Report data capture via billing module

• US 7,529,355 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Book, Nancy Ann, Smith, Brian, Crockett, Susanne Marie, Nolan, Denis F.
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US11/022,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20060140367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 379/111, 379/112.01, 379/112.06, 379/112.07, 379/114.01, 379/114.28, 379/114.29, 379/121.01, 379/121.04, 379/121.05, 379/126
• US Class Current: 379/112.06
• 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 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0188 Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number

Abstract

A system is provided for reporting call data related to a telecommunications service. The system includes a network element, such as a service control point, that generates billing records. The network element populates a base module with standard data and also populates a local use module, appended to the base module, with call data required for reports associated with the telecommunication service. The system also includes a report generating system that receives the base record and appended local use module and generates reports based upon the call data stored in the base module and the appended local use module.

Claims

1. A method for reporting telecommunications system usage data related to a telecommunications service by use of a billing system, comprising:

receiving, at a report generating system, a base module comprising standard billing data associated with calls made using the telecommunications service;

receiving, at the report generating system, a local use module appended to the base module, the local use module comprising data specific to usage of the telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service;

generating billing reports based upon the standard billing data stored in the base module; and

generating telecommunications system usage reports based upon the specific telecommunications system usage data stored in the local use module,

wherein the standard billing data and the specific telecommunications system usage data are generated from the same set of calls.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the receiving occurs periodically.

3. The method of claim 2, in which the receiving occurs every minute.

4. The method of claim 1, in which the telecommunications service comprises a call transfer service.

19. The method of claim 4,

wherein each record in the specific system usage data in the local use module includes a record identifier, a terminating switch identifier, a transfer indicator, and a call transfer sequence number that is used to associate all legs of a call.

5. A method for collecting telecommunications system usage data, in order to generate reports, from a network element that generates billing records, comprising:

providing a base module comprising standard billing data associated with calls made using the telecommunications service;

appending at least one local use module to the base module for reporting purposes, the appended module comprising data specific to usage of the telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service;

generating billing reports based upon the standard billing data stored in the base module;

generating telecommunications system usage reports based upon the specific telecommunications system usage data stored in the local use module;

wherein the specific telecommunications system usage data in the appended module includes fields that the network element populates with data specific to the usage of the telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service;

and wherein the standard billing data and the specific telecommunications system usage data are generated from the same set of calls.

6. The method of claim 5, in which a toll free reporting tool periodically receives the base module and appended local use module from the network element and generates reports based upon the data in the base module and the local use module.

7. The method of claim 6, in which the receiving occurs every minute.

20. The method of claim 5,

wherein each record in the specific system usage data in the local use module includes a record identifier, a terminating switch identifier, a transfer indicator, and a call transfer sequence number that is used to associate all legs of a call.

8. A system for reporting telecommunications system usage data related to a telecommunications service, comprising:

a network element that generates billing records, the network element populating a base module with standard billing data associated with calls made using the telecommunications service and populating a local use module appended to the base module, with data specific to usage of the telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service required for reports associated with the telecommunication service; and

a report generating system that receives the base module and appended local use module and generates billing reports based upon the standard billing data stored in the base module and generates telecommunications system usage reports based upon the specific telecommunications system usage data stored in the appended local use module;

wherein the standard billing data and the specific telecommunications system usage data are generated from the same set of calls.

9. The system of claim 8, in which the network element comprises a service control point.

10. The system of claim 8, in which the reporting system comprises a toll free reporting tool.

11. The system of claim 8, in which the reporting system comprises a service node.

12. A computer readable medium storing a program for reporting telecommunications system usage data related to a telecommunications service, comprising:

a receiving code segment that receives one type of data for a base module comprising standard billing data associated with calls made using the telecommunications service, and another type of data for a local use module appended to the base module, the local use module comprising data specific to the usage of a telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service;

a generating billing reports segment that generates billing reports based upon the standard billing data stored in the base module;

a generating telecommunications system usage reports segment that generates telecommunications system usage reports based upon the specific telecommunications system usage data stored in the local use module;

wherein the standard billing data and the specific telecommunications system usage data are generated from the same set of calls.

13. The medium of claim 12, in which the receiving code segment periodically receives data.

14. The medium of claim 13, in which the receiving occurs every minute.

15. The medium of claim 12, in which the telecommunications service comprises a call transfer service.

16. A computer readable medium storing a program for collecting telecommunications system usage data, in order to generate reports, from a network element that generates billing records, comprising:

a base module segment that provides a base module comprising standard billing data associated with calls made using a telecommunications service; and

an appending code segment that appends at least one local use module to the base module for reporting purposes, the appended module comprising data specific to usage of the telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service;

a generating billing reports segment that generates billing reports based upon the standard billing data stored in the base module;

a generating telecommunications system usage reports segment that generates telecommunications system usage reports based upon the specific telecommunications system usage data stored in the local use module;

wherein the specific telecommunications system usage data in the appending module includes fields that the network element populates with data specific to the usage of the telecommunications system to provide the telecommunications service;

and wherein the standard billing data and the specific telecommunications system usage data are generated from the same set of calls.

17. The medium of claim 16, further comprising a receiving segment that periodically receives one type of data for the base module and another type of data for the appended local use module from the network element.

18. The medium of claim 17, in which the receiving occurs every minute.