Management and control of telecommunication services delivery

• US 7,254,387 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2004
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: University of Strathclyde
• Original Assignee: University of Strathclyde
• Inventors: Girma, Demessie, Dunlop, John, Lazaro, Oscar, Irvine, James M
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost; William
• Assistant Examiner(s): BALAOING, ARIEL A
• Application Number:
  US10/852,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20050021598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,170 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/432.3, 455/418, 455/411, 709/202, 709/226, 719/316
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0062 Provisions for network management

Abstract

The present invention relates to a telecommunications service provision manager that is configured to allow access to a plurality of telecommunications services to determine the location of a service and control execution of that service.

Claims

1. A telecommunications service provision controller that is configured to control and manage access to a plurality of telecommunications services, which services are provided by agents, wherein said controller has a modular architecture comprising distinct modules having distinct control functions, these modules comprising:

an agent access module, in which access to the plurality of telecommunications services is controlled;

an agent location module, in which the location of a service agent for providing a selected one of the services of interest is determined; and

an agent execution module, in which the execution of the selected service agent is controlled,

wherein said agent access module deals with security in accessing the plurality of telecommunications services, wherein an agent must first pass through the agent access module when entering the telecommunications service,

wherein said agent access module comprises an agent behaviour conditioner that works with an agent monitor to control the ongoing actions of agents once the agents move to the agent location or agent execution module, and

wherein said agent location module allows agents to move between one or more service provision controllers.

2. A controller as claimed in claim 1 that is configured to define individual service environments in which a user agent is able to negotiate with one or more service agents that represent one or more services and/or one or more network agents that represent one or more networks.

3. A controller as claimed in claim 2, wherein the individual service environment is created within the agent execution module.

4. A controller as claimed in claim 1 comprising means for authenticating a user request for a service.

5. A controller as claimed in claim 1 comprising means for monitoring activity.

6. A controller as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a service regulation manager for managing/monitoring network operator and service provider profiles.

7. A controller as claimed in claim 6 wherein the service regulation manager is operable to define the terms and conditions under which network operators co-operate with specific service providers.

8. A controller as claimed in claim 5 that is operable to control access to strategic network information as defined by a service creation policy.

9. A controller as claimed in claim 4 that is operable to continuously evaluate the correctness of the service execution.

10. A controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein a user is represented by a context agent associated with user terminal and a user agent that is operable to interact with the service provision controller.

11. A controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein one or more services are each represented by a service agent.

12. A controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein one or more networks are each represented by a network agent.

13. A user or service or network agent that is operable to interact with the service provision controller as claimed in claim 1.

14. A computer based system for implementing the service controller as claimed in claim 1.

15. A controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said agent execution module provides an agent execution environment.