Telephone toll service with advertising

• US 4,850,007 A
• Filed: 06/25/1987
• Issued: 07/18/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: Marino, Patrick J., Netravali, Arun N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Faber, Alan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tomassini, James E.
• Application Number:
  US07/066,917
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67, 379/70, 379/84, 379/87, 379/112, 379/114, 379/121, 379/257
• US Class Current: 379/114.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2083 Confirmation by serviced party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0192 Sponsored, subsidised calls via advertising, e.g. calling cards with ads or connecting to special ads, free calling time by purchasing goods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0016 Arrangements providing connection between exchanges

Abstract

There is disclosed a system for providing an economical telephone toll service in which a telephone subscriber selects the economical service by, for example, sending an appropriate signal, and then dials his directory assistance call or other telephone toll call. After the caller'"'"'s options are determined and typically before signaling for the call is commenced, a recorded-announcement of an aural or visual nature is connected to the subscriber'"'"'s line, the announcement consisting of at least one advertisement. The advertisements are selected from a databank according to some predetermined technique of selection, which may include any number of factors or features to make the service attractive to subscribers and of a nature to make the service also sufficiently rewarding to advertisers. After the initial delay, usually after the advertising announcement is completed, the toll call and/or directory assistance call is processed as usual but at a reduced rate of charge or with automatic credit being given to the customer'"'"'s account.

Claims

1. A telephone toll system of the type in which a local telephone station is connected to the telephone network through at least one telephone switching system including means (ANI) for automatically establishing identification of the calling number and means for automatically determining charges for at least one toll service, comprising

means (13) including subscriber test equipment for determining whether the calling number should receive a reduced rate or credit with respect to receiving recorded advertising and including billing equipment for generating the corresponding billing or credit, and

means responsive to a positive signal from the subscriber test equipment of the determining means indicating that the calling party should receive said reduced rate or credit for delaying access to the toll service for a predetermined period and means for delivering the recorded advertising to the local telephone station (11);

said system being characterized in that

the subscriber test equipment includes means for generating in addition to the positive signal a signal selecting the type of recorded advertising to be received responsive to a preference specific to the calling number.

2. A telephone toll system of the type claimed in claim 1 further caracterized in that the selecting signal generating means is interactive with the local telephone station.

3. A telephone toll system of the type claimed in claim 2 further characterized in that the telephone toll service is directory assistance calling.

4. A telephone toll system of the type claimed in claim 2 characterized in that the telephone toll service is long-distance calling.