Cellular telephone credit management
First Claim
1. In a cellular telephone network user terminal (UT), a method for controlling a cellular telephone account, the method comprising:
- registering a UT in a cellular telephone network;
uploading a credit for cellular telephone network services to the UT from a second party; and
, converting the credit to an account balance.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are provided for controlling a cellular telephone account User Terminal (UT). The method includes: registering a UT with an account in a cellular telephone network; uploading a credit for cellular telephone network services to the UT from a second party; and, converting the credit to an account balance. When the UT accesses a cellular telephone network service (i.e., makes a call), then the account balance is debited. In one aspect, the method accesses a credit server funded by the second party. Then, the credit is uploaded in response to accessing the credit server. For example, the credit server may be a module embedded in the UT. Alternately, the credit server is accessed via the cellular telephone network. For example, an Internet Protocol (IP) network-connected credit server may be accessed via the cellular network.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. In a cellular telephone network user terminal (UT), a method for controlling a cellular telephone account, the method comprising:
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registering a UT in a cellular telephone network;
uploading a credit for cellular telephone network services to the UT from a second party; and
,converting the credit to an account balance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A user terminal (UT) with a managed cellular telephone network account, the UT comprising:
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a cellular subsystem having a wireless interface for registering the UT in a cellular telephone network; and
,an account module having an interface for receiving cellular network service credits from a second party and converting the credits to an account balance. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for managing a cellular telephone network user terminal (UT) account, the system comprising:
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a UT comprising;
a cellular subsystem having a wireless interface for registering the UT having an account in a cellular telephone network;
an account module having an interface for receiving cellular network service credits from a second party and converting the credits to an account balance, and an interface connected to the cellular subsystem for authorizing cellular network services in response to the account balance; and
,a credit server having an Internet Protocol (IP) network interface operatively connected to the UT account module to supply the service credits from the second party. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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Specification