Architecture for managing prepaid wireless communications services

• US 8,027,660 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2006
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: McQuaide, Arnold Chester Jr., Koch, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US11/615,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106569A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,740 Days
• Field of Search: 455405-409, 379/114.01, 379/114.16, 379/114.17, 379/114.2, 379/114.19
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• 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 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system and method for managing a prepaid wireless account for voice and data communications services. According to one embodiment the communications system, having a prepaid architecture for managing a plurality of prepaid wireless accounts for communication services, wherein each prepaid account is associated with a prepaid subscriber comprises a wireless network including a mobile switch, in communication with a wireless device, the wireless device for remotely managing at least one of the prepaid accounts. The communications system also comprises a wide area network including a prepaid account database for storing records assigned to subscribers of prepaid communications services; a prepaid application module for initializing and updating the prepaid accounts; a credit card transaction server, coupled to a credit card database, for checking available credit; and a prepaid server coupled to the prepaid account database and the prepaid application module. The communications system also includes a gateway in communication with the mobile switch of the wireless network and in communication with the wide area network.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a prepaid wireless account for a wireless subscriber in a network, comprising:

providing wireless access to the network;

coupling a wireless device associated with the subscriber to the network to establish a communications session;

during the communications session, querying the wireless device for an account registration status associated with the prepaid subscriber; and

if there is not an existing account registered for the subscriber associated with the wireless device, then querying the wireless device for new account information, the new account information comprising at least one of a recharge threshold and a recharge amount to establish the prepaid wireless account.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising querying the wireless device for a valid credit card number while querying the wireless device for new account information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein querying the wireless device for new account information comprising at least one of a recharge threshold and a recharge amount comprises querying the wireless device for at least one of a minimum account balance and a pre-authorized amount to be used to replenish an account when the account falls below the minimum account balance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein coupling a wireless device associated with the subscriber to the network to establish a communications session comprises coupling a wireless access protocol (WAP)-enabled device to a WAP-enabled gateway.

14. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising receiving from the wireless subscriber a frequency of recharge alerts that occur once the recharge threshold has been encountered.

5. A system for alerting a prepaid subscriber when a recharge threshold associated with a prepaid wireless account is reached utilizing a wireless device associated with the prepaid wireless account, the system comprising:

means for reporting a number of minutes used during a communications session utilizing the wireless device in a network;

means for updating an account balance associated with the prepaid wireless account in a customer account database;

means for determining whether the number of minutes used during the communications session causes the account balance to fall below the recharge threshold associated with the prepaid wireless account; and

means for pushing an alert to the wireless device when the account balance falls below the recharge threshold at a frequency specified by the prepaid subscriber.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the alert is pushed at the conclusion of the communications session.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the alert is pushed during a communications session.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the alert comprises a visual notification.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the alert comprises an audible notification.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the alert comprises a short messaging service message.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the alert comprises a WAP push notification sent to the wireless device via a gateway, wherein the gateway is selected from the group consisting of a push proxy and a WAP push proxy.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the wireless device is WAP-enabled.

13. The system of claim 5, wherein the communications session is a data session.

15. A method comprising:

establishing a prepaid account associated with a wireless prepaid subscriber, the prepaid account including a recharge threshold associated with the prepaid account;

receiving from the prepaid subscriber, at an application module on a prepaid server, a frequency of recharge alerts that occur once the recharge threshold has been crossed; and

issuing recharge alerts from the application module to a wireless device associated with the prepaid account at the frequency specified by the prepaid subscriber.

16. The method as recited in claim 15 further comprising issuing the recharge alerts anytime the wireless device associated with the prepaid account is powered on once the recharge threshold has been crossed.