METHODS AND APPARATUS TO MONITOR SUBSCRIBER ACTIVITY

• US 20100080369A1
• Filed: 10/01/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Company (US) LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: Nielsen Company (US) LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Inventors: Hurst, Jennifer Ann, Stoffel, Paul, Fogle, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,837,699 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/112.10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42297 with number portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/005 Personal communication services, e.g. provisions for portability of subscriber numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to respond to monitor subscriber activity are disclosed. An example method includes receiving a first set of client telephone number (TN) data associated with a client and a current time period, and receiving a second set of client TN data associated with a prior time period. The example method also includes receiving a first set of subscriber activity data associated with the current time period, identifying a TN that is in the first set of subscriber activity data and is absent from at least one of the first or second sets of client TN data, and identifying the TN with at least one of a new inroad for a competitor or a new inroad for the client based on at least one activity code from the first set of subscriber activity data.

Claims

1. A method to identify subscriber activity, comprising:

receiving a first set of client telephone number (TN) data associated with a client and a current time period;

receiving a second set of client TN data associated with a prior time period;

receiving a first set of subscriber activity data associated with the current time period;

identifying a TN that is in the first set of subscriber activity data and is absent from at least one of the first or second sets of client TN data; and

identifying the TN with at least one of a new inroad for a competitor or a new inroad for the client based on at least one activity code from the first set of subscriber activity data.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising querying a local exchange and routing guide to determine ownership of a TN block associated with the TN when the at least one activity code comprises at least one of an add-event or a change-event.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, further comprising identifying the TN as a new inroad for a competitor when the TN block is not owned by the client.

4. A method as defined in claim 2, further comprising querying a local number portability data source to determine an operating carrier name (OCN) of the TN when the TN block is owned by the client.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising identifying the TN as a new inroad for the client when the OCN is indicative of client ownership.

6. A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising identifying the TN as a new inroad for a competitor when the OCN is indicative of competitor ownership.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising identifying the TN as a disconnect when the at least one activity code comprises a disconnect event.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising determining whether the TN is present within a second set of subscriber activity data, present within the first set of client TN data, and absent from the second set of client TN data.

9. A method as defined in claim 8, further comprising querying a local exchange and routing guide to determine ownership of a TN block associated with the TN when the TN is not present within a predetermined number of subscriber activity data sets associated with prior time periods.

10. A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising identifying the TN as a competitive gain for the client when the TN block ownership is associated with a competitor.

11. A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising identifying the TN as a new inroad for the client when disconnect activity codes are absent from the predetermined number of subscriber activity data sets associated with prior time periods.

12. A method as defined in claim 8, further comprising querying a local exchange and routing guide to determine ownership of a TN block associated with the TN when the TN is present within a predetermined number of subscriber activity data sets associated with prior time periods.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising identifying the TN as a client winback when the TN block ownership is associated with the client.

14. A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising identifying the TN as a competitive gain for the client when the TN block ownership is associated with a competitor.

15. A method to identify a telecommunication service provider, comprising:

receiving a set of client telephone number (TN) data comprising a plurality of TNs;

initiating a local number portability query of each of the plurality of TNs;

receiving an operating carrier name (OCN) for each of the plurality of TNs; and

identifying the service provider associated with the at least one of the plurality of TNs when a match is found between the OCN and a mapping database.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein the service provider is associated with a carrier identifier in the mapping database.

17. A method as defined in claim 15, further comprising:

identifying a market identifier associated with at least one of the plurality of TNs;

determining a match between the market identifier and the OCN in the mapping database; and

associating the at least one of the plurality of TNs with the service provider when the market identifier and the OCN match.

18. A method as defined in claim 15, further comprising:

identifying a zip code associated with the at least one of the plurality of TNs;

determining a match between the zip code and the OCN in the mapping database; and

associating the at least one of the plurality of TNs with the service provider when the zip code and the OCN match.

19. A method as defined in claim 15, further comprising:

identifying a local routing number (LRN) associated with the at least one of the plurality of TNs;

determining a match between the LRN and a corresponding service provider in the mapping database; and

associating the at least one of the plurality of TNs associated with the LRN with the corresponding service provider when the LRN and the corresponding service provider match.

20. An apparatus to identify subscriber activity, comprising:

a customer data retriever to retrieve client telephone number (TN) data, the client TN data comprising a current time period data set and a prior time period data set;

a subscriber activity system interface to retrieve subscriber activity data; and

a process engine to identify at least one TN that is present in the subscriber activity data and absent from at least one of the current or prior time period data sets of the client TN data.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 20, further comprising a local exchange and routing guide (LERG) interface to query a LERG database, the LERG interface to initiate a query in response to the subscriber activity system interface identifying at least one of an add-event or a change-event associated with the TN, the query to determine ownership of a TN block associated with the TN.

22. An apparatus as defined in claim 21, further comprising a local number portability (LNP) engine to query an LNP database, the LNP engine to initiate a query in response to determining that the TN block is owned by the client, the query to determine an operating carrier name (OCN) associated with the TN.

23. An apparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein the process engine identifies the TN as a new inroad for the client when the OCN is indicative of client ownership.

24. An apparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein the process engine identifies the TN as a new inroad for a competitor when the OCN is indicative of competitor ownership.

25. An apparatus to identify a telecommunication service provider name, comprising:

a customer data retriever to retrieve a set of client telephone number (TN) data comprising a plurality of TNs;

a local number portability (LNP) engine to determine an operating carrier name (OCN) associated with the plurality of TNs; and

a carrier mapping engine to identify a match between the OCN and the service provider name in a mapping database.

26. An apparatus as defined in claim 25, wherein the carrier mapping engine identifies a market identifier associated with at least one of the plurality of TNs, and associates the at least one of the plurality of TNs with the service provider when the market identifier matches the OCN.

27. An apparatus as defined in claim 25, wherein the carrier mapping engine identifies a zip code associated with at least one of the plurality of TNs, and associates the at least one of the plurality of TNs with the service provider when the zip code matches the OCN.

28. An apparatus as defined in claim 25, wherein the carrier mapping engine identifies a local routing number (LRN) associated with at least one of the plurality of TNs, and associates the at least one of the plurality of TNs with the service provider when the LRN matches a service provider identifier in the mapping database.

29-47. -47. (canceled)