Accounting method and apparatus for communications network
First Claim
1. A method of accounting for services provided over a packet-based network, comprising:
- determining a type of service used over the network;
monitoring usage of the service; and
collecting accounting information based on the type of service and usage of the service, wherein collecting the accounting information includes compiling the accounting information into an accounting unit,wherein the accounting unit has a first entry to indicate a quality of service provided over the packet-based network, and a second entry to indicate mobility management.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An accounting framework is provided for a communications system having a plurality of service providers, including cellular service providers and/or data network service providers, e.g., Internet service providers. Accounting units containing accounting information are exchanged between service providers to allow the service providers to charge for usage of services. The accounting units have a predetermined format to allow them to be exchanged between different service providers. Each accounting unit includes a plurality of fields, including a service type field, a usage of radio interface field, a usage of a visited or external network field, a usage of mobility management field, a quality of service field, a usage of a packet data protocol field, and other fields. Users may be charged for services based on these fields.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of accounting for services provided over a packet-based network, comprising:
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determining a type of service used over the network; monitoring usage of the service; and collecting accounting information based on the type of service and usage of the service, wherein collecting the accounting information includes compiling the accounting information into an accounting unit, wherein the accounting unit has a first entry to indicate a quality of service provided over the packet-based network, and a second entry to indicate mobility management. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of accounting for services provided over a packet-based network, comprising:
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communicating a unit of accounting information carrying information regarding usage of the packet-based network by a terminal, the unit of accounting information having a predetermined format capable of being exchanged between a plurality of entities; and assigning values to entries in the unit of accounting information based on usage, the unit including a first entry indicating a quality of service provided over the packet-based network and a second entry containing a network access identifier of the terminal to uniquely identify the terminal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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12. A method of accounting for services provided over a packet-based network, comprising:
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communicating a unit of accounting information carrying information regarding usage of the packet-based network by a terminal, the unit of accounting information having a predetermined format capable of being exchanged between a plurality of entities; and assigning values to entries in the unit of accounting information based on usage, the unit including a first entry indicating a quality of service provided over the packet-based network and a second entry containing a network access identifier of the terminal to uniquely identify the terminal, wherein assigning values to entries further includes assigning a value to an additional entry indicating a type of service, wherein assigning values to entries further includes assigning values to additional entries including entries indicating usage of a radio interface, indicating usage of a visited network, indicating usage of mobility management, and indicating an amount of data transferred, wherein assigning values to entries further includes assigning a value to an additional entry indicating erroneous termination of communications, wherein assigning values to entries further includes assigning a value to an additional entry indicating an amount of discarded data.
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13. A system capable of being coupled to a packet-based network, comprising:
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a controller to collect usage information based on a service used by a node on the packet-based network; and a storage device containing an accounting unit in which the usage information is collected, the accounting unit including a plurality of entries to identify usage elements from which accounting may be derived, the entries comprising a first entry to indicate a quality of service used by the node and a second entry to indicate usage of mobility management. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An article including one or more machine-readable storage media containing instructions for accounting for services used on a packet-based data network, the instructions when executed causing a system to:
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determine usage elements associated with each service, the usage elements including a service type, amount of data communicated, and mobility management; and collect accounting units each including entries identifying the usage elements. - View Dependent Claims (21, 30)
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22. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave comprising one or more code segments containing instructions for accounting for services used on a packet-based data network, the instructions when executed causing a system to:
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receive accounting units from at least another entity, each accounting unit containing a first entry identifying a quality of service, a second entry identifying a terminal the accounting unit is associated with, and a third entry indicating usage of mobility management; determine, from each accounting unit, usage of a service on the packet-based network; and charge at least a subscriber for the usage of the service.
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23. A storage device for storing data for access by one or more software routines being executed on a system, comprising:
a data structure stored in the storage device and including a plurality of entries, the entries including a first field indicating a quality of service provided over a packet-based network, a second field indicating if the service is chargeable, and a third field including an identifier identifying a node using the service. - View Dependent Claims (24)
Specification