U.S. patent application number 13/417940 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-05 for unrestricted calling circle for telephone service.
This patent application is currently assigned to VIRGIN MOBILE USA, L.P.. Invention is credited to Jason Alexander, Dan Cipoletti, John Karsner.
Application Number | 20120170729 13/417940 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39410288 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120170729 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Alexander; Jason ; et
al. |
July 5, 2012 |
Unrestricted Calling Circle For Telephone Service
Abstract
Subscribers of a telephone service can define a calling circle,
which includes a group of other telephone subscribers with whom the
subscriber receives preferential billing rates. The members of the
calling circle may include customers of a telephone service
provider other than the subscriber's telephone service
provider.
Inventors: |
Alexander; Jason; (Glen
Ridge, NJ) ; Karsner; John; (Walnut Creek, CA)
; Cipoletti; Dan; (West Caldwell, NJ) |
Assignee: |
VIRGIN MOBILE USA, L.P.
Warren
NJ
|
Family ID: |
39410288 |
Appl. No.: |
13/417940 |
Filed: |
March 12, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11560125 |
Nov 15, 2006 |
|
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13417940 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/114.03 ;
379/114.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2215/74 20130101;
H04M 15/80 20130101; H04M 15/00 20130101; H04M 2215/7435 20130101;
H04M 15/8083 20130101; H04M 2203/2072 20130101; H04M 15/745
20130101; H04M 2215/0184 20130101; H04M 2215/0108 20130101; H04M
15/8033 20130101; H04M 3/42161 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/114.03 ;
379/114.01 |
International
Class: |
H04M 15/00 20060101
H04M015/00 |
Claims
1. A method for providing telephone services to a subscriber by the
subscriber's telephone service provider, the method comprising:
receiving from a subscriber a selection of one or more telephone
numbers for members of a calling circle, at least one of the
telephone numbers associated with a telephone service provider
other than the subscriber's telephone service provider; tracking
calling activity by the subscriber, the calling activity including
telephone calls between the subscriber and one or more phone
numbers of the members of the calling circle; and charging the
subscriber a first rate for calls between phone numbers of members
of the calling circle and a second rate for calls between phone
numbers of persons outside the calling circle, the first rate being
discounted with respect to the second rate.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: charging the
subscriber a service fee in exchange for the discounted first
rate.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the service fee is a recurring
fee for a predefined time period.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the discounted first rate allows
free telephone calls during predefined time periods.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving from the
subscriber a selection to remove a member from the subscriber's
calling circle.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving from the
subscriber a selection to add a member to the subscriber's calling
circle.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: disallowing the
subscriber to add a member to the subscriber's calling circle if a
predefined limit on the subscriber's changing of the calling circle
has been reached.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising: charging the
subscriber a calling circle change fee if a predefined limit on the
subscriber's changing of the calling circle has been reached.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the subscriber's
selections is received via a web portal.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber's telephone
service provider is a wireless telephone service provider.
11. A method for providing a discounted calling circle for a
subscriber of a telephone service provider, the method comprising:
receiving selections for members of the subscriber's calling
circle, where one or more members of the calling circle have a
telephone service provider other than the subscriber's telephone
service provider; facilitating communications between the
subscriber and members of the calling circle; and a step for
providing a discounted calling rate to the subscriber for
communications with members of the calling circle.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: charging the
subscriber a service fee in exchange for the discounted calling
rate.
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving a
selection from the subscriber to changes the members of the
subscriber's calling circle.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: disallowing the
subscriber to add more than a maximum number of members to the
calling circle; and charging the subscriber a calling circle change
fee if a predefined limit on changes has been reached.
15. A telephone services system allowing subscribers of a telephone
service provider to define a calling circle for discounted
telephone calls, the system comprising: a telephone network
interface for allowing the subscribers of the telephone service
provider to make telephone calls with each other and with
subscribers of other telephone service providers; a subscriber
database that stores account information for the subscribers of the
telephone service provider, the account information for each of at
least some of the subscribers comprising an identification of
members of the subscriber's calling circle, where one or more
members of the subscriber's calling circle have a telephone service
provider other than the subscriber's telephone service provider;
and a billing maintenance system configured to update the
subscribers' account information based on the subscribers' usage of
telephone services, the billing maintenance system further
configured to charge the subscribers a first rate for calls with
members of the subscribers' calling circle and a second rate for
calls with persons outside the subscribers' calling circles, the
first rate being discounted with respect to the second rate.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the billing maintenance system
is configured to charge the subscribers a service fee in exchange
for the discounted first rate.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the discounted first rate
allows free telephone calls during predefined time periods.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the billing maintenance system
is configured to receive selections from the subscribers to change
the members of the subscribers' calling circles.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the billing maintenance system
is configured to disallow each subscriber from adding a member to
the subscriber's calling circle if a predefined limit on the
subscriber's changing of the calling circle has been reached.
20. The system of claim 18, wherein the billing maintenance system
is configured to charge each subscriber a calling circle change fee
for changing the members of the subscriber's calling circles if a
predefined limit on the subscriber's changing of the calling circle
has been reached.
21. The system of claim 15, further comprising: a web server for
receiving selections from the subscribers to change the members of
the subscribers' calling circles via a web portal, the web server
coupled to the billing maintenance system.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 11/560,125, filed Nov. 15, 2006. The content of this
application is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] This invention relates generally to telephone communication
services, including wired and wireless telephone services, and more
particularly to discounted calling groups for subscribers of such
services.
[0003] Many telephone service providers--both wireless and wired
service providers--have offered special "family circle" or "calling
circle" plans. In a calling circle plan, a subscriber receives
preferential calling rates for telephone calls to and from other
members of the subscriber's calling circle. A strong motivation for
calling circle plans was to provide an incentive for groups of
people to subscribe to the same telephone service provider--namely,
the to service provider that was offering the calling circle
discount.
[0004] A significant limitation to these plans, however, was that
the members of the subscriber's calling circle must all be
subscribers of the same telephone service. In this way, calling
circle plans encouraged new users to subscribe to a particular
service while they discouraged existing subscribers from leaving.
If subscribers chose the source of their telephone service
differently from their family and/or friends, the subscribers'
ability to receive preferential rates with their family and/or
friends would be lost. The limitation that all members of the
calling circle must be subscribers of the same service provider has
thus been integrally tied to previous calling circle plans. If
those plans did not include this restriction, the plans would be
much less effective for achieving the service provider's goals.
[0005] But people's relationships, and thus their calling habits,
do not naturally align with their telephone service memberships.
Whereas limiting the membership of a calling circle to subscribers
of the same service provider serves the interests of that service
provider, it does not serve the interests of the consumer. For this
reason, previous calling circle plans with their restrictions on
membership have been inadequate for consumers' needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] To meet the needs of consumers as well as telephone service
providers, an unrestricted calling plan allows a subscriber to
define a calling circle to include subscribers of a telephone
service provider other than the subscriber's own telephone service
provider. The subscriber then receives preferential billing rates
for calls with the members of the subscriber's group. The
preferential billing rates may be extended to other types of
communications as well, such as text messaging, emails, and instant
messages.
[0007] In one embodiment, a telephone service provider receives
from a subscriber a selection of one or more telephone numbers for
members of a calling circle. Because the calling circle plan is
unrestricted, at least one of the telephone numbers is associated
with a telephone service provider other than the subscriber's
telephone service provider. Thereafter, as the subscriber uses the
telephone service, the telephone service provider tracks the
subscriber's calling activity, which includes telephone calls with
one or more members of the calling circle. The telephone service
provider then charges the subscriber for the calling activity. The
subscriber is charged a first rate for calls with members of the
calling circle and a second rate for calls between phone numbers of
persons outside the calling circle, where the first rate is
discounted with respect to the second rate. The telephone service
provider may also charge the subscriber a service fee in exchange
for receiving the discounted rate.
[0008] In embodiments of the invention, subscribers may select the
members of their calling circle groups independently of their
memberships in other subscribers' calling circles. In this way, a
calling circle can be personal to each subscriber, where a
subscriber may include another person in the subscriber's calling
circle even if the subscriber is not in that person's calling
circle. This allows more flexibility in the service offered and is
a further relaxation of the limitations of previous calling circle
plans. Moreover, because the members of a particular subscriber's
calling circle need not be subscribers of the same telephone
service provider, many members may not have the ability to define
an unrestricted calling circle because their telephone service
provider does no offer that option. The one-way nature of
embodiments of the invention allows this not to be a problem.
[0009] In one embodiment of the invention, the telephone service
provider may charge subscribers a service fee for the calling
circle plans. The service fee may be a one-time fee or may be
charged on a recurring basis, such as monthly, weekly, or daily.
The service fee may also be based on the number of members that a
subscriber chooses to include in the calling circle.
[0010] In another embodiment, a limit is placed on the frequency or
total number of time a subscriber may change the members of the
calling circle, such as by adding members. This helps to prevent
fraud, wherein a subscriber could otherwise change the membership
before each call to obtain preferential billing for all calls. The
limit may disallow the number of changes or additions to the
calling circle, or it may cause a change fee to be charged for each
change or addition to the calling circle beyond a predetermined
number of free changes.
[0011] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of various
embodiments of the invention will become better understood with
regard to the following description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless telephone
services system, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a data record for managing a subscriber's calling
group, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process for updating a
subscriber's calling group, in accordance with one embodiment of
the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] The unrestricted calling circle functionality described
herein may be applied to many different types of telephone
services, including both wired and wireless telephone services.
Each of these types of telephone services may be implemented using
a variety of hardware and software architectures. FIG. 1 shows one
example of a wireless services system; however, embodiments of the
invention are not limited to this particular architecture or
combination of wireless services shown, but rather they can be
applied in many other environments. Accordingly, the architecture
of a wireless services system is described herein to provide a
context for an implementation of various embodiments of the calling
circle plan, but not to limit the applicability of those
embodiments.
[0016] In a basic scenario, subscribers use their wireless mobile
devices 150 to communicate with the services system via a wireless
communications network 115. The wireless services system shown in
FIG. 1 includes a number of subsystems that provide services for
the subscribers. In this example, the subsystems include a voice
system 120 to allow subscribers to make voice calls via the
wireless network 115 and a data system 125 to allow subscribers to
access digital information over the network 115 from their wireless
devices 150. The wireless services system may further include
subsystems such as a text messaging system 130, multimedia
messaging system 135, and an email system 140, enabling subscribers
to send various types of asynchronous messages over the network
115. These and other types of wireless services are well known.
[0017] The wireless service provider may track the subscribers' use
of the services using a billing maintenance system 110. The billing
maintenance system 110 typically comprises a computer system having
software for managing the subscriber accounts for the wireless
service. The billing maintenance system 110 is coupled to a
subscriber database 105, which stores entries for the subscribers'
accounts. In one illustrative example, the data associated with a
subscriber's account includes a unique identification number (such
as the phone number for the wireless device), a status for the
subscriber's account (e.g., current, past due, suspended, or
expired), an access code for validation of the subscriber, an
account balance, and an optional expiration date of the account
(defined below).
[0018] The billing maintenance system 110 is communicatively
coupled to the services subsystems 120 through 140 to monitor their
usage. In this way, the billing maintenance system 110 can record
the transaction data for each subscriber in the subscriber database
105. The transaction data is an account of each subscriber's use of
the services, which may for example include data such as the
minutes and other details of voice calls, the amount of data sent
and/or received in messages and emails, and the purchases of games
or ring tones. As subscriber usage activity occurs, or periodically
at other times, the billing maintenance system 110 adjusts the
subscribers' account balances in the subscriber database 105 to
debit the accounts for that usage as appropriate. The billing
maintenance system 110 preferably also logs the usage activity in
the subscriber database 105 so it can be later reported, for
example, for billing or accounting purposes.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless devices 150 operated by the
subscribers are configured to communicate wirelessly with the
wireless communications network 115. Many types of wireless devices
150 exist, and other types will likely be developed in the future,
but the devices 150 may comprise any products capable of
communicating with the wireless network 115 described herein. This
includes cellular phones, PDAs, handheld email devices, and similar
devices.
[0020] In a typical embodiment, the wireless communication device
150 comprises a display 155, a user interface 160 for causing the
display 155 to show content to a subscriber, and keys 165 to allow
a subscriber to input controls and information. The keys 165 may
include a first group of keys in the form of hard-coded keys (such
as alphanumeric keys) and a second group of keys in the form of
operation keys or "soft keys." In one embodiment, the wireless
device 150 further includes a browser 170 (such as a WAP browser or
"minibrowser") for viewing digital content encoded in a markup
language.
[0021] The wireless service may be offered as a pre-paid service,
in which subscribers add value to their accounts before using the
network. In one example of a pre-paid service, the billing
maintenance system 110 maintains the balance information for each
of the subscribers, where the balance information includes an
amount of value remaining in each subscriber's account. Based on
pricing schemes defined by the service provider, a subscriber's
usage of the network and/or other purchases associated with the
subscriber's account causes a corresponding debiting of that
account. The subscriber can continue to use the services while
there is sufficient value in the account, after which the
subscriber must add value to the account (also known as "topping
up"). A variety of different payment methods may be used to
replenish a pre-paid account, including, without limitation, credit
or debit card payments, direct payment from a checking account, and
purchase and use of a PIN. Further, an expiration date may be set
for each subscriber account, after which the account becomes
inactive unless the subscriber adds value to the account. This date
is typically set to be several months after the last time value was
added to the account, or alternatively, after the last activity
charged to the account.
[0022] In the context of a pre-paid wireless services system shown
in FIG. 1, and/or for other types of telephone services, a
telephone service provider may offer a subscriber the ability to
define a group of people in that subscriber's "calling circle." A
subscriber may select members of the subscriber's calling circle in
a variety of ways. For example, when the subscriber first sets up
service, the subscriber may identify the members of the
subscriber's calling group. This may be done over whatever
communication means the subscriber uses to setup the service, such
as over a telephone connection or a web site. Alternatively, after
the subscriber has service, the subscriber may add the calling
circle option to the subscriber's service plan. This may also be
done over a variety of channels. In one example, the services
provider providers a web portal, such as with web server 180, which
subscribers may conveniently select the members of their calling
circle groups.
[0023] Unlike previous calling circle plans, the subscriber may
select as members of the subscriber's calling circle persons who
are customers of a telephone service provider other than the
subscriber's telephone service provider. This greatly increases the
number of people who are eligible to be in the subscriber's calling
circle, thereby increasing the utility of the calling circle to the
subscriber. In one embodiment, the calling circle is personal to
the subscriber, so that the subscriber need not be a member of
another person's calling circle in order to have that person a
member of the subscriber's calling circle. This removes further
limits on calling circles that have plagued previous plans.
Embodiments of the calling circle plans may still place limits on
the number of members in a particular subscriber's calling circle,
thereby preventing the subscriber from abusing the plan.
[0024] Once a subscriber chooses to have a calling circle plan and
selects one or more members of the calling circle, the billing and
maintenance system 110 stores this information in the subscriber
database 105. FIG. 2 illustrates a sample record 200 in the
subscriber database 105 for storing a subscriber's calling circle
information. AS shown, the data record 200 includes an
identification of the subscriber, a list of the members of the
subscriber's calling circle, and a count of the number of updates
or additions to the calling circle that have been made. The members
in the calling circle may be identified by their phone numbers, and
in this sense the "members" may include multiple people, or indeed
anyone, who use the telephone number associated with the member in
the record 200. The count of the number of updates is used if
desired to limit the number of updates to the calling circle a
subscriber may make, which is described in more detail below.
[0025] When the subscriber makes telephone calls over the network
115, the billing and maintenance system 110 tracks this calling
activity. In other embodiments, the billing and maintenance system
110 may track other communication activity, such as text messages,
emails, and instant messages. These telephone calls and/or other
communications may be between the subscriber and one or more phone
numbers of the members of the calling circle. According to the
calling circle plans, the subscriber receives preferential rates
for communications with the members of the calling circle.
Accordingly, upon the regular billing cycle in which the bills are
computed for the subscriber's use of the services, the billing and
maintenance system 110 computes the appropriate charges by
including the discounted rates for these qualifying
communications.
[0026] Various discounted rating schemes may be used for providing
preferential billing rates for calls with members of the calling
circle. In one embodiment, the subscriber receives free calls with
members of the subscriber's calling circle for a predefined time
period (e.g., free calls for weekend days and/or nights, where
nights are defined for a given time period). Many alternative
discounting schemes may be used, alone, or in combination, such as
free calling all the time for members of the calling circle, or a
straight percentage or other flay discount from the normal rate for
calls to members of the calling circle.
[0027] In one embodiment, the telephone service provider charges
the subscriber in exchange for the privilege of establishing the
calling circle. This allows the service provider to recoup costs
and generate profits from the calling circle plans. Like the
discounting, many different pricing schemes are possible for the
calling circle. For example, the service provider may charge the
subscriber a one-time fee for establishing the calling circle, or
it may charge a recurring fee (e.g., monthly or daily) for duration
of time the calling circle is in effect.
[0028] In another embodiment, the service provider may limit the
subscriber's ability to modify the members of the calling circle.
This could be to avoid a subscriber's taking advantage of the
calling circle plan. For example, if there were no limits on a
subscriber's ability to modify or add members to the calling
circle, and it were easy to do so, the subscriber could add a call
recipient to the calling circle group each time the subscriber
places a new call to a person not already in the calling circle.
This would defeat the general idea of establishing a calling circle
for frequently called numbers. Accordingly, the service provider
could limit the number of additions to the calling circle. This
limiting may be strict, to completely disallow an modifications
once a limit is reached, or it could allow modifications once the
limit is reached if the subscriber agrees to pay a calling circle
change fee. For example, a subscriber may be allowed to make two
changes to the calling circle group per month, and after that would
have to pay a fee for each additional change. By setting the fee
sufficiently high, abuses of the calling circle plan could be
effectively discouraged.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a process for
allowing a subscriber to change the calling circle. As illustrated,
the service provider receives 310 a request from the subscriber to
add or otherwise modify the calling circle membership. If 320 the
number of requests (as tracked, e.g., using the "update count"
value in the data record 200 shown in FIG. 2) exceed a predefined
maximum, the service provider charges 340 the subscriber the
calling circle change fee pursuant to the agreed upon calling plan
and then handles the subscriber's request. If 320 the subscriber
has not exceeded this limit, the service provider handles the
request without charging any fees. To handle the request, the
service provider adds 330 the requested member to the subscriber's
calling circle. The service provider also increments 350 the
subscriber's count of update requests (see FIG. 2). This count may
be periodically reset, e.g., if the subscriber is to receive a
predefined number of free updates during each period.
[0030] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the
invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is
not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the
precise forms disclosed. For example, although the systems and
methods described above are in the context of pre-paid wireless
services, other embodiments of the invention may be applied to
traditional monthly accounts or for telephone service to the home.
Persons skilled in the relevant art can thus appreciate that many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teachings. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention
be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the
claims appended hereto.
* * * * *