Claims
- 1. A method for prepayment of telecommunication connections between two or more telecommunication devices each operably associable with telecommunication lines of a telecommunication switching network having a central switching system operably connected to a billing system, said method comprising the steps:
- (a) storing in a first storage means in said central switching system, a group of subscriber numbers, each said subscriber number being associated with a subscriber line having membership to a prepaid group of subscriber lines;
- (b) storing in a second storage means in said billing system, monetary value data representative of a prepaid amount of monetary value available to each said subscriber line of said prepaid group, for payment of the cost of telecommunication connections in said telecommunication switching network;
- (c) transmitting a first called party number over a first subscriber line to said central switching system, in order to establish a first telecommunication connection between at least a first pair of telecommunication devices, wherein at least one of said first pair of telecommunication devices is operably associated with said first subscriber line;
- (d) at said central switching system, determining that said first subscriber line is in said prepaid group of subscriber lines;
- (e) at said central switching system, measuring the time duration of said first telecommunication connection;
- (f) at said billing system, computing the cost of said first telecommunication connection using applicable rate data and said measured time duration of said first telecommunication connection; and
- (g) at said billing system, processing said stored monetary value data of said prepaid group, to indicate a first decrement in said prepaid amount of monetary value, said first decrement being essentially equal to said computed cost of said first telecommunication connection.
- 2. The method of claim 1, which further comprises:
- (h) transmitting a second called party number over a second subscriber line to said central switching system, in order to establish a second telecommunication connection between at least a second pair of telecommunication devices, wherein at least one of said second pair of telecommunication devices is operably associated with said second subscriber line;
- (i) determining that said second subscriber line is in said prepaid group of subscriber lines;
- (j) at said central switching system, measuring the time duration of said second telecommunication connection;
- (k) at said central switching system, computing the cost of said second telecommunication connection using applicable rate data and said measured time duration of said second telecommunication; and
- (l) at said central switching system, processing said stored monetary value data of said prepaid group to indicate a second decrement in said prepaid amount of monetary value, said a second decrement being essentially equal to said computed cost of said second telecommunication connection.
- 3. Apparatus for prepayment of telecommunication connections between two or more telecommunication devices each operably associable with telecommunication lines of a telecommunication switching network having a central switching station operably connected to a billing system, said apparatus comprising:
- group register means, in said central switching system, for registering a group of numbers, each said number corresponding to a subscriber line having membership to a prepaid group of subscriber lines;
- data storage means, in said billing system, for storing monetary value data representative of a prepaid amount of bulk monetary value available to each subscriber line in said prepaid group, for payment of the cost of telecommunication connections in said telecommunication switching network;
- measuring means, in said central switching system, for measuring the time duration of a telecommunication connection established between two or more telecommunication devices, one of which is operably associated with one said subscriber line of said prepaid group;
- computing means, in said billing system, for computing the cost of said telecommunication connection using applicable rate data and said measured time duration; and
- processing means, in said billing system, for processing said bulk amount of monetary value data so as to indicate at least one decrement in said bulk amount of prepaid monetary value, said at least one decrement being essentially equal to said computed cost of said telecommunication connection.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said group register means, in said central switching system, stores a plurality of numbers corresponding to a plurality of prepaid subscriber lines belonging to an entity selected from the group consisting of a cooperative apartment, a condominium complex and a business organization.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 3, which further comprises data monitoring means, in said billing system, for storage means.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/785,272, filed Oct. 30, 1991, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
"Digital Transmission Building Blocks," by Steweart D. Personick, published by IEEE, cover page, pp. 1, 27-36, Jan. 1980. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
785272 |
Oct 1991 |
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