SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SENDING THRESHOLD NOTIFICATION IN REAL TIME

• US 20110151831A1
• Filed: 12/22/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: PATTABIRAMAN, Ravikumar
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/405
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1417 Advice of charge with threshold, e.g. user indicating maximum cost
• 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 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/835 Time or frequency of notifications, e.g. Advice of Charge [AoC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8353 during the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/85 characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/851 Determined tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/852 Low balance or limit reached
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/81 Notifying aspects, e.g. notifications or displays to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8104 Time or frequency of notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8112 during the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/815 Notification when a specific condition, service or event is met
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8154 Determined tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8158 Low balance or limit reached
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/82 Advice-of-Charge [AOC], i.e. notify subscriber of charges/cumulative charge; meter at the substation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A mobile station user is informed of reaching of at least one threshold level of data usage via a wireless communication network in real time. An account of the mobile station user has a maximum data plan limit defined by a user'"'"'s plan and a data usage balance reflecting an amount of data usage remaining under the plan. When required data usage corresponding to requested data session does not cross the threshold level, all slice of data for the data session is allocated. When required data usage corresponding to the requested data session crosses the threshold level, reduced slice of data is allocated. Data usage is counted in real time during the data session, and a notification of reaching the at least one threshold level of data is sent to the mobile station in real time, at the time when data usage under the mobile station user'"'"'s account reaches the at least one threshold level.

Claims

1. A method for notifying a mobile station user of reaching of a notification threshold level of data usage via a wireless communication network, an account of the mobile station user having a maximum data plan limit defined by a user'"'"'s plan and a data usage balance reflecting an amount of data usage remaining under the plan, the method comprising steps of:

responsive to one or more data sessions of the user'"'"'s mobile station, receiving requests for allocation of a slice of data usage from the data usage balance under the user'"'"'s plan, from a node of a mobile wireless communication network, wherein data communication of the user'"'"'s mobile station are routed through and monitored through the node;

in response to each request, determining if data usage corresponding to the requested slice would cross the notification threshold level of data usage;

for a request where the data usage corresponding to the requested slice would not cross the notification threshold level of data usage, allocating the requested data slice and a default data slice threshold, and notifying allocation of the requested slice to the node as a quota for data usage of the mobile station;

for a request where the data usage corresponding to the requested slice would cross the threshold level of data usage, allocating a reduced data slice equal to the difference between a starting value of previously consumed data under the user'"'"'s plan, and notifying allocation of the reduced data slice to the node as a quota for data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station during a respective data session;

upon receiving a message from the node indicating that data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station during the respective data session has consumed the data slice or the reduced data slice, so that data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station has reached the threshold, sending a notification of reaching the threshold to the mobile station in real time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold is set by the mobile station user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold includes multiple thresholds, and multiple notifications of reaching the multiple thresholds are sent to the mobile station in real time, at the time when the data usage has reached the multiple thresholds.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is in a form of a Short Message Service (SMS) message, a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message, or a voice message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is sent in real time when the data usage reaches the notification threshold level of data without a time gap between the time at which the threshold is reached and the time of sending the notification.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data usage is counted by a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) to route traffic flowed between the mobile station and the mobile wireless communication network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold is less than the maximum data plan limit.

14. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the notification is in a form of a Short Message Service (SMS) message, a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message, or a voice message.

17. The processor-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the threshold is less than the maximum data plan limit.

8. A system for notifying a mobile station user of reaching of a notification threshold level of data via a wireless communication network, an account of the mobile station user having a maximum data plan limit defined by a user'"'"'s plan and a data usage balance reflecting an amount of data usage remaining under the plan, the system receiving a request for allocation of a data slice from the data usage balance in response to a request for a data session from a node of the wireless communication network, the system comprising:

a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) that routes traffic including the request for allocation of a slice of data and the data session, counts amount of data transmitted between the mobile station and the resource in real time, and updates the data usage balance reflecting the counted amount of data transmitted in real time; and

a usage control server that, in response to the data session request, determines if data usage corresponding to the requested slice would cross the threshold level of data usage, and decides to send a threshold notification at the time when the data usage balance reaches the threshold level of data, wherein the usage control server allocates the requested slice and notifies allocation of the requested slice to the node as a quota for data usage of the mobile station for a request where the data usage corresponding to the requested slice would not cross the threshold level of data usage, and the usage control server allocates a reduced data slice equal to the difference between a starting value of previously consumed data under the user'"'"'s plan and the threshold, and notifies allocation of the reduced data slice to the node as a quota for data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station during a respective data session for a request where the data usage corresponding to the requested slice would cross the reduced notification threshold level of data usage; and

a Customer Communication Enterprise Service (CCES) server for sending the threshold notification to the mobile station in response to the usage control server'"'"'s decision to send the notification.

9. The system of claim 8, further including:

an Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) server for receiving a request for access to data communication services provided by the wireless network from the PDSN and permitting the access to the data communication services by referring to profile of the mobile station user.

10. The system of claim 8, further including:

an Enhanced Service Manager (ESM) gateway connected to the usage control server for providing an interface for setting the threshold level of data by the mobile station user.

11. A processor-readable medium tangibly embodying a set of processor-executable instructions, wherein execution of the instructions causes a processor to perform operations for notifying a mobile station user of reaching a notification threshold level of data via a wireless communication network, an account of the mobile station user having a maximum data plan limit defined by a user'"'"'s plan and a data usage balance reflecting an amount of data usage remaining under the plan, the operations comprising:

responsive to one or more data sessions of the user'"'"'s mobile station, receiving requests for allocation of a slice of data usage from the data usage balance under the user'"'"'s pre-paid plan, from a node of a mobile wireless communication network, wherein data communication of the user'"'"'s mobile station are routed through and monitored through the node;

in response to each request, determining if data usage corresponding to the requested slice would cross the notification threshold level of data usage;

for a request where the data usage corresponding to the requested slice would not cross the notification threshold level of data usage, allocating the requested slice and notifying allocation of the requested slice to the node as a quota for data usage of the mobile station;

for a request where the data usage corresponding to the requested slice would cross the threshold level of data usage, allocating a reduced slice equal to the difference between a starting value of previously consumed data under the user'"'"'s pre-paid plan and the threshold, and notifying allocation of the reduced slice to the node as a quota for data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station during a respective data session;

upon receiving a message from the node indicating that data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station during the respective data session has consumed the reduced slice, so that data usage of the user'"'"'s mobile station has reached the threshold, sending a notification of reaching the threshold to the mobile station in real time.

12. The processor-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the threshold level of data is set by the mobile station user.

13. The processor-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the threshold includes multiple thresholds, and multiple notifications of reaching the multiple thresholds are sent to the mobile station in real time, at the time when the data usage has reached the multiple thresholds.

15. The processor-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the notification is sent in real time when the data usage reaches the threshold level of data without a time gap between the time at which the threshold is reached and the time of sending the notification.

16. The processor-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the data usage is counted by a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) to route traffic flowed between the mobile station and the mobile wireless communication network.