Method of billing in an abbreviated dialing service

• US 6,850,605 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2001
• Issued: 02/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Teleholdings Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ameritech Corp. (AT&T, Inc.), SBC Services, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tiliks, Dianna Inara, Book, Nancy Ann, McBlain, Thomas Joseph, Gruchala, Carol Shifrin, Blumenschein, Gordon Lynn, Crockett, Susanne Marie, Moss, John Wesley, Stroud, Kenneth Robert, Moy, William M.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, QUOC DUC
• Application Number:
  US09/994,889
• Publication Number:
  US 20030099342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 379/112.01, 379/114.01, 379/114.03, 379/114.05, 379/114.1, 379/114.13, 379/114.21, 379/114.22, 379/114.23, 379/114.24, 379/114.25, 379/115.01, 379/216.01, 379/157, 379/88.03, 379/355.01, 379/355.05, 379/114.28, 455/405, 455/406, 455/414
• US Class Current: 379/114.05
• 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 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/09 Third party charged communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/90 using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/016 Billing using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• 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 2215/62 Called party billing, e.g. reverse billing, freephone, collect call, 0800 or 0900
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/66 Third party billing, i.e. third party can also be the predetermined telephone line of the caller if he is calling from another telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/44 Additional connecting arrangements for providing access to frequently-wanted subscribers, e.g. abbreviated dialling at the subscriber's set H04M1/27; automatic redialling H04M3/424

Abstract

A telecommunications service translates an abbreviated dialing code into a toll free number, routes the call to an interexchange carrier, and manages the billing associated with the call. A billing system processes the billing such that a subscriber of the abbreviated dialing code service is billed for the call rather than a calling party.

Claims

1. A method in an AIN telecommunications environment of billing a subscriber for abbreviated dialing code calls placed by a calling party, the method comprising:

receiving an incoming call at a terminating switch;

launching a query in response to a request from the calling party to establish a connection with the subscriber, the calling party having dialed the abbreviated dialing code;

accessing a service control point in response to the query;

determining an alternate billing number based upon the location of the calling party and the abbreviated dialing code, the determination occurring at the service control point;

determining an automatic message accounting (AMA) number at the service control point; and

using the alternate billing number instead of an abbreviated dialing code AMA record associated with the AMA number so that the subscriber is billed for the call rather than the calling party.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

appending a first module to the alternate billing number and a second module to the AMA number at the service control point;

sending the alternate billing number with the first module and the AMA number with the second module to the switch; and

sending the alternate billing number with the first module and the AMA number with the second module to a billing system.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising directing the billing system to bill the subscriber for the call based on instructions defined by the first module.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising discarding the abbreviated dialing code AMA record based on instructions defined by the second module.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the discarding further includes cross checking the AMA number in a billing table.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the billing system determines whether the alternate billing number and AMA number received from the switch match data in the billing system, indicating that alternate billing number and AMA number were received at the correct billing system.

7. A method in an AIN telecommunications environment of billing a subscriber for abbreviated dialing code calls placed by a calling party, the method comprising:

receiving an incoming call at a terminating switch;

launching a query in response to a request from the calling party to establish a connection with the subscriber, the calling party having dialed the abbreviated dialing code;

accessing a service control point in response to the query;

translating the abbreviated dialing code to a toll free number;

determining an alternate billing number based upon the location of the calling party and the abbreviated dialing code, the determination occurring at the service control point;

determining an automatic message accounting (AMA) number at the service control point;

appending a first module to the alternate billing number;

appending a second module to the AMA number;

sending the alternate billing number with the first appended module to the billing system;

sending the AMA number with the second appended module to the billing system;

using the alternate billing number instead of an abbreviated dialing code AMA record associated with the AMA number so that the subscriber is billed for the call rather than the calling party.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising instructing the billing system to bill the abbreviated dialing code service provider for the call based on the alternate billing number with the appended first module.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising directing the billing system to discard the abbreviated dialing code AMA record based on the AMA number with the appended second module.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the discarding further includes cross checking the AMA number in a billing table.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the abbreviated dialing code consists of a #XXX or #XX sequence.

12. A telecommunications system for processing calls placed by a calling party to an abbreviated dialing code service in an AIN telecommunications environment, comprising:

a service control point that derives an alternate billing number with a first appended module and an automatic message accounting (AMA) number with a second appended module;

a service switching point that receives the alternate billing number with a first appended module and the AMA number with a second appended module from the service control point; and

a billing system that receives from the service switching point the alternate billing number and the AMA number, the billing system using the alternate billing number to bill a provider of the abbreviated dialing code service provider instead of billing the calling party.

13. The telecommunications system according to claim 12, wherein the billing system further comprises a component that interprets the first module as instruction to billing the subscriber.

14. The telecommunications system according to claim 12, wherein the billing system further comprises a component that interprets the second module as an instruction to discard an abbreviated dialing code AMA record.

15. The telecommunications system according to claim 12, wherein the billing system further comprises a component that cross checks the AMA number in a billing table prior to discarding the abbreviated dialing code AMA record.

16. The telecommunications system according to claim 12, wherein the billing system further comprises a component that determines whether the alternate billing number and AMA number received from the switch match data in the billing system.

17. A computer readable medium storing a computer program that processes billing for a telephone call placed to an abbreviated dialing code, the program comprising:

a recording source code segment that receives data from a switch associated with a telephone call placed to the abbreviated dialing code, the data comprising at least an alternate billing number with a first appended module and an automatic message accounting (AMA) number with a second appended module;

a billing source code segment that uses the alternate billing number instead of an abbreviated dialing code AMA record associated with the AMA number so that the calling party if not billed for the call and the subscriber is billed for the call.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, further comprising a cross checking source code segment that cross checks the AMA number with a billing table to determine whether to discard an abbreviated dialing code AMA record.