Supplementary prepaid account for postpaid service subscribers

• US 20050027624A1
• Filed: 07/28/2003
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Cai, Yigang
• Application Number:
  US10/628,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20050027624A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/125 Finance or payroll
• 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 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/765 Linked or grouped accounts, e.g. of users or devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/77 involving multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• 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 2215/0108 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 2215/0116 Provision for limiting expenditure, e.g. limit on call expenses or account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/724 Linked accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7254 Multiple accounts per user

Abstract

An intelligent network-based communication system 100 contains one or more service control points (SCPs) 102 for maintaining co-existing prepaid and postpaid accounts for a plurality of subscribers. The prepaid accounts are supplementary to the postpaid accounts for billing purposes. Subscriber activity is monitored in relation to postpaid plan free bucket thresholds and, on occasion(s) where postpaid threshold(s) would be surpassed, billing is diverted from the postpaid account to the prepaid account to achieve lower rates.

Claims

1. In a communication system providing a service to a postpaid plan subscriber having a postpaid account, a method comprising:

monitoring subscriber activity relative to one or more postpaid plan thresholds, subscriber activity defining an amount of service provided to the subscriber within a billing period associated with the postpaid account;

for so long as the subscriber activity does not exceed a postpaid plan threshold, billing the subscriber activity according to the postpaid account; and

if the subscriber activity exceeds a postpaid plan threshold, defining surplus activity, billing at least a portion of the surplus activity to a supplementary account.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if the subscriber activity exceeds a postpaid plan threshold, defining surplus activity, sending a message to the subscriber including indicia of the subscriber activity exceeding the postpaid plan threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the supplementary account comprises a prepaid account, the step of billing to the supplementary account comprising billing at least a portion of the surplus activity to the prepaid account.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of billing to the prepaid account comprises billing the surplus activity to the prepaid account at a lesser charge rate than would occur by billing the surplus activity to the postpaid account, the lesser charge rate defining a prepaid charge rate.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of billing to the prepaid account comprises:

determining accumulated prepaid charges associated with the surplus activity;

monitoring the accumulated prepaid charges relative to an account balance associated with the prepaid account;

for so long as the accumulated prepaid charges do not exceed the account balance, billing the surplus activity to the prepaid account.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of billing to the prepaid account further comprises:

upon the accumulated prepaid charges exceeding the account balance, defining overcharge activity, determining an eligibility of the prepaid account to accept overcharges; and

if the prepaid account is eligible to accept overcharges, billing the overcharge activity to the prepaid account.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

upon the accumulated prepaid charges exceeding the account balance, defining overcharge activity, sending a message to the subscriber including indicia that the overcharge activity will be charged to the prepaid account.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising, if the prepaid account is ineligible to accept overcharges:

determining postpaid charges associated with the overcharge activity, based on a postpaid charge rate; and

billing the postpaid charges to the postpaid account.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

upon the accumulated prepaid charges exceeding the account balance, defining overcharge activity, sending a message to the subscriber including indicia that the overcharge activity will be charged to the postpaid account.

10. A method comprising:

establishing a prepaid account for contingency billing of a postpaid plan subscriber;

maintaining a record including indicia of activity of the postpaid plan subscriber relative to one or more postpaid plan thresholds; and

billing to the prepaid account in response to activity of the postpaid plan subscriber exceeding any of the one or more postpaid plan thresholds.