U.S. patent application number 09/817855 was filed with the patent office on 2002-09-12 for method and system for transmitting information to a telecommunication terminal.
Invention is credited to Simonen, Ari-Pekka.
Application Number | 20020128966 09/817855 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8552560 |
Filed Date | 2002-09-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020128966 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Simonen, Ari-Pekka |
September 12, 2002 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION TO A
TELECOMMUNICATION TERMINAL
Abstract
Method and system for presenting the price of a
telecommunication connection on the telecommunication terminal of
the committer of the telecommunication connection in a
telecommunication system comprising a telephone exchange, a
telecommunication terminal communicating with the telephone
exchange via a telecommunication network and a billing center which
takes care of charge calculation in the network and is connected to
the telephone exchange. According to the invention,
connection-specific advice-of-charge data is transmitted to the
telecommunication terminal at the beginning of the
telecommunication connection, using the telecommunication terminal,
a price for the telecommunication connection is calculated from the
advice-of-charge data; and the calculated price of the
telecommunication connection is presented on the telecommunication
terminal.
Inventors: |
Simonen, Ari-Pekka;
(Jyvaskyla, FI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ALTERA LAW GROUP, LLC
6500 CITY WEST PARKWAY
SUITE 100
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55344
US
|
Family ID: |
8552560 |
Appl. No.: |
09/817855 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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09817855 |
Mar 26, 2001 |
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PCT/FI99/00780 |
Sep 22, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/40 ;
705/400 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2215/8129 20130101;
H04M 2215/32 20130101; H04M 2215/8108 20130101; H04M 2215/7263
20130101; H04M 15/83 20130101; H04M 2215/7268 20130101; H04M
2215/7277 20130101; G06Q 20/102 20130101; H04M 2215/725 20130101;
H04M 15/28 20130101; H04M 2215/81 20130101; H04M 15/772 20130101;
G06Q 30/0283 20130101; H04W 4/24 20130101; H04M 15/59 20130101;
H04M 15/00 20130101; H04M 15/8228 20130101; H04M 2215/204 20130101;
H04M 2215/2026 20130101; H04M 15/84 20130101; H04M 15/8351
20130101; H04M 2215/82 20130101; H04M 15/7655 20130101; H04M
2215/7833 20130101; H04M 2215/018 20130101; H04M 15/775 20130101;
H04M 15/773 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/40 ;
705/400 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 24, 1998 |
FI |
982062 |
Claims
1. Method for presenting the price of a telecommunication
connection on the telecommunication terminal (DTE) of the committer
of the telecommunication connection in a telecommunication system
comprising a telephone exchange (PK), a telecommunication terminal
(DTE) communicating with the telephone exchange (PK) via a
telecommunication network (1) and a billing centre (LK), which is
connected to the telephone exchange (PK) and which takes care of
charge calculation in the network, characterised in that
connection-specific advice-of-charge data is transmitted to he
telecommunication terminal (DTE) at the beginning of the
telecommunication connection; using the telecommunication terminal
(DTE), a price for the telecommunication connection is calculated
from the advice-of-charge data; and the calculated price of the
telecommunication connection is presented on the telecommunication
terminal (DTE).
2. Method as defined in claim 1, characterised in that the
advice-of-charge data comprises a formula describing the
development of the cost of the telecommunication connection and the
advice-or-charge parameters required for the formula.
3. Method as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, if
more than one telecommunication connection is set up, then a price
is calculated for each telecommunication connection by means of the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) and the price of each connection
is presented separately on the telecommunication terminal.
4. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-3, characterised in
that the prices of all the telecommunication connections are added
together by means of the telecommunication terminal (DTE) and this
total price is presented on the telecommunication terminal.
5. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-4, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) is a service provider (SP).
6. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-5, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) is a telephone exchange (PK).
7. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-6, characterised in
that the price calculated for the telecommunication connection by
the telecommunication terminal (DTE) is corrected during the
connection via advice-of-charge data updates from the billing
centre (LK).
8. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-7, characterised in
that an advice-of-charge data update is sent to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) when the rate for the
telecommunication connection changes.
9. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-8, characterised in
that an advice-of-charge data update is sent to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) when the bandwidth reserved for
the telecommunication connection changes.
10. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-9 characterised in
that an advice-of-charge data update is sent to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) upon request.
11. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-10, characterised in
that the advice-of-charge data update is sent to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) periodically at intervals of a
predetermined length.
12. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-11, characterised in
that the price calculated for the telecommunication connection by
the telecommunication terminal (DTE) is updated by the price of the
telecommunication connection as calculated by the billing centre
(LK).
13. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-12 characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) is programmed to transmit the cost
accumulated for the telecommunication connection to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) at the end of the connection.
14. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-13, characterised in
that the subscriber is charged for the telecommunication connection
on the basis of charge calculation performed by the billing centre
(LK).
15. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-14, characterised in
that the advice-of-charge data is transmitted to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) using advice-of-charge (AOC)
auxiliary services.
16. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-15, characterised in
that the transmission of advice-of-charge data is activated
automatically for all calls by the billing centre (LK), for each
telecommunication terminal (DTE) or for each call via activation by
the user.
17. Method as defined in any one of claims 1-16, characterised in
that the telecommunication system is a digital mobile communication
system.
18. System for presenting the price of a telecommunication
connection on the telecommunication terminal (DTE) of the committer
of the connection in a telecommunication system comprising a
telephone exchange (PK), a telecommunication terminal (DTE)
communicating with the telephone exchange (PK) via a
telecommunication network (1) and a billing centre (LK), which is
connected to the telephone exchange (PK) and takes care of charge
calculation in the network, characterised in that the billing
centre (LK) comprises means (2) for transmitting
connection-specific advice-of-charge data to the telecommunication
terminal (DTE) ; the telecommunication terminal (DTE) comprises
means (3) for calculating from the advice-of-charge data a price
accumulated for the telecommunication connection; and the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) comprises means (4) for presenting
the price calculated for the telecommunication connection in
conjunction with the telecommunication terminal.
19. System as defined in claim 18, characterised in that the
billing centre (LK) comprises means (5) for generating a formula
describing the price development of the telecommunication
connection and the advice-of-charge data parameters belonging to
the formula and for including said formula and parameters in the
advice-of-charge data.
20. System as defined in any one of claims 18 or 19, characterised
in that the telecommunication terminal (DTE) comprises means (3)
for calculating a separate price for each telecommunication
connection if more than one telecommunication connection is set up,
and means (4) for presenting all price information in conjunction
with the telecommunication terminal (DTE).
21. System as defined in any one of claims 18-20, characterised in
that the telecommunication terminal (DTE) comprises means (6) for
adding the prices of all telecommunication connections together and
means (4) for presenting the total price on the telecommunication
terminal (DTE).
22. System as defined in any one of claims 18-21, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) is a service provider (SP).
23. System as defined in any one of claims 18-22, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) is the telephone exchange (PK).
24. System as defined in any one of claims 18-23, characterised in
that the telecommunication terminal (DTE) comprises means (7) for
updating the price calculation on the basis of advice-of-charge
data updated during the connection.
25. System as defined in any one of claims 18-24, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) comprises means (8) for updating the
advice-of-charge data and transmitting said data to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) when the rate for the
telecommunication connection changes.
26. System as defined in any one of claims 18-25, characterised in
that billing centre (LK) comprises means (9) for updating the
advice-of-charge data and transmitting said data to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) when the bandwidth reserved for
the telecommunication connection changes.
27. System as defined in any one of claims 18-26, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) comprises means (10) for updating the
advice-of-charge data and transmitting them to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) upon request.
28. System as defined in any one of claims 18-27, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) comprises means (11) for updating the
advice-of-charge data and transmitting the data to the
telecommunication terminal (DTE) periodically at intervals of
predetermined length.
29. System as defined in any one of claims 11-28, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) comprises means (12) for updating the
price calculation performed by the telecommunication terminal (DTE)
by the price of the telecommunication connection as calculated by
the billing centre.
30. System as defined in any one of claims 18-29, characterised in
that the billing centre (LK) comprises means (13) for transmitting
the price accumulated for the telecommunication connection as
calculated by the billing centre (LK) to the telecommunication
terminal (DTE) at the end of the telecommunication connection.
31. System as defined in any one of claims 18-30, characterised in
that the system comprises means (14, 15, 16) by which the
transmission of advice-of-charge data is activated automatically
for all calls by the billing centre (LK), separately for each
telecommunication terminal (DTE) or separately for each call via
user activation.
32. System as defined in any one of claims 18-31, characterised in
that the telecommunication system is a digital mobile communication
system.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to telecommunication
technology. In particular, the invention concerns a new and
improved method and system for presenting the cost of a
telecommunication connection on data terminal equipment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A prior-art practice is to use a standardised Advice Of
Charge (AOC) auxiliary service to present call price information to
the committer of a connection. The auxiliary service is in use at
least in ISDN networks (ISDN, Integrated Services Digital Network)
and in digital mobile communication networks. In a mobile
communication network, the advice-of-charge auxiliary service
presents call cost information preferably on the display of a
mobile station in accordance with call price data stored in the
memory locations of the subscriber identity module (SIM). In an
ISDN network, the advice-of-charge auxiliary service is available
at an ISDN basic rate interface, at an ISDN primary rate interface
and at a V5 interface.
[0003] In an ISDN network, the advice-of-charge auxiliary service
is divided into three services (AOC-S, AOC-D, AOAC-E). Services
corresponding to these are also implemented in many mobile
communication systems AOC-S (Advice Of Charge--charging information
at call Set-up time) serves to send rate based charging information
to the terminal at call set-up time as well as during the call if
the rates vary. AOC-D (Advice Of Charge--charging information
During the call) serves to send to the terminal information
regarding the bill accumulated for a connection so far, during the
connection and at its end. In the AOC-E (Advice Of Charge--charging
information at the End of the call) service, information giving the
total price accumulated for a connection at the end of the
connection.
[0004] AOC-S and AOC-D are applicable for all telecommunication
services. AOC-E is applicable for all circuit-switched
telecommunication services. Auxiliary services do not replace or
complement the call charge measurement performed by the
network.
[0005] In the above-described presentation of call cost information
to the committer of a telecommunication connection by transmitting
cost data to his/her telecommunication terminal over the network, a
problem is the network capacity occupied in the transmission of
these data. If the subscriber wants real-time information regarding
the price of his/her call, then price information must be sent to
him/her continuously. This requires plenty of capacity.
[0006] The object of the present invention is to eliminate the
drawbacks described above or at least to significantly reduce
them.
[0007] A specific object of the present invention is to disclose a
new type of method and system for presenting cost information to
the user of a telecommunication terminal.
[0008] As for the features characteristic of the invention,
reference is made to the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In the method of the invention, the cost of a
telecommunication connection is presented on the subscriber's
telecommunication terminal in a telecommunication system comprising
a telephone exchange and a telecommunication terminal communicating
with the telephone exchange over a telecommunication network.
Furthermore, the telecommunication system comprises a billing
centre, which makes care of charge calculation for
telecommunication connections and communicates with the telephone
exchange. Based on the charge calculation, the subscribers in the
telecommunication network are charged for telecommunication
connections and services used.
[0010] According to the invention, connection-specific
advice-of-charge data is transmitted to the subscriber's
telecommunication terminal at the beginning of a telecommunication
connection and, from the advice-of-charge data, the price of the
telecommunication connection is calculated by means of the
telecommunication terminal. Further, according to the invention,
the calculated real-time price of the telecommunication connection
is presented on the telecommunication terminal.
[0011] In an embodiment of the method, the advice-of-charge data
comprises advice-of-charge parameters and a formula describing the
development of the cost of the telecommunication connection. The
advice-of-charge parameters comprise all the parameters presented
in the formula describing the development of the cost. If the
telecommunication terminal is provided with a clock and the
terminal measures the amount of data transmitted, then the only
advice-of-charge parameters needed are charge per data unit and
possible rate changes according to the time of day.
[0012] In some systems, such as the UMTS (Universal Mobile
Telephone System), several telecommunication connections can be set
up simultaneously for a single telecommunication terminal. Separate
connections may be simultaneously active e.g. for speech and video.
In this case, a connection-specific cost can be calculated for each
telecommunication connection and the charge for each connection can
be presented separately on the telecommunication terminal.
Furthermore, the total price accumulated from all telecommunication
connections can be calculated in the terminal and presented on its
display.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the method, the billing centre
is a service provider. In this case, the service provider charges
the subscriber directly for telecommunication services used. This
may apply e.g. to the future UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone
System) mobile communication system. The service provider is part
of the telecommunication system and is also connected to the
telephone exchange. A service provider acting on the basis of an
agreement generally charges the subscriber directly for services
used. The billing centre may also be a telephone exchange.
[0014] In an embodiment of the method, the cost calculation carried
out in the telecommunication terminal is corrected and modified
with updated advice-of-charge data during the connection. Updates
are generated in the billing centre every time when the
advice-of-charge parameters change or when the user wants to check
whether the sum produced by the calculation performed by the
terminal equipment is the same as the amount to be charged for the
connection.
[0015] In an embodiment of the method, updated advice-of-charge
data is transmitted to the telecommunication terminal when the rate
for a telecommunication connection is changed, when the bandwidth
reserved for the telecommunication connection is changed, upon the
subscriber's request and/or periodically at intervals of a
predetermined length.
[0016] If some part of the advice-of-charge data cannot be
transmitted to the telecommunication terminal, e.g. if the price
information given by the service provider is not of a format that
would allow it to be included in the formula or if the information
is otherwise not received, then a notice of this circumstance could
also be transmitted to the telecommunication terminal. The message
to be transmitted to the terminal could contain an indication of
what part of the advice-of-charge data is missing. This would
obviate indeterminate situations in the telecommunication terminal,
In other words, the terminal would not expect advice-of-charge data
that is not available. On the other hand the user would also be
informed about the situation and would not remain waiting for price
information.
[0017] In an embodiment of the method, the price for a
telecommunication connection calculated by the terminal is updated
by the price calculated by the billing centre and charged from the
subscriber. The billing centre can also be programmed to transmit
the cost accumulated for the telecommunication connection as
calculated by the billing centre to the telecommunication terminal
at the end of the connection.
[0018] In an embodiment of the method, the subscriber is charged
for a telecommunication connection on the basis of the charge
calculation performed by the billing centre. Thus, the price
suggested by the terminal does not replace the charge calculation
performed by the network operator.
[0019] In an embodiment of the method, the advice-of-charge data is
transmitted to the telecommunication terminal using
advice-of-charge (AOC) auxiliary services.
[0020] In an embodiment of the method, the transmission to the
telecommunication terminal of advice-of-charge data is activated
automatically for all calls by the billing centre, for each
telecommunication terminal or for each call via activation by the
subscriber.
[0021] In an embodiment of the method, the telecommunication system
is a digital mobile communication system. In this case, the
telephone exchange is a mobile services switching centre, the
telecommunication terminal is a mobile station and the price is
preferably presented on the display of the mobile station.
[0022] The system of the invention for presenting the cost of a
telecommunication connection on the telecommunication terminal of
the committer of the telecommunication connection in a
telecommunication system comprises a telephone exchange and a
telecommunication terminal communicating with the telephone
exchange over a telecommunication network. Connected to the
telephone exchange is a billing centre, which takes care of charge
calculation in the network. Based on the charge calculation, the
subscribers in the telecommunication network are charged for their
telecommunication connections. Moreover, the telecommunication
system may comprise at least one service provider, which is also
connected to the telephone exchange. The service provider is a
network element providing a given service.
[0023] According to the invention, the system comprises means for
transmitting connection-specific advice-of-charge data to the
telecommunication terminal, and the telecommunication terminal
comprises means for calculating from the advice-of-charge data the
cost accumulated for the telecommunication connection. Further,
according to the invention, the telecommunication terminal
comprises means for presenting the calculated cost of the
telecommunication connection in conjunction with the
telecommunication terminal. If for some reason the advice-of-charge
data is not available, e.g. because of a malfunction in the service
provider's equipment, then a notice about this circumstance is
transmitted to the telecommunication terminal.
[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing
centre comprises means for generating advice-of-charge parameters
and a formula describing the development of the cost of the
telecommunication connection and for including said parameters and
formula in the advice-of-charge data.
[0025] In some systems, such as the UMTS (Universal Mobile
Telephone System), several telecommunication connections can be set
up simultaneously for a single telecommunication terminal. Separate
connections may be simultaneously open e.g. for speech and video.
In this case, the telecommunication terminal may comprise means for
calculating the cost of each telecommunication connection
separately and means for presenting cost information in conjunction
with the telecommunication terminal. Furthermore, the
telecommunication terminal may comprise means for adding the costs
of all open telecommunication connections together and presenting
the total price on the terminal.
[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing
centre is a service provider. In this case, the service provider
charges the subscriber directly for telecommunication services
used. This may apply e.g. to the future UMTS (Universal Mobile
Telephone System) mobile communication system. The billing centre
may also be a telephone exchange.
[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the
telecommunication terminal comprises means for updating the cost
calculation during a connection on the basis of updated
advice-of-charge data.
[0028] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing
centre comprises means for updating the advice-of-charge data and
transmitting said data to the telecommunication terminal when the
rate for the telecommunication connection changes, when the
bandwidth reserved for the telecommunication connection changes,
upon the subscriber's request and/or periodically at predetermined
intervals.
[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the billing
centre comprises means for updating the cost calculation performed
by the telecommunication terminal with prices calculated by the
billing centre. In addition, the billing centre may comprise means
for transmitting the cost accumulated for the telecommunication
connection as calculated by the billing centre to the
telecommunication terminal at the end of the connection.
[0030] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system
comprises means for the activation of automatic transmission of
advice-of-charge data for all calls by the billing centre,
separately for each telecommunication terminal or for each call via
activation by the subscriber. These means are implemented in a
manner known to the skilled person, e.g. using electronics and
software.
[0031] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the
telecommunication system is a digital mobile communication
system.
[0032] The invention saves telecommunication network capacity. Call
cost information is not transmitted continuously to the
telecommunication terminal, thus allowing the capacity reserved for
cost data transmission to be used for other purposes.
[0033] The invention makes it possible to present information
regarding the cost of a telecommunication connection to the user of
the telecommunication terminal in real time. The subscriber is
continuously aware of the current cost of the connection. This
opens many new possibilities for service providers and users.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
[0034] In the following, the invention will be described in detail
by the aid of a few examples of its embodiments with reference to
the attached drawing, wherein
[0035] FIG. 1 presents an embodiment of the system of the
invention, and
[0036] FIG. 2 presents a functional block diagram for an example
according to FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] The system illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a mobile
communication network 1, which again comprises a mobile services
switching centre PK and a billing centre LK. Moreover, located in
the area of the mobile communication network is a mobile station
DTE, which is connected via a radio link to the mobile services
switching centre PK.
[0038] In the embodiment presented in FIG. 1, a subscriber using a
mobile station makes a call to another subscriber. During the call
set-up, the billing centre LK generates advice-of-charge data and
transmits it to the mobile station DTE. The called subscriber may
belong to any telecommunication system to which a connection can be
set up from the mobile services switching centre. The billing
centre LK comprises means 2 for transmitting the advice-of-charge
data to the mobile station and means 5 for including
advice-of-charge parameters and a formula describing the
development of the cost of the connection in the advice-of-charge
data. These means 2 and 5 are implemented in a manner known in
itself and they will therefore not be described in greater
detail.
[0039] The mobile station DTE comprises means 3 for calculating the
cost of the connection using the advice-of-charge data. These means
3 are implemented in a manner known to the skilled person, e.g.
using electronics and software. The mobile station DTE receives the
advice-of-charge data and starts calculating the cost of the
connection. It continues the calculation throughout the connection
and presents the calculated cost on the display 4 of the mobile
station.
[0040] The billing centre LK comprises means 8 for generating
updated advice-of-charge data if the rate for the telecommunication
connection changes. The update as transmitted to the mobile station
DTE, which comprises means 7 for receiving the update End taking it
into account in calculating the cost. Furthermore, the billing
centre LK comprises means 9 for generating an update of
advice-of-charge data when the bandwidth is changed, and means 10
for generating an update upon the mobile subscriber's request.
Moreover, the billing centre LK comprises means 11 for generating
an update of advice-of-charge data periodically at predetermined
intervals. This makes it possible to ensure that the cost data
currently presented on the mobile station DTE are the same as the
data used in the charge calculation. The above-mentioned means can
also be used to inform the mobile station that no advice-of-charge
data has been received from the billing centre. Thus, the mobile
station can present corresponding information to the user. In the
case of the example, means 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 are implemented using
electronics and software.
[0041] The billing centre LK also comprises means 12 for updating
the advice-of-charge data by the prices indicated by the charge
calculation performed by the billing centre. This ensures that the
prices presented to the mobile subscriber are the same as those
actually charged. Furthermore, the billing centre LK comprises
means 13 for transmitting an update to the mobile station DTE at
the end of a connection. In the case of the example, these means
12, 13 are implemented using software.
[0042] When the mobile subscriber closes a connection the mobile
station DTE receives as a last advice-of-charge data update the
price for the connection as calculated by the billing centre. Thus,
the mobile subscriber definitely knows how much he/she will be
charged for the call just finished.
[0043] FIG. 2 presents a functional block diagram for a system
according to FIG. 1. A mobile subscriber who wants to call another
subscriber starts call setup by entering the called subscriber's
telephone number on his/her mobile station DTE and sends a
connection set-up command to the telephone exchange PK.
[0044] The telephone exchange PK establishes a connection between
the calling subscriber (A-subscriber) and the called subscriber
(B-subscriber), block 21, whereupon the billing centre LK starts
calculating the charge and generates advice-of-charge data, block
22. The advice-of-charge data is sent to the mobile station DTE,
block 23.
[0045] In block 24, the mobile station DTE updates its connection
cost calculation by the advice-of-charge data received and goes on
to block 23, where the cost of the connection up to a given instant
is calculated. From block 25, action goes on to block 26, where the
call price is presented to the subscriber on the display of the
mobile station.
[0046] Next, a rest is carried out to establish whether any changes
affecting the price have occurred in the telecommunication
connection between the calling and called parties and whether any
update information to be transmitted to the mobile station DTE
exists in the billing centre LK, block 27, If e.g. the bandwidth is
changed, then the price data are also changed. In this case, the
billing centre generates an update, block 22, which is transmitted
further to the mobile station, block 23. In the mobile station, the
price data updates sent by the billing centre are taken into
account, block 24, and the calculation is continued using the new
data, block 25.
[0047] The advice-of-charge data are also updated it cheaper rates
become valid during the connection, if the caller requests an
update or if the billing centre LK has been programmed to send
updates for some other reason. If there is no reason to update the
data, then a test is performed to determine whether the
telecommunication connection is still active, block 28. If the
connection is active, then the procedure loops back to price
calculation, block 25. If the call has been disconnected, then
price calculation is stopped, too.
[0048] A system as illustrated in FIG. 1 may also be implemented by
placing the billing centre LK in the network element of a service
provider SP, in which case the subscriber is charged directly for
all services used. This may be the case e.g. in an UMTS mobile
communication system.
[0049] In the example presented in FIG. 2, the mobile station DTE
could also have had other telecommunication connections active at
the same time. In this case, the costs of all the connections could
have been calculated separately and added together. Thus, the user
of the mobile station could have chosen which price data to
see.
[0050] The calculation of the price of a telecommunication
connection to be presented to the user according to the invention
can be implemented e.g. so that the price presented to the
subscriber is always the same as or higher than the price to be
charged. This ensures that the subscriber will nor be charged more
than the amount presented to his/her on the telecommunication
terminal.
[0051] The invention is not restricted to the examples of its
embodiments described above, but many variations are possible
within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims.
* * * * *