Messaging services for pre-pay users

• US 8,265,663 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2002
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Lialiamou, Elena, Stura, Marco, Triebel, Guido
• Primary Examiner(s): Colbert, Ella
• Application Number:
  US10/320,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20040117312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,556 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/52, 705/400, 705/1.1, 705/35, 705/39, 705/40, 455/405, 455/406, 455/408, 455/466, 709/206, 709/209
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• 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 15/57 for integrated multimedia messaging subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/63 based on the content carried by the session initiation protocol [SIP] messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/67 Transmitting arrangements for sending billing related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8292 Charging for signaling or unsuccessful connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/854 Available credit
• 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 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/204 UMTS; GPRS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/208 IMS, i.e. Integrated Multimedia messaging Subsystem
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/28 SMS billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/48 Sending information over a non-traffic network channel or another connection than the one actually used, e.g. signalling, D-channel, data and voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8166 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A communication system providing messaging services can have a receiving unit configured to receive a request to send a message, an authorization unit configured to authorize the sending of the message in response to the request, and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the authorization to send the message.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a request from user equipment to send a message, wherein the request identifies a content of the message;

determining an authorization for the received request to send the message; and

causing, at least in part, a transmission of the authorization to the user equipment to send the content of the message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the authorization comprises:

determining a credit level for a subscriber associated with the message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmission of the authorization comprises:

causing, at least in part, a transmission of the authorization where the credit is sufficient for the cost of transmitting the message content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the content of the message in response to the authorization.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the authorization is dependent upon an identification of the content of the message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises a short messaging service message, an enhanced messaging service message, or a multi-media messaging service message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the request comprises:

receiving the request to send the message in a pre-pay or a post-pay mobile communication system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the authorization for the request to send the message comprises causing, at least in part, a sending of an accounting request to a charging function.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a response to said accounting request and using that response in the determining an authorization for the request.

10. A method comprising:

causing, at least in part, a transmission of a request to send a message from a subscriber terminal to a network, wherein the request includes an identification of a content of the message;

determining an authorization at the network for the request to send the message, said authorization being based on the identification of the content of the message and a credit level associated with the subscriber;

causing, at least in part, a transmission of the authorization to send the content of the message from the network to the subscriber terminal when the credit level equals to or is greater than a cost associated with sending the message; and

causing, at least in part, sending the content of the message from the subscriber terminal to the network when the authorization is transmitted.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the transmission of the request comprises the step of:

causing, at least in part, a transmission of the request to send a short messaging service message, an enhanced messaging service message, or a multimedia messaging service message.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the transmission of the request comprises the step of:

causing, at least in part, a transmission of the request to send a message in a mobile communication system.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

causing, at least in part, storage of a credit level associated with the subscriber; and

causing, at least in part, a comparison of the credit level with a predetermined credit associated with sending the content of the message.

14. A system, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a request from user equipment identifying a content of a message;

a processor configured to authorize the sending of the message in response to the received request; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the authorization to the user equipment to send the content of the message.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the receiving unit comprises a message center.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the authorization further determines a credit level for a subscriber associated with the message.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the authorization unit is configured to authorize the sending of the message in response to the request when the credit level corresponds to a predetermined credit level required to send the message.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the authorization unit is configured to authorize the sending of the message in response to the request when the credit level corresponds to a cost associated with sending the message to be billed to the subscriber.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the predetermined credit level required to send the message corresponds to the content of the message.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the message comprises a short messaging service message, an enhanced messaging service message, or a multi-media messaging service message.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the receiving unit receives the request in a pre-pay or a post-pay mobile communication system.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the transmitting unit is configured to transmit the authorization to send the message based on an identification of the message.

23. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a charging unit configured to receive an accounting request from the processor.

24. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

cause, at least in part, a transmission of a request to send a message, said message including an identification of a content of the message; and

receive an acknowledgement of the request to send the content of the message.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the message comprises a short messaging service message, an enhanced messaging service message, or a multimedia messaging service message.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause an apparatus to at least perform the following:

receive a request from user equipment to send a message, the request including an identification of a content of the message;

determine an authorization to send the message in response to the received request; and

cause, at least in part, a transmission of the authorization to the user equipment to send the content of the message.

27. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

receive a request from user equipment to send a message, wherein the request comprises an identification of a content of the message;

authorize sending of the message in response to the received request; and

cause, at least in part, a transmission of the authorization to the user equipment to send the content of the message.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to:

cause, at least in part, a granting of the authorization when a credit level corresponds to a predetermined credit level required to transmit the message and the predetermined credit level required to transmit the message corresponds to the content of the message.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the message comprises a short messaging service message, an enhanced messaging service message or a multi-media messaging service message.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the receiver receives the request in a pre-pay or a post-pay mobile communication system.