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

• US 9,589,282 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2014
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edgio Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Verizon Digital Media Services Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Fan, Jerry, Lientz, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Frenel, Vanel
• Application Number:
  US14/158,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20140136335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 705/34, 705/30, 705/412, 705/52, 370/252, 726/3, 455/456.3, 709/217, 709/223, 709/232
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 machine implemented method for offsetting usage of a service provider data network amongst end users and content providers, wherein the service provider data network provides a plurality of end users access to content of the content providers from an external data network, the machine implemented method comprising:

modifying operation of a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) server with a plurality of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) of free-to-user first content of a particular content provider, wherein the free-to-user first content is delivered to any end user of the plurality of end users without a receiving end user incurring data network usage fees in receiving the free-to-user first content, wherein the PDN GW server comprises a microprocessor, memory, and a network interface, and wherein the PDG GW server connects the service provider data network to the external data network;

inspecting by operation of the PDN GW server, a plurality of content passing from the external data network through the service provider data network to a particular end user of the plurality of end users, wherein said inspecting comprises scanning HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) headers of the plurality of packets, detecting presence or absence of the plurality of URLs in said headers, and serving said plurality of content to the particular end user over the service provider data network;

differentiating from the plurality of content in response to said inspecting, a first subset of free-to-user content comprising one URL from the plurality of URLs from a second subset of user chargeable content omitting all URLs from the plurality of URLs;

modifying usage allocation of the service provider data network based on said differentiating, wherein said modifying comprises metering to said PDN GW server memory, a first set of usage of the data network resulting from the particular end user receiving the first subset of free-to-user content comprising one URL from the plurality of URLs differently than a second set of usage of the data network resulting from the particular end user receiving the second subset of user chargeable content omitting all URLs from the plurality of URLs;

transmitting the first set of the data network usage and the second set of the data network usage from the PDN GW server over a digital network to a billing server of the service provider; and

performing at the billing server in response to said transmitting, offset billing based on the data network usage associated with delivering the plurality of content to the particular end user, wherein performing the offset billing comprises alerting the particular end user of network usage by (i) billing the particular end user according to the second set of data network usage incurred in delivering, to the particular end user, the second subset of user chargeable content and (ii) not billing the particular end user for the first set of data network usage incurred in delivering the first subset of free-to-user content.

2. The machine implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the offset billing further comprises billing the particular content provider according to the first set of data network usage incurred in delivering, to the particular end user, the first subset of free-to-user content and not billing the particular content provider for the second set of data network usage incurred in delivering the second subset of user chargeable content to the particular end user.

3. The machine implemented method of claim 1 further comprising tracking by operation of the PDN GW microprocessor the first and second sets of data network usage associated with delivering the plurality of content to a specific end user usage log tracking the particular end user'"'"'s usage.

4. The machine implemented method of claim 3 further comprising filtering by operation of the PDN GW microprocessor the first set of data network usage resulting from delivery of the first subset of free-to-user content to the particular end user from the specific end user usage log.

5. The machine implemented method of claim 4 further comprising entering to a content provider usage log of the particular content provider by operation of the PDN GW microprocessor, the first set of data network usage resulting from delivery of the first subset of free-to-user content to the particular end user.

6. The machine implemented method of claim 5, wherein said transmitting comprises transmitting the specific end user usage log and the content provider usage log to the billing server, and wherein performing the offset billing further comprises processing the specific end user usage log in billing the particular end user and processing the content provider usage log in billing the particular content provider.

7. The machine implemented method of claim 1, wherein the particular end user is a first end user of the plurality of end users, the method further comprising inspecting free-to-user third content comprising one of the plurality of URLs passing from the external data network through the service provider data network to a second end user of the plurality of end users, wherein the second end user is different from the first end user.

8. The machine implemented method of claim 7, wherein performing the offset billing further comprises billing the particular content provider according to the data network usage incurred in delivering to the second end user, the free-to-user third content.

9. The machine implemented method of claim 1, wherein the external data network is a content delivery network (CDN) comprising a point-of-presence (PoP) with at least one caching server serving the content of the content providers to the plurality of end users.

10. The machine implemented method of claim 1, wherein the external data network is the Internet.

11. A method for offsetting usage of a service provide data network amongst (i) a plurality of end users utilizing the service provider data network for access to content from an external data network and (ii) a plurality of content providers providing said content from the external data network, the method comprising:

caching to memory of a caching server at an edge of the service provider data network connecting to the external data network, a subset of said content from the external data network comprising at least one of a set of identifiers designating content with data network usage billable to a content provider instead of a receiving end user;

serving in response to requests from the plurality of end users comprising one of the set of identifiers, said subset of content from the caching server without accessing a content provider in the external data network originating said subset of content;

differentiating by operation of a gateway server based on the set of identifiers, content passing from the plurality of content providers in the external data network and the caching server to any of the plurality of end users operating in a service region of the service provider data network as (i) first content with data network usage billable to an end user receiving the first content and (ii) second content comprising the subset of content with data network usage billable to a particular content provider originating the second content, wherein the gateway server connects the plurality of end users operating from the service provider data network to the content of the plurality of content providers in the external data network, the gateway server comprising a microprocessor, memory, and a network interface;

tracking by operation of the gateway server (i) a first amount of data network usage by a particular end user of the plurality of end users incurred from delivery of the first content to the particular end user from the plurality of content providers in the external data network and (ii) a second amount of data network usage by the particular end user incurred from delivery of the second content to the particular end user from the caching server at the edge of the service provider data network; and

transmitting the first amount of the data network usage and the second amount of the data network usage by the particular end user over a digital network to a billing server of the service provider; and

activating billing operation of the billing server in response to said transmitting, wherein said activating comprises (i) providing a first bill to the particular end user based on the first amount of data network usage by the particular end user and (ii) providing a second bill to the particular content provider based on the second amount of data network usage by the particular end user.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising tracking a third amount of data network usage incurred from delivery of the second content to a second different end user of the plurality of end users.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second bill is further based on the third amount of data network usage by the second different end user.

14. A method comprising:

receiving with a packet inspection server connected to a data network, a first set of HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) packets comprising first content data entering the data network from an external data network and destined for an end user device associated with a user account and connected to the data network, the first content data associated with a content provider, and the first set of HTTP packets including headers with an identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content;

inspecting the first content data by operation of the packet inspection server, wherein said inspecting comprises identifying the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content in the headers of the first set of HTTP packets, and determining that the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content is associated with the content provider;

generating a first log entry containing first log entry information, the first log entry information including an identifier of the end user device, an identifier of the first content data, an indication of data network usage, and an indication that such data network usage is not chargeable to the end user;

generating a second log entry containing second log entry information, the second log entry information including an identifier of a content source, the identifier of the first content data, the indication of data network usage, and an indication that such data network usage is chargeable to the content provider;

receiving with the packet inspection server, a second set of HTTP packets comprising second content data entering the data network from the external data network and destined for the end user device, wherein headers of the second set of HTTP packets omit an identifier designating the second content as free-to-user content;

inspecting the second content data by operation of the packet inspection server, wherein said inspecting comprises identifying the identifier designating the second content as free-to-user content being omitted from the headers of the second set of HTTP packets;

generating a third log entry containing third log entry information, the third log entry information including the identifier of the end user device, an identifier of the third content data, an indication of data network usage, and an indication that such data network usage is chargeable to the end user;

providing a first bill to the user account, the first bill including the first log entry information and third log entry information; and

providing a second bill to the content provider, the second bill including the second log entry information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the first content data.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving at the packet inspection server a request from the end user device to obtain the first content data, the request including the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content; and

determining at the packet inspection server that the request includes the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content;

wherein the request from the end user device is a HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) request and determining at the packet inspection server that the request includes the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content includes identifying a URL in the HTTP request as the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing an interface to the content provider, the interface permitting the content provider to identify the first content data as free-to-user content;

assigning the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content; and

providing the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content to the packet inspection server and storing the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content at the packet inspection server in a collection of identifiers;

wherein determining that the first content data contains the identifier designating the first content as free-to-user content includes comparing the first content data to the collection of identifiers.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication that data network usage is not chargeable to the end user includes indicating a zero usage of data.