Personalizing access to the internet via an access network...

Details Personalizing access to the internet via an access network... Personalizing access to the internet via an access network...

1999-04-20

2001-11-27

Wiley, David (Department: 2155)

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput

Computer-to-computer session/connection establishing

C709S217000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06324579

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method of personalizing Internet access; it also concerns an intelligent telephone network and a service for personalizing Internet access.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The invention concerns access to networks and more particularly access to the Internet. In the remainder of the description the Internet will be used by way of example on the understanding that the invention could be applied to other networks.
A user generally accesses the Internet from a user terminal using the telephone network to set up a call to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The telephone network can be the standard public switched telephone network, a public mobile network, a digital network such as the integrated services digital network. The ISP dynamically allocates the user an Internet address enabling the user to send and receive calls to and from content providers using the Internet protocol.
Intelligent network services are added value services provided by telephone operators, over and above line set up and billing. These services include call forwarding, pre-payment, toll free calls, special rates for certain calls, calling party authentication and the like, for example.
The rapid expansion of the Internet has given rise to new problems; in terms of content, the information available on the network can be shocking (in particular information of an erotic nature) or its distribution can be illegal in certain contexts (certain political information). Depending on the envisaged use of the network, various forms of filtering are desirable, such as filtering by parents of access to the network by children, filtering by governments of information circulated in their territory via the network and filtering by companies of access to the network by their employees.
Various solutions have already been proposed for filtering information obtained on the network, including software products designed to be installed on the terminal of a user for filtering access to certain Internet sites. These products are limited and filtering on the basis of the site name is difficult to implement because it calls for continuous updating. Such updating is difficult in practice given the large number of sites created each day and the ease of transferring from one site to another Internet address. Such filter devices can be deactivated relatively easily, for example using information available on the network.
In addition to this familiar filtering problem there arises a new problem of matching the Internet to characteristics specific to a given calling party. There is also the new problem of maintaining the same type of service independently of the service provider.
The invention proposes a solution to the new problem of adapting Internet consultation to characteristics specific to a user. It further enables a bespoke service to be offered to a user, whichever ISP is chosen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To be more precise, the invention proposes a method of personalizing access to the Internet via an access network and an Internet service provider, the method comprising the following steps:
the access network allocates an Internet caller profile when setting up a telephone call to access the Internet,
the access network transmits the Internet caller profile to the Internet service provider, and
the Internet service provider personalizes access to the Internet in accordance with the Internet caller profile.
In one embodiment of the invention the access network is an intelligent network. The access network can include an intelligent function for managing Internet caller profiles.
The Internet caller profile advantageously includes information relating to Internet transactions such as access filtering information.
The Internet caller profile can also include information relating to the telephone call, such as billing, payment or call authorization information.
In one embodiment of the invention the Internet caller profile includes information common to all Internet service providers and information specific to each Internet service provider. It can also include information specific to one user.
The method advantageously includes a step in which the Internet service provider updates the Internet caller profile or a step in which the user updates the Internet caller profile.
The method preferably includes a step in which the access network creates the Internet caller profile.
The Internet caller profile of a user is advantageously retained from one Internet access to another or in the event of a change of Internet service provider.
The invention also proposes an intelligent access network including means for allocating an Internet caller profile during the setting up of a telephone call for access to the Internet and means for transmitting the Internet caller profile to an Internet service provider.
The network can include means for receiving information for updating an Internet caller profile from an access provider.
The invention also proposes a method of personalizing Internet access including:
allocating an Internet caller profile to a user, and
transmitting the Internet caller profile to an Internet service provider when setting up a call to access the Internet.
The Internet caller profile advantageously includes information relating to Internet transactions such as access filtering information.
In another embodiment of the invention the Internet caller profile includes information relating to the telephone call such as billing, payment or call authorization information.
The Internet caller profile can also include information common to all Internet service providers and information specific to each Internet service provider.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the following description of embodiments of the invention relating to the Internet, provided by way of example only and referring to the accompanying drawings.


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