Method for coupling online and internet services

• US 20040030767A1
• Filed: 07/03/2003
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Keller, Walter
• Granted Patent: US 8,010,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for coupling online and Internet services. Currently, personalised services in particular (e-mail etc.) are only available from Internet service providers and online providers via the telecommunications network and RAS/RADIUS access and not via the public Internet. To solve said problem, the ISP is equipped with an open Internet application platform (OIA) (e.g. freemail platform) and the platforms are coupled in such a way that the ISP customer can take advantage of an extended range of services in comparison to usual Internet customers, even during access via the Internet. Said method permits in particular e-mails to be re-directed from the ISP server with a known address to the OIA platform, in such a way that the customer can use these services world-wide via the public Internet using any terminal via any network. One example could be the use of a T-Online e-mail account from the fixed network and mobile telecommunications network, from home, at work and on holiday and business trips via foreign telephone networks and local and foreign company networks/LAN access.

Claims

1. Method for coupling online and Internet services, characterized in that general and personalized services as well as personal customer data of online services, telecommunication networks and Internet service providers (9) are accessible by means of secured access capabilities via an Internet interface of the Internet service provider (9), such that these services, for the purpose of utilization and/or setting up and/or changing, comprise a worldwide access capability independent of the particular telecommunication network and of the particular terminal (1) employed.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1,

characterized in that the Internet service provider (9) is equipped with an Open Internet Platform OIA (26) and the platforms (9, 26) are coupled in a manner such that the ISP customer can utilize, even during access via the Internet (14), a service offer which, in comparison to the conventional Internet customer, is expanded.

3. Method as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the services are utilizable at least by the contract customers of the Internet service provider (9).

4. Method as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the additional service platform OIA (26) is set up with secured access capability via the public Internet (14), at least with user identification, password protection and optical security protocol, such as SSL or the like.

5. Method as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the additional service platform (26) is realized as a hard and software platform preferably physically independent of the ISP (9), in order to ensure maximum possible protection of the data and programs through completely separate equipment.

9. Method as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the administration of the Internet access takes place at least on the RAS side through the ISP contract customer.

10. Method as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the administration of the Internet access optionally also takes place via the Internet access.

11. Method as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims,

characterized in that a redirection or a copy of services and/or data from the servers (15) and databases of the ISP (9) takes place into the server databases (24) of the OIA platform (26) via an at least unidirectional interface (27), which is secured against unintentional and unauthorized access preferably by means of filter technique and/or firewall (28), with this interface (27) preferably not being accessible to the Internet traffic/customer access.

12. Device for carrying out the method as claimed in the preceding claims, characterized by

a secured Internet interface tied onto the Internet service provider (9) in the form of an open Internet platform (26), which, independently of the particular telecommunication network and of the particular terminal employed, permits worldwide access to general and personalized services as well as personal customer data of online services, telecommunication networks and Internet service providers.

6. Method as claimed in one or several of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the additional service platform (26), optionally partially or completely, is realized as a software platform on the same hardware of the ISP (9), with the independence being realized through different port addresses, different software processes, different databases, or at least a different access procedure onto the same data stock.

7. Method as claimed in one or several of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the OIA platform (26) is made available to any Internet customers who are not contract customers of the ISP services, and the contract customers have at their disposal special advantages in particular through the coupling of the ISP platform (9) and the OIA platform (26), thereby that they can access ISP services via the OIA Internet access or ISP services in the OIA platforms are made available as data copy and/or as data transfer.

8. Method as claimed in one or several of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the ISP mail account (15) can be redirected from the ISP (9) into the OIA platform (26) in order for the customer to obtain access which is independent of a local, terminal and telecommunication access network.