SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GLOBAL REAL-TIME ACCOUNT TRACKING
First Claim
1. A system for global real-time account tracking in a pre-paid telecommunications environment, comprising:
- a plurality of pre-paid switching platforms located in a plurality of different countries;
a plurality of account databases for storing customer account information coupled to the prepaid switching platforms, wherein each account database serves as a home database for customer'"'"'s that reside in a particular country;
the customer account information including a location flag for indicating the present location of the customer'"'"'s account information; and
a plurality of account transfer communication links for transferring the customer account information from one of the account databases to another.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for providing global real-time account tracking particularly useful in a global telecommunications system includes a plurality of telecommunications switches coupled to distributed account databases located in various locations that are linked together by a plurality of account transfer communications links. The system determines the location of a customer as the customer moves from place to place and automatically transfers the customer'"'"'s account information to the local account database where the customer is located. A home account database variable stores information as to the current location of the customer'"'"'s account record. By distributing the account database to each local area serviced by the telecommunications system, and by automatically transferring the account data to the local area where the customer is located, the disadvantages of a centralized account tracking system having dedicated links are overcome.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for global real-time account tracking in a pre-paid telecommunications environment, comprising:
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a plurality of pre-paid switching platforms located in a plurality of different countries;
a plurality of account databases for storing customer account information coupled to the prepaid switching platforms, wherein each account database serves as a home database for customer'"'"'s that reside in a particular country;
the customer account information including a location flag for indicating the present location of the customer'"'"'s account information; and
a plurality of account transfer communication links for transferring the customer account information from one of the account databases to another. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for real-time account tracking, comprising:
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a dynamic distributed database system for storing account information, the database system including a plurality of individual databases located in a plurality of geographically dispersed regions, wherein each database serves as a home database for certain accounts;
at least one variable entry for each account that indicates the current location of the account in the distributed database system;
means for determining whether the account is in the correct database; and
means for transferring the account information from one database to another if it is determined that the account is not in the correct database. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for real-time account tracking in a pre-paid cellular telecommunications system, comprising the steps of:
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providing a dynamic distributed database system for storing account information, the database system including a plurality of individual databases located in a plurality of geographically dispersed regions, wherein each database serves as a home database for certain accounts and includes at least one variable entry for each account that indicates the current location of the account in the distributed database system;
determining the location of a pre-paid cellular customer who has an account with the system;
determining whether the customer'"'"'s account is stored in the correct database; and
transferring the customer'"'"'s account information from one database to another if it is determined that the account is not in the correct database. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification