Interconnect traffic tracking

• US 6,298,123 B1
• Filed: 05/07/1999
• Issued: 10/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: OL Security LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Nolting, Thomas A., Howes, William A., Dion, Karen
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARNIE, REXFORD N
• Application Number:
  US09/306,636
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: 379/112, 379/113, 379/133, 379/134, 379/34, 379/111, 379/221, 379/220, 379/229, 379/230, 379/115, 379/114, 379/207, 379/219
• US Class Current: 379/111
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls

Abstract

Local exchange carriers (LECs) face increasingly stiff competition. The LECs provide interconnect services for many of the potentially competing carriers. To forecast business trends and manage its network, any carrier, particularly a LEC, needs to effectively estimate the size and revenue generating potentials of the business of the potentially competing carriers. In accord with the invention, monitor equipment on the one carrier'"'"'s network forms detailed records from call related messages produced by that network for interconnect call traffic with another carrier'"'"'s network. These records are loaded into a relational database. Preferably, a data preparation routine enhances the data, for example, by translating certain codes into text and by spreading usage data over predefined time intervals. An on-line analytical processing program runs one or more applications to analyze the interconnect traffic. The analysis provides traffic data regarding the current size and/or changes in the customer base of the other carrier. The analysis also provides estimates of different types of traffic processed by the other carrier'"'"'s network, for example to estimate normal telephone grade services and higher rate services offered by the other carrier.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

capturing management data messages communicated by a first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network during processing of calls associated with a second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network during a predefined study period;

creating a record of each of a plurality of calls interconnected between the first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network and the second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network during the predefined study period from the captured management data messages communicated by the first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network; and

compiling a list of addresses of a set of customers from the records of the calls, wherein the set of customers consists of customers of the second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the step of capturing comprises trapping signaling messages exchanged between the first carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network and the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network during processing of each interconnected call.

3. A method as in claim 2, wherein the signaling messages comprise common channel interoffice signaling messages.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein:

the first carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network comprises a switched telephone network; and

the interface comprises a trunk connection to a tandem switching office of the switched telephone network.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein the addresses comprise telephone numbers associated with customers of the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network.

6. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

generating at least one aggregate traffic parameter with respect to addresses of customers of the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network; and

identifying addresses of customers of the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network for which the aggregate traffic parameter meets a predetermined condition signifying a particular pattern of traffic.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein:

the parameter is a measure of usage during an interval; and

the predetermined condition comprises a threshold value signifying a high amount of usage during the interval.

8. A method as in claim 7, wherein the interval corresponds to the predefined study period.

9. A method as in claim 7, wherein the interval comprises a peak hour.

10. A method as in claim 7 wherein the measure of usage relates to usage on incoming calls.

11. A method as in claim 1, further comprising identifying a subset of the addresses as candidate addresses, wherein each one of the identified addresses is included in the subset as a candidate address if number of calls and total amount of connect time for calls to the one identified address satisfies criteria indicating a target traffic pattern.

12. A method as in claim 11, wherein:

the criteria comprises a relationship between the number of calls and the total connect time for calls to the one identified address signifying a long average hold time; and

the target traffic pattern relates to data calls interconnected to the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network.

13. A method as in claim 11, further comprising:

for each candidate address in the subset, analyzing records of calls interconnected from the second telecommunication network to determine if there were any outgoing calls from a station associated with the candidate address; and

deleting any numbers from the subset if there were any outgoing calls from a station associated therewith.

14. A method as in claim 1, wherein the step of processing comprises:

loading the records of interconnect calls into a table in a database;

enhancing the records in the database table;

loading the enhanced records into an on-line analytical processing system; and

running a pre-defined study application in the on-line analytical processing system to present specified analytical study results, including the list, based on the enhanced records.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein the step of enhancing comprises translating at least one item of information from the records in the database table into descriptive information using external reference data.

16. A method as in claim 14, wherein the step of enhancing comprises spreading usage data contained in the records in the database table of calls extending over a plurality of predetermined intervals into bins associated with the predetermined intervals.

17. A method as in claim 14, wherein:

the database comprises a relational database; and

the on-line analytical processing system comprises a multi-dimensional database.

18. A method as in claim 1, wherein the first carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network comprises a telephone network of a local exchange carrier.

19. A method as in claim 18, wherein the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network comprises a network selected from the group consisting essentially of:

an interexchange carrier'"'"'s network, a cellular provider'"'"'s network, and a competing local exchange carrier'"'"'s network.

20. A method of enabling an exchange carrier to analyze a competing carrier, comprising the steps of:

trapping signaling messages exchanged between a telephone network of the exchange carrier and a telephone network of the competing carrier during processing of calls associated with the competing carrier'"'"'s telephone network by the exchange carrier'"'"'s telephone network;

processing the trapped signaling messages to form call detail records for each of a plurality of calls associated with the competing carrier'"'"'s telephone network processed by the exchange carrier'"'"'s telephone network; and

processing the call detail records to form a list of identifiers associated with a set of customers, the set of customers consisting of customers of the competing carrier.

21. A method as in claim 20, wherein the identifiers comprise telephone numbers assigned to the customers within the competing carrier'"'"'s telephone network.

22. A method as in claim 20, further comprising repeating the steps of trapping signaling messages and processing the trapped signaling messages to form additional call detail records after a predetermined interval, and measuring a change in the list of identifiers associated with customers of the competing carrier from the list and said additional call detail records.

23. A method as in claim 22, wherein the change comprises a gain of customers by the competing carrier.

24. A method as in claim 22, wherein the change comprises a loss of customers by the competing carrier.

25. A method as in claim 20, wherein the trapped signaling messages comprise common channel interoffice signaling messages.

26. A method of enabling an exchange carrier to analyze a competing carrier, comprising the steps of:

trapping signaling messages exchanged between a telephone network of the exchange carrier and a telephone network of the competing carrier during processing of calls associated with the competing carrier'"'"'s telephone network by the exchange carrier'"'"'s telephone network;

processing the trapped signaling messages to form call detail records for each of a plurality of calls associated with the competing carrier'"'"'s telephone network processed by the exchange carrier'"'"'s telephone network;

processing the call detail records to derive aggregate traffic data for calls to or from network identifiers associated with customers of the competing carrier; and

analyzing the aggregate traffic data to form a list of a plurality of the network identifiers for which the aggregate traffic data shows a traffic pattern associated with a particular type of service offered through the competing carrier'"'"'s telephone network.

27. A method as in claim 26, wherein the step of analyzing comprises recognizing identifiers of customers of the competing carrier for which aggregate traffic data associated with each of the recognized identifiers satisfies the following conditions:

high number of incoming calls to the identifier; and

no outgoing calls associated with the identifier.

28. A method as in claim 27, wherein each of the recognized identifiers further satisfies the following conditions:

high aggregate usage associated with the identifier; and

long average hold time for calls associated with the identifier.

29. A method as in claim 26, wherein the step of analyzing comprises recognizing identifiers of customers of the competing carrier for which aggregate traffic data associated with each of the recognized identifiers satisfies the following conditions:

short average hold time for calls associated with the identifier; and

incoming and outgoing calls associated with the identifier.

30. A method as in claim 29, wherein each of the recognized identifiers further satisfies the following conditions:

high number of calls associated with the identifier; and

high aggregate usage associated with the identifier.

31. A method as in claim 26, wherein the trapped signaling messages comprise common channel interoffice signaling messages.

32. A system comprising:

a monitoring system for association with a first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network for capturing management data messages communicated during processing of calls to a second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network by the first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network;

a processor for receiving the captured management data messages from the monitoring system and for compiling a detailed record of each of a plurality of interconnect calls between the first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network and the second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network from the captured management data messages;

a database for storing the detailed records of the interconnect calls in a table; and

a processing system, operating on the database table, for processing the detailed records of the interconnect calls to form a list of identifiers associated with a set of customers, the set of customers consisting of customers of the second exchange carrier.

33. A system as in claim 32, wherein:

the database comprises a relational database; and

the processing system comprises a multidimensional database.

34. A system as in claim 33, wherein the processing system further comprises a study application running on the multi-dimensional database, for aggregating data indicative of a predetermined characteristic of the interconnect traffic.

35. A system as in claim 32, wherein the monitoring system comprises monitors, coupled to interoffice signaling links between the first carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network and the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network, for supplying captured interoffice signaling messages to the processor.

36. A system as in claim 35, wherein the monitors trap signaling system 7 protocol messages.

37. A system comprising:

a monitoring system for association with a first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network for capturing management data messages communicated during processing of calls to a second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network by the first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network;

a processor for receiving the captured management data messages from the monitoring system and for compiling a detailed record of each of a plurality of interconnect calls between the first exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network and the second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network from the captured management data messages;

a database for storing the detailed records of the interconnect calls in a table; and

a processing system, operating on the database table, for;

(a) processing the detailed records of the interconnect calls to derive aggregate traffic data for calls to or from network identifiers associated with customers of the second exchange carrier, and

(b) analyzing the aggregate traffic data to form a list of a plurality of the network identifiers for which the aggregate traffic data shows a traffic pattern associated with a particular type of service offered through the second exchange carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network.

38. A system as in claim 37, wherein:

the database comprises a relational database; and

the processing system comprises a multi-dimensional database.

39. A system as in claim 38, wherein the processing system further comprises a study application running on the multi-dimensional database, for analyzing the aggregate data to detect the pattern.

40. A system as in claim 37, wherein the monitoring system comprises monitors, coupled to interoffice signaling links between the first carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network and the second carrier'"'"'s telecommunication network, for supplying captured interoffice signaling messages to the processor.

41. A system as in claim 40, wherein the monitors trap signaling system 7 protocol messages.