Method and device for providing more accurate subscriber device billing

• US 6,934,751 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2002
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jayapalan, Jay, Ramanna, Shreesha
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US10/307,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20040107241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/224, 709/236, 709/238, 709/219, 709/223, 709/227, 709/228, 709/237, 719/328, 719/329
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/70 Administration or customization aspects; Counter-checking correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/73 Validating charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/70 Administration aspects, modify settings or limits or counter-check correct charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7072 Validate charges

Abstract

A PDSN (18) includes a usage recording agent (19) for distinguishing between nonbillable and billable activity of a subscriber device 12. The usage recording agent (19) creates a record of a total number of bytes transmitted from the PDSN (18) to the RAN (14), counts bytes that are retransmitted from the PDSN (18) for providing a retransmitted byte total, and forwards the retransmitted byte total and the record to an AAA (28) so that the record can be adjusted in accordance with the retransmitted byte total.

Claims

1. A method for more accurately recording subscriber device activity comprising:

creating a record that comprises a total number of bytes transmitted from a packet data serving node;

counting bytes that are retransmitted from the packet data serving node for providing a retransmitted byte total; and

forwarding the retransmitted byte total to an accounting node so that the record can be adjusted in accordance with the retransmitted byte total.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a retransmission of bytes, wherein the counting bytes that are retransmitted from a packet data serving node is performed after detecting a retransmission of bytes.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting a retransmission of bytes is done by monitoring for one of a duplicate transmission control protocol acknowledgement from a subscriber device and a retransmitted transmission control protocol packet from a connection to Internet.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the counting bytes that are retransmitted from the packet data serving node further comprises counting bytes that are transmitted with compressed headers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the counting bytes that are retransmitted from the packet data serving node for providing a retransmitted byte total further comprises counting application layer bytes that are retransmitted; and

the forwarding the retransmitted byte total to an accounting node so that the record can be adjusted in accordance with the retransmitted byte total further comprises forwarding the retransmitted byte total as a 3GPP2 attribute to the accounting node.

6. A method for more accurately recording subscriber device activity comprising:

creating a record that comprises a total number of bytes transmitted from a packet data serving node;

counting bytes that are retransmitted from the packet data serving node for providing a retransmitted byte total;

adjusting the record in accordance with the retransmitted byte total by subtracting the retransmitted byte total from the total number of bytes for providing an adjusted record.

7. A usage recording agent arranged to provide accurate billing of a subscriber device, the usage recording agent when installed and executing at a serving node resulting in the serving node:

determining if a retransmission of bytes by the serving node was performed during a time period;

counting bytes that are retransmitted from the serving node for providing a record to comprise a retransmitted byte total; and

forwarding the record to an accounting node so that a transmitted byte total can be subtracted from the transmitted byte total.

8. The usage recording agent of claim 7, wherein:

the predetermined nonbillable activity comprises a retransmission of bytes by the serving node;

the creating a record corresponding to the nonbillable activity further comprises counting bytes that are retransmitted from a packet data serving node for providing a retransmitted byte total and subtracting the retransmitted byte total from the transmitted byte total for providing an adjusted record; and

the forwarding the record to an accounting node so that a transmitted byte total can be adjusted in accordance with the record further comprises forwarding the adjusted record to the accounting node.