Method for improving charging criteria in a mobile telephone network

• US 6,115,600 A
• Filed: 06/20/1997
• Issued: 09/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Callahan Cellular LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Tuohino, Markku, Turkulainen, Veli, Janhonen, Risto
• Primary Examiner(s): CUMMING, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US08/875,462
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 455/405, 455/406, 455/408, 379/114, 379/112, 451/461
• US Class Current: 455/405
• 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 15/8033 location-dependent, e.g. business or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• 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 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7435 Location dependent, e.g. Bussiness or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

Charging criteria in a mobile telephone network may be improved by choosing one cell or a group of several cells of the mobile telephone network as a group of special cells. The cells of the group may be located in the areas of different MSC'"'"'s. When a call is being established, a service control point SCP located in an intelligent network analyses whether the location cell of a calling subscriber and that of a called subscriber belong to the group of special cells. Subscriber numbers of the subscribers may also be taken into account. The service control point SCP then applies a special charging criterion determined for the group. In a case where the location cell of the calling subscriber and that of the called subscriber are located in separate MSC areas (MSC1/SSP1, MSC2/SSP2), the information on the location cell of the called subscriber is transmitted to the service control point (SCP1) connected to the mobile switching center (MSC1/SSP1) of the calling subscriber either directly or in a message in accordance with signalling used between MSC'"'"'s.

Claims

1. A method for improving charging criteria in a cellular mobile telephone network wherein a service switching point SSP is connected to a mobile switching centre MSC for providing subscribers access to services of a service control point SCP, comprising

forming a group of special cells comprising at least one cell of the cells of the mobile telephone network,

forming a restricted subscriber group based on subscriber numbers,

forming a charging criterion service at the service control point SCP,

determining, at the service control point, based on cell information sent to the service control point from the service switching point during a call setup, whether a location cell of a subscriber participating in a call belongs to the group of special cells,

determining at the service control point whether a subscriber number of a subscriber participating in the call belongs to the restricted subscriber group, and

the service control point applying, according to the charging criterion service, a charging criterion determined for the group of cells to the call when at least one of the subscribers belongs to the group of cells or the subscriber number associated with the subscriber belongs to the restricted subscriber group.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information on the location cell of a called subscriber is transmitted in connecting the call.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information on the location cell of a called subscriber is transmitted in response to a request sent by the MSC of the calling subscriber in a call setup message during call setup.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information on the location cell of a called subscriber is inserted in a message sent by the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber once the called subscriber has responded to a paging message and wherein the information on the location cell is further forwarded from the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber to a service control point connected thereto.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information on the location cell of a called subscriber is inserted in a message sent by the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber once the called subscriber has answered a call, and wherein the information on the location cell is further forwarded from the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber to the service control point connected thereto.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a new message is formed for transmitting information on the location cell from the mobile switching centre of a called subscriber to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber, and wherein the information on the location cell is further forwarded from the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber to the service control point connected thereto.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information on the location cell of a called subscriber is transmitted from the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber to the service control point connected to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a message is transmitted containing the information on the location cell of a called subscriber from the service control point connected to the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber to the service control point connected to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information on the service switching point connected to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber and a service program related thereto are added to a call control message sent by said mobile switching centre to the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information on the service switching point connected to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber and a service program related thereto are inserted in a new message sent by said mobile switching centre to the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber.

11. A method as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein a new pair of messages are formed for transmitting the information on the service switching point connected to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber and a service program related thereto, in which

a first message contains an interrogation sent by the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber on whether the calling mobile switching centre requires the information on the location cell of the called subscriber, and

a second message is sent by the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber to the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber when the first message contains the information relating to the service control point and a related service program.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information on the location cell of a called subscriber describes a cell in which the called subscriber is located and the service control point connected to the mobile switching centre of the calling subscriber analyses whether said cell belongs to the group of cells.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein when the information on the location cell of the called subscriber provides a result of the analysis on whether the location cell of the called subscriber belongs to the group of cells, the service control point connected to the mobile switching centre of the called subscriber makes said analysis.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the numbers in the restricted subscriber group are private numbers, and the private number of the called subscriber is converted into a subscriber number at the beginning of call setup.

15. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a PBX exchange or part of a PSTN/ISDN network is set as a virtual cell, and, when the subscriber number analysis of at least one of the subscribers proves that the subscriber is a subscriber of the PBX exchange or a part of said PSTN/ISDN network, the charging criterion is applied.