System and method for enabling and enhancing spending limits functionality in post-paid wireless billing systems

• US 20040192297A1
• Filed: 01/12/2004
• Published: 09/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Xius Holding Corp. (Megasoft Limited)
• Original Assignee: Xius Holding Corp. (Megasoft Limited)
• Inventors: Cooper, John R., Hayes, John W. Jr., Terry, Marco A., Sonberg, Kenneth W., Erskine, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/755,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20040192297A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/432.1
• 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 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/53 using mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/7655 shared by technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/77 involving multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/772 per service, e.g. prepay or post-pay
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8038 Roaming or handoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/854 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• 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 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• 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 2215/0172 Mediation, i.e. device or program to reformat CDRS from one or more switches in order to adapt to one or more billing programs formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/34 Roaming
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/725 : Shared by technologies, e.g. one account for different access technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7254 : Multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7263 : per service, e.g. prepay and post-pay
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7442 : Roaming
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8166 : Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 : Accounting or billing

Abstract

A system and method for allowing wireless carriers to implement intelligent spending-limited products to their post-paid subscribers. The system and method can be deployed separate from but cooperative with legacy billing environments or integrated with a carrier'"'"'s billing and customer care suite. The system reduces latency in collecting and rating event-related data for roaming and local spending limits subscribers, enables selective deployment of real-time subscriber management based upon a carrier-definable threshold matrix, provides proactive messaging premised upon various account-related metrics, and enables the acceptance and immediate crediting of subscriber payments.

Claims

1. A system enabling accelerated accounting of an event initiated in a wireless telecommunications system by a roaming subscriber to a telecommunications service plan offered by a home service provider, comprising:

a serving switch associated with a serving carrier for receiving a request to initiate the event from a subscriber device;

an event manager associated with the home service provider for receiving the call request from the serving switch, for fulfilling the event initiation request, for accumulating data characterizing the event once initiated, and for transmitting the event characterizing data after the event has concluded; and

a subscriber database comprised of subscriber records for telecommunications service plan subscribers of the home service provider; and

a balance manager functionally associated with the subscriber database for receiving the transmitted event characterizing data from the event manager and for modifying the respective subscriber record in the subscriber database on the basis of the event characterizing data.