Patent ID: 7496344
Filing Date: 2009-02-24
Classification: G06Q,H04L,H04M,H04W

Abstract:
1. Computer-aided method for recording and billing of services during roaming of a mobile IP node in heterogeneous WLANs, comprising: accessing, via a mobile IP node, an access point of a WLAN within a basic service area of the WLAN by a wireless interface, the basic service area of the WLAN including one or more access points assigned to an access server; receiving, by the mobile IP node, a request from the access server to transmit to the access server an IMSI stored on a SIM card of the mobile IP node, the IMSI of the mobile IP node being stored in a database of a SIM-RADIUS module; transmitting, from the mobile IP node the IMSI stored on the SIM card of the mobile IP node, to a SIM user database and a SIM gateway allowing the SIM-RADIUS module to supplement a user specified logical IP data channel of the WLAN toward corresponding GSM data for signal and data channels of a GSM network, at least one of an authentication or service authorization of the mobile IP node being carried out at one of an HLR or a VLR of the GSM network based on the IMSI of the SIM card of the mobile IP node; employing a billing gateway interface to enable a billing module to access the access server, the billing module receiving a first call detail record of the mobile IP node transmitted from the access server, the billing gateway interface including an assigned billing management database with a configuration profile for each access server; transmitting, to a proxy module, a second call detail record of the mobile IP node, the proxy module capturing data relating to at least one of an identity of the mobile IP node, a duration of the obtained service, or a provider of the obtained service; transferring, from the proxy module to the billing module, the captured data; generating, in the billing module, TAP files corresponding to service obtained by the mobile IP node based on the transferred captured data from the proxy module and the first call detail record; transmitting the generated TAP files, together with billing instructions, from the billing module to a clearing module, the billing instructions including at least one of user-specific or service-provider-specific billing data, the clearing module at least one of billing the service obtained by the user to a provider of a fixed network or transmitting the TAP files to a GSM service provider for billing.