Threshold pricing in dynamically priced

• US 20030061179A1
• Filed: 08/26/2002
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Richard W. Reece
• Original Assignee: Richard W. Reece
• Inventors: Reece, Richard W.
• Application Number:
  US10/229,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20030061179A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/412
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• 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 15/30 the meter or calculation of charges not being controlled from an exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/49 Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8016 based on quality of service [QoS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/805 Bidding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/81 Dynamic pricing, e.g. change of tariff during call
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0112 Dynamic pricing, e.g. change of tariff during call
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0116 Provision for limiting expenditure, e.g. limit on call expenses or account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0152 General billing plans, rate plans, e.g. charge rates, numbering plans, rate centers, customer accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 : involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/42 : Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/46 : Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7414 : QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 : Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7457 : Biding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/82 : Advice-of-Charge [AOC], i.e. notify subscriber of charges/cumulative charge; meter at the substation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/92 : Autonomous calculations of charges in terminal, i.e. meter not controlled from exchange

Abstract

In a telecommunications system where the price of communications is established by the network operator (“the seller”) in accordance with actual or predicted demand in such fine increments that it becomes “dynamic” from the user'"'"'s perspective because the prices vary to such a high degree that individual users (“buyers”) are unable to execute a rational economic decision without incurring prohibitively high transaction costs. The present invention provides a method to reduce the transaction costs of such a system by determining and storing individual users'"'"' “threshold prices” for a variety of communications and circumstances. By comparing the network operator'"'"'s offered price for the communication with the user'"'"'s pre-determined threshold price, and executing a decision automatically based on the results of the comparison, the invention significantly reduces the transaction costs to the user and network operator to the point where dynamic pricing becomes viable and beneficial for both the seller and buyer.

Claims

1. A method for executing an economic decision to communicate through a telecommunications system that is comprised of the following steps:

determining a user'"'"'s reservation (or “

threshold”

) price for communications of varying attributes

recording the user'"'"'s threshold price and the identifying attributes in computer memory

determining a user'"'"'s election to execute a communication

determining the type and attributes of the communication

matching the type and attributes to a unique pre-determined threshold price

matching the type and attributes of the communication to a price provided by the network operator for a communication of matching type and attributes

determining if the current price for the communication provided by the network operator exceeds the threshold price (the user'"'"'s reservation price) for the communication.

2. The method of claim 1 where the prices are provided by the network operator as a pre-defined set of prices that are stored in local non-volatile memory in the user'"'"'s device.

3. The method of claim 1 where the prices provided by the network operator are broadcast to the user'"'"'s device and stored in short-term (volatile) memory.

4. The method of claim 1 where the prices provided by the network operator are stored in a non-volatile memory storage device that is not in the user'"'"'s device and is available by query through the network operator'"'"'s communications network