Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Usage measurement
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-24
2001-02-06
Vo, Nguyen (Department: 2745)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Usage measurement
C455S414200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185414
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a prepaid billing architecture for a wireless telecommunication system that allows a user to access all available prepaid services during a call in progress.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cellular or wireless telecommunication systems have recently introduced a prepayment architecture that allows a subscriber to prepay for services. The advantage with prepaid services for the operator is that the operator obtains payment in advance saving costly collection services or having to obtain security such as credit card information from a subscriber. For the subscriber, the advantage is the subscriber pays as he uses the system avoiding basic monthly service charges when usage is low.
The current prepaid architecture in use and contemplated for cellular wireless telecommunication system stores the pre-payment made by a subscriber in a prepaid application server as a time duration value. When a prepaid subscriber initiates a call, the switching node of the wireless telecommunication system obtains the credit balance of the subscriber from the stored credit balance as a time interval value. The switching node determines the service charging rate for the call depending on the service the subscriber is requesting and applies this charging rate as a timer decrement. That is the timer set at the credit balance is decreased at a rate corresponding to the service requested. When the timer reaches zero time, representing a nil credit balance, then the call is cleared or ended by the switching node.
While the use of the prepaid service is gaining in popularity amongst subscribers and operators, there are two distinct and separate problems encountered by subscribers and operators of the prepaid system. The first to problem experienced by the subscriber is that there is no provision made by the telecommunication system that allows the subscriber to change or add new features during the call. For example, should a subscriber 1) wish to make a conference call, 2) change cell locations moving into a long-distance cell and/or 3) send a data, fax or short service message, the operator is not able to accommodate this change in service during a call because the operator has no mechanism in the prepaid architecture for revising the charging rate for the change in call services on a real-time basis. Consequently, the operator refuses to allow the subscriber access to services that cannot be billed for during the call.
The second problem with the prepaid billing systems is that no mechanism exists allowing the prepaid subscriber to roam between operators having roaming agreements or between operators having telecommunications equipment provided by different equipment suppliers using different proprietary billing protocols. Cellular wireless telecommunication networks currently employ multi-system mobile switching nodes center (MSC) networks that operate with different proprietary billing protocols. Consequently, it is difficult for operators to correlate billing information amongst these MSC networks. It is not possible at this time to correlate this information on a real time basis. Due to the differences in proprietary billing protocols between MSC networks, calls that are setup through several multi-system MSC's are rated according to the information logged in either the gateway MSC through which the call is setup to the public switching telephone network (PSTN) or the anchor MSC through which the call is delivered to the mobile station or prepaid subscriber.
Accordingly, there is a need for a prepaid service architecture that permits a prepaid subscriber to add or change service features during a call and allow the operator to charge for these revised service features. There is also a need to provide a standardized or common billing protocol amongst different operators and different equipment suppliers that permits for prepaid subscribers to access prepaid services while roaming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the inability of the current prepaid telecommunication systems to allow a subscriber to add or change call features during a call by continually updating or revising the charging rate associated with the call on a real-time basis as call events in the call change.
In accordance with this aspect of the present invention there is provided a wireless telecommunication system having a prepaid service architecture for servicing a prepaid subscriber having a prepaid service credit balance. The system includes a switching node connected to a plurality of base stations in radio frequency communication with said prepaid subscriber. The switching node includes call control means for permitting a call to be set up with the prepaid subscriber when the prepaid service credit balance exists and terminating said call when the prepaid service credit balance is nil. The switching node further includes detailed call event generation means for continually generating real-time call event messages related to the call made by the prepaid subscriber and forwarding the real-time call event messages to a prepaid administrative network. The prepaid administrative network includes prepaid information storage means for storing the prepaid service credit balance of the prepaid subscriber. The prepaid administrative network further includes rate determining means for generating at call set up an initial charge debiting rate used during the call to reduce the prepaid service credit balance. The rate determining means, in response to the real-time call event messages received from the detailed call event generation means, revises the initial charge debiting rate to generate a real-time debiting rate used during the call to reduce the prepaid service credit balance.
The wireless telecommunication system may further include a home locating register connected to the switching node for identifying the prepaid subscriber to the switching node and connected to the prepaid administrative network for instructing the prepaid administrative network to communicate credit balance related information to the switching node. This related information may relate to call set up timing credit balance information for the prepaid subscriber.
The prepaid service credit balance is preferably represented by a time interval, and the initial and real-time debiting rates are preferably represented by time decrements. The rate can be changed by frequency, amount or both.
The prepaid administrative network preferably includes timing means communicating with the prepaid information storage means and the rate determining means to decrement the prepaid service credit balance by an appropriate debiting rate provided by the rate determining means. The timing means forwards a control message to the call control means when the prepaid service credit balance becomes nil. Alternatively, the timing means may be located in the switching node.
The rate determining means preferably stores a plurality of pre-defined debiting rates associated with real time call event features provided by the switching node to the prepaid subscriber. The rate determining means selects one predetermined debiting rate associated with the real time call event feature utilized by the prepaid subscriber and communicated to the rate determining means in the real-time call event message to generate the real-time debiting rate.
The prepaid administrative network preferably includes an interactive voice response system communicating with the switching node and the prepaid information storage means for adding credit to the prepaid service credit balance.
The present invention make further provisions for permitting a subscriber to roam between operators and make calls in telecommunication systems operating under different proprietary protocols. This is achieved by having each of the telecommunication systems generate real time call event messages using Data Message Handler (DMH) formatted messages. Currently, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) standard known as IS-41, herein incorporated by referen
Brunner Richard
Labonte Sylvain
Jenkens & Gilchrist
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
Vo Nguyen
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