VERIFICATION OF NETWORK ACTIVITY/USAGE DATA

• US 20160072961A1
• Filed: 04/08/2013
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: FORMO, Joakim
• Granted Patent: US 9,661,150 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/60 based on actual use of network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports

Abstract

There is provided verification of network activity/usage data between a user equipment and a service provider server. The verification is performed in the service provider server. A first set of network activity/usage data for a user account is acquired from a user equipment. A second set of network activity/usage data for the user account is acquired from a subscription account of the user account. It is determined if a second post in the second set of network activity/usage data is related to a first post in the first set of network activity/usage data. If so, first data of the first post is compared to second data of the second post. The second post is updated with the first data in a case the first data does not match the second data.

Claims

1. A method for verifying network activity/usage data between a user equipment and a service provider server, the method being performed in the service provider server, the method comprising:

acquiring a first set of network activity/usage data for a user account from a user equipment;

acquiring a second set of network activity/usage data for said user account from a subscription account of said user account; and

determining if a second post in said second set of network activity/usage data is related to a first post in said first set of network activity/usage data, and if so;

comparing first data of said first post to second data of said second post; and

updating said second post with said first data in a case said first data does not match said second data.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, in a case said second post is not related to any post in said first set of network activity/usage data:

updating said second post by removing said second post from said second set of network activity/usage data.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

relating said second post to a subscription item of the user account.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the subscription item is related to a billable network subscription service of the user account, the billable network subscription service being related to a home network of the user account.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

denoting said subscription item as a verified subscription item in a case said first data does match said second data.

6. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

updating said subscription item in response to said second post being updated.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network activity/usage data is indicative of the amount of data traffic and/or voice traffic between the user equipment and a base transceiver station, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB, and/or an access point.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second set of network activity/usage data relates to data traffic and/or voice traffic between the user equipment and at least one network node in a home network of said user account.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second set of network activity/usage data relates to data traffic and/or voice traffic between the user equipment and a network node in a network outside the home network of said user account.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second set of network activity/usage data is acquired from a service provider database of a network outside the home network of said user account.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second set of network activity/usage data is acquired from a database of a roaming broker.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of network activity/usage data is acquired from an activity log database of the user equipment.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first set of network activity/usage data is enclosed in an Internet Protocol, IP, message.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a magnitude of a difference between the first data and the second data; and

generating an error event message in a case said magnitude is larger than a predetermined threshold value.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

requesting a fraud detection software application to be initiated in the user equipment in response to the error event message having been generated.

16. A service provider server for verifying network activity/usage data between a user equipment and the service provider server, the service provider server comprising:

an input/output, I/O, interface arranged to acquire a first set of network activity/usage data for a user account from a user equipment;

the I/O interface further being arranged to acquire a second set of network activity/usage data for said user account from a subscription account of said user account; and

a processor arranged to determine if a second post in said second set of network activity/usage data is related to a first post in said first set of network activity/usage data, and if so to;

compare first data of said first post to second data of said second post; and

to

update said second post with said first data in a case said first data does not match said second data.

17. A computer program for verifying network activity/usage data between a user equipment and a service provider server, the computer program comprising computer program code which, when run on the service provider server, causes the service provider server to:

acquire a first set of network activity/usage data for a user account from a user equipment;

acquire a second set of network activity/usage data for said user account from a subscription account of said user account; and

determine if a second post in said second set of network activity/usage data is related to a first post in said first set of network activity/usage data, and if so;

compare first data of said first post to second data of said second post; and

update said second post with said first data in a case said first data does not match said second data.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer program according to claim 17 and a non-transitory computer readable medium on which the computer program is stored.