, POTS), and various combinations thereof.

Figure 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 400 of providing broadcasting services. For convenience, the method 400 will be described with reference to the embodiments of Figures 1 and 3. The method 400 may be performed by embodiments other than the system 100 of Figure 1 and the system 300 of Figure 3. At act 402, the method is started. The method 400 proceeds from act 402 to act 404.

At act 404, a request to connect to a WiFi network is received by the system {e.g., system 100 of Figure 1 or system 300 of Figure 3). For example, a WiFi network of a commercial establishment may receive (e.g., via wireless hub 1 12 of Figure 1 or wireless hub 332 of Figure 3) a request from an electronic device {e.g., the electronic device 1 16 of Figure 1 or the smart phone 302 of Figure 3) to allow a user of the electronic device to connect to the WiFi network, for example to obtain broadcast services, to obtain access to the Internet, etc. The method 400 proceeds from act 404 to act 406.

At act 406, the system determines whether the user or device is authorized to connect to the WiFi network. For example, the request may include information used to authenticate the user, the system may request authentication information from the device (without or without involvement of the user), the system may determine whether the request was generated by an authorized broadcast application {e.g., broadcast application 314 of Figure 3), etc. When it is determined at act 406 that the user or device is authorized to connect to the WiFi network, the method proceeds from act 406 to act 408. When it is determined at act 406 that the user or device is not authorized to connect to the WiFi network, the method proceeds from act 406 to act 410.

At act 408, the system provides access to the WiFi network. As discussed in more detail herein, providing access to the WiFi network may include providing access to broadcast services, providing access to the Internet, facilitating sales of goods and services, tracking information related to users, accesses by devices or users to the WiFi network {e.g., anonymously, such as in the aggregate for various classes of users or devices, specifically {e.g., a sale to a particular user), and various combinations thereof), etc. The system proceeds from act 408 to act 412.

At act 412, the system determines whether the WiFi session between the device and the system has or is to be terminated. For example, the system may determine whether the user has closed the WiFi session, the system may determine a connection has been lost, the system may determine that a limitation on use has been exceeded {e.g., a time or bandwidth allocation has been exceeded), etc. When it is determined at act 412 that the session has or is to be terminated, the method proceeds to act 414, where the method may end. When it is determined that the WiFi session has not terminated, the system proceeds to act 408 to continue providing access by the electronic device to the WiFi network.

At act 410, the system offers to set up access to the WiFi network for the user or device. As discussed in more detail herein, the system {e.g., with reference to Figure 3, the server 304, under control of the broadcast application manager 324), may offer to install a broadcast application on the device {e.g., with reference to Figure 3, to install broadcast application manager 314 on smart phone 302). The system proceeds from act 410 to act 416.

At act 416 the system determines whether the offer to set up service has been accepted. When it is determined at act 416 that the offer to set up service has been accepted, the system proceeds from act 416 to act 418, where access to the WiFi network is set up for the user or device. The system proceeds from act 418 to act 408. When it is determined at act 416 that the offer to set up service has not been accepted, the system proceeds from act 416 to act 414.

Embodiments of methods of providing broadcast services may contain additional acts not shown in Figure 4, may not contain all of the acts shown in Figure 4, may perform acts shown in Figure 4 in various orders, and may be modified in various respects. For example, time-out routines may be employed. For example, if at act 410 a user fails to respond to an offer to set up service within a threshold time period, the method may proceed to act 414 or repeat the offer to set up access. In another example, some embodiments may omit the authorization and setup acts 406, 410, 416, 418, and provide access to the WiFi network when it is requested. The providing access to the WiFi network may comprise providing access to broadcast services, etc. While the examples discussed herein refer to a WiFi network, other types of wired and wireless communication networks may be employed instead of, or in addition to, a WiFi network, such as CDMA, LTE, etc.

Figures 5A-5D are a flow diagram of an example embodiment of a broadcast controller manager routine 500. The routine may be provided by, for example, execution of the broadcast application manager 324 of Figure 3, the broadcast controller 122 of Figure 1 , etc., such as to provide broadcast and related services. For convenience, Figures 5A-5D will be described with reference to the system of Figure 1 .

The illustrated embodiment of the routine 500 begins at block 505, where a request or other information is received. The routine continues to block 510 to determine whether a received request or other information is an indication to establish a service connection, such as a request from a potential user of the broadcast service (e.g., a user of a smart phone 1 16 of Figure 1 ), and if so continues to block 515. In the illustrated embodiment, the routine in block 515 determines whether the request is authorized, for example by checking whether the request is associated with a user authorized to use the local server 102 {e.g., by checking stored information indicating whether a user is authorized to use the local server, by checking whether the request was generated by an authorized copy of a music application 1 17 executing on a smart phone 1 16, etc.). If it is determined that service is authorized for the user or device, the routine proceeds to block 520, where a service connection is established. The routine proceeds from block 520 to block 595.

If it is determined the service request is not authorized, the routine proceeds to block 517 where an offer to establish service is provided. For example, a message may be generated for display on a smart phone 1 16 offering to install a music application 1 17 on the smart phone. The routine proceeds from block 1 17 to block 1 19, where it is determined whether the offer has been accepted. When it is determined that the offer has not been accepted, the routine proceeds to block 521 where error processing occurs, such as generating a message for display on the smart phone indicating a request to connect to the system 100 has been denied. The routine proceeds from block 521 to block 595.

When it is determined that the offer has been accepted, the routine proceeds from block 519 to block 523, where a music application is downloaded and installed or activated, or various combinations thereof, on the smart phone 1 16. Installing or activating the music application may include obtaining payment information, such as information that may be used to obtain payment for broadcast services or other services or goods {e.g., payment for a content selection, payment for services or goods purchased from the commercial establishment, payment for Internet access time, etc.) provided to the user. Examples of payment information include credit card information, debit card information, account number information associated with a commercial establishment providing the goods or services, account information associated with the device {e.g., a digital wallet, telecommunications carrier billing information, etc.), etc. The routine proceeds from block 523 to block 525, where a service connection is established. The routine proceeds from block 525 to block 595.

If it is not determined in block 510 to establish a service connection, the routine proceeds to block 530 to determine whether to provide network services over an established connection, such as access to the Internet, access to a printer, access to a payment network, etc. For example, the routine may determine to provide network services in response to a request to provide network services (e.g., a request to access a website), in response to an indication that network services are to be provided, such as an indication to process a payment by establishing a connection to a remote server, an indication of a purchase of goods or services which may be facilitated by providing networking services, a request to add content to a list of available content, etc. The routine proceeds from block 530 to block 532, where the requested or indicated network services are provided. The routine proceeds from block 532 to block 595.

When it is not determined at block 530 to provide network services, the routine proceeds from block 530 to block 535 to determine whether to provide broadcast services. When it is determined to provide broadcast services, the routine proceeds to block 537, where available content and any associated fees are presented to the user, for example, as a list of available content and a pricing structure. The routine continues to block 539 to determine whether a content selection has been received. When it is not determined that a content selection has been received, the routine returns to block 537. When it is determined that a content selection has been received, the routine proceeds to block 541 . At block 541 payment processing occurs. For example, a user's credit card or account number [e.g., an account with the commercial establishment, an account with a telecommunication carrier, etc.) may be charged a fee in connection with the content selection. The fee may be based, for example, on a time of day associated with the selection, on a fee schedule, on an order in which selections are received from a plurality of uses, on a number of selections made by the user, on whether the request includes a request to bump a previous selection, etc., and various combinations thereof. For example, a fee associated with a subsequent selection may be higher than a fee associated with a previous selection {e.g., a first user to select content to broadcast in a defined time period may be charged a lower fee than a second user to select content to broadcast in the defined time period, etc.). The routine proceeds from block 541 to block 543 where it is determined whether a payment was successfully. When it is determined that a payment was successfully (e.g., a payment was received or a charge was successfully recorded), the routine proceeds to block 545, where the selected content is broadcast (e.g., a selected song is played over a sound system of the system 100, etc.). Broadcasting the selected content may also include recording or providing an indication of broadcast of the selected content, such as incrementing a counter associated with the selected content, sending a message to a remote server, etc. The routine proceeds from block 545 to block 595. When it is not determined at block 543 that payment was successful, the routine proceeds to block 547, where error processing occurs, such as generating an error message to be displayed on a mobile device 1 16. The routine proceeds from block 547 to block 595.

When it is not determined at block 535 to provide broadcast services, the routine proceeds to block 550 to determine whether to provide financial transaction services. When it is determined to provide financial transaction services, the routine proceeds to block 552 where financial transaction services are provided, such as services related to a purchase of goods or services from a commercial establishment. For example, payment processing services may be performed, accounting services may be performed, etc. Performing the financial transaction services may also include recording or providing an indication of information related to the financial transaction, such as incrementing a counter associated with the purchased goods or services, sending a message to a remote server, etc. The information related to the financial transaction may be used, for example, to provide marketing services, to control inventory, etc. The routine proceeds from block 552 to block 595.

When it is not determined at block 550 to provide financial transaction services, the routine proceeds to block 560 to determine whether to provide marketing services. When it is determined to provide marketing services, the routine proceeds to block 562 where marketing services are provided, such as services related to offering goods or services to, for example, users of a smartphone device 1 16 executing a music application 1 17. For example, a display may indicate goods or services available at a commercial establishment, special offers may be display (e.g., coupons, time-limited offers, offers based on prior or current activities of the user (such as prior use of broadcast services, prior purchases, current content selections, etc.). For example, electronic coupons may be provided, and the providing may be based on various criteria, such as a location of a broadcast system, previous use of the system or other broadcast systems by one or more users, information pertaining to the particular user of a mobile device, information pertaining to a set of users of the system, etc. Performing the marketing services may also include providing marketing reports {e.g., periodically or in response to a request, etc), such as reports based on indications of information related to financial transactions, tracking information, etc. The marketing reports may include, or not include, marketing information identifying specific user identities. The routine proceeds from block 562 to block 595.

When it is not determined at block 560 to provide marketing services, the routine proceeds to block 570 to determine whether to provide auditing services. When it is determined to provide auditing services, the routine proceeds to block 572 where auditing services are provided, such as services related to paying copyright owners for content broadcast by the system. The routine proceeds from block 572 to block 595.

If it is instead determined in block 570 not to provide audit services, the routine continues to block 580 to determine whether to manage broadcast services. When it is determined to manage broadcast services, the routine proceeds to block 582 to determine whether to update one or more lists of content available for broadcast, such as at one or more locations, during one or more time periods, etc., and various combinations thereof. When it is determined to update one or more lists of content available for broadcast, the routine proceeds to block 584, where one or more lists of content available for broadcasts are updated. For example, one or more data structures indicating content available for broadcast may be updated. For example, a business, such as a clothing store or an operator of a plurality of clothing stores, may update a list indicating content available at one or more locations, timing when the content is available, etc., and various combinations thereof. The routine proceeds from block 584 to block 586.

When it is not determined at block 582 to update one or more data structures indicating content available for broadcast, the routine proceeds to block 586 to determine whether to update pricing information related to broadcast services. When it is determined to update pricing information for broadcast services, the routine proceeds to block 588 to update pricing information for broadcast services, for example by updating one of more data structures indicating pricing information for broadcast services. The routine proceeds from block 588 to block 595. When it is not determined at block 586 to update pricing information, the routine proceeds from block 586 to block 595.

If it is instead determined in block 580 not to manage broadcast services, the routine continues to block 595 to perform one or more other indicated operations as appropriate. Other operations may have various forms in various embodiments, such as one or more of the following non-exclusive list: obtaining or updating information used to provide various services provided by the broadcast controller manager routine {e.g., error processing; time-out processing {e.g., timing out a selection window presented to a user); file maintenance; processing related to terminating a session; etc. After block 595, the routine continues to block 597 to determine whether to continue, such as until an explicit termination instruction is received. If so, the routine returns to block 505, and if not the routine continues to block 599 and ends. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the functionality provided by the routines discussed above may be provided in alternative ways, such as being split among more routines or consolidated into fewer routines. Similarly, in some embodiments, illustrated routines may provide more or less functionality than is described, such as when other illustrated routines instead lack or include such functionality respectively, or when the amount of functionality that is provided is altered. In addition, while various operations may be illustrated as being performed in a particular manner {e.g., in serial or in parallel) and/or in a particular order, in other embodiments the operations may be performed in other orders and in other manners. Similarly, data structures {e.g., a data structure indicating a list of available content at one or more locations; a data structure indicating a pricing structure for content selections; etc.) may be structured in various manners in other embodiments, such as by having a single data structure split into multiple data structures or by having multiple data structures consolidated into a single data structure, and may store more or less information than is described {e.g., when other data structures instead lack or include such information respectively, or when the amount or types of information that is stored is altered).

Some embodiments may distribute various operations among various components in other manners. For example, in some embodiments an application on a local server (see, e.g., local server 102 of figure 1 ) may provide broadcast services to a user of a mobile device (see, e.g., smart phone 1 16 of Figure 1 ) which is not executing a music application or broadcast application manager. In another example, audit services may be performed by a remote server, by a remote server acting in concert with a local server, etc.

Embodiments of methods of providing broadcast services may contain additional acts not shown in Figures 5A-5D , may not contain all of the acts shown in Figures 5A-5D, may perform acts shown in Figures 5A-5D in various orders, and may be modified in various respects. For example, time- out routines may be employed. For example, if at act 539 a user fails to make a selection within a threshold time period, the method may proceed to act 595. In another example, some embodiments may omit the authorization and setup acts 515-523, and provide establish a service connection when it is requested.

Although the examples of Figures 4-5D are generally discussed in the content of a single commercial establishment, some embodiments may provide broadcast and related services to multiple commercial establishments {e.g., multiple sites of a single retailer; individual sites of multiple retailers; etc.). Some embodiments may use a single, common user interface for multiple commercial establishments, while some embodiments may provide separate interfaces for separate establishments {e.g., it may appear to an end user that two establishments have separate systems, when a single system or a distributed system is employed). Some embodiments may provide broadcast to non-commercial establishments {e.g., non-for-profit facilities; government facilities; etc.). Distributed systems may be employed {e.g., a local server and a remote server jointly providing broadcast services; multiple local servers providing broadcast services; etc.).

Figure 6 illustrates an example of an interface 600 to facilitate the providing of broadcast services, which may be employed by a broadcast controller (see broadcast controller 122 of figure 1 ), a Music App (see Music App 1 17 of Figure 1 ), a broadcast application manager application (see broadcast application manager applications 314, 324 of Figure 3), etc. The interface 600 includes a broadcast services window 602. As illustrated, the broadcast services window 602 includes an indication of the broadcast services provider 604 and a selection menu 606 from which available content may be selected, as illustrated by selecting a button 608 associated with a content selection. The selection menu 606 as illustrated is scrollable. The broadcast services window 602 includes pricing information 610, which indicates a pricing schedule for making a content selection. The current price for making a selection may be highlighted, as illustrated by the box 612.

As illustrated in Figure 6, the pricing is based on a timing order in which a selection is received. For example, a first user in a given time period to make a selection may be charged a small amount, with the amount increasing for subsequent users (e.g., exponential increasing such as one cent being charged to the first user to make a selection, two cents being charged to the second user to make a selection, four cents being charged to the third user to make a selection, etc.). A maximum charge may be set and indicated in the interface. As illustrated a maximum charge of twenty dollars is displayed in the interface. Various pricing schedules may be employed. The interface 600 includes an Internet access window 620, which as illustrated allows a user to enter a uniform resource locator 622 to access files available on the Internet. The interface 600 as illustrated also includes an advertisement window 630, which may display one or more advertisements such as advertisements related to goods or services available at a commercial establishment acting as the broadcast service provider [e.g., as part of providing marketing services), etc. Other interfaces may be employed. For example, an interface may allow a user to toggle between access to the Internet and access to a content selection menu, etc.

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a data structure 700 to store a list of available content for broadcast and related information. The rows W1 to Wn correspond to works available for broadcast. The data at an intersection of a row and a column contains information pertaining to the work of the row.

The data in the column labeled "Access Information" contains information about where to access the work of the row for broadcast, such as an indication of a location where the work of the row is stored, such as a file name or record ID number associated with the work.

The data in the column labeled "Approved" contains information about whether the work of the row is approved for broadcast. For example, the data may indicate a work is approved for broadcast without restrictions {e.g., "Yes"), is approved for broadcast with restrictions {e.g., "WR"), or is not approved for broadcast {e.g., "No"). For example, a commercial establishment may wish identify works on a list of works (such as a larger list of works) that the establishment considers appropriate for broadcast by a broadcast system in the establishment. For example, certain songs may be inconsistent with an image the establishment is attempting to establish or maintain.

The data in the column labeled "Restrictions" contains information about restrictions on broadcast of the work. For example, if the data in the "Approved" column indicates a work is approved with restrictions, the data in the column labeled "Restrictions" may indicate the nature of the restrictions. For example, time periods when the work may be broadcast may be identified, a limit on the number of times a work may be broadcast in a given time period may be set, etc., and various combinations thereof.

The data in the column labeled "Audit Tracking" contains information about the number of times the work has been broadcast. For example, the data may indicate a number of times the work has been broadcast since a previous audit report was generated. Empty fields in the illustrated data structure indicate that no data is stored. For ease of illustration, data structure 700 as illustrated is relatively full. A typical data structure might include a number of works for which there are columns without associated information. In addition, for ease of illustration only a single data entry is shown for each row and column intersection. Some embodiments might include multiple data entries in an intersection {e.g., two restrictions, etc.) or references to other data structures {e.g., a reference to a list of restrictions, etc.).

Figure 8 illustrates an example of a data structure 800 to store broadcast pricing information. The rows L1 to LN correspond to a location of a local service server {e.g., the local server 102 of Figure 1 ). The data at an intersection of a row and a column contains information pertaining to a price to be charged to requesting broadcasting of a work at the location corresponding to the row.

The data in the column labeled "Base Rate" contains information about a base rate charged for broadcasting works using the server at the location corresponding to the row. For example, at some locations the base rate may be 1 cent, while at other locations different base rates may be employed. Similarly, other data related to the amount to be charged for selecting a work to be broadcast may vary with regard to the location at which the works are broadcast.

The data in the column labeled "Selection Increment" contains information about how much to increment the base rate each time a work is selected for broadcast. For example, the data may indicate the rate should be increased by a power of 2 each time a selection is made (e.g. 1 , 2, 4, 8, ...). Other increments may be employed, such as fixed increments {e.g., 100, 200, 300, ...).

The data in the column labeled "Reset Time Threshold(s)" contains information about when to reset a price back to a base rate. For example, it may be desired to reset the price back to the base rate periodically {e.g., every 20 minutes), after a threshold period of inactivity {e.g., after 15 minutes of inactivity), etc., and various combinations thereof.

The data in the column labeled "Cap" contains information about a cap on the rate charged for selecting a work to be broadcast at a location corresponding to the row. The data in the column labeled "Other Reset Events" contains information about other events which may trigger resetting of the price back to the base rate.

Empty fields in the illustrated data structure indicate that no data is stored. For ease of illustration, data structure 800 as illustrated is relatively full. A typical data structure might include a number of locations for which there are columns without associated information. In addition, for ease of illustration only a single data entry is shown for each row and column intersection. Some embodiments might include multiple data entries in an intersection {e.g., two threshold reset time events, etc.) or references to other data structures {e.g., a reference to a schedule of reset times, etc.).

As previously noted, data structures {e.g., a data structure indicating a list of available content at one or more locations; a data structure indicating a pricing structure for content selections; etc.) may be structured in various manners in other embodiments, such as by having a single data structure split into multiple data structures or by having multiple data structures consolidated into a single data structure, and may store more or less information than is described {e.g., when other data structures instead lack or include such information respectively, or when the amount or types of information that is stored is altered). For example, a pricing information data structure may include a "Price Bump" column containing information related to selections which trigger a higher price, such as a selection requesting broadcast of a work within a threshold time period after the work was previously broadcast, etc.

Figure 9 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 900 of providing wireless services. For convenience, the method 900 will be described with reference to the embodiments of Figures 1 and 3. The method 900 may be performed using embodiments other than the system 100 of Figure 1 and the system 300 of Figure 3. At act 902, the method is started. The method 400 proceeds from act 902 to act 904.

At act 904, a customer enters a business with or without a mobile device. The system may detect the customer's entry, for example, based on a request from the mobile device to connect to a wireless network {e.g., a WiFi network), based on other signals transmitted by the mobile device, based on a sensor detecting a customer entry, etc., and various combinations thereof.

The method proceeds to act 906 to determine whether the mobile device is active and the customer is a member of the free wireless service. For example, a request to connect to a WiFi network may be received by a system {e.g., system 100 of Figure 1 or system 300 of Figure 3). For example, a wireless network of a commercial establishment may receive (e.g., via wireless hub 1 12 of Figure 1 or wireless hub 332 of Figure 3) a request from an electronic device {e.g., the electronic device 1 16 of Figure 1 or the smart phone 302 of Figure 3) to allow a user of the electronic device to connect to the wireless network, for example to obtain broadcast services, to obtain access to the Internet, etc. For example, the request may include information used to authenticate the user, the system may request authentication information from the device (without or without involvement of the user), the system may determine whether the request was generated by an authorized broadcast application (e.g., broadcast application 314 of Figure 3), etc.

When it is determined at act 906 that the user or device is authorized to connect to the wireless network [e.g., it is determined the customer has previously downloaded, registered and activated an account), the method proceeds from act 906 to act 908. At act 908, services of the free wireless service are provided to the customer via the mobile device. The services may include, for example, free wireless, broadcast services, music rating services (e.g., rating of songs being played, songs on a play list, etc.), streaming coupons, product scanning [e.g., to obtain pricing information, coupons, options, etc.), etc.

For example, a customer may be presented with various music selections/scenarios as part of the wireless services provided at act 908. A music queue may be displayed and one or more pay-to-play options may be presented, such as discussed elsewhere herein. A competitive pay-to-play model may be activated {e.g., at certain times of day, when a threshold number of competing requests are received within a threshold time period, when a song queue time exceeds a threshold, etc.). A customer may be presented with an option to purchase music, etc.

In another example, various marketing services may be provided as part of the wireless services provided at act 908. A business brand may be displayed to the customer. Customer data, such as the location of the customer, may be determined, such as discussed elsewhere herein. Coupons may be provided on/to the customer via the mobile device, such as based upon a customer profile, a current or previous location of the customer {e.g., an aisle in the store, a previous store visited by the customer, etc.), etc., and various combinations thereof. Special event promotions may be provided to the customer. The customer may be allowed to scan items for purchase or to obtain customer information, etc., and various combinations thereof. The method proceeds from act 908 to act 995. When it is determined at act 906 that the user or device is not authorized to connect to the free wireless network, the method proceeds from act 906 to act 910.

At act 910, the system determines whether the device is active and not authorized to use the service. For example, the system may receive a request to connect to the wireless network from the device and determine that the device is not authorized to use the network. When it is determined the device is active and not authorized to use the network, the method proceeds to act 912, where options for connecting to the network are presented. For example, the customer may select a temporary connection with limited services {e.g., limited wireless access without broadcast services, etc.), may select an option to become a member, etc.

At act 914, the method determines whether the customer has selected a connection option. When it is determined that the customer has selected a connection option, the method proceeds to act 916, where an application is downloaded to provide services consistent with the selected option. For example, when the customer selects a temporary connection, an application configured to provide limited services to the customer may be downloaded and run to provide services consistent with the selection of a temporary connection. In another example, when the customer selects to become a member, a full application may be downloaded, the customer may be prompted to provide registration information, consent, etc., and services, such as the services described with respect to act 908, may be provided. The method proceeds from act 916 to act 995.

When an active device is not detected at act 910, the method proceeds to act 918, where the customer may be notified of the availability of the services available from the system, such as wireless services, broadcast services, marketing services, etc. For example, a display near the entrance of the business may display a notice of the availability of the services, a salesperson may be automatically notified and personally advise the customer of the services, etc. The method proceeds from act 916 to act 995. At act 995 the method performs one or more other indicated operations as appropriate. Other operations may have various forms in various embodiments, such as one or more of the following non-exclusive list: obtaining or updating information used to provide various services provided by the wireless network {e.g., error processing; time-out processing {e.g., timing out a selection window presented to a user); file maintenance; detecting the customer leaving the business, processing related to terminating a session; etc.

Embodiments of methods of providing wireless services may contain additional acts not shown in Figure 9, may not contain all of the acts shown in Figure 9, may perform acts shown in Figure 9 in various orders, and may be modified in various respects. For example, time-out routines may be employed. For example, if at act 912 a user fails to respond to an offer to set up service within a threshold time period, the method may proceed to act 995 or repeat the offer to set up access. In another example, some embodiments may omit the authorization acts and provide access to the wireless network when it is requested. The providing access to the wireless network may comprise providing access to broadcast services, etc.

Some embodiments may take the form of or comprise computer program products. For example, according to one embodiment there is provided a computer readable medium comprising a computer program adapted to perform one or more of the methods or functions described above. The medium may be a physical storage medium such as for example a Read Only Memory (ROM) chip, or a disk such as a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD- ROM), Compact Disk (CD-ROM), a hard disk, a memory, a network, or a portable media article to be read by an appropriate drive or via an appropriate connection, including as encoded in one or more barcodes or other related codes stored on one or more such computer-readable mediums and being readable by an appropriate reader device.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, some or all of the methods and/or functionality may be implemented or provided in other manners, such as at least partially in firmware and/or hardware, including, but not limited to, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors, discrete circuitry, logic gates, standard integrated circuits, controllers {e.g., by executing appropriate instructions, and including microcontrollers and/or embedded controllers), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc., as well as devices that employ RFID technology, and various combinations thereof. For example, embodiments of a hybrid smart phone/point-of-sale terminal may be implemented as discussed above {e.g., partially in hardware, partially with controllers executing instructions, etc.).

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/061 ,590, filed October 8, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/061 ,585, filed October 8, 2014 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.

Claims

1 . A system, comprising:

one or more memories; and

circuitry coupled to the one or more memories, which, in operation:

provides wireless network access services;

maintains a list of available content;

provides broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the wireless network access services from the list of available content; and

provides licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the circuitry comprises a sound system and:

the providing broadcast services includes broadcasting content on the sound system based on received indications of content selections; and

the providing licensing services includes tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system includes generating audit report information.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the circuitry comprises a wireless hub which, in operation, selectively establishes wireless service connections with mobile devices.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the circuitry, in operation, provides financial transaction services.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the circuitry, in operation, provides marketing services.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the providing marketing services comprises providing electronic coupons to a mobile device receiving wireless network access services provided by the system.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the providing electronic coupons is based on at least one of:

a location of the system;

previous use of the system associated with the mobile device; previous use of the system by a plurality of mobile devices;

information pertaining to a particular user of the mobile device; and

information pertaining to a set of users of the system.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the providing marketing services comprises tracking information associated with users of the system.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the providing marketing services comprises providing marketing information associated with users of the system without including information identifying specific user identities in the provided marketing information.

1 1 . The system of claim 1 wherein the system is a broadcast system of a commercial establishment and the wireless network access services provide Internet access to mobile telephone devices.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein providing the broadcast services includes charging users to select content to broadcast from the list of available content.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the charging is based on a number of selections made by the user.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the charging is based on an order associated with a selection in a plurality of selections.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein a fee associated with a subsequent selection is higher than a fee associated with a previous selection.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein a fee schedule associated with the charging is based on a timing of a selection.

17. A device, comprising:

means for providing wireless network access services; means for providing broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of wireless network access services; and

means for providing licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services.

18. The device of claim 17, comprising:

a sound system, wherein providing broadcast services broadcasting content on the sound system based on received indications of content selections.

19. The device of claim 17 wherein the means for providing wireless network access services comprises a wireless hub configured to establish wireless service connections with mobile telephones.

20. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

providing, using one or more processing devices, wireless network access services to a plurality of mobile communication devices;

maintaining, using the one or more processing devices, a list of available content;

providing, using the one or more processing devices, broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the mobile communication devices from the list of available content; and

providing, using the one or more processing devices, licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services.

21 . The computer-implemented method of claim 20 wherein the providing broadcast services includes broadcasting content on a sound system based on received indications of content selections and the providing licensing services includes tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21 wherein the tracking broadcasts of content on the sound system includes generating audit report information.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, comprising providing financial transaction services.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, comprising providing marketing services.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 wherein the providing marketing services comprises providing electronic coupons to a mobile communication device receiving wireless network access services.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 20 wherein the network access services and the broadcast services are provided in a commercial establishment and the providing broadcast services includes charging users of the mobile communication devices to select content to broadcast from the list of available content.

27. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium containing contents which, when executed by a broadcast system, cause the broadcast system to perform a method, the method comprising:

providing wireless network access services to a plurality of mobile communication devices;

maintaining a list of available content;

providing broadcast services based on indications of content selections of one or more users of the mobile communication devices from the list of available content; and

providing licensing services associated with the provided broadcast services.

28. The medium of claim 27 wherein the broadcast system comprises a broadcast controller and a wireless network hub.

29. The medium of claim 27 wherein the contents are instructions executed by a broadcast controller of the broadcast system.