Patent Grant
7123703
This application is a national stage application of International Application No. PCT/DE02/00716 which was published in the German language on Oct. 24, 2002 and which claims the benefit of priority to European Application No. 01109180.8, which was filed in the German language on Apr. 12, 2001.
The invention relates to a method for threshold-value-related control of at least one service in a data or telecommunication system.
Services paid for in advance, particularly services in a data or telecommunication system, are also known as prepaid services, an electronic credit being built up with a service provider e.g. by means of cashless transfer or cash purchase of a telephone card (prepaid card) by the user. The service provider's services booked in this manner can then be selected cashlessly by the user from any touch-tone telephone, from a telephone booth, in a hotel etc. via a toll-free service number and used e.g. by entering a user ID. Services of this kind can also be used from a mobile telephone, correspondingly attractive tariff plans being possible for the service operators through pre-payment of the service charges. Generally tariff models tailored to the user's requirements are provided, e.g. for the preferred use of international or national connections, local or long-distance calls, etc.
The scope of the services offered extends not only to voice communication using fixed or mobile telephones, but also to text-based communication services such as e-mail or SMS (Short Message Service). In addition, services such as voice mail (answering machine function), Internet access (WAP phone, Internet computer) or reduced-rate services such as travel information, telephone information etc. can be provided. The advantages of using a service package of this kind have so far resulted in an increasing number of users. However, the disadvantage of the present system is that, if credit runs out while a service is being used, the line is cut off which means that it is no longer possible for the user to top off his credit in good time. This is all the more unacceptable for the user in that cut-off may occur while an important service is being used, e.g. an important international call, and can have serious consequences.
According to an aspect of the invention, a method is provided for permitting a flexible response to varying credit balances for prepaid services. The method according to this aspect of the invention includes setting at least one threshold value for a prepaid credit for payment of said service, defining at least one action, particularly control of the scope of said service, within the framework of said service, said action to be triggered at said threshold value, signaling if credit falls below or exceeds a threshold value, and triggering the action in response to the signal.
According to an aspect of the invention, a differentiated decision on reaching a (specifically lower) threshold of an electronic credit in favor of a flexible reaction of the user is implemented.
A flexible reaction can be made possible particularly if a threshold value is replaced by a number of threshold values to which at least one action is finally assigned in each case. The resulting possibilities for providing flexibility in the threshold value behavior of a prepaid service allow the user to replenish his electronic credit according to his specific requirements or to terminate the use of a service in an orderly manner.
The action triggered when a threshold value is reached includes the activation or deactivation of an assigned service. For example, when an upper threshold value is reached, particularly cost-intensive services are turned off first in order to enable less expensive services to be provided for as long as possible. The line will not be finally cut off until a lower credit threshold is reached.
A particular advantage of this is that the action triggered when a threshold value is reached includes the modification of service parameters, particularly charging, rating or grade of service. As a result, simple activation or deactivation of a service is replaced by a significantly differentiated handling of the payment modalities. Thus, for example, it would still be possible, on reaching an upper threshold value, to use a service at low monthly charges and on a relatively inexpensive tariff, whereas, if the credit falls below this threshold value, said tariff will no longer be offered or the grade of service, e.g. the possibility of making international calls, will be restricted. Such a restriction of service parameters over a number of threshold values down to a lower threshold value has the effect of motivating the user to top off his electronic credit in good time.
When setting at least one threshold value for a credit balance, the threshold value is preferably selected in accordance with user data, in particular the scope of service booked by the user and/or the amount of prepaid credit. Thus, for example, for a user with a high prepaid credit balance and a booked scope of service including not only telephone but also Internet services, an upper threshold value for triggering scope-of-service restricting actions can be set much lower than for a user with a low prepaid credit balance and a very restricted booked scope of service in the form of a purely telephone service.
The action triggered when a threshold value is reached is also preferably selected in accordance with user data, in particular the scope of service booked by the user and/or the amount of prepaid credit. Thus, when setting, as part of the service, at least one action to be triggered at a threshold value, the booked Internet service can be deactivated and the memory size for SMS messages can be restricted, for example, at this threshold value for a user with a low prepaid credit balance, whereas in the case of a user with a considerably higher prepaid credit balance, only the service parameters, e.g. the underlying telephone tariff, will be modified on reaching the same threshold value. Here the user is motivated to build up sufficient electronic credit well in advance for high-grade services and a “moderate” reaction when the credit falls below a threshold value.
Another advantage is achieved by attaching an additional condition that must be fulfilled before the action or actions set to be triggered at a threshold value can be initiated, signaling of the occurrence or non-occurrence of the condition taking place after signaling that the credit exceeds or has fallen below the threshold value. By assigning a condition to at least one threshold value, it is possible to influence the response of further parameters and therefore to tailor the solutions to a customer's requirements.
This is particularly relevant when the size of the user's prepaid credit and/or the booked scope of service and/or the service being used is part of a condition. If, e.g., in the case of a prepaid credit of DM 100.00 and a booked scope of service of telephone service (international, national), voice mail and SMS, and while a long-distance call is in progress, credit fall below an upper threshold value of DM 15.00, the action of modifying service parameters, e.g. restricting the voice mail capacity, is initially triggered. If, on the other hand, the user is only making a local call when the credit balance falls below this threshold value, initially no action will be triggered.
When the credit balance falls below a threshold value thereby signaling the triggering of an action, the user is preferably informed, in response to the signal, of the status of his credit and/or of the scope of service currently applicable to him. In the example described above, the long-distance caller can be additionally informed that his electronic credit is currently DM 15.00 and that the scope of service, i.e. his voice mail capacity, has been restricted in favor of the call in progress. This means that the user is reminded in good time to top off his electronic credit.
According to an aspect of the invention, it is advantageous from the service provider's standpoint that all the threshold values, actions and conditions for a plurality of users are managed at a central point of a computer network. This kind of central administration of services is non-labor-intensive and provides a correspondingly good overview of the cost-effectiveness and status of the operation as well as statistical analysis of user behavior. A software package running on a central server of a data and communications network is particularly suitable for supporting this aspect of the invention.
The threshold value behavior of prepaid services can be further differentiated by setting a number of threshold values, each triggering at least one action. It is possible to graduate the threshold values in such a way that the actions triggered when credit falls below or exceeds said threshold values incrementally restrict the scope of service and the service parameters or extend them again when the electronic credit is topped off by the user. The actions triggered at graduated threshold values can initiate e.g. restriction of possible telephone connections to the local network, simultaneous deactivation of the SMS function with simultaneous modification of the basic call charges.
In addition, it is also possible to assign at least one condition to each of a plurality of threshold values, the threshold values likewise being graduated such that the condition, of which there are at least one, assigned thereto enables graduated restriction or extension when credit falls below or exceeds individual threshold values. Thus, for example, Internet access via a WAP-enabled mobile phone can be deactivated when credit falls below a threshold value of DM 10.00, but an SMS service can be activated by another condition assigned to this threshold value, depending on the original prepaid credit, and when Internet access has been deactivated.
The above-mentioned graduation can be undertaken particularly from the point of view that the user is informed in good time about the current scope of the services used by him and his available credit without complete line cut-off occurring immediately. This enables him to top off his credit balance in good time and in a differentiated manner, which means that the average available credit on the user's account is also increased. For the service operator, this allows the quality of the offer to be further increased while at the same time providing cheaper prices.
The present invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:
The threshold values can be assigned special conditions for the charging or rating of communication or other services. An assigned condition could be e.g. such that, subject to a prepaid credit of DM 50.00 and the credit simultaneously falling below the threshold, activation of the charges service is triggered, which triggers the taking of an increased charge as the basis for billing a service. Conversely, however, if a prepaid credit of DM 100.00 is paid for and the credit falls below the same threshold, no action is yet triggered. By assigning conditions to individual threshold values, the rating, for example, can therefore be selectively influenced by the triggering or non-triggering of actions.
In addition, particular conditions for the occurrence of services or grades of service can be formulated which trigger the activation or deactivation of a service when the credit falls below or exceeds a threshold value. Thus, when credit falls below the highest threshold value in the case of a prepaid credit of DM 100.00, the grade of service of a service, e.g. the possibility of international calls, can be deactivated, but in the case of a prepaid credit of DM 50.00 the telephone service can be cut off completely at the same threshold value. For the functional relationship shown here, the user is informed, e.g. about the state of the credit and the scope of services currently available to him.
If, for example, the electronic credit falls below the highest threshold value, a previously active and location-based service C is switched to an active and non-location-based state. This takes place in the present example by setting call barring and simultaneously offering a location-based replacement service. Both services run on the HLR (Home Location Register) server. If the credit falls below the next threshold value, a previously activated service B is deactivated. In the present example, a voice-prompted menu dialog is replaced by self-entry of the appropriate digits. This affects the SMAP (Service Management Access Point) server.
When the electronic credit falls below the next threshold, a charges service is activated which sets the tariff for SMS messages (Short Message Service) from a discount level II to a discount level I, less favorable discounting coming into effect for SMS in terms of a discount schedule for prepaid services. This service is activated on the Prepaid Service Center server. Finally, if the credit drops below the lowest threshold value, a service A is activated which changes a grade of service I to a grade of service II, causing the voice mail memory size to be reduced, the service A being initiated on the Voice Mail Server.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01109180 | Apr 2001 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/DE02/00716 | 2/27/2002 | WO | 00 | 10/14/2003 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO02/084613 | 10/24/2002 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20040114739 A1 | Jun 2004 | US |
