Patent ID: 8090346
Filing Date: 2012-01-03
Classification: G06Q,H04M

Abstract:
1. A telecommunications system comprising: a reseller for receiving payments from customers of said reseller; a customer billing system for calculating and accumulating charges for telecommunications calls made by said customers; and a service provider network for connecting calls made to or from said customers; said reseller for paying said service provider for telecommunications services provided to said customers of said reseller; wherein each customer of said reseller has a data block in said service provider network for identifying said reseller and for storing accounting data for said customer; means, responsive to a recognition by an administrator of said service provider network that said reseller is delinquent in payments to said service provider, for sending a first message to said service provider; means, responsive to reception of said first message for freezing accounts of prepaid account customers of said reseller; means, responsive to reception of said first message for denying incoming and outgoing service to customers having frozen accounts; a reseller data block for identifying all customers of said reseller with a call in progress at the time said first message is received; means for permitting said calls in progress to be completed prior to denying incoming and outgoing service to said customers having calls in progress at the time said first message is received; means, responsive to receipt of a second request message from said administrator for unfreezing the accounts of said prepaid account customers and restoring incoming and outgoing service to said prepaid account customers.