Method for addressing billing in a message service, messaging service system, server and terminal

• US 20010053687A1
• Filed: 06/15/2001
• Published: 12/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Sivula, Timo
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,225 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1471 splitting of costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1482 involving use of telephony infrastructure for billing for the transport of data, e.g. call detail record [CDR] or intelligent network infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/57 for integrated multimedia messaging subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/208 IMS, i.e. Integrated Multimedia messaging Subsystem
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/62 Called party billing, e.g. reverse billing, freephone, collect call, 0800 or 0900
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for addressing billing in a multimedia messaging service (MMS) utilizing store-and-automatic forward transmission, in which method the message addressed to a B-subscriber is transmitted from a terminal (TA) of an A-subscriber to a server (MMSC) of the multimedia messaging service system, the arrival of said message to the server (MMSC) is reported to a wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber, and in which method said message is transmitted from the server (MMSC) further to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber. According to the invention, the message addressed to the B-subscriber is retrieved to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC) by establishing a substantially toll-free data transmission connection between wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber and the server (MMSC), said data transmission connection being opened by the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber. The invention also relates to a multimedia messaging service system (MMS), a server (MMSC) for a multimedia messaging service system, and a wtireless terminal (MS).

Claims

1. A method for addressing billing in a multimedia messaging service (MMS) utilizing store-and-automatic forward transmission, in which method the message addressed to a B-subscriber is transmitted from a terminal (TA) of an A-subscriber to a server (MMSC) of the multimedia messaging service system, the arrival of said message to the server (MMSC) is reported to a wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber, and in which method said message is transmitted from the server (MMSC) further to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber, characterized in that the message addressed to the B-subscriber is retrieved to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC) by establishing a substantially toll-free data transmission connection between the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber and the server (MMSC), said data transmission connection being opened by the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber.

2. The method according to

claim 1

, characterized in that said data transmission connection is a connection-oriented connection which is opened by the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber to at least first data transmission means (22) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server.

3. The method according to

claim 2

, characterized in that said first data transmission means (22) form a dial-up modem pool operating in a toll-free phone number.

4. The method according to any of the foregoing

claims 1

to

3

, characterized in that the arrival of a message addressed to the B-subscriber to the server (MMSC) is reported to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber by transmitting a notification message (20) to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber by means of a connectionless connection service (WAP, SMS).

5. The method according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said notification message (20) contains at least contact information of the data transmission means (22).

6. The method according to

claim 4

or

5

, characterized in that said notification message (20) contains a message-specific identification and/or a message-specific address related to the message, by means of which the terminal of the B-subscriber retrieves the message from the server (MMSC), a part of which identification/address can be a password or the identification can be merely composed of a password.

7. The method according to any of the foregoing

claims 4

to

6

, characterized in that the notification message (20) contains at least information related to the incoming message about the sender and/or priority of the message and/or about the type of the message and/or the size of the message.

8. The method according to any of the foregoing

claims 4

to

7

, characterized in that the information contained in the notification message (20) and mentioned in the above-presented claims is in such a format that it can be interpreted by the B-subscriber.

9. The method according to any of the foregoing

claims 4

to

8

, characterized in that when the B-subscriber receives the notification message (20), the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber automatically retrieves said message to the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC).

10. The method according to

claim 9

, characterized in that in connection with the retrieval of said message from the server (MMSC), the message addressed to the B-subscriber is identified by means of identification data characteristic to the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber.

11. The method according to

claim 9

, characterized in that in connection with the retrieval of said message from the server (MMSC), the message addressed to the B-subscriber is identified by means of a message-specific identification/address.

12. The method according to any of the foregoing

claims 9

to

11

, characterized in that the B-subscriber can enable, enable in a delayed manner, or disable the automatic retrieval of the message from the server (MMSC), which retrieval is initiated on the basis of the notification message (20).

13. The method according to

claim 1

, characterized in that to transmit the message addressed to the B-subscriber to the server (MMSC), the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber opens a connection-oriented connection to at least second data transmission means (32) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server.

14. The method according to

claim 13

, characterized in that said second data transmission means (32) are a dial-up modem pool operating in a phone number which is subject to charge.

15. The method according to

claim 13

or

14

, characterized in that the A-subscriber is charged for the transmission of the message addressed to the B-subscriber either partly or entirely as a connection cost of said connection-oriented connection.

16. The method according to any of the

claims 1

to

15

, characterized in that the A-subscriber is charged for the transmission of a message addressed to the B-subscriber, either partly or entirely, after the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber has retrieved said message from the server (MMSC) of the multimedia messaging service system.

17. A multimedia messaging service system(MMS) which comprises at least one server (MMSC), at least one communication network (11, 12, 13, 14), at least one terminal (TA) of a A-subscriber, at least one wireless terminal (MSB) of a B-subscriber, and means for transmitting messages by means of store-and-automatic forward transmission from the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber via the server (MMSC), characterized in that the multimedia messaging service system (MMS) comprises means (11, 22, 33, 34, 35) for transmitting a message addressed to the B-subscriber to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC), which said means (11, 22, 33, 34, 35) enable the establishment of a substantially toll-free data transmission connection for the B-subscriber between the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber and the server (MMSC), wherein the terminal (MSB;

MS) further comprises means (ANT, RF, MPU, MEM, UI) for opening said substantially toll-free data transmission connection.

18. The messaging service system (MMS) according to

claim 17

, characterized in that the means (11, 22, 33, 34, 35) included in the messaging service system (MMS) are arranged to establish said data transmission connection as a connection-oriented connection, which is opened by the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber to at least first data transmission means (22) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server.

19. The messaging service system (MMS) according to

claim 18

, characterized in that said first data transmission means (22) are a dial-up modem pool operating in a toll-free phone number.

20. The messaging service system (MMS) according to any of the foregoing

claims 17

to

19

, characterized in that said messaging service system comprises means (35) for transmitting a notification message (20) indicating the arrival of a message addressed to the B-subscriber to the server (MMSC), to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber by means of a connectionless connection service (WAP, SMS).

21. The messaging service system (MMS) according to any of the foregoing

claims 17

to

20

, characterized in that said messaging service system (MMS) further comprises means (12,13,14, 32, 33, 34) for transmitting a message from the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber to the server (MMSC) in such a manner that the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber opens a connection-oriented connection to at least second data transmission means (32) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server.

22. The messaging service system (MMS) according to

claim 21

, characterized in that the data transmission means (32) are a dial-up modem pool operating in a phone number which is subject to charge.

23. The messaging service system (MMS) according to

claim 21

or

22

, characterized in that the messaging service system (MMS) comprises means (33) for charging the A-subscriber for the transmission of a message transmitted to the B-subscriber partly or entirely as a connection cost of said connection-oriented connection.

24. The messaging service system (MMS) according to any of the foregoing

claims 17

to

23

, characterized in that the messaging service system (MMSC) comprises means (33) for charging the A-subscriber for the transmission of a message addressed to the B-subscriber, partly or entirely, after the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber has retrieved said message from the server (MMSC).

25. A server (MMSC) in a multimedia messaging service system (MMS), which messaging service system (MMS) comprises at least one server (MMSC), at least one communication network (11, 12, 13, 14), at least one terminal (TA) of a A-subscriber, at least one wireless terminal (MSB) of a B-subscriber, and means for transmitting messages by means of store-and-automatic forward transmission from the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber via a server (MMSC) , characterized in that the server (MMSC) comprises means (22, 33, 34, 35) for transmitting a message addressed to the B-subscriber to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC), which means (22, 33, 34, 35) enable the establishment of a substantially toll-free data transmission connection for the B-subscriber between the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber and the server (MMSC).

26. The server (MMSC) according to

claim 25

, characterized in that the means (22, 33, 34, 35) contained in the server (MMSC) are arranged to establish said data transmission connection as a connection-oriented connection, which is opened by the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber to at least first data transmission means (22) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server.

27. The server (MMSC) according to

claim 26

, characterized in that said first data transmission means (22) are a dial-up modem pool operating in a toll-free phone number.

28. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 25

to

27

, characterized in that said server (MMSC) comprises means (35) for transmitting a notification message (20) indicating the arrival of a multimedia message addressed to the B-subscriber to the server (MMSC) to the wireless terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber by means of a connectionless connection service (WAP, SMS).

29. The server (MMSC) according to

claims 27

to

28

, characterized in that said notification message (20) contains at least the contact information of the data transmission means (22).

30. The server (MMSC) according to

claim 28

or

29

, characterized in that said notification message (20) contains a message-specific identification and/or a message-specific address related to the message, by means of which the terminal of the B-subscriber retrieves the message from the server (MMSC), a part of which identification/address can be a password or the identification can be merely composed of a password.

31. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 28

to

30

, characterized in that the notification message (20) contains at least information related to the incoming message about the sender and/or the priority of the message and/or about the type of the message and/or the size of the message.

32. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 28

to

31

, characterized in that the information contained in the notification message (20) and mentioned in the above-presented claims is in such a format that it can be interpreted by the B-subscriber.

33. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 28

to

32

, characterized in that said server (MMSC) contains means (33) for identifying the message addressed to the B-subscriber from the messages contained in the message memory (34) by means of identification data characteristic to the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber.

34. The server (MMSC) according to

claim 30

, characterized in that said server (MMSC) contains means (33) for identifying the message addressed to the B-subscriber from the group of messages contained in the message memory (34) by means of a message-specific identification/address.

35. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 25

to

34

, characterized in that said server is a multimedia message service center (MMSC).

36. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 25

to

35

, characterized in that said server (MMSC) further comprises means (32, 33, 34) for transmitting the message from the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber to the server (MMSC) in such a manner that the terminal (TA) of the A-subscriber opens a connection-oriented connection to at least second data transmission means (32) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server.

37. The server (MMSC) according to

claim 36

, characterized in that the data transmission means (32) are a dial-up modem pool operating in a phone number which is subject to charge.

38. The server (MMSC) according to

claim 36

or

37

, characterized in that said server (MMSC) comprises means (33) for charging the A-subscriber for the transmission of a message transmitted to the B-subscriber, partly or entirely as a connection cost of said connection-oriented connection.

39. The server (MMSC) according to any of the foregoing

claims 25

to

38

, characterized in that said server (MMSC) comprises means (33) for charging the A-subscriber for the transmission of a message addressed to the B-subscriber, partly or entirely, after the terminal (MSB) of the B-subscriber has retrieved said message from the server (MMSC).

40. A wireless terminal (MS) to be used in a multimedia messaging service system (MMS), which messaging service system (MMS) comprises at least one server (MMSC), at least one wireless communication network (11, 12) and means for transmitting messages by means of store-and-automatic forward transmission from the terminal (MS;

TA) of an A-subscriber to the wireless terminal (MS;

MSB) of a B-subscriber via a server (MMSC), characterized in that said wireless terminal (MS;

MSB) comprises means (ANT, RF, MPU, UI, MEM) for retrieving the message addressed to the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC) to the wireless terminal (MS, MSB) of the B-subscriber by establishing a substantially toll-free data transmission connection for the B-subscriber between the wireless terminal (MS;

MSB) of the B-subscriber and the server (MMSC), opened by the terminal (MS;

MSB) of the B-subscriber.

41. The terminal (MS) according to

claim 40

, characterized in that the wireless terminal (MS) comprises means (ANT, RF, MPU, UI, MEM) for establishing said data transmission connection as a connection-oriented connection, opened by the terminal (MS;

MSB) of the B-subscriber to at least first data transmission means (22) arranged in the server (MMSC) or arranged to be connected to said server, which data transmission means (22) are a dial-up modem pool operating in a toll-free phone number.

42. The terminal (MS) according to

claim 40

or

41

, characterized in that said terminal comprises means (ANT, RF, MPU, UI, MEM) for receiving a notification message (20) indicating the arrival of a message addressed to the B-subscriber to the server (MMSC) by means of a connectionless connection service (WAP, SMS).

43. The terminal (MS) according to any of the foregoing

claims 40

to

42

, characterized in that said terminal (MS;

MSB) comprises means (ANT, RF, MPU, UI, MEM) for automatic retrieval of a message addressed to the B-subscriber from the server (MMSC).

44. The terminal (MS) according to

claim 43

, characterized in that said terminal (MS;

MSB) comprises means (ANT, RF, MPU, UI, MEM) with which means the B-subscriber can enable, enable in a delayed manner or disable the automatic retrieval of the message from the server (MMSC), which retrieval is initiated on the basis of the notification message (20).