Method and system for a reward scheme in telecommunication services

• US 20040001578A1
• Filed: 04/11/2003
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke KPN NV
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke KPN NV
• Inventors: Van Tonder, Daniel Francois
• Application Number:
  US10/412,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20040001578A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/114.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/20 with provision for recharging the prepaid account or card, or for credit establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0192 Sponsored, subsidised calls via advertising, e.g. calling cards with ads or connecting to special ads, free calling time by purchasing goods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems

Abstract

Method for enabling a telecommunications service provider, in particular in the field of prepaid mobile services, to reward certain service customers on the basis of characteristics, chosen by the service provider, without having to interfere with billing systems. To this end, the chosen characteristics are stored and kept up to date in a database, in the form of a user profile and the data relating to rewards in a rewards database; the rewarding takes place at the moment the customer wishes to recharge his prepaid card.

Claims

1. Method for rendering telecommunication services, comprising the steps of:

A) providing a user of the services a user account with a monetary value;

B) providing the user access to a service provider network;

C) rendering the services to the user in exchange for decreasing the monetary value of the user account by an amount determined by the service provider;

D) increasing the monetary value of the user account by the user by a further monetary value, at a moment in time after the user account has been provided;

E) maintaining, in a database, a user profile for at least one of the users of the services;

F) maintaining data relating to a still further monetary value, to be awarded to the at least one user of the services;

G) increasing the further monetary value of step D) by the still further monetary value, at the expense of the service provider and in dependence of the user profile for the user performing step D), in accordance with rules set by the service provider.

2. Method according to claim 1, the user profile comprising Call Detail Records (CDRs) of the user involved, and the rules taking those CDRs into account.

3. Method according to claim 1, the user profile comprising personal details of the user involved, e.g., the date of his or her birthday, and the rules taking these details into account.

4. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, the telecommunications services comprising wireless telephone services.

5. System for rendering telecommunications services, comprising:

means for providing a user of the services a user account with a monetary value;

means for providing the user access to a service provider network;

means for rendering the services to the user, coupled to means for decreasing the monetary value of the user account by an amount, related to the service rendered, and determined by the service provider;

means arranged for enabling the user to increase the monetary value of the user account by a further monetary value;

database means maintaining a user profile for at least one of users of the services;

database means maintaining data relating to a still further monetary value, to be awarded to the at least one user of the services;

means arranged for enabling the service provider to increase the further monetary value by the still further monetary value, in dependence of the user profile and in accordance with rules set by the service provider.

6. System according to claim 5, the user profile comprising Call Detail Records (CDRs) of the user involved, and the rules taking those CDRs into account.

7. System according to claim 5, the user profile comprising personal details of the user involved, e.g., the date of his or her birthday, and the rules taking these details into account.

8. System according to claim 5, 6 or 7, the telecommunications services comprising wireless telephone services.