System and method for verifying subscriber data records in a telephone system

• US 20030176182A1
• Filed: 03/12/2002
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ensminger, John D., Isaacson, David C., Van Natter, Douglas C., Cerami, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,155,205 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/70 Administration or customization aspects; Counter-checking correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/73 Validating charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0188 Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/70 Administration aspects, modify settings or limits or counter-check correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7072 Validate charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/248 for metering arrangements or prepayment telephone systems metering arrangements per se H04M15/00; prepayment telephone systems per se H04M17/00

Abstract

A consistency verification tool performs a consistency check on subscriber data records stored in the cellular telephone system. One such consistency check analyzes subscriber data records in a home location register (HLR) and a billing system to determine the presence of duplicate records. Duplicate records can be stored in a duplicate record file for later analysis. During the duplicate record consistency analysis, the consistency verification tool creates a record list. The record list can be a linked list structure for storing main records and duplicate records in a manner that facilitates identifying families of duplicate records. The consistency verification tool can also perform inter-device consistency checks. For example, the subscriber data stored on the HLR can be compared to the subscriber data stored in the billing system to ensure that the two systems have consistent subscriber data.

Claims

1. A method for verifying consistency of subscriber records stored on a device in a cellular telephone network, comprising the steps of:

(a) reading the subscriber data records into a record list comprising a plurality of record elements stored in a computer memory;

(b) sorting the subscriber data records stored in the record list such that duplicate subscriber records are stored in consecutive record elements in the record list; and

(c) identifying duplicate records in the record list.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of storing duplicate records identified in step (c) in a duplicate record file.

3. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of sorting the subscriber data records according to one or more matching criteria.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the matching criteria include a telephone number of a cellular telephone.

5. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the matching criteria include a serial number of a cellular telephone.

6. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of formatting the record list as a computer array data structure.

7. A system for verifying consistency of a subscriber records stored on a device of a cellular telephone system, comprising:

a device on which the subscriber records are stored;

a consistency verification tool coupled to the device to read a new subscriber record from the device;

a computer memory coupled to the consistency verification tool; and

a record list stored in the memory, the record list formatted as a computer array comprising a plurality of records that the consistency verification tool compares to the new subscriber record,

wherein the consistency verification tool determines whether the new subscriber record matches a record in the record list and stores the new subscriber record in accordance with the determination made by the consistency verification tool.

8. The system recited in claim 7, further comprising a home location register, wherein the device is a disk in the home location register.

9. The system recited in claim 7, further comprising a billing system, wherein the device is a disk in the billing system.

10. A method for verifying consistency of subscriber records stored on a device in a cellular telephone network, comprising the steps of:

(a) reading a new record of subscriber data from the device;

(b) comparing the new record of subscriber data to each record of subscriber data stored in a record list;

(c) storing the new record of subscriber data in the record list as a main record if no match is found during comparing step (b); and

(d) storing the new record of subscriber data in the record as a duplicate record if a match is found during comparing step (b).

11. The method recited in claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

(e) identifying matching criteria using a portion of data in a subscriber data record; and

;

(f) performing comparing step (b) in accordance with the matching criteria.

12. The method recited in claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

(e) defining the record list to be a linked list; and

(f) storing the new record in accordance with the defined link list.

13. The method recited in claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

(g) assigning a NULL value to a next pointer to a next main record when the next pointer comprises a last main record in a chain of main records; and

(h) assigning a NULL value to a duplicate pointer to a duplicate record when the duplicate pointer comprises a last matching record in a family of duplicate records.

14. The method recited in claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

(g) defining the mail record to comprise a matching criteria field, a record identification field, a duplicate pointer filed and a next pointer field; and

(h) defining the matching record to comprise a record identification field and a duplicate record field.

15. A system for verifying consistency of a subscriber records stored on a device of a cellular telephone system, comprising:

a device on which the subscriber records are stored;

a consistency verification tool coupled to the device to read a new subscriber record from the device;

a computer memory coupled to the consistency verification tool; and

a record list stored in the memory, the record list comprising a plurality of records that the consistency verification tool compares to the new subscriber record,

wherein the consistency verification tool determines whether the new subscriber record matches a record in the record list and stores the new subscriber record in accordance with the determination made by the consistency verification tool.

16. The system recited in claim 15, wherein the record list is a linked list, comprising:

a main record structure for storing a new subscriber record that does not match a record in the record list; and

a duplicate record structure for storing a new subscriber record that does match a record in the record list.

17. The system recited in claim 15, further comprising a home location register, wherein the device is a disk in the home location register.

18. The system recited in claim 15, further comprising a billing system, wherein the device is a disk in the billing system.

19. The system recited in claim 16, wherein the main record structure comprises a matching criteria field, a record identification field, a duplicate pointer field and a next record field, and wherein the duplicate record structure includes a record identification field and a duplicate pointer field.

20. A method for verifying subscriber data stored on a source device with subscriber data stored on a target device in a cellular telephone system, comprising the steps of:

(a) reading a new subscriber record from the source device;

(b) comparing the new subscriber record to each subscriber record in the target device;

(c) storing the new subscriber record in a non-matching file if the new subscriber record does not match a record in the target device;

(d) determining if there are more records in the source device;

(e) continuing in step (a) if there are more records in the source device; and

(f) stopping if there are no more records.

21. The method recited in claim 20, further comprising the step of storing the new subscriber record in a match file if the new subscriber record matches a record in the target device.

22. The method recited in claim 20, wherein the source device is a disk in the home location register and the target device is a disk in the billing system.

23. The method recited in claim 20, wherein the source device is a disk in the billing system and the target device is a disk in the home location register.

24. A system for verifying subscriber data stored on a source device with subscriber data stored on a target device, comprising:

a source device that has a plurality of subscriber records;

a target device that has a plurality of records to which each record in the source device can be compared;

a consistency verification tool to read each record in the source device,

wherein the consistency verification tool compares each read record to each record in the target device until a record is found in the target device that matches the record in the source device, or until the consistency verification tool determines that there is no such matching record; and

a non-match file into which the consistency verification tool stores each record from the source device that does not match a record in the target device.

25. The system recited in claim 24, wherein the source device is a disk in the billing system and the target device is a disk in the home location register.

26. The system recited in claim 24, wherein the source device is a disk in the home location register and the target device is a disk in the billing system.

27. The system recited in claim 24, further comprising a match file into which subscriber data records from the source device that match a record in the target device are stored.

28. A system for verifying subscriber data stored on a source device with subscriber data stored on a target device in a cellular telephone system, comprising:

means for reading a new subscriber record from the source device;

means for comparing the new subscriber record to each subscriber record in the target device;

means for storing the new subscriber record in a non-matching file if the new subscriber record does not match a record in the target device;

means for determining if there are more records in the source device;

means for continuing in step (a) if there are more records in the source device; and

means for stopping if there are no more records.

29. The system recited in claim 28, further comprising means for storing the new subscriber record in a match file if the new subscriber record matches a record in the target device.

30. The system recited in claim 28, wherein the source device is a disk in the home location register and the target device is a disk in the billing system.

31. The system recited in claim 28, wherein the source device is a disk in the billing system and the target device is a disk in the home location register.