Method for billing in a telecommunications network

• US 8,315,593 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2008
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Business Global LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Gallant, John K, McMurry, Kathleen A
• Primary Examiner(s): SAMS, MATTHEW C
• Application Number:
  US12/178,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20090010409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• Field of Search: 455406-411, 370/310
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1446 inter-operator billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4523 using lightweight directory access protocol [LDAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4535 using an address exchange platform which sets up a session between two nodes, e.g. rendezvous servers, session initiation protocols [SIP] registrars or H.323 gatekeepers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 : for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 : at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 : specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 : Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 : involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 : Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 : specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• 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 15/43 : Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/47 : Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/53 : using mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/55 : for hybrid networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 : for VoIP communications
• 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 2215/0148 : Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0172 : Mediation, i.e. device or program to reformat CDRS from one or more switches in order to adapt to one or more billing programs formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 : VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 : Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/44 : Charging/billing arrangements for connection made over different networks, e.g. wireless and PSTN, ISDN, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 : Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 : Provisions for intelligent networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method for placing a call between a client in one network and a client in another network. The IP network includes a SIP server and a network gateway configured to provide access to a public switched network. The method includes receiving a SIP call request message from the first client. The SIP call request message is authenticated to thereby identify an authentic originating client. Subsequently, a database is searched to find client billing tag corresponding to the authentic originating client. The call is completed if the client billing tag is obtained, and not completed if the client billing tag cannot be obtained. Thus, the present invention provides an efficient method for billing phone calls that are placed from SIP enabled devices to a telephone connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The method of the present invention also substantially eliminates certain types of fraud.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a first session initiation protocol (SIP) device, a SIP call request message for establishing a call with a second SIP device;

identifying a profile associated with the second SIP device;

identifying, within the profile, a call forwarding feature that is enabled for the second SIP device and that identifies a non-SIP device to which the call is to be forwarded;

identifying, based on the call forwarding feature, an authentic originating client as a party responsible for paying for the call;

searching a database to identify a client billing tag that corresponds to the authentic originating client; and

modifying the SIP call request message to include the client billing tag when the database includes the client billing tag.

2. The method of claim 1, where the call feature includes one of unconditional call forwarding, conditional call forwarding, or find-me.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a circuit-switched call connection to the non-SIP device; and

notifying the first SIP device that the circuit-switched call connection has been established.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the database does not include the client billing tag; and

denying the call when the database does not include the client billing tag.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting completion of the call; and

outputting the client billing tag and information regarding a length of the call after detecting the completion of the call.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying authentication information from the profile; and

authenticating the first SIP device based on the authentication information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adding a security header to the SIP call request message, the security header identifying a server that transmitted the SIP call request message.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining whether the SIP call request message includes the security header;

attempting to establish the call when the SIP call request message includes the security header; and

not attempting to establish the call when the SIP call request message does not include the security header.

9. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing a method for placing a call between a first session initiation protocol (SIP) device and a second SIP device, the computer-readable medium comprising:

one or more instructions to receive, from the first SIP device, a SIP call request message for establishing a call with the second SIP device;

one or more instructions to identify a call feature that is enabled for the second SIP device, the call feature identifying a non-SIP device to receive the call;

one or more instructions to identify, based on the identified call feature, a party associated with the second SIP device as a party responsible for paying for the call only when the identified call feature identifies the non-SIP device to receive the call;

one or more instructions to determine whether a database includes a client billing tag that corresponds to the party associated with the second SIP device;

one or more instructions to permit the call to be established when the database includes the client billing tag; and

one or more instructions to deny the call when the database does not include the client billing tag.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, where the call feature includes one of unconditional call forwarding, conditional call forwarding, or find-me.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, where the one or more instructions to permit the call to be established include:

one or more instructions to insert the client billing tag into the SIP call request message, and

one or more instructions to output the SIP call request message with the inserted client billing tag.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

one or more instructions to establish a circuit-switched call connection to the non-SIP device; and

one or more instructions to notify the first SIP device that the circuit-switched call connection has been established.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

one or more instructions to detect completion of the call; and

one or more instructions to output the client billing tag and information regarding a length of the call after detecting the completion of the call.

14. A system, comprising:

a SIP server to;

receive a SIP call request message that requests that a call be established from a first SIP device to a second SIP device,

identify a calling feature that is enabled for the second SIP device, the calling feature identifying a non-SIP device to receive one or more calls intended for the second SIP device,

determine an authentic originating client based on the calling feature,

obtain a client billing tag that identifies the authentic originating client as a party responsible for paying for the call; and

a network gateway, coupled to the SIP server, to provide at least one of the first SIP device or the second SIP device conditional access to a public switched telephone network.

15. The system of claim 14, where the network gateway comprises:

a communications interface to establish the call with the public switched network; and

a processor, coupled to the communications interface, to;

receive the SIP call request message from the SIP server,

check the SIP call request message for an existence of a security header appended to the SIP call request message, the security header including a server identifier identifying the SIP server as the server that sent the SIP call request message to the network gateway, and

establish the call based on the existence of the security header including the server identifier.

16. The system of claim 15, where the processor is programmed to establish the call when the security header exists.

17. The system of claim 16, where the processor is programmed to not establish the call when the security header does not exist.

18. The system of claim 14, where the SIP server is to:

forward the SIP call request message to the network gateway if the client billing tag is obtained, and

not forward the call request message to the network gateway if the client billing tag cannot be obtained.

19. The system of claim 14, where the SIP server is to:

insert the client billing tag into the SIP call request message, and

transmit the call request message with the client billing tag to the network gateway.