System and method for analyzing wireless communication data

• US 7,184,749 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2001
• Issued: 02/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tangoe US, Inc. (Asentinel Holdings LP)
• Original Assignee: TRAQ-WIRELESS, INC. (Asentinel Holdings LP)
• Inventors: Merritt, John, Marsh, William, Gonzales, Juan
• Primary Examiner(s): ANDERSON, MATTHEW D
• Application Number:
  US09/758,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20010007978A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,238 Days
• Field of Search: 455405-418
• US Class Current: 455/408
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/42 Dynamic individual rates per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/49 Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• 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 2215/0152 General billing plans, rate plans, e.g. charge rates, numbering plans, rate centers, customer accounts
• 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 2215/0184 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 2215/42 : Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/46 : Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 : Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 : Accounting or billing

Abstract

In general, a system and method for analyzing wireless communication data for determining an optimal wireless communication service plan is disclosed. A transceiver is configured to receive billing information associated with a subscriber of a telecommunications service under a current rate plan. A storage unit stores the billing information. A processor processes the subscriber related billing information to produce organized data in a calling profile record, wherein the calling profile record is organized with parameters selected from the group consisting of, where calls are made and received, when calls are made and received, and what types of calls are made and received. The processor then analyzes the processed data in relation to a plurality of rate plans of a plurality of telecommunications service providers, and determines at least one proposed rate plan that would save the subscriber telecommunication costs relative to the current rate plan. A report of at least one proposed rate plan is then produced and provided to the subscriber, which enables selection of a best telecommunication service provider.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving call detail data associated with a subscriber of a telecommunication service under a current rate plan;

processing the call detail data to produce a calling profile record summarizing call usage information of the subscriber, wherein the calling profile record contains less data than the call detail data and is organized with parameters comprising;

where calls are made and received;

when calls are made and received; and

what types of calls are made and received;

analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record in relation to the current rate plan;

analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record in relation to a plurality of other rate plans of a plurality of telecommunication service providers;

determining at least one proposed rate plan that would save the subscriber telecommunication costs relative to the current rate plan; and

producing a report of the at least one proposed rate plan to enable selection of an alternative telecommunication service provider and rate plan;

wherein the where calls are made and received parameter is defined by a home category or a roam category;

wherein the when calls are made and received parameter is defined by peak, off peak, or weekend categories; and

wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined by local, intrastate toll, or interstate toll categories.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the home category is selected for the where calls are made and received parameter if there is no originating city.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the home category is selected for the where calls are made and received parameter if a local access transport area (LATA) number of an originating city or originating state is defined by a LATA number of a mobile identification number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the home category further comprises:

a home zip code;

a corporate zip code; and

at least one alternate zip code.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the when calls are made and received parameter further comprises a time of day parameter and a day of week parameter.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the peak category is selected for the when calls are made and received parameter if the day of the week parameter is not between a weekend start day of the week and a weekend end day of the week and the time of day parameter is between weekday peak start and weekday peak end times.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the off peak category is selected for the when calls are made and received parameter if the day of the week parameter is not between a weekend start day of the week and a weekend end day of the week and the time of day parameter is not between weekday peak start and weekday peak end times.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the weekend category is selected for the when calls are made and received parameter if the time of day and day of the week parameters are after a weekday peak end time on a weekend start day of the week and before a weekday peak start time on a weekend end day of the week.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the local category is selected for the what types of calls are made and received parameter if a called city is an incoming call city.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the local category is selected for the what types of calls are made and received parameter if a called city is null.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the local category is selected for the what types of calls are made and received parameter if a called number is null.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the local category is selected for the what types of calls are made and received parameter if a mobile identification number LATA number is a destination number LATA number.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one of the intrastate toll category or interstate toll category is selected if the local category is not selected.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the intrastate toll category is selected for the what types of calls are made and received parameter if a mobile identification number LATA number state is a destination number LATA number state.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the interstate toll category is selected for the what types of calls are made and received parameter if the local category and the intrastate toll category are not selected.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record further comprises evaluating the calling profile record in order to determine if the current rate plan is cost effective for the subscriber.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record in relation to a plurality of other rate plans further comprises:

determining the other rate plans based on the availability of rate plans offered by the telecommunication service providers in the subscriber'"'"'s zip code.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the call detail data to produce a calling profile record further comprises:

processing originating_city parameters and originating_state parameters in the call detail data to produce zip code parameters in the calling profile record.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein processing the call detail data to produce the calling profile record further comprises:

grouping the zip code parameters according to zip codes;

writing the zip codes into zip code fields in a descending order based on the number of service usage minutes for each zip code; and

writing the percentage of total minutes for each zip code into zip code percentage fields.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein processing the call detail data to produce the calling profile record further comprises:

writing the zip code with the highest percentage into a first zip code field; and

if the number of remaining zip codes is greater than the number of available zip code fields, then grouping the zip codes starting with the same digits into the remaining zip code fields.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the zip code fields comprise a home zip code field, a corporate zip code field, and four alternate zip code fields.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record further comprises:

using a weighting algorithm that gives greater relevance to data received during more recent billing periods.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the weighting algorithm is defined by a weighting factor equal to n+e⁽¹⁻

p), where n is greater than or equal to zero and p is the number of billing periods looking back in time in which p=1 for the most recent billing period.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record further comprises:

using a standard deviation measure to assess the suitability of a data set to the total data array; and

excluding unsuitable data sets.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein excluding unsuitable data sets comprises excluding data sets outside a 1 σ

deviation.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record further comprises:

perturbing the parameters of the calling profile record by 1 σ

deviation in a positive and negative fashion to determine the suitability of the data sets.

27. A system comprising:

means for receiving call detail data associated with a subscriber of a telecommunication service under a current rate plan;

means for processing the call detail data to produce a calling profile record in a size-reduced format summarizing the call usage history of the subscriber, wherein the calling profile record is organized with parameters comprising;

where calls are made and received;

when calls are made and received; and

what types of calls are made and received;

the means for processing being communicatively coupled to the means for receiving

means for analyzing the parameters of the calling profile record in relation to the current rate plan and a plurality of other rate plans of a plurality of telecommunication service providers, the means for analyzing being communicatively coupled to the means for processing and the means for receiving;

means for determining at least one proposed rate plan that would save the subscriber telecommunication costs relative to the current rate plan, the means for determining being communicatively coupled to the means for analyzing, the means for processing, and the means for receiving; and

means for producing a report of the at least one proposed rate plan to enable selection of an alternative telecommunication service provider and rate plan, the means for producing being communicatively coupled to the means for determining, the means for analyzing, the means for processing, and the means for receiving.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the where calls are made and received parameter is defined by home categories or roam categories.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the when calls are made and received parameter comprises a time of day parameter and a day of week parameter.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined as local or toll.

31. The system of claim 27, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined as local, intrastate toll, or interstate toll.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for analyzing further comprises means for evaluating the calling profile record in order to determine if the current rate plan is cost effective for the subscriber.

33. The system of claim 27, wherein the analyzing means determines the other rate plans based on the availability of the rate plans offered by the telecommunication service providers in the subscriber'"'"'s zip code.

34. The system of claim 27, wherein the processing means is further configured to process originating_city parameters and originating_state parameters in the call detail data to produce zip code parameters in the calling profile record.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the processing means further comprises:

means for grouping the zip code parameters according to zip codes; and

means for writing the zip codes into zip code fields in a descending order based on the service usage minutes for each zip code and for writing the percentage of total minutes for each zip code into zip code percentage fields.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the writing means writes the zip code with the highest percentage into a first zip code field, and groups the zip codes starting with the same digits into the remaining zip code fields when there are more zip codes than remaining zip code fields.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the zip code fields comprise a home zip code, a corporate zip code, and a plurality of alternate zip codes.

38. The system of claim 27, wherein the analyzing means utilizes a weighting algorithm that gives greater weight to data from more recent months.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the weighting algorithm is defined by a weighting factor equal to n+e⁽¹⁻

p), where n is greater than or equal to zero and p is the number of billing periods looking back in time in which p=1 for the most recent billing period.

40. The system of claim 27, wherein the analyzing means further comprises:

means for measuring the standard deviation of the parameters of the calling profile record to assess the suitability of a data set to the total data array; and

means for excluding unsuitable data sets from the total data array.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the analyzing means excludes data sets outside a 1 σ

deviation.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein the measuring means further comprises means for altering the parameters of the calling profile record by 1 σ

deviation in a positive and negative fashion to assess the suitability of the data sets.

43. A system comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive call detail data associated with a subscriber of a telecommunication service under a current rate plan;

a storage unit configured to store the call detail data, wherein the storage unit is communicatively coupled to the transceiver;

a memory comprising software, wherein the memory is communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the storage unit; and

a processor, communicatively coupled to the transceiver, storage unit, and memory, configured by the software to;

process the call detail data to produce a calling profile record having a reduced data size with respect to the call detail data, the calling profile record summarizing the call usage information of the subscriber, wherein the calling profile record is organized with parameters comprising where calls are made and received, when calls are made and received, and what types of calls are made and received;

analyze the parameters of the calling profile record in relation to the current rate plan and a plurality of other rate plans offered by a plurality of telecommunication service providers;

determine whether or not one or more other rate plans would save the subscriber telecommunication costs relative to the current rate plan; and

produce a report to enable selection of a best telecommunication service provider and a best rate plan;

wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit the report.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the where calls are made and received parameter is defined by home categories or roam categories.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein the when calls are made and received parameter comprises a time of day parameter and a day of week parameter.

46. The system of claim 43, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined as local or toll.

47. The system of claim 43, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined as local, intrastate toll, or interstate toll.

48. The system of claim 43, wherein the processor is further configured by the software to evaluate the calling profile record in order to determine if the current rate plan is cost effective for the subscriber.

49. The system of claim 43, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the other rate plans based on the availability of the rate plans offered by the telecommunication service providers in the subscriber'"'"'s zip code.

50. The system of claim 43, wherein the processor is further configured to process originating_city parameters and originating_state parameters in the call detail data to produce zip code parameters in the calling profile record.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein the processor is further configured to:

group the zip code parameters according to zip codes;

write the zip codes into zip code fields in a descending order based on the service usage amount in each zip code; and

write the percentage of total minutes for each zip code into zip code percentage fields.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the processor is further configured to write the zip code with the highest percentage into a first zip code field, and, if there are more zip codes than zip code fields remaining, group the zip codes starting with at least the first digit into the remaining zip code fields.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the zip code fields comprise buckets separated by a home zip code, a corporate zip code, and four alternate zip codes.

54. The system of claim 43, wherein the processor is further configured to utilize a weighting algorithm that gives greater relevance to data from more recent billing months.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the weighting algorithm is defined by a weighting factor equal to n+e⁽¹⁻

p), where n is greater than or equal to zero and p is the number of billing periods looking back in time in which p=1 for the most recent billing period.

56. The system of claim 43, wherein the processor is further configured to:

calculate a standard deviation of the parameters of the calling profile record;

assess the suitability of a data set of the parameters with respect to the total data array based on the standard deviation calculation; and

exclude unsuitable data sets.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the processor is configured to exclude data sets outside a 1 σ

deviation.

58. The system of claim 56, wherein the processor is further configured to perturb the parameters of the calling profile record by 1 σ

deviation in a positive and negative fashion to determine the suitability of the data sets.

59. A computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer readable medium comprising:

logic configured to receive call detail data associated with a subscriber of a telecommunication service under a current rate plan;

logic configured to store the call detail data;

logic configured to process the call detail data to produce a calling profile record having a data format that is simpler to process than the call detail data, wherein the calling profile record defines the call usage information of the subscriber and is organized with parameters comprising where calls are made and received, when calls are made and received, and what types of calls are made and received;

logic configured to analyze the parameters of the calling profile record in relation to the current rate plan and a plurality of other rate plans;

logic configured to determine at least one proposed rate plan that would save the subscriber telecommunication costs relative to the current rate plan; and

logic configured to produce a report of the at least one proposed rate plan to enable selection of an alternative rate plan.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the where calls are made and received parameter is defined by a home category or a roam category.

61. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the when calls are made and received parameter comprises a time of day parameter and a day of week parameter.

62. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined by local and toll categories.

63. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined by local, intrastate toll, or interstate toll categories.

64. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the logic configured to process the call detail data comprises logic configured to determine if the current rate plan is cost effective for the subscriber.

65. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the logic configured to analyze is further configured to utilize the zip code of the subscriber to determine the other rate plans that are available.

66. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the logic configured to process the call detail data to produce the calling profile record further comprises:

logic configured to process originating_city parameters and originating_state parameters in the call detail data to produce zip code parameters in the calling profile record.

70. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the logic configured to analyze the parameters of the calling profile record is further configured to use a weighting algorithm that gives greater relevance to data from more recent billing periods.

71. The computer readable medium of claim 70, wherein the weighting algorithm is defined by a weighting factor equal to n+e⁽¹⁻

p), where n is greater than or equal to zero and p is the number of billing periods looking back in time in which p=1 for the most recent billing period.

72. The computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the logic configured to analyze the parameters of the calling profile record calculates the standard deviation of the parameters of the calling profile record to assess the suitability of a data set to the total data array, the logic configured to analyze further configured to exclude unsuitable data sets from the total data array.

73. The computer readable medium of claim 72, wherein the logic configured to analyze excludes unsuitable data sets that are outside a 1 σ

deviation.

74. The computer readable medium of claim 72, wherein the logic configured to analyze the parameters of the calling profile record further comprises:

logic configured to change the calling profile record by 1 σ

deviation in a positive and negative fashion to determine the suitability of the data sets.

67. The computer readable medium of 66, wherein the logic configured to process the call detail data to produce the calling profile record further comprises:

logic configured to group the zip code parameters according to zip codes; and

logic configured to write the zip codes into zip code fields in a descending order based on the amount of minutes for each zip code and to write the percentage of total minutes for each zip code into zip code percentage fields.

68. The computer readable medium of claim 67, wherein the logic configured to process the call detail data to produce the calling profile record is further configured to:

write the zip code with the highest percentage into a first zip code field; and

if there are more zip codes than remaining zip code fields, then group the zip codes starting with the same digits into the remaining zip code fields.

69. The computer readable medium of claim 68, wherein the zip code fields comprise a home zip code, a corporate zip code, and at least one alternate zip code.

75. A system comprising:

a storage unit configured to store call detail data associated with a subscriber of a telecommunication service under a current rate plan;

a computer readable memory encoded with software, wherein the memory is communicatively coupled to the storage unit; and

a processor, communicatively coupled to the storage unit and computer readable memory, executing the software to;

process the call detail data to produce organized, size-reduced data in a calling profile record, wherein the calling profile record comprises parameters that define the call usage history of the subscriber, each parameter selected from the group consisting of where calls are made and received, when calls are made and received, and what types of calls are made and received;

analyze the calling profile record in relation to the current rate plan and a plurality of other available rate plans;

compare the cost of the current rate plan with the plurality of other available rate plans to determine at least one proposed rate plan that would save the subscriber telecommunication costs relative to the current rate plan; and

produce a report of the at least one proposed rate plan to enable selection of an alternative rate plan.

76. The system of claim 75, wherein the where calls are made and received parameter is defined by home categories or roam categories.

77. The system of claim 75, wherein the when calls are made and received parameter comprises time of day and day of week parameters.

78. The system of claim 75, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined as local or toll.

79. The system of claim 75, wherein the what types of calls are made and received parameter is defined as local, intrastate toll, or interstate toll.

80. The system of claim 75, wherein the processor is further configured by the software to determine if the current rate plan is cost effective for the subscriber.