Location-based request forwarding in a geo-fencing application with multiple providers

Geo-fencing applications provide mobile users with services, i.e. information or functionality, when the users are within certain geographical areas. Current development on geo-fencing applications allows different geo-fencing areas served by multiple service providers. This idea requires a service routerto forward requests from users to target service providers by considering the users' current locations. In this paper, we present a location-based request forwarding mechanism and its implementation on a service router. The mechanism includes a caching mechanism to make efficient the forwarding process.