Patent Application
20050030938
The present invention relates to method and systems for international pre-paid phone cards, including low currency denominations, which relies on a system of routing calls through the least cost route. This allows the provider to use either an Internet telephony gateway or traditional time division multiplexing (TDM) to route the telephone calls. This provides a radically lower price than presently marketed phone cards, obviously appealing to consumers with a lower budget. Consumers are able to recover the funds invested in a card faster since the stored value remains with the end user. This promotes a faster recycling of business, fostering a positive situation for the manufacturer, vendors, distributors and consumers
The current market employs a plethora of phone cards in many denominations. The most common method of connecting these calls is through calling an enhanced featured platform where the user enters a pin or identification number of some sort, the caller is also prompted to enter the number they are attempting to connect with. From the pin or identification number the balance of their account is confirmed and then the call is connected, providing significant funds remain in the account to make the desired connection.
The process of routing a telephone call in the traditional manner is often pricey. Thus requiring a per minute rate high enough to make a one dollar phone card an unappealing option to consumers, as they would not receive a duration of connection long enough to justify purchasing a one dollar card, especially for international calling. One option for reducing the costs associated with traditional telephone connections is the use of Internet telephony.
Internet telephony, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,686, issued to Smyk, is two way voice communication over a packet switched network, such as the Internet. To establish voice communication over the Internet using currently available Internet technology, each participant in a voice call must have a computer equipped for Internet access and special hardware and software supporting Internet voice communication, which may include a modem, TCP/IP software, a dialer, a sound card, a microphone, and a speaker to be suitably configured for Internet telephony. Naturally there are certain limitations and drawbacks associated with such a system.
To obtain Internet telephony service using an Internet telephony equipped computer, the parties to a call must connect to an Internet Service Provider providing access to the Internet. Accordingly, the customer would need an account with any of the various Internet Service Providers (i.e. America Online, MSN, Broadband or High Speed connection) available. The nature of most Internet Service Providers accounts requires account holders to pay a flat fee for Internet access. This access, when connected to a properly equipped computer can include engaging in voice communication with other comparably equipped computers over the Internet without incremental usage charges, as are present in traditional telephone billing systems. The advantage of using this type of system for voice communication via Internet telephony according to current billing methods is the insensitivity of the cost of calls to their duration.
As stated supra, both the calling and receiving party must have a computer properly equipped for voice communication, and connected to Internet at the time the call is initiated. Furthermore the interoperability of the Internet telephony software packages is also an issue, as certain vendors' Internet telephony software is not cross compatible with others'. Further compounding these issues is the fact that the sound quality of Internet telephony calls is generally worse than the sound quality of calls transmitted through the public switched telephone network (PSTN), using a system of time division multiplexing (TDM). In light of these issues a system for facilitating an Internet telephony call where one or both of the calling parties are not equipped for this type of connection is necessary.
In the case where one or both parties are not suitably equipped for such a call the use of an Internet telephone gateway is employed. An advantage of using Internet telephony gateways to provide voice communication over the Internet is that this type of system fosters the integration of the calling and called parties' regular telephone service with an intermediary which has the ability to support Internet telephony. Neither party requires special computer equipment or an Internet service provider account. Moreover, for one party to place an Internet voice call through the Internet using Internet telephony gateways, neither the calling nor called party are required to be logged onto the Internet.
Addressing some of the inherent limitations of fostering telecommunication via the Internet imposed by using the Internet and the necessary Internet telephony-capable computer hardware and software, many vendors have developed Internet telephony gateways. It has become desirable for a company such as one who sells phone cards to have the ability to route a call through Internet telephony which is coming from a caller that subscribes solely to common telephone service. Such a system requires the use of an Internet telephony gateway. An Internet telephony gateway would include a system capable of processing voice signals, namely including packetizing and depacketizing the voice data stream for transmission via the Internet between the incoming or outgoing traditional telephone system.
To establish an Internet telephony call through an Internet telephony gateway network, a phone call originator dials from a telephone number assigned to an Internet telephony gateway. The gateway then handles verifying any required account information (i.e. account number, remaining balance) and based on the destination the caller is attempting to connect with, determines the network address of the Internet telephony gateway providing the most cost efficient path to the dialed party. The Internet telephony gateway proceeds to connect the call via Internet telephony. When the called party answers the telephone, a communication path is established through the network between the two telephones. Additionally Internet gateways can be employed in the reverse manner, converting the packets present in an Internet telephony message back to a traditional TDM format, in the case where a TDM path is the most cost efficient for the vendor.
This type of system specifically allows a phone card vendor to inexpensively connect multiple calls while billing using a traditional per minute rate, as commonly accepted in the industry. Often the high prices on phone cards are to account for the per minute rate charged to the vendor for routing a call through a hardwire TDM network, coupled with a variety of additional fees associated with each connection. These fees can range from a connection or disconnection fee, to a membership, application or usage fee, often these fees alone exceed one dollar for each connection made through the phone card. The present invention through the use of least cost routing paired with the ability to use either TDM or Internet telephony to lower incurred costs, allows the vendor to abandon the use of any sort of fee other than the standard per minute billing of each telephone call, thus allowing cards of such a small denomination to be marketed.
The present invention generally relates to a method for connecting two-way communications, generally voice communications, and more typically telephone calls. These communications are connected through an intermediate vendor and billed over a debit phone card in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The calls are connected through the carrier providing the least cost route. Additionally the cards are often sold in low dollar denominations due to the ability to connect calls in such a cost effective manner.
According to one embodiment, this pertains to a method for handling billing on a phone card, comprising the steps of receiving a phone call from a customer with an origin and destination phone number. The price per minute rate is determined for the current call across at least two providers. Options for routing the call include at least one provider with the ability to transmit a call using Internet telephony and at least one provider with the ability to transmit a call using a time division multiplexed (TDM) transmission. The user's account must be verified to have sufficient funds before the call can be completed. Once the account has been verified the call is routed across the least cost route and the appropriate per minute rate is deducted from the user's account.
Another embodiment describes a method of routing a telephone call through the most cost effective provider. This is facilitated by means of first determining the cost of routing the call through Internet telephony, and then the cost transmitting a TDM signal. The call is then connected through the most inexpensive route. However in the case where there is not a clear difference in price between Internet telephony routing or TDM routing the complexity of the connection path will be considered as a factor in the decision to choose one means of fostering the connection over another.
These cards must be distributed to various vendors by means of a secure distribution method, as once the cards are activated they are immediately valuable, thus making them very susceptible to theft. One embodiment of the present invention involves a method of securely distributing the cards in groups, referred to as batches. Inactive batches of cards are then distributed to resellers. The payment for each batch, from each respective reseller is held in an escrow account, as a security deposit, and once this payment is secured the batch of cards receives a pre-activation. At this point it is the reseller's responsibility to secure the cards from theft, as the individual cards are activated upon their first use and upon activation the reseller's escrow account is debited by the value of the card used.
An alternate embodiment is that of a system that handles cost efficient routing of a communication, commonly a voice communication and more specifically a telephone call. The system includes a user account, and identification numbers associated with both an origin and destination device. Most commonly the origin and destination devices are telephones and the identification numbers associated with them are telephone numbers. The remaining balance on the user's account is verified through the input of an identification number. The cost of making the connection is analyzed across both TDM and Internet telephony using multiple providers. A computer-implemented program chooses the least cost route based solely on the cost of the connection. If further parameters are needed to make such a decision the complexity of the route is then analyzed.
This summary is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
According to yet another embodiment, a method of routing a telephone call through the most cost effective provider is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: (200) determining the cost per minute to route the call from an origin to a destination through Internet telephony; (202) determining the cost per minute to route said call from an origin to a destination through time division multiplexing (TDM); (204) routing the call through either Internet telephony or time division multiplexing (TDM) according to the cost per minute using a method of least cost routing. This method may further comprise the step (206) debiting an account corresponding to the origin, wherein the account is assigned a zero balance when there are not sufficient funds remaining to make a one-minute call. In the event there is not sufficient funding to make another call one embodiment connects the user to an operator who can facilitate a collect call. Step (208) calls with duration less than a whole minute may be rounded up to the next whole minute for billing purposes. This call, once connected, in another embodiment, can have at least one additional party linked to the call. Where linking the additional party is intended to denote connecting a third party to the previously established connection between the caller and initial called party.
According to yet another embodiment, a method of routing a telephone call through the most cost effective provider is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: (300) determining the cost per minute and complexity in routing a call from an origin to a destination through Internet telephony; (302) determining the cost per minute and complexity in routing the call from an origin to a destination through time division multiplexed (TDM); (304) routing the call through either Internet telephony or time division multiplexing (TDM) according to the cost per minute and the complexity of route. It should be noted that the cost per minute is the first criteria. That is, where one route is cheaper than another route, that route should be chosen. However, where both routes are equal, the next set of criteria used to choose the route is the complexity of the route. The complexity of the route may best be defined as the number of stops that a phone call has to take in order to properly route the call to the destination. For instance, if a call has New York as the origin and London as the destination, and a number of different routes are available, each at a cost of 2 cents per minute, it is desirable to pick the least complex route. That is, a direct route from New York to London is more desirable than a phone call that is routed New York to Boston, Boston to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to London. However, location is not the only factor in determining the complexity of the route. As stated previously, calls with duration less than a whole minute are rounded up to the next whole minute for billing purposes. Also, an account or phone card may be assigned a zero balance when there are not sufficient funds remaining to make a one-minute call. As stated supra, in the event a call is attempted with insufficient funds on the account, one embodiment would connect the caller to an operator who can foster a collect call to the desired destination. Additionally, once the call is connected, another embodiment can have at least one additional party linked to the call. According to another embodiment, the method may also comprise the step (306) connecting the user to an operator and being given the option to make a collect call. This may be ideally done when the card is down to one minute remaining, the caller may be connected to an operator who may recharge the card with an account or password. Step (308) linking at least one additional caller to the call. This may be desirable for a chat party or teleconference. In this way, the caller may easily conference in a number of people without using complicated call in services.
The present invention envisions a unique manner in which to securely distribute cards using the previously mentioned methods. Specifically, a method of securely distributing telephone cards in batches is envisioned. The method comprising the steps of: step (350) producing a batch of inactive cards, comprised of a group of individual inactive cards (e.g. 100 individual phone cards); (352) setting up an escrow account for the reseller for the receipt of funds; (354) distributing the batch of inactive cards to a reseller; (356) holding payment for the batch of cards from the reseller in an escrow account; (358) pre-activating the batch of inactive cards upon receipt of batch by reseller; (360) individually activating each of the pre-activated cards upon first use; (362) debiting the reseller's escrow account a predetermined amount upon activation of each of the pre-activated cards. Optionally step (364) may be assigning each individual card of the batch an identification number. Ideally, the identification number should be consecutive numbers. For example, a batch of 100 cards may be distributed with identification numbers between 1,000,100-1,000,199. In this way, the cards may be tracked. According to a preferred embodiment, the cards may be consecutively number, i.e. 1,000,100, 1,000,101, 1,000,102.
