Patent ID: 6335968
Filing Date: 2002-01-01
Classification: G06Q,G07F,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
In a telephone network, a method for providing pre-paid and pay-per-use access to an internet service provider using a billing system of the telephone network comprising the steps of:(a) establishing a database on a service control point comprising a pre-paid subscriber's telephone number, an amount of pre-paid units and a blocked subscriber's telephone number; (b) provisioning a trigger on an internet service provider telephone number on a switch in the telephone network; (c) transmitting a query from the switch to the service control point when a call to the internet service provider telephone number arrives at the switch, thereby activating the trigger, wherein the query comprises a calling party number and the internet service provider telephone number; (d) determining whether the calling party number is a pre-paid number, a pay-per-use number, an unknown number or a blocked number; (e) transmitting a termination instruction from the service control point to the switch, wherein when the calling party number is either a pre-paid number or a pay-per-use number, a pre-determined code is inserted into a calling party field, and wherein when the calling party number is either the unknown or the blocked number the calling party number is in the calling party field; (f) sending a first notification message and a second notification message from the switch to the service control point when the calling party number is a pre-paid or pay-per-use number, said first notification message being sent when the call begins and said second notification message being sent when the call ends; (g) billing the calling party number for a usage amount when the calling party number is a pre-paid or pay-per-use number; and (h) updating the billing system when the calling party number is a pre-paid or pay-per-use number.