ARCHITECTURE FOR MANAGING PREPAID WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

• US 20070106569A1
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Koch, Robert, McQuaide, Arnold
• Granted Patent: US 8,027,660 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• 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 2215/0152 General billing plans, rate plans, e.g. charge rates, numbering plans, rate centers, customer accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system and method for managing a prepaid wireless account for voice and data communications services. According to one embodiment the communications system, having a prepaid architecture for managing a plurality of prepaid wireless accounts for communication services, wherein each prepaid account is associated with a prepaid subscriber comprises a wireless network including a mobile switch, in communication with a wireless device, the wireless device for remotely managing at least one of the prepaid accounts. The communications system also comprises a wide area network including a prepaid account database for storing records assigned to subscribers of prepaid communications services; a prepaid application module for initializing and updating the prepaid accounts; a credit card transaction server, coupled to a credit card database, for checking available credit; and a prepaid server coupled to the prepaid account database and the prepaid application module. The communications system also includes a gateway in communication with the mobile switch of the wireless network and in communication with the wide area network.

Claims

1-38. -38. (canceled)

39. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for replenishing a prepaid wireless account from a wireless device, the method comprising:

establishing a connection from the wireless device to a network for managing the prepaid account;

sending credit card account information associated with a prepaid subscriber, the prepaid subscriber associated with the prepaid account, from the wireless device through the network to charge an amount for replenishing the prepaid account; and

receiving at least one alert on the wireless device from a gateway in communication with the network once a current account balance falls below a recharge threshold while a prepaid communications service is in use.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the gateway is selected from the group consisting of a push proxy and a WAP push proxy.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the wireless device is WAP-enabled.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the wireless device comprises a personal digital assistant.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the wireless device comprises a pager.

45. A method for establishing a prepaid wireless account for a wireless subscriber in a network, comprising:

providing wireless access to the network;

coupling a wireless device associated with the subscriber to the network to establish a communications session;

during the communications session, querying the wireless device for an account registration status associated with the prepaid subscriber; and

if there is not an existing account registered for the subscriber associated with the wireless device, then querying the wireless device for new account information, the new account information comprising at least one of a recharge threshold and a recharge amount to establish the prepaid wireless account.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising querying the wireless device for a valid credit card number while querying the wireless device for new account information.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein querying the wireless device for new account information comprising at least one of a recharge threshold and a recharge amount comprises querying the wireless device for at least one of a minimum account balance and a pre-authorized amount to be used to replenish an account when the account falls below the minimum account balance.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein coupling a wireless device associated with the subscriber to the network to establish a communications session comprises coupling a WAP-enabled device to a WAP-enabled gateway.

49. A system for alerting a prepaid subscriber when a recharge threshold associated with a prepaid wireless account is reached utilizing a wireless device associated with the prepaid wireless account, the system comprising:

means for reporting a number of minutes used during a communications session utilizing the wireless device in a network;

means for updating an account balance associated with the prepaid wireless account in a customer account database;

means for determining whether the number of minutes used during the communications session causes the account balance to fall below the recharge threshold associated with the prepaid wireless account; and

means for pushing an alert to the wireless device when the account balance falls below the recharge threshold, the alert comprising a notification of the decrease in the account balance.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert is pushed at the conclusion of the communications session.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert is pushed during a communications session.

52. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert comprises a plurality of alerts and an amount of time from one alert to a subsequent alert is decreased as the account balance continues to fall below the recharge threshold during the communications session.

53. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert comprises a visual notification.

54. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert comprises an audible notification.

55. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert comprises a short messaging service message.

56. The system of claim 49, wherein the alert comprises a WAP push notification sent to the wireless device via a gateway, wherein the gateway is selected from the group consisting of a push proxy and a WAP push proxy.

57. The system of claim 49, wherein the wireless device is WAP-enabled.

58. The system of claim 49, wherein the communications session is a data session.