Real-time billing system for a call processing system

• US 5,867,566 A
• Filed: 08/27/1996
• Issued: 02/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Global Crossing Telecommunications Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Global Crossing Advanced Card Services, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hogan, Steven J., Murdock, Douglas R., Feltz, Kristi T.
• Primary Examiner(s): LOOMIS, PAUL A
• Application Number:
  US08/709,211
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 379/111, 379/112, 379/113, 379/114, 379/115, 379/119, 379/120, 379/121, 379/122, 379/133, 379/137, 379/135, 379/136, 379/260, 379/265, 379/266, 379/245, 379/246, 379/116 , 379/127
• US Class Current: 379/115.01
• 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 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/47 Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0148 Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0062 Provisions for network management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A system and method for processing telephone calls and providing enhanced services is presented. The call processing system includes a billing system that processes billing information records for completed calls. The billing system applies rate information stored in a rate file to the completed call parameters contained within the billing information record. Derived billing information is subsequently stored in a toll file. The billing system also uses rate information stored in the rate file to respond, in real-time, to rate quote requests. Upon receipt of a rate quote request from a requesting system, the billing system retrieves rate information from the rate file, calculates a cost/minute of a desired call, and returns a rate quote to the requesting system.

Claims

1. A billing system for a call processing system, the billing system comprising:

a rate file for storing rate information for a call received by the call processing system; and

a rating system configured to receive a billing information record associated with a call, calculating billing information from said rate information stored in said rate file, and storing said billing information in a toll file, said rating system further configured to receive a rate quote request that is sent by a requesting system prior to completion of a call, calculating a rate quote from said rate information stored in said rate file, and sending said rate quote to said requesting system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said billing information record received by said rating system comprises a calling party number, a called party number, a start time of said call and a termination time of said call.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said rate quote request comprises a calling party number and a called party number.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein said start time of said call includes a start of a wholesale timing interval, wherein the start of said wholesale timing interval is the time said call enters the call processing system, a matrix switch, or an operator console.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein said start time of said call includes a start of a retail timing interval, wherein the start of said retail timing interval is the time said call is completed.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said rate file stores rate information for retail and wholesale customers, said rate information based on factors including distance, time of day and duration of said call.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said toll file includes information on a wholesale cost of said call, a retail cost of said call, taxes on said call and information on how the stored rates for said call were computed.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a rate file queue connected to said rating system for buffering the billing information by said rating system to said toll file; and

a back end between said rate file queue and said toll file, said back end monitoring said rate file queue and storing the billing information stored in said rate file queue in said toll file.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the billing information is returned to said network control processor if said rate file queue is full.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a tax database; and

a tax module, wherein said tax module computes tax information for said call based on tax rate information in said tax database and sends said tax information to said rating system.

11. In a billing system that stores billing information for completed calls in a toll file, a transaction based method for providing real-time billing information, the method comprising the step of:

(1) receiving from a requesting system prior to completion of a call a billing information record including a rate quote request;

(2) retrieving rate information for said call from a rate file;

(3) calculating a rate quote from said rate information stored in said rate file; and

(4) sending said rate quote to said requesting system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step (1) comprises the step of receiving a rate quote request that comprises a calling party number and a called party number.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said step (1) comprises the step of receiving a rate quote request that comprises a customer identification.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said step (2) comprises the step of retrieving rate information from said rate file that is based on factors including distance and time of day.

15. A billing system for a call processing system, the billing system comprising:

a rate file for storing rate information for a call received by the call processing system; and

a rating system configured to receive a billing information record associated with a call, calculating billing information from said rate information stored in said rate file, and storing said billing information in a toll file,

wherein said billing information record sent to said rating system comprises a start of a wholesale time interval.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the start of said wholesale time interval is the time when a call audio portion of said call enters the call processing system.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the start of said wholesale time interval is the time when a call audio portion of said call enters an operator console.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the start of said wholesale time interval is the time when a call audio portion of said call enters a matrix switch.