Location based billing of data services in a mobile telecommunication system

• US 7,171,189 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2001
• Issued: 01/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kapsch Carriercom France S.A.S. (S&T AG)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Teyssot, Laurent, Law, Jr., Albert G., Speas, Michael K., Bianconi, Richard J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beamer, Temica
• Assistant Examiner(s): Contee, Joy
• Application Number:
  US09/797,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20020119766A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,162 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456, 455/3, 455/406, 455/405, 455/407, 455/414.3, 455/456.5, 455/414.2, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 455/408
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A mobile telecommunication system supporting location based billing of data services is provided. The mobile telecommunication system includes a plurality of routing areas each having one or more base transceiver stations therein for providing a radio interface to a mobile terminal. A service node provides data services to the mobile terminal in two or more of the routing areas. The service node opens a mobility call detail record and a location container therein when the mobile terminal attaches to the mobile telecommunication system. The service node opens a packet data protocol call detail record and a traffic volume container when the mobile terminal activates a data session with the service node. The traffic volume container counts data service traffic volumes transferred to and from the mobile terminal. The location container is automatically closed when the mobile terminal roams from one routing area to a second routing area. The contents of any traffic volume containers are reported via a partial record to a node in the telecommunication system upon closure of the location container thus limiting, at any given moment, the traffic volume count in any traffic volume container to traffic volume transfers in a single routing area. Counts of subsequent data transfers are made in a zeroed traffic volume container. An operator of the mobile telecommunication system may then implement location based billing of data services by levying different fees for data services obtained by the mobile terminal in different routing areas.

Claims

1. A method of performing location-based traffic volume recording in a mobile telecommunication system, the method comprising the steps of:

attaching a mobile terminal, in a first routing area of a first location area of the mobile telecommunication system, to the mobile telecommunication system;

opening a mobility call detail record in a service node of the mobile telecommunication system, the service node operable to provide a data service to the mobile terminal in the first location area;

opening a first location container in the mobility call detail record;

activating the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal operable to transfer data on an uplink to the mobile telecommunication system and receive data on a downlink from the mobile telecommunication system;

opening a service node call detail record in the service node of the mobile telecommunication system;

opening a first traffic volume container in the service node call detail record for storing a traffic volume count of data transfers;

closing the first location container in response to the mobile terminal moving into a second routing area of the mobile telecommunication system; and

generating a partial record of the service node call detail record in response to closure of the first location container.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of resetting the traffic volume count after the step of generating a partial record.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the traffic volume count includes an uplink volume count of data transferred from the mobile terminal to the service node and a downlink volume count of data transferred to the mobile terminal from the service node.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data is data delivered by a data network accessed by the mobile terminal through the mobile telecommunication system.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the data network is a packet data network.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the service node is a serving general packet radio service support node.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the service node provides data service to the mobile terminal in the first routing area and the second routing area.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the mobile terminal is a general packet radio service operable mobile terminal.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the mobile telecommunication system is a global system for mobile communication system.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second routing area is included in the first location area, the method further comprising the following steps:

opening a second location container upon closing of the first location container; and

accumulating subsequent traffic volume counts in the reset traffic volume container.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobility call detail record includes a subscriber identifier component that includes an identification of the mobile terminal.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the service node call detail record includes a subscriber identifier component that includes an identification of the mobile terminal.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the service node call detail record includes a record sequence number, the record sequence number being incremented after the partial record is generated.

14. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second routing area is included in a second location area of the mobile telecommunication system, further comprising the steps of:

closing the mobility call detail record; and

closing the service node call detail record, the service node being inoperable to provide a data service to the mobile terminal in the second location area.

15. The mobile telecommunication system for providing a data service to a mobile terminal therein, the mobile telecommunication system comprising:

a plurality of base transceiver stations having a first subset thereof included in a first routing area and a second subset thereof included in a second routing area; and

a service node operable to provide a data service to the mobile terminal located within one of the first and second routing areas, the service node opening a mobility call detail record and a location container in the mobility call detail record in response to the mobile terminal attaching to the mobile telecommunication system, the service node opening, in response to the mobile terminal activating, a service node call detail record and a traffic volume container operable to record a count of data traffic volume to and from the mobile terminal, the location container being closed in response to the mobile terminal moving from the first routing area to the second routing area, a partial record of the service node call detail record being created in response to closure of the location container, the count recorded in the traffic volume container being reset after creation of the partial record.

16. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 15, wherein the count includes an uplink volume count of data transferred from the mobile terminal to the service node and a downlink volume count of data transferred to the mobile terminal from the service node.

17. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 15, wherein the service node opens a second location container upon closure of the first location container, subsequent data transfers being counted in the reset traffic volume container.

18. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of base transceiver stations further includes a third subset in a third routing area, the service node inoperable to provide a data service to the mobile terminal in the third routing area, the service node closing the mobility call detail record and the service node call detail record in response to the mobile terminal migrating into the third routing area.

19. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 15, wherein the data service is a general packet radio service and the mobile terminal is a general packet radio service operable mobile terminal.

20. The mobile telecommunication system according to claim 19, further including a gateway general packet radio service support node, and the service node is a serving general packet radio service support node and interfaces with the gateway general packet radio service support node.

21. A service node for providing a data service to a mobile terminal in a mobile telecommunication system, comprising:

a communication interface with a base station subsystem for transferring data between the base station controller and the service node; and

a communication interface with a data network, the service node opening, in response to the mobile terminal attaching to the mobile telecommunication system, a mobility call detail record and a location container therein for recording a geographic area in which the mobile terminal is located within the mobile telecommunication system, the service node opening, in response to the mobile terminal activating, a service node call detail record and a traffic volume container therein for recording a traffic volume count of data delivered to and from the mobile terminal, the location container being closed in response to the mobile terminal moving from the geographic area, the service node generating a partial record of the service node call detail record in response to closure of the location container, the count in the traffic volume container being reset after generation of the partial record.

22. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the geographic area is one of a plurality of geographic areas in which the service node provides data service.

23. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the service node closes the location container when the mobile terminal leaves the geographic area.

24. The service node according to claim 22, wherein the service node opens a second location container in response to the mobile terminal entering a second geographic area included in the plurality of geographic areas, subsequent data transfers being counted in the reset traffic volume container.

25. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the traffic volume count includes an uplink count that includes a count indicating the amount of data transferred from the mobile terminal to the service node and a downlink count that includes a count indicating the amount of data transferred from the service node to the mobile terminal.

26. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the data service is a general packet radio service.

27. The service node according to claim 26, wherein the data network is a packet data network.

28. The service node according to claim 26, wherein the service node is a serving general packet radio services support node.

29. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the mobile telecommunication system is a global system for mobile communications telecommunication network.

30. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the location container is included in a mobility call detail record that is opened when the mobile terminal attaches to the mobile telecommunication system.

31. The service node according to claim 21, wherein the traffic volume container is included in a service node call detail record opened when the mobile terminal activates with the data network.

32. A plurality of call detail records for recording a traffic volume count of data transferred between a mobile terminal and a mobile telecommunication system through a node of a network, the call detail records comprising:

a mobility call detail record containing a location container configured to open in response to the mobile terminal attaching to the mobile telecommunication system in a first geographic location of the network and remain open until the mobile terminal leaves the first geographic location, wherein the mobility call detail record includes an identifier component that stores an identifier of the mobile terminal within the network; and

a service node call detail record containing a traffic volume container configured to open in response to the mobile terminal activating and operable to store a count of a volume of data passed through the node of the network, the traffic volume container operable to increment the count of the volume of data transferred through the node of the network, a partial record of the service node call detail record being generated when the mobile terminal migrates from the first geographic location to a second geographic location in the network and the location container is closed, the count recorded in the traffic volume container being reset upon generation of the partial record.

33. The call detail record according to claim 32, wherein the count includes an uplink count of data transferred from the device and a downlink count of data transferred to the device.

34. The call detail record according to claim 32, wherein the first geographic location is in a first routing are and the second geographic location is in a second routing area in the network.

35. The call detail record according to claim 32, wherein, in response to the migration, a location container recording a geographic location of the device closes, generation of the partial record of the call detail record occurring in response to the closure of the location container.