RESOURCE AND UTILIZATION MANAGEMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICES

• US 20110250865A1
• Filed: 04/08/2011
• Published: 10/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Global Wireless Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: James Breitzman, Jonathan L. Brown
• Inventors: Breitzman, James, Brown, Jonathan L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,346,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/145 trading network capacity or selecting route based on tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5029 Service quality level-based billing, e.g. dependent on measured service level customer is charged more or less
• 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 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/49 Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/765 Linked or grouped accounts, e.g. of users or devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/7652 shared by users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8011 using class of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8022 Determining tariff or charge band

Abstract

Methods and systems for resource and utilization management of telecommunications devices within an enterprise, where the enterprise contracts for telecommunications service from one or more service providers, comprising components configured to receive quantity data corresponding to the amount of telecommunications service used by the enterprise per period into a resource management system including a microprocessor executing programmed instructions, group telecommunications devices into pools of shared use for the telecommunications service, the pools of shared use including one or more telecommunication devices, analyze for each telecommunications device telecommunications services plans available from the service providers to determine the total quantity of telecommunications service provided by the service providers and the cost per unit of telecommunications service, select selected telecommunications service plans for each telecommunications device that accommodate a target quantity of projected telecommunications service use per period, and subscribe the telecommunications devices to the selected service plans.

Claims

1. A method for resource and utilization management of telecommunications devices within an enterprise, where the enterprise contracts for telecommunications service from one or more service providers, comprising the steps of:

receiving quantity data corresponding to the amount of telecommunications service used by the enterprise per period into a resource management system including a microprocessor executing programmed instructions;

grouping telecommunications devices into pools of shared use for the telecommunications service, the pools of shared use including one or more telecommunication devices;

analyzing for each telecommunications device, with the resource management system, telecommunications services plans available from the service providers to determine the total quantity of telecommunications service provided by the service providers and the cost per unit of telecommunications service;

selecting, with the resource manager, selected telecommunications service plans for each telecommunications device that accommodate a target quantity of projected telecommunications service use per period; and

subscribing the telecommunications devices to the selected service plans.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the target quantity per period is based on aggregate usage history.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting to the resource manager the selected telecommunications service plans for each telecommunications device for which the enterprise is changing telecommunications service plan.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting to the telecommunications service provider the selected telecommunications service plans for each telecommunications device for which the enterprise is changing telecommunications service plan.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising repeating the method of claim 1 on a periodic basis to manage resource and utilization of telecommunications devices on an ongoing basis.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications service is wireless voice communication or wireless data communication.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein there are two or more service providers offering telecommunications service plans that are substitutes for each other, and selecting selected telecommunications service plans includes selecting the lowest cost telecommunications service plan offered by the service providers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein subscribing the telecommunications devices to the selected service plans includes updating a record associated with the telecommunications devices to reflect the tax jurisdiction where the telecommunications device is actually used.

5. The method of claim further comprising assigning, with a microprocessor executing programmed instructions, total applicable tax factor to the service plans, the total applicable tax factor reflecting a tax rate for telecommunication service assigned to each telecommunications device based on the tax jurisdiction of each telecommunications device, wherein selecting selected telecommunication service plans includes minimizing the total applicable tax factor.

10. A system for resource and utilization management of telecommunication devices an enterprise, comprising:

usage records from a service provider detailing telecommunication services used by enterprise members on their telecommunication devices;

a usage analyzer including a microprocessor executing programmed instructions to groups the telecommunication devices into resource sharing pooling groups for a given telecommunication service, with at least one telecommunication device per group;

where the usage analyzer is configured to compute a minimum quantity of telecommunication services per period required to be purchased;

a service plan optimizer including a microprocessor executing programmed instructions to compute an effective rate per unit of telecommunication services per period per plan; and

a resource planner including a microprocessor executing programmed instructions to;

select selected telecommunications service plans for each telecommunications device based on the effective rate, where the selected telecommunications service plans provide at least the minimum quantity of telecommunication services per period,

communicate to service providers requests to change a given telecommunications service plan, and

communicate to the resource manager instructions to assigns different telecommunications service plans to telecommunications devices.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the usage analyzer is programmed to use an account history to provide seasonally-adjusted telecommunication service requirements.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a service plan optimizer including a microprocessor with programmed instructions to determine an effective rate of cost per unit of telecommunication services per period per service plan per tax jurisdiction based on data corresponding to the cost of the service plans and an effective tax rate per telecommunications device, where the effective tax rate accounts for taxes to which the telecommunications devices will be subject; and

a resource planner including a microprocessor with programmed instructions to assign service plans to each telecommunications device by minimizing the effective rate of cost for each telecommunications device total unit cost including taxes.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the telecommunications service is wireless voice communication or wireless data communication.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising an electronic billing record for each telecommunications device.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the usage analyzer is programmed to generate an accounting of telecommunication service allocated to each telecommunications device based on each telecommunication device'"'"'s proportional share of the total telecommunication service purchased.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein taxes and surcharges are allocated to each telecommunications device proportional to the telecommunication service allocated to each telecommunications device.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the resource planner is programmed to output to the resource manager the telecommunications service allocated to each telecommunications device and an allocated telecommunications service cost calculated by dividing the telecommunications service allocated to each telecommunications device by the total cost of the telecommunications service.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the usage records include separately itemized details of supplemental telecommunications services independently ordered by enterprise members for their telecommunications devices.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the usage records include usage data from two or more service providers offering substitute telecommunications services.

20. The system in claim 10, therein the resource planner is programmed to electronically enumerate telecommunications devices and new service plan subscriptions.

21. The system in claim 10, wherein the resource planner includes instructions to update the tax jurisdiction of a given telecommunications device to the service provider to reflect where the telecommunications device is actually being used.