Patent ID: 6873691
Filing Date: 2005-03-29
Classification: G06Q,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
1. In a telecommunications system functionally interconnecting a service switching point, a service control point, and an intelligent network element, and the telecommunications system including a billing system functionally connected at least to the service control point for retrieval of billing messages, the billing system including telecommunications accounts for charging fees to subscribers with respect to telecommunications services provided to the subscribers, a method for using a communication to conduct a transaction with respect to a telecommunications account, comprising: receiving the communication at the service switching point, the communication being associated with a calling line number associated with a first telecommunications account; causing the service switching point to route the communication to the intelligent network element; causing the intelligent network element to obtain a telecommunications account number and a transaction amount from the communication, the telecommunications account number corresponding to a second telecommunications account with respect to which the transaction is conducted in the billing system; in response to obtaining the telecommunications account number and the transaction amount, causing the intelligent network element to provide the telecommunications account number, the transaction amount, and a calling line number associated with the second telecommunications account and the communication to the service control point: in response to receipt of the telecommunications account number, the transaction amount, and the calling line number associated with the second telecommunications account, causing the service control point to make an assignment of the telecommunications account number, the transaction amount, and the calling line number associated with the second telecommunications account to a billing message for billing telephone service usage with respect to the calling line number by reusing a plurality of fields in the billing message to hold at least the telecommunications account number, the transaction amount, and the calling line number; and causing the billing system to retrieve the billing message from the service control point,