Flash Re-enables Mobile Operator Monetization on Encrypted Traffic

Edison, New Jersey, May 15, 2018 – Flash Networks, the leading provider of mobile Internet optimization, security, and monetization solutions today announced that the US Patent Office ("USPO") has granted patent pending for its method and system for identifying a user over an internet protocol connection, utilizing subscriber identification within encrypted traffic. 

Header information commonly enables websites to identify properties such as device type, preferred language, and content support so that the site recognizes how to best display the content on the requesting devices. Mobile operators have long been able to utilize header information by inserting an anonymous unique identifier into it to better tailor their services for their customers. However, since most of the mobile traffic carried today is encrypted, carried over protocols such as HTTPS/TLS, this approach has been rendered obsolete, along with many of the dependent use cases.

With Flash Networks’ new patent pending technology, mobile operators gain back those services and more. Use cases that are enabled with this patent include segmenting the mobile operators’ subscriber base through anonymous profiling, which can be monetized through third-parties, automatically authenticating subscribers for micropayments, single sign on, as well as when accessing the operator portal over Wi-Fi, and gathering subscriber information in regions where cookies do not work. In compliance with new GDPR regulations, the technology enables anonymized headers to be sent over encrypted connections, never revealing the PII, or personally identifiable information, of the subscriber. Additionally, subscribers can opt-out of the service at any time.

“While the need for encryption is very real, the increasing rate of adoption has had a serious impact on customers’ ability to innovate and deploy new services” said Dror Shlomo, VP Product at Flash Networks. “Our new patent pending subscriber identification technology will allow operators to reenable many popular use cases without the need for specific integration with content providers.”

Going beyond other header identification solutions, Flash Networks’ patent pending technology does not require the implementation of trusted proxies or management of certificate and encryption keys, nor does it require an additional service to translate external IP addresses to the subscriber Anonymous Customer Reference, or ACR. Finally, the patent-pending technology does not require the complicated flow in which the content provider is required to redirect HTTPS to the carrier domain, which then redirects back with the subscriber ACR data.

In addition to authentication subscriber identification, operators can reintroduce third-party monetization use cases.  Operators would be able to monetize their subscriber base by anonymously profiling and segmenting them according to their online behavior. Operators have built new revenue streaming by selling this anonymous data to assist third parties in improving their service offerings.

Flash Networks will be discussing its new patent pending subscriber identification technology among other topics during the 5G North America event on May 14-16, 2018 Austin, TX.

About Flash Networks
Flash Networks is a leading provider of virtual optimization, security and monetization solutions that enable operators to improve RAN spectral efficiency, boost network speed, optimize video and web traffic, generate over-the-top revenues and secure the mobile Internet for subscribers and devices.

With offices in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, Flash Networks services hundreds of millions of subscribers daily at leading global carriers. For more information, visit www.flashnetworks.com.

Media Contact:
Ireen Klein
Flash Networks
Phone: +972 9 958 0666
ireenk@flashnetworks.com