Auditing system for wireless networks

• US 8,010,081 B1
• Filed: 07/13/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Carrier Iq
• Inventors: Roskowski, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Ajit
• Application Number:
  US11/777,953
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/406
• 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 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/725 by the operator
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/73 Validating charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/206 CDMA, i.e. Code Division Multiple Access

Abstract

Independently evaluating the performance of the billing systems of wireless carriers. Devices are provisioned with a collection profile that enables the devices to capture event data at the devices that corresponds to billable events. The collected data is uploaded to a collection and management system. The collection and management system can then compare the collected event data with the billable data generated by the billing systems of wireless carriers to identify discrepancies in the billable events, determine relative performance of elements in the carrier'"'"'s wireless networks, and identify traffic or load based loss in carrier'"'"'s billable data.

Claims

1. In a wireless network of a carrier that provides services to multiple end user devices, a method for evaluating a billing system of the wireless network, the method comprising:

tracking one or more events on a user device, wherein the one or more events correspond to chargeable actions in a wireless network; and

transmitting the one or more events with information noting that at least one event of the one or more events was dropped and a reason why the at least one event was dropped to a remote collection system on a server, wherein the collection system generates results from the one or more events that are used to audit billing data from a carrier of the wireless network.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein tracking one or more events on a user device further comprises identifying chargeable events on the user device, wherein the chargeable events include one or more of an outgoing call, a received call, a sent message, a received message, or Internet access.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein tracking one or more events further comprises identifying an environment for inclusion in each event.

4. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein identifying an environment for inclusion in each event further comprises at least one of:

identifying a network or an infrastructure communicating with the user device;

or

identifying settings of the user device.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein transmitting the one or more events to a remote collection system further comprises:

storing the one or more events at the device; and

forwarding the one or more events at a later time to the remote collection system.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein transmitting the one or more events to a remote collection system further comprises transmitting the one or more events when an appropriate network is available.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising dropping certain events from the one or more events without creating a bias in the one or more events.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

9. In a wireless network of a carrier that provides services to multiple end user devices, a method for evaluating a billing system of the wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving event data from one or more end user devices operating in one or more wireless networks, wherein the event data represents chargeable events of the one or more end user devices; and

auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data by comparing the event data with the billable data, wherein the event data is collected independently of the billable data, wherein auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data further comprises;

correlating tower and/or sector information with carrier infrastructure data to determine relative performance of the tower and/or sector or to determine performance of other elements in the wireless network.

10. The method as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

provisioning one or more end user devices with a collection profile, the collection profile configured to enable each device to identify and collect billable events at the end user device.

11. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein receiving event data from one or more end user devices operating in one or more wireless networks further comprises:

identifying instances where certain events in the event data are lost; and

discarding event data where the lost events impact analysis.

12. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein provisioning one or more end user devices with a collection profile further comprises deploying the collection profile to a sufficient number of end user devices such that statistically distributed losses result in an adequate sample set of the event data and such that event data with complete contextual data is captured.

13. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data further comprises identifying specific instances of missed events in the billable data.

14. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data further comprises determining if events missing or misrepresented in the billable data is attributable to traffic in the wireless networks.

15. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data further comprises correlating missed or misrepresented events in the billable data with time of day and call volume in the wireless networks.

16. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data further comprises correlating missed or misrepresented events in the billable data by type of event.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 9.

18. In one or more wireless networks that provide service to multiple end user devices, a method for evaluating performance of elements operating in a network, the method comprising:

receiving event data from one or more devices operating in a wireless network, the event data including data representing chargeable events and environment data identifying elements of the wireless network;

auditing billing data received from at least one carrier by comparing some of the event data with the billing data to identify a billing issue;

correlating the event data with a topology of the wireless network; and

identifying one or more elements in the wireless network that contribute to the billing issue.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein auditing billing data received from at least one carrier by comparing some of the event data with the billing data to identify a billing issue further comprises identifying either lost revenue or carrier liability.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising performing a statistical analysis on the one or more elements to identify the billing issue.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein receiving event data further comprises at least one of:

receiving the event data in real time from the one or more devices;

or

receiving the event data from the one or more devices when transmitted by the one or more devices, wherein the one or more devices store and forward the event data.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein identifying one or more elements that contribute to the billing issue further comprises identifying the one or more elements that correspond to errors in the billing data of the carrier based on a comparison between the billing data of the carriers and the chargeable events received from the end user devices in the event data.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the collected event data includes a complete context of the collected event data, the context including at least one or more of a carrier, a network, a type of network, or a location of the device.

24. In a wireless network of a carrier that provides services to multiple end user devices, a method for evaluating a billing system of the wireless network, the method comprising:

provisioning end user devices with a collection profile, the collection profile configured to enable each device to identify and collect billable events at the end user device, wherein a sufficient number of end user devices are provisioned with the collective profile such that statistically distributed losses result in an adequate sample set of the event data and such that event data with complete contextual data is captured;

receiving event data from one or more end user devices operating in one or more wireless networks, wherein the event data represents chargeable events of the one or more end user devices; and

auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data by comparing the event data with the billable data, wherein the event data is collected independently of the billable data.

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing, in a wireless network of a carrier that provides services to multiple end user devices, a method for evaluating a billing system of the wireless network, the method comprising:

provisioning end user devices with a collection profile, the collection profile configured to enable each device to identify and collect billable events at the end user device, wherein a sufficient number of end user devices are provisioned with the collective profile such that statistically distributed losses result in an adequate sample set of the event data and such that event data with complete contextual data is captured;

receiving event data from one or more end user devices operating in one or more wireless networks, wherein the event data represents chargeable events of the one or more end user devices; and

auditing billable data from at least one carrier using the event data by comparing the event data with the billable data, wherein the event data is collected independently of the billable data.