Method for performing an inquiry in a telecommunications network

• US 7,289,762 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2001
• Issued: 10/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Vilkuna, Kirsti, Johansson, Sami
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, John J.
• Application Number:
  US10/381,711
• Publication Number:
  US 20040097247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,203 Days
• Field of Search: 455/2.01, 455/3.01, 455/3.03, 455/3.05, 455/466, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.4, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/419, 455/418, 455/452.1, 455/450, 705/10, 705/1, 705/7, 379/92.04, 379/92.02, 379/92.01
• US Class Current: 455/2.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for performing an inquiry in a telecommunications network, in which the inquiry is carried out in the following steps: —creating a database of persons, —forming and recording the questions, —selecting from the database a set satisfying desired conditions, —sending the inquiry in the form of text messages (SMS, Short Message Service) to the persons included in the set, —receiving text message replies for a predetermined length of time, —storing and interpreting each reply, so that, according to each set criterion, the question arranged to be the next one is sent to the same person, —generating a report.

Claims

1. A system for performing an inquiry wirelessly in a telecommunications network, in which the system comprises:

one or more telecommunications operators, each having subscribers with SMS connection;

a server having a database of persons and demographic data relating to each person;

one or more first communication channels on the Internet, each channel being between the server and one of the one or more telecommunications operators;

a workstation for controlling the server via remote operation and for forming questions and storing them in the server;

a second communication channel between the workstation and the server;

means for transcribing the questions into formed SMS messages in the server and for selecting from the database a set satisfying desired demographic conditions;

an SMS inquiry application in the server configured to

send the formed SMS messages via the telecommunications network to the persons included in the set,

receive replies via the SMS message service for a predetermined length of time,

store and interpret each reply and generate a report, and

send a next question as a SMS message to the same persons according to a set criterion regarding the received replies.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises means for generating results as a continuous function and means for real time monitoring of the results.