Local access to a mobile network

• US 8,351,419 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2006
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Guedalia, Jacob, Guedalia, David
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, PHUOC HUU
• Application Number:
  US11/333,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20060258330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,547 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/433, 370/352
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A method for billing a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP call made by the subscriber, the method including determining when a subscriber to a cellular telephone service places a telephone call to a remote device using a local device associated with the subscription, where the telephone call has at least one VoIP call leg, capturing session information related to the telephone call, including information identifying the subscriber, and providing the information to a provider of the cellular telephone service, thereby enabling the cellular telephone service provider to bill the subscriber for the VoIP call.

Claims

1. A method for billing a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP call made by the subscriber using a wireless local area network, the method comprising:

receiving said VoIP call via a public data network, said VoIP call originating from said subscriber using a local device that is coupled to said public data network via said wireless local area network;

decoding at least a portion of said VoIP call to obtain session information related to said VoIP call, said session information including information identifying said subscriber;

sending said VoIP call to a remote device; and

sending at least a portion of said session information to a provider of said cellular telephone service, thereby enabling said cellular telephone service provider to bill said subscriber, and not an owner of said wireless local area network, for said VoIP call, wherein said subscriber is a different entity than said owner; and

initiating a credit to an account associated with said owner of said wireless local area network thereby preventing said owner from incurring charges associated with said VoIP call.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising calculating a subscriber billing cost incurred by said owner of said wirelesss local area network for said VoIP call.

3. The method according to claim 2 and further comprising debiting a billing record of said subscriber for said subscriber billing cost.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein sending said VoIP call to said remote device includes redirecting said VoIP call to said remote device via a VoIP gateway.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein initiating a credit to said account associated with said owner comprises crediting said owner by crediting an account belonging to said owner at an ISP of said owner.

6. The method of claim 1, said decoding step further comprising decoding device identifying information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising decoding identifying information from within a SIP ‘

From’

header.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing subscriber and subscriber device identification information to said provider over a cellular network connection in relation to said VoIP call.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing subscriber information to said provider through both said wireless local area network as well as said cellular network connection.

10. A method for billing a visiting subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP call made by the subscriber over a host wireless local area network, the method comprising:

determining when the visiting subscriber to the cellular telephone service places a telephone call to a remote device using a local host wireless local area network, wherein said telephone call has at least one VoIP call leg;

capturing session information related to said telephone call, including information identifying said visiting subscriber;

calculating, based upon the session information, a billing cost incurred by said local host wireless local area network for said telephone call;

initiating a credit to an account associated with an owner of said local host wireless local area network thereby preventing said owner from incurring charges associated with said telephone call, wherein said visiting subscriber is a different entity than said owner; and

sending said calculated billing cost to said cellular telephone service thereby enabling a cellular telephone service provider to bill said visiting subscriber for said telephone call.

11. A system for billing a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP call made to or by the subscriber, the system comprising:

a remote gateway accessible by a local device through a wireless local area network, wherein the remote gateway is configured to;

receive said VoIP call via a public data network, said VoIP call originating from said subscriber using said local device that is coupled to said public data network via said wireless local area network;

capture session information related to said VoIP call, including information identifying said subscriber, and

redirect said VoIP call to a VoIP gateway to enable said VoIP call to be placed between said local device and a remote device via said VoIP gateway;

provide said session information to a provider of said cellular telephone service, for billing said subscriber for said VoIP call; and

initiate a credit to an account associated with an owner of said wireless local area network thereby preventing said owner of said wireless local area network from incurring charges associated with said VoIP call, wherein said subscriber is a different entity than said owner.

12. The system according to claim 11 wherein said local device is configured to place said VoIP call at least partially via a non-cellular telephone infrastructure.

13. The system according to claim 11 and further comprising a billing logic module configured to calculate a billing cost incurred by said local device for said VoIP call.

14. The system according to claim 13 wherein said billing logic module is configured to debit a billing record of said subscriber for said billing cost.

15. The system according to claim 13 wherein said billing logic module is configured to credit said owner of a local network through which said VoIP call is placed for said billing cost.

16. The system according to claim 15 wherein said billing logic module is configured to credit said owner by crediting an account belonging to said owner at an ISP of said owner.

17. The system of claim 11, said local device comprising a wireless communication device adapted for communication with said wireless local area network and adapted for communication with a cellular wide area network, said wireless local area network and said remote gateway communicating by way of a known Internet protocol.

18. The system of claim 17, said known Internet protocol comprising a RTP packet protocol.

19. The system of claim 17, said remote gateway being coupled by wired Internet-compatible connections to said wireless local area network and coupled by a wired Internet-compatible data network to a local gateway.

20. The system of claim 19, said remote gateway further coupled to a location registry for registering the location of said subscriber within a communication network including said local gateway.

21. A system for billing a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP call made by the subscriber using a wireless local area network, the system comprising:

means for receiving said VoIP call via a public data network, said VoIP call originating from said subscriber using a local device that is coupled to said public data network via said wireless local area network;

means for decoding at least a portion of said VoIP call to obtain session information related to said VoIP call, said session information including information identifying said subscriber;

means for sending said VoIP call to a remote device; and

means for sending at least a portion of said session information to a provider of said cellular telephone service, thereby enabling said provider of said cellular telephone service to bill said subscriber, and not an owner of said wireless local area network, for said VoIP call, wherein said subscriber is a different entity than said owner; and

means for initiating a credit to an account associated with said owner of said wireless local area network thereby preventing said owner from incurring charges associated with said VoIP call.

22. The system according to claim 21 further comprising means for calculating a subscriber billing cost incurred by said owner of said wireless local area network for said call.

23. The system according to claim 22 and further comprising means for debiting a billing record of said subscriber for said subscriber billing cost.

24. The system according to claim 22 and further comprising means for crediting said owner of said wireless local area network through which said call is placed for said billing cost.

25. The system according to claim 24 wherein said means for crediting comprises means for crediting said owner by crediting an account belonging to said owner at an ISP of said owner.

26. A non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a method for managing power on a mobile device, the method comprising:

capturing session information related to a telephone call, including information identifying a visiting subscriber;

calculating, based upon the session information, a billing cost incurred by a local host wireless local area network for said telephone call;

initiating a credit to an account associated with an owner of said local host wireless local area network thereby preventing said owner from incurring charges associated with said telephone call, wherein said visiting subscriber is a different entity than said owner; and

sending said calculated billing cost to said cellular telephone service thereby enabling said cellular telephone service provider to bill said visiting subscriber for said telephone call.

27. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 26, the method including:

receiving said telephone call; and

redirecting said telephone call to a VoIP gateway.