Marketing control program

• US 6,011,837 A
• Filed: 06/22/1998
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BellSouth Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Malik, Dale W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US09/102,236
• Time in Patent Office: 561 Days
• Field of Search: 379/111, 379/112, 379/114, 379/115, 379/116, 379/120, 379/121, 379/124, 379/126, 379/127, 379/196, 379/197, 379/207, 379/183, 379/154
• US Class Current: 379/114.1
• 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: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

A method and system for dynamically managing billing information for telecommunications service application use at the service application level rather than at the billing system level. Each service application, such as a call forwarding service application, is programmed with application level data records in which are stored the parameters of a given promotion, such as number of free uses, the start time and stop time of the promotion or rental period, etc. Each time a service application is subsequently used, the customer'"'"'s use of the service application is logged in a customer data record. The customer'"'"'s use is then compared to a corresponding application level data record. Based on this comparison, a billing record is provided to the billing system which instructs the billing system to either bill or not to bill the customer for the particular use of the service application. No adjustment of the billing system is required for particular service application use because the billing system will receive a billing record with instructs it to bill or not to bill. A record for each use of the service may be placed on the customer'"'"'s bill, but only those uses for which the customer is to be charged will have a corresponding cost entry.

Claims

1. A method for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising the steps of:

creating a first record for containing information representing use parameters of the service application;

creating a second record for containing information associated with use of the service application;

updating information contained in the second record upon use of the service application;

comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record; and

in response to the step of comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record, determining whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

if a determination is made to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should be generated;

if a determination is made not to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should not be generated; and

sending the billing record to a billing system.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

deleting the second record at a stop time, the stop time being a use parameter represented by information contained in the first record.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of updating the second record upon use of the service application includes incrementing a count of uses of the service application after each use of the service application.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of comparing the information contained in the second record to the information contained in the first record includes comparing the count of uses of the service application to a maximum number of available uses represented by information contained in the first record.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

deleting the second record on the next use of the service application after the maximum number of available uses has been reached.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of updating the second record upon use of the service application includes incrementing a count of the periods of use of the service application after each use of the service application.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of comparing the information contained in the second record to the information contained in the first record includes comparing the count of the periods of use of the service application to a maximum number of available periods of use represented by information contained in the first record.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

deleting the second record on the next use of the service application after the maximum number of available periods of use of the service application has been reached.

10. In a telecommunications system, a method for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising the steps of:

receiving a communication requiring the service application;

determining whether use of the service application is governed by a set of parameters represented by information contained in a billing adjustment record;

if the use of the service application is governed by the set of parameters, creating a customer history log for containing information associated with the use of the service application;

updating information contained in the customer history log for the use of the service application by the communication requiring the service application; and

comparing the information contained in the customer history log with the set of parameters to determine whether to generate a charge for use of the service application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

if a determination is made to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should be generated;

if a determination is made not to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should not be generated; and

sending the billing record to a billing system of the telecommunications system.

12. In an intelligent switched telecommunications network, a system for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising:

a telecommunications network component being operative

to create a first record for containing information representing use parameters of the service application;

to create a second record for containing information associated with use of the service application;

to update information contained in the second record upon use of the service application;

to compare information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record; and

in response to step of comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record, to determine whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the telecommunications network component is further operative

to generate a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should be generated, if a determination is made to generate a charge;

to generate a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should not be generated, if a determination is made not to generate a charge; and

to send the billing record to a billing system.

14. A system for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising:

a telecommunications network component being operative

to create a first data structure having a first data field containing data representing a maximum number of available uses of the service application;

to create a second data structure having a second data field containing data representing a count of the number of uses of the service application;

to write data to the second data field to increment the count of the number of uses upon a use of the service application;

to compare the data contained in the second data field of the second data structure to the data contained in the first data field of the first data structure;

in response to comparing the data contained in the second data field of the second data structure to the data contained in the first data field of the first data structure, to determine whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application;

if a determination is made to generate a charge, the telecommunications network component being operative to generate a third data structure having a third data field containing data representing an instruction to generate a charge; and

if a determination is made not to generate a charge, the telecommunications network component being operative to generate a third data structure having a third data field containing data representing an instruction not to generate a charge.