FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a broker service apparatus for controlling a second mobile device.

BACKGROUND

A known limitation with mobile devices is that a user is only able to use a mobile device to send and/or receive data such as a call when the user is connected to a telephony service by e.g., being located in a serviceable region of an associated service provider or connected to a telephony service such as Voice over IP (VOIP). Connectivity can be further limited by e.g., reception capability of the mobile device itself.

It is currently known for a user to be able to manually configure a call forwarding service to a nominated, separate mobile device if the user's mobile device is not able to receive calls and/or data. Known applications can also be used to configure call forwarding based on a set of rules that a user specifies.

For example, EP 1246489 discloses a method for providing automatic call-forwarding service for a mobile unit. If the mobile unit is out of service, calls intended for the mobile unit are automatically forwarded to another phone. This call forwarding occurs automatically without requiring user interaction. Upon detection of the mobile unit coming into service, such as when the mobile unit powers on or enters the service area of a wireless service provider, the automatic call forwarding ceases, and the mobile unit receives its own incoming calls.

However, these known solutions require manual configuration which can be complicated and creates a process overhead. Further, such solutions are not scalable in that a call can only be forwarded to a single, nominated device. Additionally, a forwarded call is transmitted to a nominated device such as another mobile device or a landline telephone which are separate devices from a user's—this causes extra process overhead for a user to retrieve a call.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present invention provides a broker service apparatus for controlling a second mobile device in response to a first mobile device having no connection to a telephony service, wherein the first mobile device is operable to transmit an identifier to the second mobile device using a network connection that is operable to connect mobile devices and wherein the first mobile device and the second mobile device are operable to join a first group; wherein the broker service apparatus is configured to: assign a unique identifier to a group; notify the telephony service of the unique identifier; responsive to receipt of a first control signal comprising a first unique identifier and data from a telephony service, wherein the data is targeted to the first mobile device, use the first unique identifier to identify the first group; responsive to the first mobile device not being connected to the broker service, determine whether the second mobile device is connected to the broker service; responsive to the second mobile device being connected to the broker service, issue a second control signal to the second mobile device in order to forward the data to the second mobile device, the second control signal comprising the identifier of the first mobile device; wherein the second control signal is operable to cause the second mobile device to use the identifier of the first mobile device and the network connection in order to forward the data to the first mobile device.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a second mobile device in response to a first mobile device having no connection to a telephony service, wherein the first mobile device is operable to transmit an identifier to the second mobile device using a network connection that is operable to connect mobile devices and wherein the first mobile device and the second mobile device are operable to join a first group; wherein the method comprises the steps of: by a broker service: assigning a unique identifier to a group; notifying the telephony service of the unique identifier using, in response to receiving a first control signal comprising a first unique identifier and data from a telephony service, wherein the data is targeted to the first mobile device, the first unique identifier to identify the first group; determining, in response to the first mobile device not being connected to the broker service, whether the second mobile device is connected to the broker service; issuing, in response to the second mobile device being connected to the broker service, a second control signal to the second mobile device in order to forward the data to the second mobile device, the second control signal comprising the identifier of the first mobile device; wherein the second control signal causes the second mobile device to use the identifier of the first mobile device and the network connection in order to forward the data to the first mobile device.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program comprising computer program code stored on a computer readable medium to, when loaded into a computer system and executed thereon, cause said computer system to perform all the steps of the method described above.

