Patent Grant
11968234
With the advent of mass market digital communications and content distribution, many access networks such as wireless networks, cable networks and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) networks are pressed for user capacity, with, for example, EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized), HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) wireless networks increasingly becoming user capacity constrained. Although wireless network capacity will increase with new higher capacity wireless radio access technologies, such as MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), and with more frequency spectrum being deployed in the future, these capacity gains are likely to be less than what is required to meet growing digital networking demand.
Similarly, although wire line access networks, such as cable and DSL, can have higher average capacity per user, wire line user service consumption habits are trending toward very high bandwidth applications that can quickly consume the available capacity and degrade overall network service experience. Because some components of service provider costs go up with increasing bandwidth, this trend will also negatively impact service provider profits.
Various embodiments are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In this specification, these implementations, or any other form that the invention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform a task may be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’ refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores configured to process data, such as computer program instructions.
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.
There are many new types of digital devices where it is becoming desirable, for example, to connect these devices to wireless networks including wireless wide area networks (WWAN, such as 3G and 4G) and/or wireless local area (WLAN) networks. These devices include, for example, consumer electronics devices, business user devices, and machine to machine devices that benefit from flexible wide area data connections and the Internet. Example devices include netbooks, notebooks, mobile Internet devices, personal navigation (e.g., GPS enabled) devices, music and multimedia players, eReaders, industrial telemetry, automotive emergency response and diagnostics, 2-way home and industrial power metering and control, vending machines, parking meters, and many other devices. For example, it is highly advantageous to offer service usage and service billing plans for such devices that are more optimal for each type of device and each type of desired user experience. To accomplish this, more sophisticated service usage measuring and service usage billing systems are needed as compared to the conventional network based techniques in existence today. By providing more flexibility in service measurement and billing, more advantageous and cost effective service plans can be created for, for example, the new WWAN connected devices cited above for all three markets (e.g., consumer, business and machine to machine) that still maintain the necessary profit margins for the WWAN carriers to be successful with these various service businesses.
With the development and increasing proliferation of mass market digital communications and content distribution, communication network capacity gains are being outpaced by growing digital networking demand. For example, some industry experts project average wireless device usage of four devices per subscriber, with a mixture of general purpose devices like smart phones and computers along with special purpose devices like music players, electronic readers, connected (e.g., networked) cameras and connected gaming devices. In addition, wire line user service consumption habits are trending toward very high bandwidth applications that can quickly consume the available capacity and degrade overall network service experience if not efficiently managed. Because some components of service provider costs go up with increasing bandwidth, this trend will also negatively impact service provider profits.
There is a need for a communication system and method that provides for flexible service plans and management of user network services to provide consumer choice of more refined service plan offerings and efficient management of network capacity.
Also, it is becoming increasingly important to more deeply manage the level of services delivered to networked devices to provide cost effective services that match growing digital networking usage patterns. For example, access providers can move away from only billing for basic access and move toward billing for higher level service delivery with example services including rich Internet access and email, application based billing, content distribution, entertainment activities, information or content subscription or gaming. In addition, a growing number of new special purpose and general purpose networked devices are fueling demand for new service plans, for example, tailored to the new device usage models (e.g., a special service plan for an e-book reader device).
As network capabilities grow and new networked device offerings grow, access network service providers will realize increasing value in opening up their networks to allow innovation and expanded offerings for network service consumers. However, opening up the networks to provide efficient third party definition of alternative service and billing models requires more flexible service and billing policy management solutions. For example, machine to machine applications such as telemetry, surveillance, shipment tracking and two way power control systems are example new applications that would require new offerings to make such available to network service customers. The need to customize service offerings for these new applications requires more efficient methods for defining, testing and launching new services with more refined control of service functions and service costs. In some embodiments, this means billing for different types of service elements, such as total traffic, content downloads, application usage, information or content subscription services, people or asset tracking services, real time machine to machine information or electronic commerce transactions.
In some embodiments, network user capacity is increased and user service costs are reduced by managing and billing for service consumption in a more refined manner (e.g., to satisfy network neutrality requirements). By managing service consumption in a user friendly manner, the overall service capacity required to satisfy the user device needs can be tailored more closely to the needs of a given user thereby reducing user service costs and increasing service provider profits. For example, managing service usage while maintaining user satisfaction includes service usage policy implementation and policy management to identify, manage and bill for service usage categories, such as total traffic consumption, content downloads, application usage, information or content subscription services, electronic commerce transactions, people or asset tracking services or machine to machine networking services. As described herein, service activity is used to refer to any service usage or traffic usage that can be associated with, for example, an application; a network communication end point, such as an address, uniform resource locator (URL) or other identifier with which the device is communicating; a traffic content type; a transaction where content or other material, information or goods are transacted, purchased, reserved, ordered or exchanged; a download, upload or file transfer; email, text, SMS, IMS or other messaging activity or usage; VOIP services; video services; a device usage event that generates a billing event; service usage associated with a bill by account activity (also referred to as billing by account) as described herein; device location; device service usage patterns, device user interface (UI) discovery patterns, content usage patterns or other characterizations of device usage; or other categories of user or device activity that can be identified, monitored, recorded, reported, controlled or processed in accordance with a set of verifiable service control policies. As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the embodiments described herein, some embodiments identify various service activities for the purpose of decomposing overall service usage into finer sub-categories of activities that can be verifiably monitored, categorized, cataloged, reported, controlled, monetized and used for end user notification in a manner that results in superior optimization of the service capabilities for various levels of service cost or for various types of devices or groups. In some embodiments, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the terms service activity or service usage are associated with categorizing and possibly monitoring or controlling data traffic, application usage, communication with certain network end points, or transactions, and it will also be apparent that in some embodiments the term service activity is intended to include one or more of the broader aspects listed above. The shortened term service usage can be used interchangeably with service activity, but neither term is intended in general to exclude any aspect of the other. In some cases, where the terms service usage or service activity are used, more specific descriptors such as traffic usage, application usage, website usage, and other service usage examples are also used to provide more specific examples or focus in on a particular element of the more encompassing terms.
In some embodiments, employing this level of service categorization and control is accomplished in a manner that satisfies user preferences. In some embodiments, employing this level of service categorization and control is accomplished in a manner that also satisfies government rules or regulations regarding open access, for example, network neutrality requirements. In some embodiments, service management solutions that also collect and/or report user or device service usage or service activity behavior to determine how best to meet the user's simultaneous desires for service quality and lower service costs are disclosed. For example, such monitoring and reporting are accomplished in a manner that includes approval by the user and in a manner that also protects the privacy of user information and service usage behavior or service activity history.
Accordingly, various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a new and flexible augmentation or replacement for existing carrier network service usage measurement, service usage accounting, and service usage billing systems and techniques.
A charging data record (CDR) is a term that as used herein defines a formatted measure of device service usage information, typically generated by one or more network functions that supervise, monitor, and/or control network access for the device. CDRs typically form the basis for recording device network service usage, and often form the basis for billing for such usage. Various embodiments are provided herein for device assisted CDR creation, mediation, and billing. There are many limitations to the capabilities of service usage recording, aggregation and/or billing when CDRs are generated exclusively by network based functions or equipment. Accordingly, by either augmenting network based service usage measures with device based service usage measures, or by replacing network based service usage measures with device based service usage measures, it is possible to create a CDR generation, aggregation, mediation and/or billing solution that has superior or more desirable capabilities/features. While in theory, many of the service usage measures that can be evaluated on a device can also be evaluated in the network data path using various network equipment technologies including but not limited to deep packet inspection (DPI), there are many examples where measuring service usage at the device is either more desirable or more practical, or in some cases it is the only way to obtain the desired measure. Such examples include but are not limited to the following:
In some embodiments, techniques, such as a system and/or process, that utilize device assisted service usage measures include one or more of the following: (1) receiving a service usage measure from a device in communication with a wireless network, (2) verifying or protecting the validity of the service usage measure, (3) generating a CDR based on the service usage measure (e.g., device assisted CDR), (4) aggregating CDRs, and (5) mediating the CDR with network CDRs. In some embodiments, the techniques also include providing a design and provisioning of devices/network equipment to recognize the CDRs. In some embodiments, the techniques also include provisioning to recognize that the device belongs to a Device Assisted Services (DAS) device group and that corresponding CDRs should be accepted and mediated. In some embodiments, the device assisted CDRs are also generated using formats, network communications protocols, network device authentication and/or provisioning to allow device assisted CDRs into the network CDR system, encryption, and/or signatures as required by the network (e.g., to comply with network generated CDR requirements or based on any other network and/or service provider requirements and/or standards).
In some embodiments, mediation rules include multi device, multi user, single user devices, and/or intermediate networking devices that can be single user or multi user, as described herein.
In some embodiments, a device assisted CDR generator collects device based service usage measures that are used as the basis for, or as an enhancement (e.g., as a supplement or in addition) to, one or more (e.g., network generated) CDRs that provide one or more networking functions with properly formatted service usage reports that the network function(s) accepts as being transmitted from an authorized source, read, and utilized for helping to determine the service usage of a device or group of devices. In some embodiments, the network functions that the device assisted CDR generator shares CDRs with typically include one or more of the following: service usage/CDR aggregation and/or mediation servers, gateways, routers, communication nodes, Mobile Wireless Centers (MWCs, including HLRs), databases, AAA systems, billing interfaces, and billing systems. For example, the process of CDR creation in the CDR generator typically includes either using one or more device based measures of service usage, or one or more device based measures of service usage in combination with one or more network based measures of service usage, possibly processing one or more of such service usage measures according to a set of CDR creation, CDR aggregation, and/or CDR mediation rules to arrive at a final device usage measure that is, for example, then formatted with the proper syntax, framed, possibly encrypted and/or signed, and encapsulated in a communication protocol or packet suitable for sharing with network functions. In some embodiments, the CDR generator resides in the device. In some embodiments, the CDR generator resides in a network server function that receives the device assisted service usage measures, along with possibly network based usage measures, and then creates a CDR (e.g., in the service controller 122).
In some embodiments, the device assisted CDR generator can reside in the service processor (e.g., service processor 115), for example, in the service usage history or billing server functions. In some embodiments, the device assisted CDR generator resides in the device itself, for example, within the service processor functions, such as the billing agent or the service monitor agent.
There are several factors that are considered in the various embodiments in order to create a useful, reliable, and secure device assisted CDR system, including, for example, but not limited to:
In some embodiments, verification of the relative accuracy of the device assisted service usage measure is provided. Given that, for example, the service usage measure is often being generated on an end user device or a device that is readily physically accessed by the general public or other non-secure personnel from a network management viewpoint, in some embodiments, the device agents used in one or more of the service processor 115 agents are protected from hacking, spoofing, and/or other misuse. Various techniques are provided herein for protecting the integrity of the agents used for generating the device assisted service usage measures.
In some embodiments, the service usage measures are verified by network based cross checks using various techniques. For example, network based cross checks can provide valuable verification techniques, because, for example, it is generally not possible or at least very difficult to defeat well designed network based cross checks using various techniques, such as those described herein, even if, for example, the measures used to protect the device agents are defeated or if no device protection measures are employed. In some embodiments, network based cross checks used to verify the device assisted service usage measures include comparing network based service usage measures (e.g. CDRs generated by service usage measurement apparatus in the network equipment, such as the BTS/BSCs 125, RAN Gateways 410, Transport Gateways 420, Mobile Wireless Center/HLRs 132, AAA 121, Service Usage History/CDR Aggregation, Mediation, Feed 118, or other network equipment), sending secure query/response command sequences to the service processor 115 agent(s) involved in device assisted CDR service usage measurement or CDR creation, sending test service usage event sequences to the device and verifying that the device properly reported the service usage, and using various other techniques, such as those described herein with respect to various embodiments.
In some embodiments, one or more of the following actions are taken if the device based service usage measure is found to be in error or inaccurate: bill the user for usage overage or an out of policy device, suspend the device, quarantine the device, SPAN the device, and/or report the device to a network administration function or person.
In some embodiments, the CDR syntax used to format the device assisted service usage information into a CDR and/or network communication protocols for transmitting CDRs are determined by industry standards (e.g., various versions of 3GPP TS 32.215 format and 3GPP2 TSG-X X.S0011 or TIA-835 format). In some embodiments, for a given network implementation the network designers will specify modifications of the standard syntax, formats and/or network communication/transmission protocols. In some embodiments, for a given network implementation the network designers will specify syntax, formats, and/or network communication/transmission protocols that are entirely different than the standards.
In some embodiments, within the syntax and formatting for the CDR the device assisted service usage is typically categorized by a transaction code. For example, the transaction code can be similar or identical to the codes in use by network equipment used to generate CDRs, or given that the device is capable of generating a much richer set of service usage measures, the transaction codes can be a superset of the codes used by network equipment used to generate CDRs (e.g., examples of the usage activities that can be labeled as transaction codes that are more readily supported by device assisted CDR systems as compared to purely network based CDR systems are provided herein).
In some embodiments, the device sends an identifier for a usage activity tag, an intermediate server determines how to aggregate into CDR transaction codes and which CDR transaction code to use.
In some embodiments, the device service processor 115 compartmentalizes usage by pre-assigned device activity transaction codes (e.g., these can be sub-transactions within the main account, transactions within a given bill-by-account transaction or sub-transactions within a bill-by-account transaction). The device implements bill-by-account rules to send different usage reports for each bill-by-account function. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 programs the device to instruct it on how to compartmentalize these bill-by-account service usage activities so that they can be mapped to a transaction code.
In some embodiments, the device reports less compartmentalized service usage information and the service controller 122 does the mapping of service usage activities to CDR transaction codes, including in some cases bill-by-account codes.
In some embodiments, the CDR sent to 118 or other network equipment, for example, can include various types of transaction codes including but not limited to a raw device usage CDR, a bill-by-account (e.g., a sub-activity transaction code) CDR, a billing offset CDR, and/or a billing credit CDR. For example, the decision logic (also referred to as business rules or CDR aggregation and mediation rules) that determines how these various types of CDR transaction codes are to be aggregated and mediated by the core network and the billing system can be located in the network equipment (e.g., a network element, such as service usage 118), in the service controller 122, and/or in the billing system 123.
In some embodiments, the device assisted CDR generator uses the device assisted service usage measures to generate a CDR that includes service usage information, service usage transaction code(s), and, in some embodiments, network information context. In some embodiments, the service usage information, transaction code, and/or network information context is formatted into communication framing, syntax, encryption/signature, security and/or networking protocols that are compatible with the formatting used by conventional networking equipment to generate CDRs. For example, this allows networking equipment used for CDR collection, recording, aggregation, mediation, and/or conversion to billing records to properly accept, read, and interpret the CDRs that are generated with the assistance of device based service usage measurement. In some embodiments, the device assisted service measures are provided to an intermediate network server referred to as a service controller (e.g., service controller 122). In some embodiments, the service controller uses a CDR feed aggregator for a wireless network to collect device generated usage information for one or more devices on the wireless network; and provides the device generated usage information in a syntax (e.g., charging data record (CDR)), and a communication protocol (e.g., 3GPP or 3GPP2, or other communication protocol(s)) that can be used by the wireless network to augment or replace network generated usage information for the one or more devices on the wireless network.
In some embodiments, mediation rules include multi device, multi user, single user devices, intermediate networking devices that can be single user or multi user. For example, the device assisted CDRs can be formatted by the device assisted CDR generator to include a transaction code for one user account, even though the CDRs originate from multiple devices that all belong to the same user. This is an example for a multi-user device assisted CDR billing solution. In another example for a multi-user device assisted CDR billing solution, device assisted CDRs from multiple devices and multiple users can all be billed to the same account (e.g., a family plan or a corporate account), but the bill-by-account CDR transaction records can be maintained through the billing system so that sub-account visibility is provided so that the person or entity responsible for the main account can obtain visibility about which users and/or devices are creating most of the service usage billing. For example, this type of multi-user, multi-device device assisted CDR billing solution can also be used to track types of service usage and/or bill for types of service usage that are either impossible or at least very difficult to account and/or bill for with purely network based CDR systems. In some embodiments, bill-by-account CDR transaction records can be used to provide sponsored transaction services, account for network chatter, provide service selection interfaces, and other services for multi-user or multi-device service plans.
In addition to conventional single user devices (e.g., cell phones, smart phones, netbooks/notebooks, mobile internet devices, personal navigation devices, music players, electronic eReaders, and other single user devices) device assisted service usage measurement and CDRs are also useful for other types of network capable devices and/or networking devices, such as intermediate networking devices (e.g., 3G/4G WWAN to WLAN bridges/routers/gateways, femto cells, DOCSIS modems, DSL modems, remote access/backup routers, and other intermediate network devices). For example, in such devices, particularly with a secure manner to verify that the device assisted service usage measures are relatively accurate and/or the device service processor 115 software is not compromised or hacked, many new service provider service delivery and billing models can be supported and implemented using the techniques described herein. For example, in a WiFi to WWAN bridge or router device multiple user devices can be supported with the same intermediate networking device in a manner that is consistent and compatible with the central provider's CDR aggregation and/or billing system by sending device assisted CDRs as described herein that have a service usage and/or billing code referenced to the end user and/or the particular intermediate device.
In some embodiments, the device assisted CDRs generated for the intermediate networking device are associated with a particular end user in which there can be several or many end users using the intermediate networking device for networking access, and in some embodiments, with each end user being required to enter a unique log-in to the intermediate networking device. For example, in this way, all devices that connect using WiFi to the intermediate networking device to get WWAN access generate CDRs can either get billed to a particular end user who is responsible for the master account for that device, or the CDRs can get billed in a secure manner, with verified relative usage measurement accuracy to multiple end users from the same intermediate networking device. In another example, an end user can have one account that allows access to a number of intermediate networking devices, and each intermediate networking device can generate consistent device assisted CDRs with transaction codes for that end user regardless of which intermediate networking device the end user logs in on.
In some embodiments, some of the services provided by the intermediate networking device are billed to a specific end user device assisted CDR transaction code, while other bill-by-account services are billed to other transaction code accounts, such as sponsored partner transaction service accounts, network chatter accounts, sponsored advertiser accounts, and/or service sign up accounts. For example, in this manner, various embodiments are provided in which intermediate networking devices (e.g., a WWAN to WiFi router/bridge) can sold to one user but can service and be used to bill other users (e.g., and this can be covered in the first purchasing user's service terms perhaps in exchange for a discount), or such intermediate networking devices can be located wherever access is desired without concern that the device will be hacked into so that services can be acquired without charge.
In some embodiments, various types of service usage transactions are billed for on the intermediate networking device, to any of one or more users, in which the information required to bill for such services is not available to the central provider or MVNO network equipment, just as is the case with, for example, conventional single user devices. In view of the various embodiments and techniques described herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that similar service models are equally applicable not just to WWAN to WiFi intermediate networking devices, but also to the Femto Cell, remote access router, DOCSIS, DSL and other intermediate WWAN to WiFi networking devices.
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In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) provides a device/network level service usage information collection, aggregation, mediation, and reporting function. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) collects device generated usage information for one or more devices on the wireless network (e.g., devices 100); and provides the device generated usage information in a syntax and a communication protocol that can be used by the wireless network to augment or replace network generated usage information for the one or more devices on the wireless network. In some embodiments, the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the communication protocol is selected from one or more of the following: 3GPP, 3GPP2, or other communication protocols. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) includes a service usage data store (e.g., a billing aggregator) and a rules engine for aggregating the collected device generated usage information. In some embodiments, the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) also aggregates CDRs for the one or more devices on the wireless network; applies a set of rules to the aggregated CDRs using a rules engine (e.g., bill by account, transactional billing, and/or any other billing or other rules for service usage information collection, aggregation, mediation, and reporting), and communicates a new set of CDRs for the one or more devices on the wireless network to a billing interface or a billing system (e.g., providing a CDR with a billing offset by account/service). In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) communicates a new set of CDRs for the one or more devices on the wireless network to a billing interface or a billing system. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) communicates with a service controller to collect the device generated usage information for the one or more devices on the wireless network. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) communicates with a service controller, in which the service controller is in communication with a billing interface or a billing system. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) communicates the device generated usage information to a billing interface or a billing system. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) communicates with a transport gateway and/or a Radio Access Network (RAN) gateway to collect the network generated usage information for the one or more devices on the wireless network. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 communicates the device generated service usage information to the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements).
In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) performs rules for performing a bill by account aggregation and mediation function. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 in communication with the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) performs a rules engine for aggregating and mediating the device generated usage information. In some embodiments, a rules engine device in communication with the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (and/or other network elements or combinations of network elements) performs a rules engine for aggregating and mediating the device generated usage information.
In some embodiments, the rules engine is included in (e.g., integrated with/part of) the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118. In some embodiments, the rules engine and associated functions, as described herein, is a separate function/device. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 performs some or all of these rules engine based functions, as described herein, and communicates with the central billing interface 127. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 performs some or all of these rules engine based functions, as described herein, and communicates with the central billing system 123.
In some embodiments, duplicate CDRs are sent from the network equipment to the billing system 123 that is used for generating service billing. In some embodiments, duplicate CDRs are filtered to send only those CDRs/records for devices controlled by the service controller and/or service processor (e.g., the managed devices). For example, this approach can provide for the same level of reporting, lower level of reporting, and/or higher level of reporting as compared to the reporting required by the central billing system 123.
In some embodiments, a bill-by-account billing offset is provided. For example, bill-by-account billing offset information can be informed to the central billing system 123 by providing a CDR aggregator feed that aggregates the device based service usage data feed to provide a new set of CDRs for the managed devices to the central billing interface 127 and/or the central billing system 123. In some embodiments, transaction billing is provided using similar techniques. For example, transaction billing log information can be provided to the central billing interface 127 and/or the central billing system 123.
In some embodiments, the rules engine (e.g., performed by the service usage 118 or another network element, as described herein) provides a bill-by-account billing offset. For example, device generated usage information (e.g., charging data records (CDRs)) includes a transaction type field (e.g., indicating a type of service for the associated service usage information). The rules engine can apply a rule or a set of rules based on the identified service associated with the device generated usage information to determine a bill-by-account billing offset (e.g., a new CDR can be generated to provide the determined bill-by-account billing offset). In some examples, the determined bill-by-account billing offset can be provided as a credit to the user's service usage account (e.g., a new CDR can be generated with a negative offset for the user's service usage account, such as for network chatter service usage, or transactional service usage, or for any other purposes based on one or more rules performed by the rules engine).
As another example, for a transactional service, a first new CDR can be generated with a negative offset for the user's service usage account for that transactional service related usage, and a second new CDR can be generated with a positive service usage value to charge that same service usage to the transactional service provider (e.g., Amazon, eBay, or another transactional service provider). In some embodiments, the service controller 122 generates these two new CDRs, and the service usage 118 stores, aggregates, and communicates these two new CDRs to the central billing interface 127. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 generates these two new CDRs, and the service usage 118 stores, aggregates, and communicates these two new CDRs to the central billing interface 127, in which the central billing interface 127 applies rules (e.g., performs the rules engine for determining the bill-by-account billing offset).
In some embodiments, the service controller 122 sends the device generated CDRs to the rules engine (e.g., service usage 118), and the rules engine applies one or more rules, such as those described herein and/or any other billing/service usage related rules as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 generates CDRs similar to other network elements, and the rules (e.g., bill-by-account) are performed in the central billing interface 127. For example, for the service controller 122 to generate CDRs similar to other network elements, in some embodiments, the service controller 122 is provisioned on the wireless network and behaves substantially similar to other CDR generators on the network) as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In some embodiments, the service controller 122 is provisioned as a new type of networking function that is recognized as a valid and secure source for CDRs by the other necessary elements in the network (e.g., the Service Usage History/CDR Aggregation and Mediation Server 118). In some embodiments, in which the network apparatus typically only recognize CDRs from certain types of networking equipment (e.g., RAN Gateway 410 or Transport Gateway 420 (as shown in
In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 discards the network based service usage information (e.g., network based CDRs) received from one or more network elements. In these embodiments, the service controller 122 can provide the device based service usage information (e.g., device based CDRs) to the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (e.g., the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 can just provide a store, aggregate, and communication function(s)), and the device based service usage information is provided to the central billing interface 127 or the central billing system 123.
In some embodiments, the device based CDRs and/or new CDRs generated based on execution of a rules engine as described herein is provided only for devices that are managed and/or based on device group, service plan, or any other criteria, categorization, and/or grouping.
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In some embodiments, provisioning of various network equipment is provided to recognize a given device as belonging to a device group that supports a service usage and/or billing plan that relies upon and/or utilizes device assisted CDRs.
In some embodiments, the CDR formats, transaction codes, and CDR transmission destinations are programmed for each device that generates CDRs, including the service controller 122 (e.g., in some embodiments, the service controller 122 is the intermediary for CDRs) and/or service processor 115 (e.g., in some embodiments, the device sends CDRs to network CDR aggregation or billing interface 127/billing system 123 with no intermediate server function).
In some embodiments, device assisted CDRs are sent from the service controller 122 to CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 and communicated to the billing system 123, as shown in solid lines with arrows in
In some embodiments, service controller 122 sends DAS CDRs to billing for various uses by the billing system 123. In some embodiments, the billing system 123 uses DAS service usage CDRs to augment network based CDRs with bill-by-account transaction codes. In some embodiments, the billing system 123 implements aggregation and/or mediation rules to account for DAS CDR usage amount in a new bill-by-account transaction code and removes the same service usage amount from the bulk device account transaction code. In some embodiments, a first DAS CDR is sent for the new bill by account transaction code, and a second DAS CDR is sent to be used as a correction (credit) to the main device usage account transaction code, and the billing system 123 implements the rules to perform this mediation. In some embodiments, a first DAS CDR is used for a given bill-by-account transaction code, and a second is used as the main device account transaction code, in which the service controller 122 (or device) has already implemented the mediation rules so that the billing system 123 simply passes such DAS CDRs after aggregating them.
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In some embodiments, the service control server link 1638 provides for securing, signing, encrypting and/or otherwise protecting the communications before sending such communications over the service control link 1653. For example, the service control server link 1638 can send to the transport layer or directly to the link layer for transmission. In another example, the service control server link 1638 further secures the communications with transport layer encryption, such as TCP TLS SSH version 1 or 2 or another secure transport layer protocol. As another example, the service control server link 1638 can encrypt at the link layer, such as using IPSEC, various possible VPN services, other forms of IP layer encryption and/or another link layer encryption technique.
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In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) acts on access control integrity agent 1694 reports and error conditions. Many of the access control integrity agent 1654 checks can be accomplished by the server. For example, the access control integrity agent 1654 checks include one or more of the following: service usage measure against usage range consistent with policies (e.g., usage measure from the network and/or from the device); configuration of agents; operation of the agents; and/or dynamic agent download.
In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) verifies device service policy implementations by comparing various service usage measures (e.g., based on network monitored information, such as by using IPDRs or CDRs, and/or local service usage monitoring information) against expected service usage behavior given the policies that are intended to be in place. For example, device service policy implementations can include measuring total data passed, data passed in a period of time, IP addresses, data per IP address, and/or other measures such as location, downloads, email accessed, URLs, and comparing such measures expected service usage behavior given the policies that are intended to be in place.
In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) verifies device service policy, and the verification error conditions that can indicate a mismatch in service measure and service policy include one or more of the following: unauthorized network access (e.g., access beyond ambient service policy limits); unauthorized network speed (e.g., average speed beyond service policy limit); network data amount does not match policy limit (e.g., device not stop at limit without re-up/revising service policy); unauthorized network address; unauthorized service usage (e.g., VOIP, email, and/or web browsing); unauthorized application usage (e.g., email, VOIP, email, and/or web); service usage rate too high for plan, and policy controller not controlling/throttling it down; and/or any other mismatch in service measure and service policy. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) provides a policy/service control integrity service to continually (e.g., periodically and/or based on trigger events) verify that the service control of the device has not been compromised and/or is not behaving out of policy.
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In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 provides adaptive policy management on the device. For example, the policy management server 1652 can issue policy settings and objectives and rely on the device based policy management (e.g., service processor 115) for some or all of the policy adaptation. This approach can require less interaction with the device thereby reducing network chatter on service control link 1653 for purposes of device policy management (e.g., network chatter is reduced relative to various server/network based policy management approaches described above). This approach can also provide robust user privacy embodiments by allowing the user to configure the device policy for user privacy preferences/settings so that, for example, sensitive information (e.g., geo-location data, website history) is not communicated to the network without the user's approval. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 adjusts service policy based on time of day. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 receives, requests or otherwise obtains a measure of network availability and adjusts traffic shaping policy and/or other policy settings based on available network capacity.
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In some embodiments, the service processor 115 and service controller 122 are capable of assigning multiple service profiles associated with multiple service plans that the user chooses individually or in combination as a package. For example, a device 100 starts with ambient services that include free transaction services wherein the user pays for transactions or events rather than the basic service (e.g., a news service, eReader, PND service, pay as you go session Internet) in which each service is supported with a bill by account capability to correctly account for any subsidized partner billing to provide the transaction services (e.g., Barnes and Noble may pay for the eReader service and offer a revenue share to the service provider for any book or magazine transactions purchased from the device 100). In some embodiments, the bill by account service can also track the transactions and, in some embodiments, advertisements for the purpose of revenue sharing, all using the service monitoring capabilities disclosed herein. After initiating services with the free ambient service discussed above, the user may later choose a post-pay monthly Internet, email and SMS service. In this case, the service controller 122 would obtain from the billing system 123 in the case of network based billing (or in some embodiments the service controller 122 billing event server 1622 in the case of device based billing) the billing plan code for the new Internet, email and SMS service. In some embodiments, this code is cross referenced in a database (e.g., the policy management server 1652) to find the appropriate service profile for the new service in combination with the initial ambient service. The new superset service profile is then applied so that the user maintains free access to the ambient services, and the billing partners continue to subsidize those services, the user also gets access to Internet services and may choose the service control profile (e.g., from one of the embodiments disclosed herein). The superset profile is the profile that provides the combined capabilities of two or more service profiles when the profiles are applied to the same device 100 service processor. In some embodiments, the device 100 (service processor 115) can determine the superset profile rather than the service controller 122 when more than one “stackable” service is selected by the user or otherwise applied to the device. The flexibility of the service processor 115 and service controller 122 embodiments described herein allow for a large variety of service profiles to be defined and applied individually or as a superset to achieve the desired device 100 service features.
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In some embodiments, device assisted services (DAS) techniques for providing an activity map for classifying or categorizing service usage activities to associate various monitored activities (e.g., by URL, by network domain, by website, by network traffic type, by application or application type, and/or any other service usage activity categorization/classification) with associated IP addresses are provided. In some embodiments, a policy control agent (not shown), service monitor agent 1696, or another agent or function (or combinations thereof) of the service processor 115 provides a DAS activity map. In some embodiments, a policy control agent, service monitor agent, or another agent or function (or combinations thereof) of the service processor provides an activity map for classifying or categorizing service usage activities to associate various monitored activities (e.g., by Uniform Resource Locator (URL), by network domain, by website, by network traffic type, by application or application type, and/or any other service usage activity classification/categorization) with associated IP addresses. In some embodiments, a policy control agent, service monitor agent, or another agent or function (or combinations thereof) of the service processor determines the associated IP addresses for monitored service usage activities using various techniques to snoop the DNS request(s) (e.g., by performing such snooping techniques on the device 100 the associated IP addresses can be determined without the need for a network request for a reverse DNS lookup). In some embodiments, a policy control agent, service monitor agent, or another agent or function (or combinations thereof) of the service processor records and reports IP addresses or includes a DNS lookup function to report IP addresses or IP addresses and associated URLs for monitored service usage activities. For example, a policy control agent, service monitor agent, or another agent or function (or combinations thereof) of the service processor can determine the associated IP addresses for monitored service usage activities using various techniques to perform a DNS lookup function (e.g., using a local DNS cache on the monitored device 100). In some embodiments, one or more of these techniques are used to dynamically build and maintain a DAS activity map that maps, for example, URLs to IP addresses, applications to IP addresses, content types to IP addresses, and/or any other categorization/classification to IP addresses as applicable. In some embodiments, the DAS activity map is used for various DAS traffic control and/or throttling techniques as described herein with respect to various embodiments. In some embodiments, the DAS activity map is used to provide the user various UI related information and notification techniques related to service usage as described herein with respect to various embodiments. In some embodiments, the DAS activity map is used to provide service usage monitoring, prediction/estimation of future service usage, service usage billing (e.g., bill by account and/or any other service usage/billing categorization techniques), DAS techniques for ambient services usage monitoring, DAS techniques for generating micro-CDRs (e.g., also referred to as service usage partition, service usage recording partition, service charging bucket, device generated CDRs, such as in the case where the device and not a network component are generating the usage records, ambient usage records, specialized service usage records, or other terms to indicate a service usage data record generated to provide a more refined or detailed breakdown of service usage for the device), and/or any of the various other DAS related techniques as described herein with respect to various embodiments.
In some embodiments, all or a portion of the service processor 115 functions disclosed herein are implemented in software. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the service processor 115 functions are implemented in hardware. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the service processor 115 functionality (as discussed herein) is implemented and stored in software that can be performed on (e.g., executed by) various components in device 100. In some embodiments, it is advantageous to store or implement certain portions or all of service processor 115 in protected or secure memory so that other undesired programs (and/or unauthorized users) have difficulty accessing the functions or software in service processor 115. In some embodiments, service processor 115, at least in part, is implemented in and/or stored on secure non-volatile memory (e.g., non volatile memory can be secure non-volatile memory) that is not accessible without pass keys and/or other security mechanisms. In some embodiments, the ability to load at least a portion of service processor 115 software into protected non-volatile memory also requires a secure key and/or signature and/or requires that the service processor 115 software components being loaded into non-volatile memory are also securely encrypted and appropriately signed by an authority that is trusted by a secure software downloader function, such as service downloader 1663 as shown in
In some embodiments, a policy control agent (not shown) adapts low level service policy rules/settings to perform one or more of the following objectives: achieve higher level service usage or cost objectives, reduce network control channel capacity drain, reduce network control plane server processing bandwidth, and/or provide a higher level of user privacy or network neutrality while satisfying service usage or service activity objectives. In some embodiments, the policy control agent performs a policy control function to adapt instantaneous service policies to achieve a service usage objective. In some embodiments, the policy control agent receives service usage information from the service monitor agent 1696 to evaluate service usage history as compared to service usage goals. In some embodiments, the policy control agent uses service monitor 1696 service usage or service activity history and various possible algorithm embodiments to create an estimate of the future projected service usage. In some embodiments, the policy control agent uses a future projection of service usage to determine what service usage or service activity controls need to be changed to maintain service usage goals. In some embodiments, the policy control agent uses service usage history to perform a service usage or service activity analysis to determine the distribution of service usage across service usage elements within categories, such as usage by application, usage by URL, usage by address, usage by content type, usage by time of day, usage by access network, usage by location, and/or any other categories for classifying service usage. In some embodiments, the policy control agent uses the service usage distribution analysis to determine which service usage elements or service activities are creating the largest service usage (e.g., if e-mail, social networking, or multimedia/online video application categories are creating the largest service usage).
In some embodiments, service processor 115 includes one or more service usage or service activity counters. For example, the service monitor agent 1696, billing agent 1695 or a combination of these agents and/or other agents/components of service processor 115 can include such a local service usage counter(s) for the device 100. In some embodiments, a service usage counter monitors service usage including data usage to/from the device 100 with the access network 1610. In some embodiments, the service usage counter periodically, in response to a user request, in response to a service processor 115 agent's request (e.g., the billing agent 1695, the policy control agent, or another agent of service processor 115), in response to the service controller 122, and/or in response to the central billing 1619 (e.g., for billing purposes and/or for storing in the device service history 1618), provides a service usage report, including monitored service usage for the device 100. In some embodiments, the service usage counter periodically, or in response to a request, synchronizes the service usage counter on the device 100 with a network (and/or billing) service usage counter, such as that maintained potentially at central billing 1619. In some embodiments, service processor 115 utilizes the service usage counter to provide a service usage projection. In some embodiments, service processor 115 utilizes the service usage counter to provide a service usage cost estimate. In some embodiments, service usage projections from the policy control agent are used to estimate the projected future service usage if user service usage behavior remains consistent. In some embodiments, service processor 115 utilizes the service usage counter to provide a cost of service usage, and the service processor 115 then periodically, or in response to a request, synchronizes the cost of service usage with, for example, the central billing 1619. In some embodiments, the service processor 115 utilizes the service usage counter to determine whether the user is exceeding and/or is projected to exceed their current service plan for data usage, and then various actions can be performed as similarly described herein to allow the user to modify their service plan and/or modify (e.g., throttle) their network data usage. In some embodiments, the service usage counter can support providing to the user the following service usage related data/reports: service usage, known usage and estimated usage, projected usage, present costs, projected costs, cost to roam, cost to roam options, and/or projected roaming costs. For example, including a local service data usage counter on the device 100 allows the service processor 115 to more accurately monitor service data usage, because, for example, network (and/or billing) service usage counters may not accurately also include, for example, control plane data traffic sent to/from the device 100 in their monitored service data usage count.
In some embodiments, a synchronized local service usage counter based on time stamped central billing information is provided. For example, the local service usage counter, as similarly described above, can also be synchronized to past service usage records (e.g., time stamped central billing records of service usage for the device) and use local estimates for current/present service usage estimates for the device. In this example, the central billing system (e.g., central billing 1619) can push the time stamped central billing information to the device (e.g., device 100), the device can pull the time stamped central billing information, and/or an intermediate server can provide a mediated push or pull process. In some embodiments, synchronization is performing periodically based on service usage levels with free-running estimates between synchronizations.
In some embodiments, service usage is projected based on calculated estimates of service usage based on synchronized service usage and local service usage count information. For example, projected service usage can be calculated on the device or calculated on a server (e.g., a billing server or an intermediate billing server), which provides the calculated projected service usage information to the device, such as using various adaptive algorithms for service usage projections. For example, an adaptive algorithm can use historical/past synchronized network service usage information (e.g., synchronized with local service usage data based on time stamps associated with IPDRs) to assist in service usage projections, based on, for example, total service usage count, service usage count by certain service related criteria (e.g., application, content, service type, website and/or time of day). In another example, an adaptive algorithm synchronizes to past service usage data (e.g., the local estimate of past service usage data is updated to be synchronized up through the point in time associated with the latest IPDR time stamp that has been received) and current local estimates of service usage collected since the latest time stamp are then added to the time stamped IPDR service usage counter to minimize the service usage counter offset so that it is no greater than the difference between the network service usage measure and the local service usage measure since the latest IPDR time stamp. In some embodiments, these adaptive algorithm techniques are performed on the device and/or performed on the network (e.g., on a network server) for processing. In some embodiments, if there is an offset in the local device based service usage count between IPDR synchronization events and the IPDR service usage count between IPDR synchronization events, then an algorithm can be employed to estimate any systematic sources for the offset and correct the local service usage count to minimize the offsets. As an example, if the IPDR service usage count is typically off by a fixed percentage, either high or low, then an algorithm can be employed to estimate a multiplier that is applied to the local service usage count to minimize the offset between IPDR service usage synchronization events. In another example, there can be a consistent constant offset and a multiplier offset, both of which can be estimated and corrected for. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that more sophisticated algorithms can be employed to estimate the nature of any systematic offsets, including, for example, offsets that occur due to specific service usage activities or network chatter to manage the device, and such offsets can then be minimized between IPDR service synchronization events. In some embodiments, synchronized service usage data is used to create an improved analysis of the statistical patterns of service usage to provide more accurate service usage projections. Those of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that a variety of additional adaptive algorithm techniques can be used including those that provide for various statistical analysis techniques and/or other techniques.
In some embodiments, service usage is projected for the end of a billing/service period for a service plan versus the service usage allowed under the service plan for that billing/service period. A display of excess charges is also provided for the projected rate of service usage based on the monitored service usage behavior through the end of the billing/service period (e.g., this can be zero if the service usage is projected to be less than that allowed under the service plan and a positive cost number if it is projected to be more than the service plan). For example, this can be implemented in numerous ways, such as on a server in the network, on a gateway/router/switch in the network, and/or on the device, as discussed below and generally described herein with respect to other service/cost usage monitoring and notification embodiments. If implemented in the network server or gateway/router/switch, then the service/cost usage projections and related information can be pushed to the device, or the device can be notified that such information is available to pull and/or periodically pushed/pulled. The service usage information/estimates can be collected from the device, the network or both (e.g., reconciled and/or synchronized) as similarly described herein. The service usage information/estimates are then analyzed to determine service usage/cost projects as similarly described herein and compared to the service plan for the device to determine the projected service/cost usage overage (if any). In some embodiments, one or more of the following are determined by, reported to and/or displayed on the device: service usage value, projected service usage value, service usage plan limit, projected service usage overage, projected service cost overage, service plan period time duration, service plan time remaining before end of period and/or other pertinent information.
In some embodiments, the device also determines service costs based on the synchronized service usage count thereby allowing the device to also report the service cost information to the user. For example, the device can locally store a service cost look-up table(s), locally store different service cost look-up tables for different networks and/or for roaming networks, and/or request such information from a billing or intermediate billing server (and/or a roaming server) on the network. As another example, the device can obtain the calculated service costs based on the synchronized local service usage count and/or network service usage count from an intermediate server (e.g., a billing or intermediate billing server) thereby offloading the computational costs associated with calculated these projections and the data storage for service cost lookup tables onto the intermediate server on the network using the network service usage counter with or, alternatively, without the synchronized local service usage counter.
In some embodiments, service usage count categorization by network (e.g., a home network (such as a Wi-Fi, WAN, femtocell or other home network) versus a roaming network) is provided. Similarly, the synchronized local service usage counter can be synchronized by network. Also, a synchronized local service usage count for networks controlled by a central provider, for networks controlled by other providers (e.g., MVNO), and/or free networks can similarly be provided.
In some embodiments, a service notification and billing interface is provided. For example, service usage and projected service usage, such as described herein, can be displayed to the user of the device (e.g., via user interface 1697). Similarly, expected/projected service or cost overrun/overage, such as described herein, can also be displayed to the user. As another example, a most cost effective plan can be determined/projected based on historical and/or projected service usage, and this determined/projected most cost effective plan can be displayed to the user. In yet another example, a list of available networks accessible by the device can be displayed to the user. In this example, one or more undesired available networks can also be blocked from display thereby only displaying to the user desired and/or preferred available networks. In this example, service usage plans and/or service usage plan option comparison for one or more alternative networks or roaming networks can also be displayed to the user. Similarly, service cost plans and/or service/cost plan option comparison for one or more alternative networks or roaming networks can also be displayed to the user. In addition, roaming service usage, projected roaming service usage, estimated roaming service cost, and/or projected estimated roaming service cost can also be displayed to the user. These roaming service usage/costs can also be displayed to the user so that the user can utilize this information for selecting various roaming service billing options. In another example, alternative and/or least cost networks are determined and displayed to the user. In another example, alternative warnings are displayed to the user for any or specified roaming networks.
In some embodiments, the service notification and billing interface notifies the user of expected network coverage (e.g., based on the device's current geography/location and the accessible networks for the device from that current geography/location) and displays options to the user based on the expected network coverage information. In some embodiments, the service notification and billing interface notifies the user of their current service usage at specified service usage points and displays various options to the user (e.g., service usage options and/or billing options). For example, the user's responses to the presented options are recorded (e.g., stored locally on the device at least temporarily for reporting purposes or permanently in a local configuration data store until such configuration settings are otherwise modified or reset) and reported, such as to the billing server (e.g., central billing 1619). For example, user input, such as selected options and/or corresponding policy settings, can be stored locally on the device via a cache system. As another example, the service notification and billing interface displays options to the user for how the user wants to be notified and how the user wants to control service usage costs, the user's input on such notification options is recorded, and the cost control options (e.g., and the billing agent 1695 and policy control agent) are configured accordingly. Similarly, the user's input on service plan options/changes can be recorded, and the service plan options/changes (e.g., and the billing agent 1695 and policy control agent) are configured/updated accordingly. In another example, the service notification and billing interface provides various traffic control profiles, such as for where the user requests assistance in controlling service usage costs (e.g., service data usage and/or transactional usage related activities/costs). Similarly, the service notification and billing interface can provide various notification options, such as for where the user wants advance warning on service coverage. In another example, the service notification and billing interface provides options for automatic pre-buy at a set point in service usage. In another example, the service notification and billing interface provides the option to choose different notification and cost control options for alternative networks or roaming networks.
In some embodiments, an online portal or web server is provided for allowing the user to select and/or update policy settings. For example, user input provided via the online portal/web server can be recorded and reported to the billing server (e.g., central billing 1619). In another example, the online portal/web server can display transaction billing information and/or accept input for a transaction billing request, which can then be reported to the billing server accordingly.
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In some embodiments, by providing the service policy implementation and the control of service policy implementation to the preferences of the user, and/or by providing the user with the option of specifying or influencing how the various service notification and control policies or control algorithms are implemented, the user is provided with options for how to control the service experience, the service cost, the capabilities of the service, the manner in which the user is notified regarding service usage or service cost, the level of sensitive user information that is shared with the network or service provider entity, and the manner in which certain service usage activities may or may not be throttled, accelerated, blocked, enabled and/or otherwise controlled. Accordingly, some embodiments provide the service control to beneficially optimize user cost versus service capabilities or capacities in a manner that facilitates an optimized user experience and does not violate network neutrality goals, regulations and/or requirements. For example, by offering the user with a set of choices, ranging from simple choices between two or more pre-packaged service control settings options to advanced user screens where more detailed level of user specification and control is made available, some embodiments allow the service provider, device manufacturer, device distributor, MVNO, VSP, service provider partner, and/or other “entity” to implement valuable or necessary service controls while allowing the user to decide or influence the decision on which service usage activities are controlled, such as how they are controlled or throttled and which service usage activities may not be throttled or controlled in some manner. These various embodiments allow the service provider, device manufacturer, device distributor, MVNO, VSP, service provider partner, or other “entity” to assist the user in managing services in a manner that is network neutral with respect to their implementation and service control policies, because the user is making or influencing the decisions, for example, on cost versus service capabilities or quality. By further providing user control or influence on the filtering settings for the service usage reporting or CRM reporting, various levels of service usage and other user information associated with device usage can be transmitted to the network, service provider, device manufacturer, device distributor, MVNO, VSP, service provider partner, and/or other “entity” in a manner specified or influenced by the user to maintain the user's desired level of information privacy.
In some embodiments, the service monitor agent and/or other agents implement virtual traffic tagging by tracking or tracing packet flows through the various communication stack formatting, processing and encryption steps, and providing the virtual tag information to the various agents that monitor, control, shape, throttle or otherwise observe, manipulate or modify the traffic. This tagging approach is referred to herein as virtual tagging, because there is not a literal data flow, traffic flow or packet tag that is attached to flows or packets, and the book-keeping to tag the packet is done through tracking or tracing the flow or packet through the stack instead. In some embodiments, the application interface and/or other agents identify a traffic flow, associate it with a service usage activity and cause a literal tag to be attached to the traffic or packets associated with the activity. This tagging approach is referred to herein as literal tagging. There are various advantages with both the virtual tagging and the literal tagging approaches. For example, it can be preferable in some embodiments to reduce the inter-agent communication required to track or trace a packet through the stack processing by assigning a literal tag so that each flow or packet has its own activity association embedded in the data. As another example, it can be preferable in some embodiments to re-use portions of standard communication stack software or components, enhancing the verifiable traffic control or service control capabilities of the standard stack by inserting additional processing steps associated with the various service agents and monitoring points rather than re-writing the entire stack to correctly process literal tagging information, and in such cases, a virtual tagging scheme may be desired. As yet another example, some standard communication stacks provide for unused, unspecified or otherwise available bit fields in a packet frame or flow, and these unused, unspecified or otherwise available bit fields can be used to literally tag traffic without the need to re-write all of the standard communication stack software, with only the portions of the stack that are added to enhance the verifiable traffic control or service control capabilities of the standard stack needing to decode and use the literal tagging information encapsulated in the available bit fields. In the case of literal tagging, in some embodiments, the tags are removed prior to passing the packets or flows to the network or to the applications utilizing the stack. In some embodiments, the manner in which the virtual or literal tagging is implemented can be developed into a communication standard specification so that various device or service product developers can independently develop the communication stack and/or service processor hardware and/or software in a manner that is compatible with the service controller specifications and the products of other device or service product developers.
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In some embodiments, verifiable traffic shaping can be performed using the device communications stack in a variety of embodiments for the combination of service control within the networking stack and service control verification and/or tamper prevention. For example, the application interface agent can determine service data usage at the application layer using measurement point I and a local service usage counter, and can, for example, pass this information to the service monitor agent. If service usage exceeds a threshold, or if using a service usage prediction algorithm results in predicted service usage that will exceed a threshold, then the user can be notified of which applications are causing the service usage overrun or potential service usage overrun, via the user service interface agent. The user can then identify which application service (e.g., traffic associated with a specified high service use or non-critical application, such as for example a high bandwidth consumption social networking website or service, media streaming website or service, or any other high bandwidth website or service transmitting and/or receiving data with the service network) that the user prefers to throttle. As another example, the user could select a service policy that allows for video chat services until those services threaten to cause cost over-runs on the user's service plan, and at that time the service policy could switch the chat service to voice only and not transmit or receive the video. The traffic associated with the user specified application can then be throttled according to user preference input. For example, for downstream traffic, packets (e.g., packets that are virtually or literally tagged and/or otherwise associated with the application traffic to be throttled) from the access network can be buffered, delayed and/or dropped to throttle the identified application traffic. For upstream traffic, packets (e.g., packets that are virtually or literally tagged and/or otherwise associated with the application traffic to be throttled) can be buffered, delayed and/or dropped before being transmitted to the access network to throttle the identified application traffic. As similarly described above, traffic shaping as described herein can be verified, such as by the service monitor agent via the various measurement points and/or using other agents.
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In some embodiments, device 100 includes a 3G and/or 4G network access connection in combination with the Wi-Fi LAN connection to the device 100. For example, the intermediate device or networking device combination can be a device that simply translates the Wi-Fi data to the WWAN access network without implementing any portion of the service processor 115 as shown in
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At least some of the embodiments depicted herein generally require enhancements to conventional device networking communication stack processing. For example, these enhancements can be implemented in whole or in part in the kernel space for the device OS, in whole or in part in the application space for the device, or partially in kernel space and partially in application space. As described herein, the networking stack enhancements and the other elements of the service processor can be packaged into a set of software that is pre-tested or documented to enable device manufacturers to quickly implement and bring to market the service processor functionality in a manner that is compatible with the service controller and the applicable access network(s). For example, the service processor software can also be specified in an interoperability standard so that various manufacturers and software developers can develop service processor implementations or enhancements, or service controller implementations or enhancements that are compatible with one another.
In some embodiments, a portion of the service processor is implemented on the modem (e.g., on modem module hardware or modem chipset) and a portion of the service processor is implemented on the device application processor subsystem. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that variations are possible where more or less of the service processor functionality is moved onto the modem subsystem or onto the device application processor subsystem. For example, such embodiments can be motivated by the advantages of containing some or all of the service processor network communication stack processing and/or some or all of the other service agent functions on the modem subsystem (e.g., and such an approach can be applied to one or more modems). For example, the service processor can be distributed as a standard feature set contained in a modem chipset hardware of software package or modem module hardware or software package, and such a configuration can provide for easier adoption or development by device OEMs, a higher level of differentiation for the chipset or modem module manufacturer, higher levels of performance or service usage control implementation integrity or security, specification or interoperability standardization, and/or other benefits.
In some embodiments, the service processor 115 is distributed as an SDK to any device that the central provider or the VSP desires to offer services with so that the service processor 115 can be efficiently designed or adapted by the device OEM, ODM or manufacturer for operation on the service network. In some embodiments, the SDK includes either a complete set of service processor 115 agent software designed for and/or tested for the OS (Operating System) and processor set being used on the device, or a mature reference design for the OS and processor set being used on the device, or a less mature reference design (potentially for the same OS and/or processor set or a different OS and/or processor set being used on the device) that the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) ports to the desired OS or processor set, or a basic set of example software programs that the OEM or ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) can use to develop software compatible with the service, or a set of specifications and descriptions (possibly forming an interoperability standard) of how to design the software to be compatible with the service. In some embodiments, the SDK includes a set of OEM lab test procedures and/or test criteria to ensure that the implementation of the service SDK is compatible with the service and will operate properly. In some embodiments, the SDK includes a set of network certification test procedures and/or test criteria to ensure that the implementation of the service SDK is compatible with the service and will operate properly. In some embodiments, the certification procedures are approved for testing by the OEM, the central provider, the VSP and/or a trusted third party. For example, the central provider is typically in control of the SDK and the test procedures, but others can be in control. In some embodiments, the test procedures are at least in part common across multiple central provider networks. In some embodiments, the SDK concept is extended to include one or more modem modules where one or more of the SDK embodiments described above is combined with a standard reference design or a standard hardware sales package for one or more modems so that the entire package forms a turn-key product that allows a device manufacturer, central provider, VSP or other entity bring new devices or device applications onto the central provider network possibly in combination with other networks in a manner that requires less engineering time and resources and less network certification time and resources than would be required in some designs that do not use this standard SDK plus module approach. For example, the standard SDK plus module product embodiments can be pre-certified and tested with one or more central providers to further reduce development time and expense. The standard SDK plus module embodiments can also use a multi-mode modem (e.g., modems based on a multimode CDMA, EVDO, UMTS, HSPA chipset as in the Gobi global multimode chipset product or modems based on other recently announced LTE plus HSPA chipsets, WiMax plus Wi-Fi chipsets or LTE plus EVDO chipsets) and a multi-mode connection manager agent so that the same SDK plus modem embodiment may satisfy a wide range of applications for many service providers around the world.
In some embodiments, at the time of manufacture, the device is associated with an MVNO. For example, the MVNO can provide an ambient service that provides a service provider clearing house, in which the device can access a network in ambient access mode (e.g., a wholesale MVNO connection through the access network) for purposes of selecting a service provider (e.g., a VSP, MVNO or carrier). Based on the service provider selection, the device credentials and/or service processor are reprogrammed and/or new software is downloaded/installed to activate the device with the selected service provider, as described herein for provisioning the device and the account on that service provider network (e.g., the activation tracking service (ATS) can track such activation, for example, for revenue sharing purposes, as an activation incentive fee).
In some embodiments, improved and simplified processes for provisioning a device or user for service on a central provider network, an MVNO network or a virtual service provider (VSP) on the central provider network are provided. In some embodiments, provisioning includes one or more of the following: a process or result of assigning, programming, storing or embedding into the device and/or network a set of credentials, or otherwise providing the credentials to the user; the credentials being at least in part carried on the device or with the user; and/or at least a portion of or a counterpart to the credentials being stored or recognized by the network so that the various network elements responsible for admitting the device access to the appropriate service activities do so once the device or user service is active.
As an example, as discussed herein, the credentials can include one or more of the following: phone number, device identification number, MEID or similar mobile device identifier, hardware security device ID, security signature or other security credentials, device serial number, device identification and/or credential information via security hardware such as a SIM, one or more IP addresses, one or more MAC addresses, any other network address identifier, embedded device descriptive information block (static or programmable), security key, security signature algorithms, passwords or other secure authorization information, service processor (or similar device client or agent software) identifier or settings or version, device type identifier, browser (e.g., http, https, WAP, other browser client) header information or similar identifier, browser token information or similar identifier, browser cookie information or similar identifier, embedded browser instructions, portal-client (e.g., interface or communication agent that connects to a network portal used at least in part for provisioning or activation for the device or by the user) header information or similar identifier, portal-client token information or similar identifier, portal-client cookie information or similar identifier, embedded portal-client instructions, service provider, OEM, master agent (service distributor), VSP, device service owner identifier, distributor or master agent, and/or any information the network can use to authorize network admission, provision the device, provision the network, activate service, authorize, associate or enable the device with a provisioning sequence, associate or enable the device with one or more service profiles, associate or assist the device with an activation sequence, associate or enable the device with an ambient profile or service experience, associate or enable the device with one or more service plans or service capabilities, associate the device with a service provider or service owner, associate the device with an OEM or master agent, associate the device with a distributor or master agent, or associate the device with a device group, user group or user.
In some embodiments, provisioning includes assigning, programming or embedding into the device and/or network the information to define the level of service activity, referred to as a service profile, that the device is authorized to receive. In some embodiments, provisioning also includes establishing the device settings and/or network settings to define an ambient activation experience in which the device user receives a set of services after (e.g., within a short period of time after) purchasing or otherwise obtaining or installing the device whether the device has or has not been registered and activated with the device user or device owner.
In some embodiments, automated provisioning and activation includes automation of one or more of the following functions: (1) programming device credentials or partial credentials and recording them in a database (or providing same when they are programmed into the device), (2) associating these credentials with the proper provisioning and/or activation actions to be taken on the device and in the network, (3) directing the device to the proper activation function (e.g., activation server) sequence when it attempts to connect to the network, (4) completing provisioning of the device, (5) programming the AAA, billing system, gateways, mobile wireless center and other network equipment to the proper initial device service control settings, and (6) establishing a service account for the device.
In some embodiments, improved processes for activating service for a device or user with a network service provided by a central provider network, an MVNO network or a VSP on the central provider network are provided. In some embodiments, activation includes one or more of the following: a process or result of associating a service account with device or user credentials; with the service account potentially further being associated with a service profile defining the service activities that the device is authorized to access; creating or updating a service usage or billing record and associating it with the service account to create a service plan; and/or initiating service to the device or user in which the network equipment allows access to the appropriate level of service activities. In some embodiments, VSP embodiments include the provisioning and activation apparatus embodiments of any or all forms.
In conventional mobile device provisioning systems, the provisioning and activation process required to create a user service account and enable the device to access the desired level of service activities can limit mass market, low cost or user friendly applications of the device or service, because the process can often be cumbersome, time consuming and/or expensive for the service provider, service owner, master agent (service distributor), MVNO, VSP and/or user. Accordingly, the various embodiments for provisioning and activation described herein simplify the provisioning and activation process for mobile devices. In some embodiments, provisioning and activation for the device and/or the network accommodates a wide variety of device types and service profile types, with the capability to perform the provisioning and activation at a number of points in the manufacturing, distribution, sales and usage progression for the device, and the ability to either pre-activate before first device use or very quickly activate during first device use (or during some later use of the device).
In some embodiments, as described herein, the term provisioning generally refers to those actions/processes associated with programming the device with credentials or other device settings or software installations used to later activate the device, as well as, in some embodiments, creating database entries and other credential associations in the network so that the network and/or device have the information used to recognize the device or credentials and implement the service policies in the service profile and/or service plan once the service profile and/or service plan are activated. In some embodiments, as described herein, the term activation generally refers to the process of creating or selecting the service plan and/or service profile, programming the settings that are used in each (e.g., required) network function and/or each (e.g., required) device function so that the system can properly associate the device credentials with the appropriate service activity policies, and then admitting the device onto the network. The term activation can also refer in some embodiments to the creation of a user or device service account, in some cases, with user or device owner information or billing information. In some embodiments, the process of provisioning amounts to assigning credentials to the device and programming a portion or all of the credentials on the device, entering a portion or all of the credentials in the various necessary network equipment databases so that the network components are capable of identifying the device and associating it with the network based portion of the admission, traffic processing, service monitoring, billing, service limits and other policies that are eventually defined by the service profile and service plan.
Further examples of the network based service profile policies include network access level, traffic routing, service monitoring, service limits and actions taken upon reaching service limits. Once the service profile is created and activated during the activation process, the device credentials and the associated service profile are communicated throughout the necessary network elements so that each element can implement its part of the network portion of the service profile policies. This process of propagating the service profile settings to all the required network equipment components is a portion of what is referred to herein as activation in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the activation process includes associating the credentials with the proper service plan and/or service profile, and possibly completing the process of programming the device functions and/or network functions so that the device can be admitted to the appropriate level of network services. In some embodiments, activation also includes the service processor software settings, configurations or installs for each function or agent in the service processor to implement its part of the service profile, service plan, service billing or transaction billing policies. In some embodiments, activation also includes the creation of entries in the various service account databases and/or billing databases to create a user account or device owner account for the purpose of managing the user choices for service plan and other account information storage and management aspects, such as maintaining status information, maintaining the central service profile configuration, conducting reconciliation and billing exchanges, service usage history, and/or account history.
In some embodiments, the term credentials generally refers to the set of information parameters that the network and/or device uses (e.g., requires) to admit the device onto the network and associate it with the appropriate service profile and/or service plan. For example, the credentials can include one or more of the following: phone number, device identification number, MEID or similar mobile device identifier, hardware security device ID, security signature or other security credentials, device serial number, device identification and/or credential information via security hardware such as a SIM, one or more IP addresses, one or more MAC addresses, any other network address identifier, embedded device descriptive information block (static or programmable), security key, security signature algorithms, passwords or other secure authorization information, service processor (or similar device client or agent software) identifier or settings or version, device type identifier, browser (e.g., http, https, WAP, other browser client) header information or similar identifier, browser token information or similar identifier, browser cookie information or similar identifier, embedded browser instructions, portal-client (e.g., interface or communication agent that connects to a network portal used at least in part for provisioning or activation for the device or by the user) header information or similar identifier, portal-client token information or similar identifier, portal-client cookie information or similar identifier, embedded portal-client instructions, service provider, OEM, master agent (service distributor), VSP, device service owner identifier, distributor or master agent, and/or any information the network can use to authorize network admission, provision the device, provision the network, activate service, authorize, associate or enable the device with a provisioning sequence, associate or enable the device with one or more service profiles, associate or assist the device with an activation sequence, associate or enable the device with an ambient profile or service experience, associate or enable the device with one or more service plans or service capabilities, associate the device with a service provider or service owner, associate the device with an OEM or master agent, associate the device with a distributor or master agent, or associate the device with a device group, user group or user. In some embodiments, at least some of the credentials are unique to the device, and, in some embodiments, groups of devices share one or more aspects of the credentials. In some embodiments, the term permanent credentials generally refers to the set of credentials that include at least a subset that are intended to be assigned to a device or user on a permanent basis. In some embodiments, the term temporary credentials generally refers to the set of credentials that include at least a subset that are intended to be assigned to a device or user on a temporary basis. In some embodiments, temporary credentials are eventually replaced by permanent credentials. In some embodiments, at least some elements in the temporary credentials (e.g., phone number and/or access or authorization security credential) are used for more than one device. In some embodiments, the temporary credentials are recycled from one or more devices and used for one or more other devices, for example, when they remain unused for a period of time or when they are replaced with permanent credentials on one or more devices. It should not be inferred from the term permanent credentials that permanent credentials are never recycled, for example, when the user discontinues service or use of the credentials. Also, the term temporary credentials does not imply that temporary credentials are always temporary. In some embodiments, partial credentials or pre-activation credentials generally refer to a subset of credentials that are to gain access to limited network services for the purpose of provisioning of credentials and/or activation of a service plan or service profile. For example, prior to a phone number being assigned, a device can gain access to a limited set of network server destinations in which embedded information contained in the device (e.g., the partial credentials) is provided to the server, the server associates that information with the proper additional credentials (including the phone number) to assign to the device and/or associates the information with the proper service profile to activate service. In this example, partial credentials can include device type, OEM, service provider, VSP, device identification number, SIM, service processor configuration or some other information used by the server to determine what the credentials should be and the proper service profile.
In some embodiments, it may not be possible to accurately identify every network service access attempt or service usage (e.g., or traffic access) as belonging to a given service usage partition (e.g., a given ambient service usage, background network chatter usage, user service plan usage, emergency service usage, and/or other type of service usage). As used herein, the terms service usage partition, service usage recording partition, service charging bucket, and micro-CDRs are used interchangeably. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a service charging bucket for traffic that is allowed and not definitively identified as belonging to a known service charging bucket. This allows for techniques to employ an “allow but verify” approach to traffic that is likely to be legitimately associated with an ambient service or a user service or a network service that is intended to be allowed, but is not definitively identified as being associated with an allowed service.
As an example, there may be a web site access associated with an ambient service that does not have a reference identifier or other traffic parameter that allows the service processor to associate it with the correct ambient service. In this case, a set of rules can be applied to determine if it is likely that the web site access is a legitimate access given the access control policies that are in place, and if it is the access can be allowed and the traffic usage either recorded in the ambient service charging bucket that it is suspected to be associated with, or the traffic usage can be charged to a network chatter service usage bucket, or the traffic usage can be charged to the user service usage bucket, or the traffic usage may be recorded in a “not classified but allowed” service charging bucket. In some embodiments, in which such traffic is charged to the “not classified but allowed” service usage charging bucket, additional verification measures are employed to ensure that the amount of traffic that is not classified but allowed does not grow too large or become a back-door for service usage errors. For example, the access control policy rules for allowing unclassified traffic can be relatively loose as long as the amount of service usage charges accumulating in the not classified charging bucket remains within certain bounds, and/or the rate of service usage charged to the not classified bucket remains within certain bounds, but if the not classified traffic becomes large or the rate of not classified traffic growth becomes large then the rules governing when to allow not classified traffic can be tightened.
As another example, a browser application can access a web site that is known to be an ambient service website, and that web site might serve back a series of traffic flows, some of which are associated with the ambient service website through URL identifiers that are known to be part of the website, and other traffic can be associated with the ambient service website by virtue of a referring website tag or header, and some traffic can be returned to the same application with a relatively close time proximity to the other traffic as being identified as ambient traffic. In this example, as long as the not classified traffic service charging bucket does not exceed a given pre-set policy limit on its size, and/or does not grow faster than a given pre-set policy rate, and/or is received within a certain pre-set policy period of time difference from the time that other ambient service charging bucket traffic is received, then the not classified traffic is continued to be allowed. However, if the not classified traffic amount or rate of growth exceeds the pre-set policy limits, or if the period of time between when verified ambient service traffic is received and the not classified traffic is received exceeds policy limits, then the not classified traffic can be blocked or other action can be taken to further analyze the not classified traffic.
In some embodiments, it is important to provide a hierarchy of service usage charging rules for the various service usage partitions on a device. As an example, for a given service plan there can be two ambient service charging buckets, a network chatter (e.g., or network overhead) service charging bucket, and a user service plan service charging bucket and it is desirable to make sure that no ambient services or network overhead service or unclassified service is charged to the user service plan, and it is also desirable to ensure that all known ambient service traffic is charged to the appropriate ambient service partner, and it is desirable to ensure that no network overhead service or unclassified service is charged to ambient service partners. In such situations, a service charging bucket hierarchy can be provided as follows: determine if a traffic flow (e.g., or socket) is associated with network overhead, and if so allow it and charge that service bucket, then determine if a traffic flow (or socket) is associated with ambient service #1, and if so allow it and charge that service bucket, then determine if a traffic flow (or socket) is associated with ambient service #2, and if so allow it and charge that service bucket, then determine if a traffic flow (or socket) is associated with not classified traffic, and if so allow it and charge that service bucket, then if the traffic is not associated with any of the above service charging buckets allow it and charge it to the user service plan charging bucket. In another example, if the user has not yet chosen to pay for a user service plan, then the same hierarchical access control and service charging policy can be used except the final step would be: then if the traffic is not associated with any of the above service charging buckets block the traffic. Hierarchical service charging bucket identification such as depicted in these examples can be a crucial aspect of a robust access control policy and/or service charging policy system. Many other access control policy hierarchies and service charging bucket policy hierarchies will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In some embodiments, the not classified traffic is charged according to service charging rules that rely on the most likely candidate service charging bucket for the traffic. As another example, if the not classified traffic is being delivered to the same application as other known ambient service traffic and the time difference between delivery of the known ambient service traffic and the not classified traffic is small, then the not classified traffic can be charged to the ambient service in accordance with a pre-set charging policy rule specifying these conditions. Other embodiments that will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, another charging rule for not classified traffic could be to perform a pro-rata allocation of the not classified traffic to all of the other service charging buckets with the pro-rata allocation being based on the percentage of the total traffic used by the device for each service charging bucket. As another example, the not classified traffic can be charged to a subset of the service charging buckets for the device (e.g., all ambient services plus the network overhead service) in accordance with the pro-rata share for each service included in the pro-rata split.
In some embodiments, the user service plan agreement is structured so that the user acknowledges that ambient services in which the access connection to the service is sponsored, paid for, and/or partially subsidized by an entity other than the user are a benefit to the user, and/or the user acknowledges that there is no inherent right to free ambient services, and that the service usage accounting system may not always properly characterize usage for a sponsored or subsidized ambient service (e.g., or some other specialized service) in the correct accounting service charging bucket, and, thus, the user service plan account can be charged and/or billed with some of this traffic. By having the user acknowledge a service use agreement of this form then some ambient traffic can be charged to the user service plan account, including, for example, allowed but not classified traffic, excess ambient service usage beyond pre-set policy limits, ambient service usage during busy network periods or on congested network resources, and/or other criteria/measures. In some embodiments, the user might be notified that they are being charged for service activities that are sometimes subsidized or free to the user. As discussed above, it is important to ensure that a not classified service charging bucket does not become a back door for service charging errors or hacking. It will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the not classified service usage charges can be verified in a variety of manners, including, for example, observing the size of the not classified service charging bucket as compared to other service usage charges on the device (e.g., total device service usage, ambient service usage, user bucket service usage, and/or other criteria/measures), capping the not classified bucket, and/or capping the rate of growth of the not classified bucket.
In some embodiments, it is important to verify not only that the total device service usage amount is correct, but that the service usage is being reported in the proper service charging buckets. For example, if the service processor software can be hacked so that it correctly reports the total service usage, but reports user service plan traffic under one or more ambient service buckets, then simply verifying that the total amount of service usage is correct will not be sufficient to prevent the device from obtaining free user service that can be charged to ambient service partners. There are a variety of direct and indirect embodiments to accomplish this verification of service charging bucket divisions. For example, in direct verification embodiments, one or more alternative measures of service usage are employed to cross-check the accuracy of the service charging bucket divisions. In indirect embodiments one of two classes of verification are employed: the size and rate of growth for service charging buckets is analyzed and compared to a pre-set group of policies to detect and/or modify service charging bucket growth that is out of policy; and/or the proper operation of the service processor elements involved in service charging bucket partitioning is verified.
Various embodiments involving direct verification of service charging bucket usage and/or accounting include the use of network based service usage measures such as CDRs, IPDRs, flow data records (e.g., FDRs—detailed reports of service usage for each service flow, such as network socket connection, opened and used to transmit data to or from the device), accounting records, interim accounting records or other similar usage records to verify that the device is within service policy and/or the device based service usage reports are accurate. Use of such network generated service usage records to directly verify service charging and/or proper service usage policy adherence are described herein. When network address destination and/or source information is available in these records, as described herein, this can be used in some embodiments to verify the service charging bucket accounting provided by the device service processor. In some embodiments, some types of service usage records include real-time data but not necessarily all of the useful information needed to help verify service charging bucket accounting, while other types of service usage records provide more detail (e.g., IP address for destination and source) but do not always arrive in real-time. For example, in some embodiments, FDRs are created each time a new service flow (e.g., network socket connection) is opened and then closed. At the time the service flow is closed, a (e.g., possibly time stamped) data usage record indicating source address, destination address and amount of data transmitted is created and sent to a charging aggregation function in the network. The charging aggregation function can then forward the FDRs to the service controller for verification or direct accounting of service charging bucket accounting. By comparing the FDR addresses with known ambient service traffic address associations, the partitioning of service charging buckets between one or more ambient services and other services such as a user service plan service charging bucket may be verified. However, in some cases it can be a long period of time for an FDR to be generated when a device service flow (e.g., socket) remains open for a long period of time, as in the case for example with a long file download, a peer to peer connection with a socket keep alive, or a proxy server service with a socket keep alive. In such cases, it can be disadvantageous to have large amounts of data to be transferred without an FDR to confirm device service processor based reports, and in some cases this can provide an opportunity for service processor service reporting hacks. This can be remedied in a variety of ways by using other network reported service usage information to augment the FDR information. For example, start and stop accounting records can sometimes be obtained in some embodiments from a network element such as a service gateway or the AAA servers (e.g., or other network equipment elements depending on the network architecture). Although start and stop records do not possess the detail of service usage information that FDRs, CDRs, IPDRs, interim accounting records or other service usage records posses, they do inform the service controller that a device is either connected to the network or has stopped connecting. If a device is connected to the network and is not transmitting device usage reports or heartbeats, then the service controller is alerted that an error or hacking condition is likely. As another example of how two or more types of network reported service usage information may be used to create a better real time or near real-time check on device service usage, if both FDRs and start/stop accounting records are available, the service controller can send a stop-then-resume service command to the device (e.g., or alternatively send a stop then resume service command to a network equipment element), which will cause the device to terminate all open service flows before re-initiating them, and once the service flows are stopped then the FDR flow records will be completed and transmitted for any service flows that were in process but unreported when the stop service command was issued. This will cause any long term open socket file transfers to be reported in the FDR flow records thus plugging the potential back door hole in the FDR service usage accounting verification method.
As another example showing how multiple types of network generated service usage accounting records may be used to complement each other and strengthen the verification of service charging bucket accounting partitions, interim data records can be used with FDRs. Interim data records are available in accordance with some embodiments, n which the interim data records are generated on a regularly scheduled basis by a network element (e.g., gateway, base station, HLR, AAA, and/or other network element/function). Interim data records are typically near real time records that report the aggregate traffic usage for the device as of a point in time, but often do not include traffic address information or other traffic details. In embodiments in which both interim accounting records and FDRs are available, when the interim accounting records are indicating service usage that is not being reported in the FDR stream this is evidence that a device has one or more long term socket connections that are open and are not terminating. In this case, the service controller can verify that the device based usage reports are properly accounting for the total amount of service usage reported by the interim accounting records, and/or the service controller can force an FDR report for the open sockets by issuing a stop-resume service command as similarly discussed above.
As described herein, other embodiments involving direct verification of service charging bucket accounting can be provided. One example is to route ambient service traffic to a proxy server or router programmed to support only the network access allowed for the ambient service and to account for the ambient service usage. Additional proxy servers or routers can be similarly programmed for each ambient service that is part of the device service plan, and in some embodiments, another proxy server or router is programmed to support traffic control and account for the user service plan service access. By comparing the service usage accounting for each of these proxy servers or routers, the device generated service charging bucket accounting can be directly verified. In some embodiments, the usage accounting provided by the proxy servers or routers is used directly for service usage accounting.
In some embodiments, ambient service partner feedback is used to verify service charging bucket accounting. For example, web servers used by ambient service partners to provide ambient services can identify a user device based on header information embedded in the HTML traffic, and then account for either the service used by the device during the ambient service sessions or account for the number of transactions the user completes. If service usage is recorded, then it can be reported to the service controller and be used directly to verify ambient service charging bucket accounting. If transactions are all that are recorded, then this can be reported to the service controller and the amount of ambient service used by the device can be compared with the number of transactions completed to determine if the ambient service usage is reasonable or should be throttled or blocked. It will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments can be provided that employ more than one type of network generated service usage records to verify service usage accounting and/or verify service charging bucket accounting.
Other embodiments involving indirect methods for verifying or controlling service charging bucket accounting include monitoring the size and/or growth rate of ambient service usage. In some embodiments, the access control policy rules call for restricting a given ambient service access when the amount of service usage charges accumulating in the ambient service charging bucket exceed a pre-set policy limit, and/or when the rate of service usage for the ambient service exceeds a pre-set policy limit. For example, once these limits are reached, the ambient service can be throttled back for a period of time, blocked for a period of time, or charged to the user service plan charging bucket. In some embodiments, before these actions are taken the user UI can be used to notify the user of the service policy enforcement action. In some embodiments, indirect verification of service charging bucket accounting includes the various techniques described herein for verifying proper operation of the service processor agent software and/or protecting the service processor agent software from errors, manipulation, or hacking.
In some embodiments, the device service processor directs traffic destined for a given ambient service to a proxy server or router programmed to support that ambient service, and any traffic control policies and/or access control policies for the ambient service are implemented in the proxy server or router. For example, in such embodiments the proxy server or router can be programmed to only allow access to one or more ambient services that are authorized by the device service plan, with the proxy server or router controlling device access so that other network destinations cannot be reached. Continuing this example embodiment, the proxy server or router can account for the ambient service usage in an ambient service charging bucket as discussed elsewhere. In such proxy server or router ambient service control embodiments, the same traffic association techniques described elsewhere that allow incoming traffic associated with an ambient service website or other service to be identified, allowed or blocked, potentially throttled, and accounted for in a service charging bucket can be implemented in the proxy server or router programming. Such proxy server or router embodiments can also implement user service plan service charging buckets, user service plan traffic controls, and user service plan access control as discussed herein. In some embodiments, the proxy server or router analyzes the HTML traffic content of the traffic flows as described herein to perform such associations, traffic control and/or service usage accounting. Similarly, in some embodiments, a proxy server or router can provide the “surf-out” capabilities described herein by performing the same surf-out traffic associations (e.g., HTML branch reference associations and/or other branch associations) described herein. It will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many of the adaptive ambient service control and service usage charging functions described herein for a service processor can be readily implemented with a proxy server or router that is appropriately programmed.
In some embodiments, routing of device traffic for one or more ambient services and/or user service plan services to a proxy server or router is accomplished by the device service processor using the device service processor traffic control embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, routing of device traffic for one or more ambient services and/or user service plan services to a proxy server or router is accomplished by dedicated network equipment such as the gateways (e.g. SGSN, GGSN, PDSN, or PDN), home agents, HLRs or base stations, with the network equipment being provisioned by a service controller (e.g., or other interchangeable network element with similar functions for this purpose) to direct the device traffic to the proxy server or router. In some embodiments, the ambient service traffic or the user service plan traffic is controlled by the proxy server according to a service plan policy set supplied by the service controller (e.g., or equivalent network function for this purpose). The traffic control service policy thus implemented by the proxy server can control traffic based on one or more of the following: period of time, network address, service type, content type, application type, QoS class, time of day, network busy state, bandwidth, and data usage.
In some embodiments, a proxy server or router is used to verify accounting for a given service, for example, an ambient service. In some embodiments, this is accomplished by the device service processor directing the desired service flows to a proxy server or router programmed to handle the desired service flows, with the proxy server or router being programmed to only allow access to valid network destinations allowed by the access control policies for the desired service, and the proxy server or router also being programmed to account for the traffic usage for the desired services. In some embodiments, the proxy service usage accounting may then be used to verify device based service usage accounting reported by the service processor. In some embodiments, the accounting thus reported by the proxy server or router can be used directly to account for service usage, such as ambient service usage or user service plan service usage.
In some embodiments, in which a proxy server is used for device service usage accounting, the proxy server maintains a link to the device service notification UI via a secure communication link, such as the heartbeat device link described herein. For example, the proxy server or router can keep track of device service usage versus service plan usage caps/limits and notify the user device UI through the device communication link (e.g., heartbeat link) between the service controller and the device. In some embodiments, the proxy server/router communicates with a device UI in a variety of ways, such as follows: UI connection through a device link (e.g., heartbeat link), through a device link connected to a service controller (e.g., or other network element with similar function for this purpose), presenting a proxy web page to the device, providing a pop-up page to the device, and/or installing a special portal mini-browser on the device that communicates with the proxy server/router. In some embodiments, the UI connection to the proxy server/router is used as a user notification channel to communicate usage notification information, service plan choices, or any of the multiple services UI embodiments described herein.
In some embodiments for the proxy server/router techniques for implementing service traffic/access controls and/or service charting bucket accounting, it is desirable to have the same information that is available to the service processor on the device, including, for example, application associated with the traffic, network busy state, QoS level, or other information about the service activity that is available at the device. For example, such information can be used to help determine traffic control rules and/or special services credit is due (e.g., ambient services credit). In some embodiments, information available on the device can be communicated to the proxy server/router and associated with traffic flows or service usage activities in a variety of ways. For example, side information can be transmitted to the proxy server/router that associates a traffic flow or service activity flow with information available on the device but not readily available in the traffic flow or service activity flow itself. In some embodiments, such side information may be communicated over a dedicated control channel (e.g., the device control link or heartbeat link), or in a standard network connection that in some embodiments can be secure (e.g., TLS/SSL, or a secure tunnel). In some embodiments, the side information available on the device can be communicated to the proxy server/router via embedded information in data (e.g., header and/or stuffing special fields in the communications packets). In some embodiments, the side information available on the device can be communicated to the proxy server/router by associating a given secure link or tunnel with the side information. In some embodiments, the side information is collected in a device agent or device API agent that monitors traffic flows, collects the side information for those traffic flows, and transmits the information associated with a given flow to a proxy server/router. It will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other techniques can be used to communicate side information available on the device to a proxy server/router.
For example, just as the hierarchy of charging rules can be important for implementations in which the service processor is creating the service charging bucket accounting, it can also important in implementations that use a proxy server or router for service charging bucket accounting. Accordingly, various embodiments described herein for creating a hierarchy of service usage charging rules can be applied to proxy server or proxy router embodiments. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the service charging bucket embodiments and traffic control and access control embodiments described herein for allowed but not classified buckets apply equally to the proxy server/router embodiments. For example, pre-defined service policy rules can be programmed into the proxy server/router to control the traffic flows and/or place usage limits or access limits on an ambient service, or a user service plan service. It will also now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein disclosing an initial allowed service access list, temporarily allowing additional service activities until they are determined to be allowed or not allowed, expanding the allowed service activity list, maintaining a not allowed service activity list and expanding the not allowed service activity list also apply equally to proxy server/router embodiments. Similarly, it will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the proxy/server router embodiments can be employed to directly generate the service charging bucket (or micro-CDR) usage reports used to provide further detail and/or billing capabilities for service usage. In some embodiments, in which the device service processor directs traffic to a proxy server/router, there are advantageous design feature embodiments available that can reduce the need to provision network to detect and force specialized device service traffic to the appropriate proxy server/router. For example, this can be done by creating a “usage credit” system for the services supported by the proxy server/outer. Total service usage is counted on the one hand by the device service processor, or by other network equipment, or by both. Credit on the other hand for ambient service or other specialized access service usage that is not charged to the user is then provided for services that the device directs through the proxy server/router destination (e.g., URL or route hop) supporting the particular ambient service or other specialized access service. If the device correctly directs traffic to the proxy server/router, then the counting and/or access rules are correctly implemented by the proxy server/router. The service can be thus controlled and/or accounted for. When the service is accounted for, the proxy server/router reports the service charging bucket accounting back to the service controller (e.g., or other network equipment responsible for service charging bucket/micro CDR mediation) and the user service plan service charging bucket account can be credited for the services. Traffic that reaches the proxy server/router is controlled by the access rules and/or traffic control rules and/or QoS control rules of the proxy server/router programming, so there is no question regarding the type of service that is supported with the service charging buckets that are reported to mediation functions (e.g., mediation functions can be performed by one or more of service controller, usage mediation, billing, AAA, and/or HLR/home agent). As the proxy server/router is in the network and can be physically secured and protected from hacking, there is high confidence that the service control and/or charging rules intended for ambient services or some other specialized service are properly implemented and that the proxy server/router connection is being used for the intended service and not some other unintended hacked service. If the device is somehow hacked or otherwise in error so that the traffic is not directed through the appropriate proxy server/router, then the proxy server/router does not log the traffic in micro CDRs/buckets and no specialized service usage credit is sent to the mediation functions, so there is no usage credit deducted from the device user service plan service usage totals. Thus, the user pays for the services when the device is hacked to avoid the proxy server/router. The user account service agreement can specify that if the user tampers with software and traffic is not routed to servers then credit will not be provided and user plan will be charged.
In some proxy server/router embodiments, the usage credit is sometimes recorded by the proxy server/router detecting which device is performing the access. Device identification can be accomplished in a variety of ways including a header/tag inserted into the traffic by the device, a route in the network specified for that device, a secure link (e.g., TLS/SSL, IP Sec, or other secure tunnel), a unique device IP address or other credential (e.g., where proxy server/router has access to an active IP address look up function), a unique proxy server/router address and/or socket for the device.
In some embodiments, the coordination of the device service controller traffic control elements with a proxy server/outer can make it simpler to locate, install, provision and operate the proxy servers. The proxy server/routers do not need to be located “in line” with the access network because it is the device's responsibility to make sure the traffic is routed to the servers/routers or else there is not credit and the user account is charged. In some embodiments, this makes it unnecessary or reduces the need to force device traffic routes in carrier network. In some embodiments, the proxy server/routers can be located in carrier network or on the Internet. If the proxy server/routers are on Internet, then traffic can be authenticated in a firewall before being passed to server/routers to enhance security to attack.
In some embodiments, the service charging bucket recording software in the proxy server/router can be programmed into an ambient service partners network equipment directly thus eliminating the need for special apparatus. The ambient service partner's equipment (e.g., a web server, load balancer or router) can recognize the device using one of the techniques described above, aggregate the device service charging bucket accounting, and periodically send the usage accounting to the service controller or other network service usage mediation function.
Programming and/or provisioning the types of ambient services, user service plan services and/or specialized services disclosed in various embodiments described herein can be a complex process. In some embodiments, a simplified user programming interface, also referred to herein as a service design interface, is used to program the necessary policy settings for such services is desirable. For example, a service design interface is provided that organizes and/or categorizes the various policy settings that are required to set up an ambient service (e.g., or other service) including one or more of the following: a policy list of service activities that are allowed under the ambient service (e.g., or other service), access control policies, rules for implementing and/or adapting an allowed list of network destinations, rules for implementing and/or adapting a blocked list of network destinations, service charging bucket policies, user notification policies, service control, and/or service charging bucket verification policies, actions to be taken upon verification errors. In some embodiments, the required information for one or more of these policy sets is formatted into a UI that organizes and simplifies the programming of the policies. In some embodiments, the UI is partly graphical to help the user understand the information and what settings need to be defined in order to define the service. In some embodiments, the UI is created with an XML interface. In some embodiments, the UI is offered via a secure web connection. In some embodiments, a basic service policy for an ambient service (e.g., or another service) is created that includes one or more of the above service policy settings, and then this service policy set becomes a list or an object that can be replicated and used in multiple service plan policy set definitions (e.g., “dragged and dropped” in a graphical UI). In some embodiments, the resulting set of policies created in this service design interface are then distributed to the necessary policy control elements in the network and/or on the device that act in coordination to implement the service policy set for a given device group. For example, if a service processor is used in conjunction with a service controller, then the service design interface can load the service policy settings subsets that need to be programmed on the service controller and the device service processor into the service controller, and the service controller loads the service controller policy settings subset into the service controller components that control the policies and loads the device policy settings subset to the devices that belong to that device group. In embodiments in which a proxy server/router is used to help control and account for services, in some embodiments, the service design interface loads the service policy settings subsets that need to be programmed on the proxy server/router into the proxy server/router. In embodiments where other network equipment (e.g., gateways, base stations, service usage recording/aggregation/feed equipment, AAA, home agent/HLR, mediation system, and/or billing system) need to be provisioned or programmed, in some embodiments, the service design interface also loads the appropriate device group policy subsets to each of the equipment elements. Accordingly, various techniques can be used as described herein to greatly simplify the complex task of translating a service policy set or service plan into all the myriad equipment and/or device settings, programming, and/or provisioning commands required to correctly implement the service. It will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that several of these techniques can similarly be used for the VSP service design interface.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various other rules can be provided for the rules engine as described herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that the functions described herein can be implemented using various other network architectures and network implementations (e.g., using various other networking protocols and corresponding network equipment and techniques).
Some interfaces shown in
As illustrated in
As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, the interfaces shown in
Possible uses of the exemplary interfaces shown in
Uniform Interfaces for On-Device Service Selection
On-device user selection or purchase of a network service plan offered to an end user through a device user interface agent (e.g., a service processor client software or firmware agent configured with a service plan selection user interface function) can be difficult to implement because different wireless service provider networks often have different service plan provisioning systems or different service plan activation systems. This circumstance can make it difficult to create a consistent user experience for selecting or purchasing a service plan on a device because different carrier networks can have different service plan selection or purchase processes. This can also make it difficult to develop a consistent device service selection or purchase user interface agent (e.g., a service processor software or firmware agent that supports on-device service plan selection or purchase via an end-user device user interface) because differences between wireless networks can cause differences in service plan selection or purchase interfaces to the network, which in turn cause differences in the required end-user device agent (e.g., service processor) design or service selection interface. It is therefore desirable to create a uniform wireless network service selection information exchange interface system.
An example service selection/provisioning workflow for network-based service policy control and an on-device user interface with service plan selection or service plan purchase capability is now described using the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, a uniform wireless network service selection interface system comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange that facilitates communication of user service plan selection options or user service plan selection choices between an end-user device interface agent capable of displaying service options to a user and accepting service selections from the device user (e.g., using a service processor) and one or more network elements that facilitate service plan provisioning, service plan activation, or service plan purchase (e.g., network provisioning system 160, billing system 123, subscriber management 182, or order management 180).
In some embodiments, a uniform wireless network service selection interface system comprises uniform service provisioning update interface 2020. In some embodiments, the uniform wireless network service selection interface system includes a service controller that implements service provisioning update interface 2020. In some embodiments, a service controller includes a service provisioning update interface 2020 that comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange for communication of user service plan selection options between a wireless network element (e.g., network provisioning system 160, billing system 123, subscriber management 182, or order management 180) and the service controller. In some embodiments service provisioning update interface 2020 comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange for communication of user service plan selection options between a wireless network element (e.g., network provisioning system 160, billing system 123, subscriber management 182, or order management 180) and a service controller in a manner that maintains a consistent interface for multiple wireless networks. In some embodiments, the service controller service plan information exchange protocols used in service provisioning update interface 2020 are used to communicate with a common service selection information exchange protocol across multiple wireless networks. In some embodiments, a service controller implements a uniform service plan selection exchange protocol for service plan selection communication with a device service processor, wherein the uniform service plan selection exchange protocol is consistent across multiple wireless networks. In this way, service controller 122 can provide a uniform translation function that allows an on-device service selection agent (e.g., service processor 115) to interface with the network in a consistent manner to provide a consistent user experience with multiple wireless networks that may have different service plan activation or service plan purchase processes.
In some embodiments, implementing service provisioning update interface 2020 comprises implementing a uniform information exchange protocol in a service controller, wherein the formatting of service plan selection option information or service plan purchase option information is defined in the protocol. In some embodiments, the pre-defined protocol employed in service provisioning update interface 2020 for service plan selection option information or service plan purchase option information communicates one or more service plan selection options or one or more service plan purchase options from a wireless network element (e.g., network provisioning system 160, billing system 123, subscriber management 182, or order management 180) to a service controller.
In some embodiments a service controller communicates the service plan selection options or service plan purchase options to an end-user device service selection user interface function (e.g., using a service processor configured to communicate with a service selection user interface). In some embodiments, service controller 122 translates the service plan selection option or service plan purchase option so that it is compatible with a uniform service plan selection information exchange protocol used between service controller 122 and service processor 115. In some embodiments, service controller 122 communicates the service plan selection options or service plan purchase options to a service processor 115 (e.g., on end-user device 100, which is also configured with a service selection user interface) via policy interface 2110 (or service control device link 1691, service control server link 1638, or another interface). In some embodiments, policy interface 2110 comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange configured to communicate user service plan selection options or service plan purchase options between service controller 122 and service processor 115. In some embodiments, service controller 122 communicates the service plan selection options or service plan purchase options to service processor 115 via a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange, such as policy interface 2110 (or service control device link 1691, service control server link 1638, or another interface), that maintains consistent protocols across multiple wireless networks. In this manner, a network element such as service controller 122 can provide a consistent interface across one or multiple networks to allow device agents or device applications to receive service plan selection options or service plan purchase options for display to an end-user device user interface.
In some embodiments, service processor 115 has a user interface that is capable of presenting one or more of the service plan selection options or service plan purchase options to the end user so that the end user may select a service plan. In some embodiments, the user then selects one of the service plan selection options via the service processor 115 user interface, and service processor 115 communicates the user selection to service controller 122. In some embodiments, service processor 115 communicates a service plan selection via usage record service selection interface 2120. In some embodiments usage record service selection interface 2120 comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange for communication of user service plan selection information between service processor 115 and service controller 122. In some embodiments, the uniform service plan information exchange interface provided to service processor 115 by service controller 122, such as the usage record service selection interface 2120, is consistent across multiple wireless networks so that the service processor 115 service plan selection interface and the device service plan selection user experience are consistent for multiple carrier networks. In this manner, a network element such as service controller 122 can provide a consistent interface across one or multiple networks to enable device agents or device applications to transmit device user service plan selections or service plan purchases to the network elements responsible for provisioning or activating device service plans.
In some embodiments, service controller 122 communicates the user service plan selection to the network elements responsible for provisioning or activating the service plan (e.g., network provisioning system 160, billing system 123, subscriber management 182, or order management 180) via subscriber onboarding interface 2050. In some embodiments, subscriber onboarding interface 2050 comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange for communication of user service selections between a wireless network element (e.g., network provisioning system 160, billing system 123, subscriber management 182, or order management 180) and service controller 122. In some embodiments, subscriber onboarding interface 2050 comprises a uniform service plan selection, service plan activation, or service plan purchase information exchange for communication of device user service plan selections between a wireless network element and service controller 122 that is consistent across multiple carrier networks. In this way, service controller 122 can provide a uniform translation function that allows an on-device service selection agent (e.g., service processor 115) to interface with the network in a consistent manner to provide a consistent user experience with multiple wireless networks that may have different service plan activation or service plan purchase processes. Another example service selection/provisioning workflow for device-assisted service policy control and an on-device user interface with service plan selection or service plan purchase capability is now described using the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, device identification list interface 2010 allows the network to provide service controller 122 with the device identifications or credentials of end-user devices that are able to participate in device-assisted services, including, for example, end-user devices with service processors, such as end-user device 100. In some embodiments, such end-user devices are identified by service controller 122. In some embodiments, such end-user devices are associated with an appropriate device group before those end-user devices may participate in device-assisted services.
In some embodiments, device identification list interface 2010 is a batch interface. In some embodiments, data is sent across device identification list interface 2010 using the FTP protocol. In some embodiments, the records sent to service controller 122 via device identification list interface 2010 are fixed-length records. The data elements that may be passed over device identification list interface 2010 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, and device group. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, service provisioning update interface 2020 allows the network to provide service controller 122 with updated service plan selections for an end-user device that supports device-assisted services, such as end-user device 100. In some embodiments, service provisioning update interface 2020 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, service provisioning update interface 2020 is a device group or user group multi-device interface. In some embodiments, data is sent across service provisioning update interface 2020 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent to service controller 122 via service provisioning update interface 2020 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over service provisioning update interface 2020 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, service plan selection information (e.g., service plan, charging code, plan start date, plan start time, plan end date, plan end time). As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, subscriber onboarding interface 2050 allows service controller 122 to provide the network with device user (or subscriber) credentials or other information, billing information, and/or device user service selection information associated with end-user device 100. In some embodiments, subscriber onboarding interface 2050 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, subscriber onboarding interface 2050 is a device group or user group multi-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over subscriber onboarding interface 2050 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent by service controller 122 via subscriber onboarding interface 2050 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over subscriber onboarding interface 2050 include any or all of: device data (e.g., ED, IMSI, etc.), subscriber data (e.g., name, address, etc.), billing data (e.g., credit card information, billing address, etc.), selected service plan, charging code, and acceptance of terms and conditions. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, service provisioning request interface 2070 allows service controller 122 to provide the network with subscriber service selection information associated with an end-user device, such as end-user device 100. In some embodiments, service provisioning request interface 2070 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over service provisioning request interface 2070 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent by service controller 122 via service provisioning request interface 2070 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over service provisioning request interface 2070 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, selected service plan, charging code, and acceptance of terms and conditions. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
Uniform Interfaces for Classification of Service Usage
Network usage report interface 2030 comprises a uniform information exchange interface for communication of end-user device 100 service usage information to service controller 122. In some embodiments, end-user device 100 service usage information is gathered in the network and communicated to service controller 122. In some embodiments, service usage information is communicated from service controller 122 to end-user device 100 via a uniform service usage information exchange interface (e.g., policy interface 2110, service control device link 1691, service control server link 1638, or another interface) so that end-user device agents or applications (such as a service processor 115) can be configured to receive service usage information from a uniform interface. In some embodiments, service usage information is communicated from service controller 122 to end-user device 100 via a uniform service usage information exchange interface (e.g., policy interface 2110, service control device link 1691, service control server link 1638, or another interface) that is consistent across multiple wireless networks. In some embodiments, network usage report interface 2030 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, service provisioning update interface 2020 is a device group or user group multi-device interface. In some embodiments, service usage information is passed over network usage report interface 2030 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent to service controller 122 via network usage report interface 2030 is formatted as XML.
In some embodiments, network usage report interface 2030 (or FDR report interface 2040) can comprise a uniform network service usage information exchange that includes a classification of service usage. In some embodiments, the classification of service usage can include classification of data network usage by one or more of device application, network destination, network service type, network service class, network traffic type, network QoS class, device type, network type, time of day, network congestion level, or home or roaming network service usage. In some embodiments, the service usage information that is communicated to service controller 122 comprises one or more classifications of service usage. In some embodiments, the service usage information that is communicated via a uniform service usage information exchange interface (e.g., policy interface 2110, service control device link 1691, service control server link 1638, or another interface) to service processor 115 comprises one or more classifications of service usage. The data elements that may be passed over network usage report interface 2030 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, usage report start time, usage report end time, number of bytes sent by the end-user device, number of bytes sent to the end-user device, service plan, charging code, percentage of plan used. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, CDR interface 2060 allows service controller 122 to provide the network with detailed device usage information, such as for end-user device 100. In some embodiments, CDR interface 2060 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over CDR interface 2060 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent by service controller 122 via CDR interface 2060 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over CDR interface 2060 include any or all of: MEID, IMSI, MSID, MDN, start time, end time, usage data (e.g., service plan, charging code, number of bytes sent by the end-user device, number of bytes received by the end-user device). As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, FDR report interface 2040 allows the network to provide service controller 122 with detailed data usage information for an end-user device, such as end-user device 100. In some embodiments, the report is based on a prior FDR report request initiated by service controller 122. In some embodiments, FDR report interface 2040 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over FDR report interface 2040 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent to service controller 122 via FDR report interface 2040 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over FDR report interface 2040 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, usage report start time, usage report end time, usage data (e.g., remote IP address, remote port, number of bytes sent by the end-user device, number of bytes sent to the end-user device). As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, FDR request interface 2080 allows the service controller to request FDRs for a specific end-user device, such as end-user device 100, for a specific period of time. In some embodiments, FDR request interface 2080 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over FDR request interface 2080 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent by service controller 122 via FDR request interface 2080 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over FDR request interface 2080 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, start time, end time. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
Service Usage Anomaly Detection
An exemplary embodiment illustrating the detection of service usage anomalies in device-generated usage data records using carrier-based usage data records is now described with reference to
Service processor 115 on end-user device 100 sends device-generated (also referred to as “device-based”) usage data reports (UDRs) to service controller 122 via the access network. The UDRs contain information about the data usage of end-user device 100. For example, the UDRs may indicate how many bytes of data associated with a particular application, such as a map application, or service, such as a music streaming service, end-user device 100 consumed since the last report, or during a particular time period. For example, a UDR may contain some or all of the following information: subscriber identification (e.g., IMSI, MSID, NAI, MDN), equipment identification (e.g., IMEI or MEID), start time, stop time, domain name, remote IP address, remote port, application, control policy identification, charging policy identification, filter identification, network busy state, information about the active network (e.g., whether it is 2G, 3G, 4G, or WiFi), access point name (APN), access point type, classification type (e.g., whether direct or associative), number of bytes sent by end-user device 100, number of bytes received by end-user device 100. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, a UDR may contain other information associated with end-user device 100. In some embodiments, end-user device 100 sends the UDRs periodically. In some embodiments, end-user device 100 sends the UDRs in response to one or more requests from service controller 122.
In addition to receiving UDRs from end-user device 100, service controller 122 also receives carrier-based device usage reports from the carrier usage reporting system. In some embodiments, these carrier-based reports are received via usage report interface 2030. The carrier-based usage reports contain information about data usage by end-user device 100, as determined by the network. For example, a carrier usage record, which may be, for example, a charging data record (CDR), may contain some or all of the following information: subscriber identification (e.g., IMSI, MSID, NAI, or MDN), equipment identification (e.g., IMEI or MEID), correlation identification, start time, stop time, number of bytes sent by end-user device 100, number of bytes received by end-user device 100, access point name (APN). As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, a carrier-based device usage report may contain other information associated with end-user device 100.
In some embodiments, service controller 122 compares information in UDRs sent by service processor 115 to carrier-based usage reports received from the network to determine whether end-user device 100 is likely operating in compliance with an established policy, or whether end-user device 100 is likely operating in a fraudulent manner.
The carrier-based usage report may specify a time period associated with the data included in the report. In some embodiments in which the carrier-based usage report specifies a time period associated with the data included in the report, for the time period specified in the carrier-based usage report, service controller 122 compares information in the received UDRs to constraints in effect during the specified time period. Such constraints may include, for example, policy limits, usage metrics, or other measures associated with the use of data by end-user device 100. In some embodiments, for the time period specified in the carrier-based usage report, service controller 122 compares aggregated usage counts in the carrier-based usage report to an aggregated usage count determined based on one or more UDRs received from service processor 115.
In some embodiments, service controller 122 reconciles time period differences between information received from service processor 115 and network sources of service usage information. In some embodiments, time period reconciliation is accomplished by aggregating a number of measurement time periods until the percentage difference in time periods is small. In some embodiments, time period reconciliation is accomplished by aggregating a first number of device-based usage reports and a second number of network-based usage reports. In some embodiments, time period reconciliation is accomplished by maintaining a running average or running accumulation of service usage from each source.
In some embodiments, if service controller 122 detects possible fraudulent activity by end-user device 100, service controller 122 requests flow data record (FDR) data from the network for the time period specified in the carrier-based usage report and performs additional analysis based on the FDR data. In some embodiments, service controller 122 requests the FDR data via FDR request interface 2080.
In some embodiments, based on its analysis of the UDRs and carrier-based data records, which may include FDR data, service controller 122 sets an indicator or flag to indicate potential fraudulent activity. The indicator or flag is specific to end-user device 100 and, in some embodiments in which the carrier-based usage reports specify a time period, the time period specified by the carrier-based usage report.
In some embodiments, the indicator or flag is communicated to the network using fraud alert interface 2090. In some embodiments, fraud alert interface 2090 allows service controller to notify the network of potential fraud detection associated with an end-user device, such as end-user device 100. In some embodiments, fraud alert interface 2090 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over fraud alert interface 2090 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent by service controller 122 via fraud alert interface 2090 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over fraud alert interface 2090 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, fraud alert start time, fraud alert end time, affected service plan, affected charging code, fraud reason code (e.g., no device report, count mismatch, etc.). As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
In some embodiments, after service controller 122 has completed the anomaly detection procedure, if the potential fraud indicator or flag is not set, service controller 122 generates charging data records with detailed charging codes for the data usage by end-user device 100. In some embodiments in which the carrier-based usage reports specify a time period, the charging data records are for the time period specified in the carrier-based usage record. In some embodiments, service controller 122 sends the charging data records to the service provider over CDR interface 2060.
In some embodiments, if the potential fraud indicator or flag is set, service controller 122 waits for the network to send an FDR report via FDR report interface 2040 for end-user device 100. When service controller 122 receives the FDR report, service controller 122 performs validation of the carrier-based usage report based on the FDR report. If the counts do not agree, service controller 122 sends a fraud alert message over fraud alert interface 2090. If the counts agree, service controller 122 generates charging data records with detailed charging codes for data usage by end-user device 100 during the time period specified in the carrier-based usage record. In some embodiments, service controller 122 sends the charging data records to the service provider over CDR interface 2060.
Uniform Customer Acknowledgment Interface
In some embodiments, customer acknowledgment interface 2100 allows service controller 122 to notify the network of an end user's selecting of “Acknowledge” in response to an end-user device notification that has an “Acknowledge” option. In some embodiments, customer acknowledgment interface 2100 is a single-device interface. In some embodiments, data is passed over customer acknowledgment interface 2100 using a web services protocol. In some embodiments, the data sent by service controller 122 via customer acknowledgment interface 2100 is formatted as XML. The data elements that may be passed over customer acknowledgment interface 2100 include any or all of: IMSI, MSID, MDN, MEID, acknowledge time, acknowledge event (e.g., allow an overage), acknowledge service plan (e.g., 50 MB browsing plan), acknowledge charging code. As would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, other protocols, data formats, and data elements are possible.
Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive.
This document incorporates by reference for all purposes the following non-provisional U.S. patent applications: application Ser. No. 12/380,778, filed Mar. 2, 2009, entitled VERIFIABLE DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICE USAGE BILLING WITH INTEGRATED ACCOUNTING, MEDIATION ACCOUNTING, AND MULTI-ACCOUNT, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,321,526 (issued Nov. 27, 2012); application Ser. No. 12/380,780, filed Mar. 2, 2009, entitled AUTOMATED DEVICE PROVISIONING AND ACTIVATION, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,839,388 (issued Sep. 16, 2014); application Ser. No. 12/695,019, filed Jan. 27, 2010, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED CDR CREATION, AGGREGATION, MEDIATION AND BILLING, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,275,830 (issued Sep. 25, 2012); application Ser. No. 12/695,020, filed Jan. 27, 2010, entitled ADAPTIVE AMBIENT SERVICES, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,406,748 (issued Mar. 26, 2013); application Ser. No. 12/694,445, filed Jan. 27, 2010, entitled SECURITY TECHNIQUES FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,391,834 (issued Mar. 5, 2013); application Ser. No. 12/694,451, filed Jan. 27, 2010, entitled DEVICE GROUP PARTITIONS AND SETTLEMENT PLATFORM, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,548,428 (issued Oct. 1, 2013); application Ser. No. 12/694,455, filed Jan. 27, 2010, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES INSTALL, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,402,111 (issued Mar. 19, 2013); application Ser. No. 12/695,021, filed Jan. 27, 2010, entitled QUALITY OF SERVICE FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,346,225 (issued Jan. 1, 2013); application Ser. No. 12/695,980, filed Jan. 28, 2010, entitled ENHANCED ROAMING SERVICES AND CONVERGED CARRIER NETWORKS WITH DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES AND A PROXY, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,340,634 (issued Dec. 25, 2012); application Ser. No. 13/134,005, filed May 25, 2011, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS NETWORK OFFLOADING, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,635,335 (issued Jan. 21, 2014); application Ser. No. 13/134,028, filed May 25, 2011, entitled DEVICE-ASSISTED SERVICES FOR PROTECTING NETWORK CAPACITY, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,589,541 (issued Nov. 19, 2013); and application Ser. No. 13/229,580, filed Sep. 9, 2011, entitled WIRELESS NETWORK SERVICE INTERFACES, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,626,115 (issued Jan. 7, 2014).
This document incorporates by reference for all purposes the following provisional patent applications: Provisional Application No. 61/206,354, filed Jan. 28, 2009, entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD; Provisional Application No. 61/206,944, filed Feb. 4, 2009, entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD; Provisional Application No. 61/207,393, filed Feb. 10, 2009, entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD; and Provisional Application No. 61/207,739, entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD, filed Feb. 13, 2009; Provisional Application No. 61/270,353, filed on Jul. 6, 2009, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED CDR CREATION, AGGREGATION, MEDIATION AND BILLING; Provisional Application No. 61/275,208, filed Aug. 25, 2009, entitled ADAPTIVE AMBIENT SERVICES; and Provisional Application No. 61/237,753, filed Aug. 28, 2009, entitled ADAPTIVE AMBIENT SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/252,151, filed Oct. 15, 2009, entitled SECURITY TECHNIQUES FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/252,153, filed Oct. 15, 2009, entitled DEVICE GROUP PARTITIONS AND SETTLEMENT PLATFORM; Provisional Application No. 61/264,120, filed Nov. 24, 2009, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES INSTALL; Provisional Application No. 61/264,126, filed Nov. 24, 2009, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES ACTIVITY MAP; Provisional Application No. 61/348,022, filed May 25, 2010, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES FOR PROTECTING NETWORK CAPACITY; Provisional Application No. 61/381,159, filed Sep. 9, 2010, entitled DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES FOR PROTECTING NETWORK CAPACITY; Provisional Application No. 61/381,162, filed Sep. 9, 2010, entitled SERVICE CONTROLLER INTERFACES AND WORKFLOWS; Provisional Application No. 61/384,456, filed Sep. 20, 2010, entitled SECURING SERVICE PROCESSOR WITH SPONSORED SIMS; Provisional Application No. 61/389,547, filed Oct. 4, 2010, entitled USER NOTIFICATIONS FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/385,020, filed Sep. 21, 2010, entitled SERVICE USAGE RECONCILIATION SYSTEM OVERVIEW; Provisional Application No. 61/387,243, filed Sep. 28, 2010, entitled ENTERPRISE AND CONSUMER BILLING ALLOCATION FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE SERVICE USAGE ACTIVITIES; Provisional Application No. 61/387,247, filed September 28, entitled SECURED DEVICE DATA RECORDS, 2010; Provisional Application No. 61/407,358, filed Oct. 27, 2010, entitled SERVICE CONTROLLER AND SERVICE PROCESSOR ARCHITECTURE; Provisional Application No. 61/418,507, filed Dec. 1, 2010, entitled APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDER INTERFACE SYSTEM; Provisional Application No. 61/418,509, filed Dec. 1, 2010, entitled SERVICE USAGE REPORTING RECONCILIATION AND FRAUD DETECTION FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/420,727, filed Dec. 7, 2010, entitled SECURE DEVICE DATA RECORDS; Provisional Application No. 61/422,565, filed Dec. 13, 2010, entitled SERVICE DESIGN CENTER FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/422,572, filed Dec. 13, 2010, entitled SYSTEM INTERFACES AND WORKFLOWS FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/422,574, filed Dec. 13, 2010, entitled SECURITY AND FRAUD DETECTION FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/435,564, filed Jan. 24, 2011, entitled FRAMEWORK FOR DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES; Provisional Application No. 61/472,606, filed Apr. 6, 2011, entitled MANAGING SERVICE USER DISCOVERY AND SERVICE LAUNCH OBJECT PLACEMENT ON A DEVICE.
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