Systems and methods for billing content providers for designated content delivered over a data network

• US 8,635,128 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2012
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edgio Incorporated
• Original Assignee: EdgeCast Networks (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Fan, Jerry, Lientz, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Frenel, Vanel
• Application Number:
  US13/412,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20130238472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 705/34, 705/30, 705/52, 705/412, 709/232, 709/217, 709/223, 726/3, 370/252, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

Some embodiments provide multi-tenant billing systems and methods whereby data network usage fees that are associated with delivering select content of different content providers over a data network are passed to the content provider that originates or is the source for that select content instead of the end users that request and receive the select content. A deep packet inspection server or a billing server may be configured with a list of identifiers to distinguish between the network usage that is related to the delivery of the designated free content from the network usage that is not related to the delivery of the designated free content. The network usage can be distinguished by filtering or processing usage logs that track the network usage using the configured list of identifiers. Such filtering or processing can be done in real-time or in a delayed manner in a standalone or integrated system.

Claims

1. A method for a billing system of a service provider, the service provider operating a data network providing a plurality of end users metered access to a plurality of content from a plurality of content providers, the method comprising:

providing a packet inspection server, the packet inspection server operating to examine content passing from any content provider of the plurality of content providers through the data network of the service provider to any end user of the plurality of end users;

receiving a set of identifiers from a set of the plurality of content providers, the set of identifiers identifying a subset of the plurality of content that the set of content providers designates for delivery to any end user of the plurality of end users without the end user incurring metered usage charges with the usage charges instead being incurred by a content provider that originates the delivered content;

configuring the packet inspection server with the set of identifiers;

inspecting at the packet inspection server, first content and second content for an identifier of the set of identifiers, wherein the first content and the second content is originated by a particular content provider of the plurality of content providers and passes through the data network to the particular end user; and

tracking billable usage of the data network, wherein tracking the billable usage, when the first content does not comprise any identifier of the set of identifiers and the second content comprises one identifier of the set of identifiers, comprises i) entering into the particular end user'"'"'s usage log, data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the first content, ii) filtering from the particular end user'"'"'s usage log, data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the second content, and iii) entering into the particular content provider'"'"'s usage log, data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the second content.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising tracking data network usage on a per end user basis for each end user of the plurality of end users.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising billing the particular end user based on the particular end user'"'"'s usage log for the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the first content without billing the particular end user for the data network usage that is related to the delivery of the second content.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising billing the particular content provider based on the particular content provider'"'"'s usage log for the data network usage that is related to the delivery of the second content.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein billing the particular content provider comprises billing the particular content provider for the data network usage that is related to delivery of the second content to the particular end user and at least one other end user of the plurality of end users and not for the data network usage that is related to delivery of the first content.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein billing the particular end user comprises i) deducting the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the first content from an allotted amount of usage that is provided as part of a data network access plan subscribed to by the particular end user and ii) not deducting the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the second content from the allotted amount of usage.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein billing the particular end user comprises i) billing the particular end user on a per increment amount for the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the first content and ii) not billing the particular end user for the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the second content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering from the particular end user'"'"'s usage log, the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the second content comprises not entering the data network usage that is related to the delivery of the second content to the particular end user'"'"'s usage log.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering from the particular end user'"'"'s usage log, the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the second content comprises zeroing out the data network usage that is related to the delivery of the second content from the particular end user'"'"'s usage log.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering from the particular end user'"'"'s usage log, the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the second content comprises issuing credit to the particular end user for the data network usage that is related to the delivery of the second content.

11. A method for a billing system of a service provider, the service provider operating a data network providing a plurality of end user subscribers of the data network metered access to a plurality of content, the method comprising:

configuring the billing system with at least one identifier for identifying select content of a particular content provider, said configuring modifying billing operation of the billing system by (i) not assessing data network usage associated with delivering the select content to any end user subscriber receiving the select content and (ii) assessing to the particular content provider, the data network usage associated with delivering the select content to any of the plurality of end user subscribers;

tracking data network usage that is related to a plurality of content that is delivered to a particular end user of the plurality of end user subscribers to at least one log that is stored to a non-transitory storage medium of the billing system;

processing the at least one log using the at least one identifier, said processing identifying (i) data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the select content and (ii) data network usage by the particular end user that is not related to delivery of the select content; and

billing the particular content provider a first fee based on the identified data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the select content and billing the particular end user a second fee based on the identified data network usage by the particular end user that is not related to the delivery of the select content.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein processing the at least one log comprises processing the at least one log at an appointed time that indicates an end of a billing cycle for the particular end user.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one log is a first log, and wherein processing the at least one log comprises entering the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the select content to a second log, wherein the second log tracks data network usage that is related to delivery of the select content of the particular content provider.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein billing the particular content provider comprises billing the particular content provider based on the data network usage that is related to the delivery of the select content and that is tracked to the second log.

15. A method for a billing system of a service provider, the service provider operating a data network providing a plurality of end users metered access to a plurality content from an external data network that is communicably coupled to the data network, the method comprising:

providing a packet inspection server, the packet inspection server operating to examine content passing from any of a plurality of content providers accessible from the external data network to any end user of the plurality of end users;

configuring the packet inspection server with a set of identifiers, the set of identifiers differentiating content that passes through the data network as first content with data network usage chargeable to an end user receiving the first content and second content with data network usage chargeable to a particular content provider originating the second content;

inspecting at the packet inspection server, content passing through the data network based on the configured set of identifiers, said inspecting classifying the content as one of the first content and the second content, wherein the content is passed from the particular content provider to a particular end user of the plurality of end users;

tracking data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the first content to a first data structure that is stored to a non-transitory storage medium of the billing system;

tracking data network usage by the particular end user that is related to delivery of the second content to a second data structure that is stored to the non-transitory storage medium; and

billing (i) the particular end user a first fee based on usage of the data network by the particular end user that is tracked to the first data structure and (ii) the particular content provider a second fee based in part on usage of the data network by the particular end user that is tracked to the second data structure.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the set of identifiers comprises at least one identifier identifying the particular content provider by at least one of i) an IP address of the particular content provider and ii) an IP address of a content delivery network server that serves the second content on behalf of the particular content provider.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the set of identifiers comprises at least one identifier identifying an application for accessing the second content from the data network using a network enabled device of an end user.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the set of identifiers comprises at least one of a Domain Name System (DNS) request for requesting the second content and a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) identifying the second content.