The core functions supported by a Context service are:

• Provide the current context of a specified user
• Register that a specified user has a specified context
• Unregister a specified context for a specified user
• Provide a list of context types supported by the service

Specific means of representing and exchanging context information have yet to be determined, although it may be possible to use extensions to the Presence element of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Instant Messaging and Presence specification to implement Context. This would still require an agreed structure to represent context within an XMPP Presence or IQ structure

A related activity has occured in the clinical sector using CCOW (Clinical Context Objects Workgroup).