Method and System For Provisioning Services In A Telecommunications Network

• US 20080214173A1
• Filed: 02/08/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: SOMA Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Preiss, Bruno Richard, Wilk, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 8,126,457 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/419
• 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 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• 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 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0176 Billing arrangements using internet
• 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 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/14 WLL [Wireless Local Loop]; RLL [Radio Local Loop]

Abstract

The present invention is a telecommunication system, comprising of at least one base station connected to a telecommunication network, a plurality of subscriber stations each cooperating with the base station to establish a connection between a user device operably connected to the subscriber station and the telecommunication network. The base station is also connected with a subscriber database to maintain the subscriber records that contain provisioning information for services, features and account information, and an interactive response system operable to create and modify a subscriber record in the subscriber database in response to input received over the connection from a subscriber using the user device to select services, features and account information for the subscriber station.

Claims

1. A telecommunication system, comprising:

a plurality of base stations connected to a telecommunication network;

a plurality of subscriber stations each operable to connect to of said base stations and to establish a connection between a user device operably connected to said each subscriber station and said telecommunication network connected to said one of said base stations;

a subscriber database connected to said telecommunications network and configured to maintain a plurality of subscriber records that contain provisioning information for services, features, and account information for corresponding ones of all of said plurality of subscriber stations that have been provisioned in said telecommunication system; and

an interactive response system operable, if said one of said base stations has queried said subscriber database and found that a newly connected one of said plurality of subscriber stations does not have a corresponding subscriber record in said subscriber database, to create a new subscriber record in said subscriber database in response to input received over one of said connections from a said newly connected one of said plurality of subscriber stations using a corresponding user device to select said services, features, and account information for said newly connected subscriber station.

2. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one of said connections between said corresponding subscriber station and said one of said base stations comprises a radio link.

3. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said telecommunications system comprises a wireless local loop system.

4. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one of said base stations initiates the creation of said subscriber record after detecting the presence of a newly connected subscriber station.

5. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interactive response system is operable to provide technical support to the a user.

6. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said technical support comprises the interactive response system performing a measurement of the operation of the connection and providing feedback to the user with respect to the measured operation.

7. The telecommunication system as claimed in claim 1, further operable to provide program code from said one of said base stations to said subscriber stations for execution on said each subscriber station.

8. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said provided program code comprises an update to program code already loaded into said each subscriber station.

9. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 7, wherein necessary updates to said program code loaded into said each subscriber station are determined automatically and downloaded to said each subscriber station.

10. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said provided program code is employed to implement optional features on said each subscriber station.

11. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said optional features are offered to said each subscriber station by said interactive response system.

12. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said optional features are offered for at least one of (i) a time-limited basis and (ii) a finite number of uses.

13. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said user device comprises a telephony device.

14. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said user device comprises a data device.

15. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said interactive response system comprises an interactive voice response system.

16. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said interactive response system comprises a web page server.

17. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interactive response system configures said services, features, and account information for more than one said user device connected to each said subscriber station.

18. The telecommunications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interactive response system is further operable to modify an existing subscriber record in said subscriber database to allow a user of a subscriber station to modify services and features provided by a subscriber station.

19. A method for configuring a new subscriber record in a subscriber database, said subscriber database connected to a telecommunications network and configured to maintain a plurality of subscriber records that each contain provisioning information for services, features, and account information for a corresponding one of all subscriber stations that have been provisioned in a telecommunication system having a plurality of subscriber stations and a plurality of base stations connected to said telecommunication network, each subscriber station operable to connect to one of said base stations, comprising the steps of:

(i) a user of one of said subscriber stations connecting a user device to said one of said subscriber stations and powering up said one of said subscriber stations;

(ii) said one of said subscriber stations broadcasting an announcement message across a corresponding connection to one of said base stations;

(iii) said one of said base stations within range receiving said announcement message;

(iv) said one of said base stations querying said subscriber database to determine if said subscriber database contains a subscriber record corresponding to said one of said subscriber stations and, if it does not, then said one of said base stations initiating an interactive response system call to said one of said subscriber stations across said corresponding connection;

(v) said user answering said call using said user device;

(vi) if said user has answered said call, initiating a session with said interactive response system to obtain provisioning information for services, features, and account information for said one of said subscriber stations in response to user input; and

(vii) said one base station transmitting said provisioning information to said subscriber database and said subscriber database updating its records by creating a subscriber record containing said provisioning information for said one of said subscriber stations.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said interactive response system is operable to provide technical support to said user.

21. The method as claimed in claim 19, further operable to provide program code from said one of said base stations to said one of said subscriber stations for execution on said one of said subscriber stations.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said provided program code comprises an update to program code already loaded into said one of said subscriber stations.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein necessary updates to program code loaded into said one of said subscriber stations are determined automatically and downloaded to said one of said subscriber stations.

24. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said program code is employed to implement optional features on said one of said subscriber stations.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein said optional features are offered to said one of said subscriber stations by said interactive response system.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein said optional features are offered for at least one of (i) a time-limited basis, and (ii) a finite number of uses.

27. The method as claimed in claim 19 wherein said interactive response session indicated in step (vi) configures said subscriber record for more than one user device connected to said one of said subscriber stations.

28. The method as claimed in claim 20, where said technical support is provided in step (vi), and wherein step (vi) comprises the sub-steps of:

(a) said one of said subscriber stations recording diagnostics information;

(b) said one of said subscriber stations transmitting said diagnostics information to said one of said base stations;

(c) said one of said base stations transmitting said diagnostics information to said interactive response system; and

(d) said interactive response system providing responses based upon said diagnostics information.

29. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the sub-steps (a) through (d) are repeated to obtain a final solution.

30. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein said diagnostics information relates to transception metrics.

31. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said announcement message includes a unique identifier corresponding to said one of said subscriber stations and said one of said base stations initiates an interactive response system call if upon querying said subscriber database it determines that said unique identifier does not correspond to a subscriber record in said subscriber database.

32. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said one of said subscriber stations upon powering up monitors a predefined channel for a welcome message from one of said base stations with range and does not broadcast said announcement message until said welcome message is received.