diff -r 000000000000 -r 6474c204b198 mobile/android/base/background/BackgroundService.java
--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/mobile/android/base/background/BackgroundService.java	Wed Dec 31 06:09:35 2014 +0100
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+/* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+ * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+ * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
+
+package org.mozilla.gecko.background;
+
+import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
+import java.lang.reflect.Method;
+
+import org.mozilla.gecko.background.common.log.Logger;
+
+import android.app.AlarmManager;
+import android.app.IntentService;
+import android.app.PendingIntent;
+import android.content.Context;
+import android.content.Intent;
+import android.net.ConnectivityManager;
+import android.net.NetworkInfo;
+import android.os.Build;
+
+public abstract class BackgroundService extends IntentService {
+  private static final String LOG_TAG = BackgroundService.class.getSimpleName();
+
+  protected BackgroundService() {
+    super(LOG_TAG);
+  }
+
+  protected BackgroundService(String threadName) {
+    super(threadName);
+  }
+
+  public static void runIntentInService(Context context, Intent intent, Class<? extends BackgroundService> serviceClass) {
+    Intent service = new Intent(context, serviceClass);
+    service.setAction(intent.getAction());
+    service.putExtras(intent);
+    context.startService(service);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns true if the OS will allow us to perform background
+   * data operations. This logic varies by OS version.
+   */
+  @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
+  protected boolean backgroundDataIsEnabled() {
+    ConnectivityManager connectivity = (ConnectivityManager) this.getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
+    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH) {
+      return connectivity.getBackgroundDataSetting();
+    }
+    NetworkInfo networkInfo = connectivity.getActiveNetworkInfo();
+    if (networkInfo == null) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    return networkInfo.isAvailable();
+  }
+
+  protected AlarmManager getAlarmManager() {
+    return getAlarmManager(this.getApplicationContext());
+  }
+
+  protected static AlarmManager getAlarmManager(Context context) {
+    return (AlarmManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
+  }
+
+  protected void scheduleAlarm(long pollInterval, PendingIntent pendingIntent) {
+    Logger.info(LOG_TAG, "Setting inexact repeating alarm for interval " + pollInterval);
+    if (pollInterval <= 0) {
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException("pollInterval " + pollInterval + " must be positive");
+    }
+    final AlarmManager alarm = getAlarmManager();
+    final long firstEvent = System.currentTimeMillis();
+    alarm.setInexactRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC, firstEvent, pollInterval, pendingIntent);
+  }
+
+  protected void cancelAlarm(PendingIntent pendingIntent) {
+    final AlarmManager alarm = getAlarmManager();
+    alarm.cancel(pendingIntent);
+    // For testing - allows us to see if the intent, and thus the alarm, has been cancelled.
+    pendingIntent.cancel();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * To avoid tight coupling to Fennec, we use reflection to find
+   * <code>GeckoPreferences</code>, invoking the same code path that
+   * <code>GeckoApp</code> uses on startup to send the <i>other</i>
+   * notification to which we listen.
+   *
+   * Invoke this to handle one of the system intents to which we listen to
+   * launch our service without the browser being opened.
+   *
+   * All of this is neatly wrapped in <code>try…catch</code>, so this code
+   * will run safely without a Firefox build installed.
+   */
+  protected static void reflectContextToFennec(Context context, String className, String methodName) {
+    // Ask the browser to tell us the current state of the preference.
+    try {
+      Class<?> geckoPreferences = Class.forName(className);
+      Method broadcastSnippetsPref = geckoPreferences.getMethod(methodName, Context.class);
+      broadcastSnippetsPref.invoke(null, context);
+      return;
+    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+      Logger.error(LOG_TAG, "Class " + className + " not found!");
+      return;
+    } catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
+      Logger.error(LOG_TAG, "Method " + className + "/" + methodName + " not found!");
+      return;
+    } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+      Logger.error(LOG_TAG, "Got exception invoking " + methodName + ".");
+    } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
+      Logger.error(LOG_TAG, "Got exception invoking " + methodName + ".");
+    } catch (InvocationTargetException e) {
+      Logger.error(LOG_TAG, "Got exception invoking " + methodName + ".");
+    }
+  }
+}