Abstract:
Multiple Identity empowers a subscriber to use several accounts to charge and control their subscribed services. The subscriber can segment their activities into different accounts to meet their different life roles. This specifying and directing of activities, both incoming and outgoing, may be automatically or manually segmented. Rules are defined for selecting the preferred identity automatically in real-time, based on any of date/time, location of the subscriber, and the service requested; including specific phone numbers (or other communication terminal identifiers) connected to a communication device, such as a cellular telephone. The subscriber is also provided with a mechanism for manually specifying the identity to be used for a particular communication session.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is directed to billing for communications services and, more particularly, to selecting an account to be charged.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Many forms of communications are made possible for subscribers using terminals that are either mobile or fixed in location. The communications may be of any type, including such forms as audio, such as telephone or radio; text, e.g. short message service (SMS); Multimedia Message Service (MMS); graphics, such as those provided by the World Wide Web; or a video, and others. The different forms of communications may be transmitted to and from a single terminal by a single provider, or by multiple providers in cooperation with one another, or less often, independently. However, conventionally a communications services provider uses a single identifier to communicate with a terminal. In the case of land line terminals, the terminal (telephone, facsimile machine, etc.) is identified by a port on a switch. In the case of a computer connected to the Internet, the computer terminal is identified by an Internet Protocol (IP) address.  
         [0005]     Different terms are used for the identifier of a mobile telephone, depending upon how it communicates. For Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications, an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is stored in the handset, while the MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number) and the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identifier) are stored in the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). In the case of a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile telephone, a Mobile Identification Number (MIN) and the IMSI are stored in the Number Assignment Module (NAM). The NAM is part of the User Identity Module/Removable User Identity Module (UIM/R-UIM). In the case of IP communications, the MAC address is stored in the equipment and is equivalent to the IMEI/ESN, while the IP address is equivalent to the MSISDN/MIN.  
         [0006]     Some mobile telephones or other terminals have more than one identification storage unit (e.g., SIM and/or NAM), or one or more sockets, so that the SIM, NAM, etc., is removable. For example, cellular telephones are currently available that are capable of communication in more than one type of system and have both a SIM and a NAM. In some of these terminals, users are able to replace the SIM/NAM to manually change the identity supplied by the terminal. In these terminals, each SIM/NAM is provisioned separately, typically by customer service personnel of the service provider.  
         [0007]     The identifier stored in the SIM, NAM, etc. is used not only to establish connections, but also to determine the cost of a communication session. In the case of mobile telephones, known methods of billing include “post-pay,” where the cost is determined after the end of the communication session and the subscriber receives a bill for payment on a regular basis, e.g., monthly. Other billing methods include “pre-pay” and real-time billing (RTB) which both determine cost during the communication session and terminate the session if the available funds that have been pre-paid are exhausted, or pre-defined limits of a post-pay system are reached, respectively. Another method known by the inventors is a “toggle” system which permits a single subscriber identifier to be switched between pre-pay and post-pay.  
         [0008]     Variations on these basic billing methods are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,026,291 and 6,256,504 and U.S. Patent Application Publications 2003/0032404 and 2003/0115138. The &#39;291 patent discloses a post-pay cellular system having programmable subscription capability. The system uses the home location register (HLR), which is accessed when a call to or from a cellular telephone is initiated, to provide instructions to a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) regarding which attributes to record in a Call Detail Record (CDR) used in determining the cost of a communication session. The instructions are based on profiles stored in the HLR. The profiles are defined by subscription, user and terminal records. Subscription records contain information regarding agreements between users and cellular system operators on the usage of telecommunications services within a telecommunications network. User records contain information regarding persons who have access to the telecommunications services within a cellular system. Terminal records contain information regarding particular cellular subscriber stations or terminals. Thus, a single user may have multiple subscriptions or multiple terminals, or both. When a communication session is initiated with a terminal, a base station controller (BSC) provides a communication link with the cellular telephone terminal and sends the MIN to the home MSC of the terminal. Relationships between the subscription, user and terminal records are maintained as lists of user subscriptions for a user and allowed users for subscriptions. The user subscriptions list defines who will be charged for a call based on a schedule of day and time. If permitted by the profile, a user may send a feature request signal to select a different subscription.  
         [0009]     The &#39;504 patent discloses a billing system for mobile telephone users based on location of the mobile unit. The HLR executes a location sensitive billing (LSB) application in addition to a conventional HLR application. Location finding equipment (LFE) may be provided on the network side or in the mobile subscriber unit. During operation, a location function controller (LFC) in the HLR stores location information in a location cache (LC) that is accessed by the LSB application to generate a bill for the subscriber. A user may define zones such as “home”, “office” and “cellular” by informing the service provider of the geographical areas for the first two which can be charged at a lower rate than the cellular zone which is everywhere outside the home and office zones. Each time the subscriber initiates a call, the system informs the subscriber via an audio or text message of the current zone of operation and the subscriber is given an opportunity to terminate the call prior to being charged.  
         [0010]     The &#39;404 publication is directed to provisioning service zones for location sensitive billing. Geographical map data is utilized by a user interface to enable selection of zones as defined in a service subscriber database.  
         [0011]     The &#39;138 publication discloses a billing system for use of a telephony device after identifying the user of the device, so that the user&#39;s account can be charged, regardless of who is registered as owning the device. Caller identity authentication may be performed by the originating device, the destination device, or an intermediary device processing the call. Authentication methods mentioned include voice authentication; biophysical identifiers, such as an eye scan or a fingerprint; keypad entries, such as a PIN code, account number, password, etc.; and other secure transaction keys. Once the user has been identified, the billing information ordinarily used for a call placed from the device is replaced with the billing plan for the identified user in a service control point (SCP) or other billing system storage.  
         [0012]     Although it is known to use a HLR to store profiles of users in which there may be multiple relationships between users, subscriptions and terminals, there is no known way of selecting a user identity or subscription plan for charging an account based on activities performed by the user. That requires intelligence in the device processing the communication, such as a signal control point in an intelligent network (IN).  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     An aspect of the present invention is to provide for real-time authorization and billing different accounts associated with a subscriber&#39;s terminal without modification of the terminal. This includes supporting simultaneous activities to multiple different accounts.  
         [0014]     Another aspect of the present invention is to enable multiple users to share a single terminal with each user having a separate account.  
         [0015]     A further aspect of the present invention is to enable a single terminal to be used for different activities with charges to an appropriate account for each activity, such as charging a personal account for playing games on a cellular telephone that is used primarily for business.  
         [0016]     Yet another aspect of the present invention is to enable a single user with a single terminal to distribute their communications costs, across multiple financial domains.  
         [0017]     The above aspects can be attained by a method of providing services for a subscriber using a communication terminal, including storing subscriber identity rules based on at least activities of a subscriber; and selecting, in accordance with the subscriber identity rules, one of a plurality of accounts associated with the subscriber to record a cost of at least one of a communication session and a commerce transaction. In particular, the account may be selected when the communication is initiated using a terminal of the subscriber.  
         [0018]     The invention is particularly useful in conjunction with mobile communication terminals. When the communication terminal is mobile, the subscriber identity rules preferably include at least one of date, time, and location of the communication terminal, and the selecting may be based on an activity in which the communication terminal is used and at least one of date, time, and location of the communication terminal during the communication session.  
         [0019]     In addition, the accounts may be associated with at least one mobile communication terminal of the subscriber different from the communication terminal used in providing the services which may be a landline telephone, for example. Then, the method preferably includes receiving from the communication terminal an identifier associated with the at least one mobile communication terminal of the subscriber to identify the one of the accounts that is selected. The form of the identifier may be any that is currently known or developed in the future.  
         [0020]     The accounts may include at least one group account of which the subscriber is a member. Particularly in the case of a group account, such as a business account, the subscriber identity rules may restrict at least one activity. Due to such restrictions or insufficient funds in an initially selected account, a different account permitting the at least one activity may be selected either automatically or in response to a signal from the communication terminal.  
         [0021]     These aspects can also be attained by a system for providing services for a subscriber using a communication terminal, including at least one storage device storing subscriber identity rules based on at least one of date, time, activity, and location; and at least one real time activity control device selecting, in accordance with the subscriber identity rules, one of a plurality of accounts associated with the subscriber to record a cost of at least one of a communication session and a commerce transaction.  
         [0022]     Preferably, the system includes at least one interface to receive signals generated when the communication is initiated using the communication terminal of the subscriber. The interface may include a gateway to receive one of unstructured supplementary service data, a feature request and short message service text, indicating a change in identity requested by the subscriber for subsequent communications. The interface may also include at least one of a Web server, a handheld application server and an intelligent peripheral/interactive voice response (IP/IVR) server. The Web server may be used when the communication terminal is a data terminal capable of communicating via the World Wide Web and the IP/IVR server may be used when the communication terminal is a landline or mobile telephone.  
         [0023]     These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a relationship between a subscriber and identities according to an aspect of the invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a communications system illustrating mechanisms for establishing identities for a subscriber according to an aspect of the invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a communications system with an identity manager according to an aspect of the invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is an example of a Web interface for manually changing identity.  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart for an overview of selecting an account to determine permitted activities according to an aspect of the invention.  
         [0029]      FIG. 6  is a more detailed flowchart of determining an identity, i.e., selecting an account to determine permitted activities according to an aspect of the invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 7  is an example of entries in an identity database for one subscriber that could be used by the method illustrated in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 8  is an example of a log file recording the history of changes in identity. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0032]     Following are several terms or acronyms used herein that are commonly used reference to communication networks, particularly telecommunications that include mobile or cellular or terminal devices, such as cellular telephones.  
         [0033]     CDMA Code Division Multiple Access  
         [0034]     COS Class of service  
         [0035]     CRM Customer Relationship Management  
         [0036]     ESN Electronic Serial Number  
         [0037]     FeatReq Used to transmit information via signaling channels of a CDMA network  
         [0038]     GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node  
         [0039]     GPRS General Packet Radio Service  
         [0040]     GSM Global System for Mobile Communication  
         [0041]     HHAP Hand Held Application Server  
         [0042]     HLR Home Location Register  
         [0043]     IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity  
         [0044]     IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identifier  
         [0045]     IN Intelligent Network  
         [0046]     IP Internet Protocol  
         [0047]     IVR Interactive Voice Response  
         [0048]     MIN Mobile Identification Number  
         [0049]     MMS MultiMedia Messaging Service  
         [0050]     MSC Mobile Switching Center  
         [0051]     MSID Mobile Station ID  
         [0052]     MSISDN Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number  
         [0053]     NAM Number Assignment Module  
         [0054]     RTBS Real-Time Billing System  
         [0055]     SCP Service Control Point (Processor)  
         [0056]     SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node  
         [0057]     SIM Subscriber Identity Module  
         [0058]     SMS Short Message Service  
         [0059]     SMSC Short Message Service Center  
         [0060]     Terminal User communications device, such as a cellular telephone  
         [0061]     UIM/R-UIM User Identity Module/Removable-User Identity Module  
         [0062]     USSD Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (available in GSM networks)  
         [0063]     WWW World Wide Web  
         [0064]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , according to the present invention, a subscriber  10  may have multiple identities, each of which corresponds to an account within a communications system from a service provider. When, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , subscriber  10  is a member of corporate group  12 , one of the identities may be corporate membership  14 . In addition, subscriber  10  may have personal identity  16  and be a member of family account  18 . Each of the identities has associated therewith a type and a name, as well as parameters, some of which are common for a single subscriber and other of which are unique, such as those defining the class of service (COS).  
         [0065]     Common parameters for a single subscriber and a single communication device will typically be the identifiers of the equipment and subscriber, in particular, ESN or IMEI, MSISDN or MIN, and IMSI. Unique parameters for each identity or account of the subscriber may include (a) treatments, such as life-cycle, notifications, announcements, etc.; (b) permissible activities, such as local voice, SMS, MMS, gaming, etc.; (c) subscribed features, such as friends &amp; family, group account, call forwarding, voice mail, etc.; (d) promotions, such as discounts, bonus, awards, etc.; and (e) charges, including tariffs, periodic and usage.  
         [0066]     An exemplary embodiment of a communication system according to one aspect of the present invention for use with cellular telephone  22  is illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . According to an aspect of the present invention, service control point  24  includes identity manager  26  and information about subscriber identities represented by identity database  28 , in addition to programs and data to provide and control conventional services. The information in identity database  28  includes subscriber identity rules based on at least one of date, time, activity and location, as described further below. This information may be entered using customer care portal  30  or self care portal  32 . Customer care portal  30  may be accessed by customer care representatives using customer relationship management system  34  or customer care client  36  to provision identity database  28  and assign identities to subscribers and subsequently to change a current identity of a subscriber, in addition to the typical customer care functions of account provisioning, answering account questions etc.  
         [0067]     Following is a list of the types of operations that subscribers might be able to have performed on the data in identity database  28  either a customer care representative, or using one of the self-care options discussed below: 
        (1) Obtain help about using the different identities     (2) Inquire about the current identity     (3) Change the current identity     (4) Obtain a listing of all currently defined identities     (5) Modify the identity name associated with each identity type, i.e. ID type  1 =“Bob”, ID type  2 =“Comverse”, ID type  3 =“The Smiths”    (6) Obtain account information such as balances, expiration dates, state, transactions, etc. for any given identity of the subscriber     (7) Delete a currently defined identity (except the current identity)     (8) Add a new identity and select the service characteristics for it     (9) Move charges inadvertently made by one identity to another identity and adjust the charges appropriately        
 
         [0077]     There are many ways a subscriber could directly interact with identity manager  26 , some of which would only be available in particular types of communications systems. In addition to using a communications terminal, such as a cellular telephone  22 , Web server  40  could be accessed by any user device  42  capable of communicating therewith via the World Wide Web  44 . In existing cellular telephone networks, signals from cellular telephone  22  pass through mobile switching center or serving general packet radio service support node (MSC/SGSN)  46  which communicates with gateway GPRS support node  48 , home location register (HLR)  50  or short message service center (SMSC)  52 , depending upon the type of network and mode of communication. In addition, terminal  22  could be used to communicate with IP/IVR system  54  which can interact directly with terminal  22  via an Internet Protocol, interactive voice response, or a keypad interface. Alternatively, server  56  running handheld applications could be used to communicate between terminal  22  and self care application  32 .  
         [0078]     An example of a the type of screen display that might be generated for manually changing identity via Web server  40  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The subscriber would navigate the World Wide Web using any conventional browser to reach the page illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The checkboxes on the left are termed “radio buttons” and only one can be checked at a time. The subscriber would select the identity to be used for the next activity, such as a series of phone calls. A page similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 7  might be displayed to permit the subscriber to change rules if the subscriber has the authority to make changes. Web server  40  may enable the end user to change the rules of an identity, e.g., which activities are permitted, what discount plans are available for choosing, etc. Additionally, the end user may also inquire about each identity status and balances. Balance transfer between identities may also be possible using Web server  40 .  
         [0079]     Currently, most cellular telephone networks in the United States are either code division multiple access (CDMA) or global system for mobile (GSM) communications networks. Each of these types of networks are able to send signaling data through HLR  50 . CDMA networks provide such signaling via what are termed feature requests (FeatReqs) and such signals would be processed by FeatReq gateway  58 . In GSM networks, unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) can be transmitted using HLR  50 . USSD gateway  60  may be provided to supply information related to subscriber identities to self care application  32 . Some networks of both CDMA and GSM provide short message service (SMS) via SMSC  52 . SMS gateway  62  may be provided to supply identity information to self care application  32 .  
         [0080]     FeatReq gateway  58  and USSD gateway  60  would receive codes transmitted via CDMA and GSM networks, respectively, identifying specific operations to be performed. An example of the codes and corresponding operations that could be implement is provided in the table below.  
                                               Identity               Access   Switching       Code   Action   Operation   Notification                   *440   Identity Help   Display a text string   End of                   transmission       *441   Identity 1   current identity          Identity 1   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *442   Identity 2   current identity          Identity 2   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *443   Identity 3   current identity          Identity 3   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *444   Identity 4   current identity          Identity 4   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *445   Identity 5   current identity          Identity 5   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *446   Identity 6   current identity          Identity 6   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *447   Identity 7   current identity          Identity 7   ID changed to                   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *448   Next   current identity          next   ID changed to           Identity   available identity   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *449   Previous   current identity          previous   ID changed to           Identity   defined identity   &lt;Identity Tag&gt;       *450   Current   Display current identity   Current identity           Identity       is &lt;Identity Tag&gt;                  
 
         [0081]     Any conventional IP/IVR system could be used as IP/IVR system  54 . IP/IVR system  54  allows the end users to do all of the activities offered by Web server  40  using a menu driven voice response system. The IVR system would generate a series of prompts offering the subscriber to initiate operations similar to those described above for the other interfaces and the subscriber would indicate responses either orally or by pressing on a phone keypad. IP/IVR system  54  collects each response and offers more prompts based on the response to receive further information to perform the desired operation. In short, the subscriber can select the identity, check the status of the identity, check the balances associated with the identity, select discount plans, add/remove service and feature offerings, add/modify/delete numbers to/from a friends and family list associated with the identity, and transfer funds between identities, among other things offered by a service provider.  
         [0082]     The subscriber identity rules stored in identity database  28  define a relationship between a subscriber identity and an account. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , there may be a one-to-one relationship, as in the case of personal account  16 , or the subscriber identity may be associated with an account used by others, such as corporate membership  14  or family account  18 . What is defined by the subscriber identity rules may include date/time periods during which an identity applies for subscriber  10  or communication terminal  22  and which account to use if communications terminal  22  is in one or more predefined areas. The date/time and location defaults may be separate or combined. For example, if terminal  22  is in a location where business calls are ordinarily made during a time when the subscriber is normally working, corporate account  14  would be the account selected for use, or the subscriber identity rules could select corporate account  14  for any call during “business hours” or when terminal  22  is in a business location at any time.  
         [0083]     In addition, the subscriber identity rules preferably include the ability to define restrictions or permissions for activities. Examples of activities that could be expressly restricted or permitted include voice calls (local, long distance, international, calls to/from explicit destinations) e-commerce and m-commerce purchases, file downloads, video/audio streams, mobile enterprise applications, gaming, etc  
         [0084]     An example of a communications system according to an aspect of the present invention during operation is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . SCP  24  is provided with signaling interfaces  72 - 75  for processing signals transmitted via GPRS, SMS, FeatReq/USSD, or an alternative interface (IP, IVR, keypad, etc.), respectively. Any of these signaling technologies may be used to override the default subscriber identity rules, if the rules are set up to permit such overrides. For example, if a cellular telephone, used as terminal  22 , is provided by an employer, it may be desirable to provide the employer with the option of restricting overrides to execute any game application during business hours.  
         [0085]     An overview of how such restrictions could be implemented is provided in the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The subscriber identity rules are checked  80  to determine whether any rules are based on date/time  82 . If so, the subscriber identity rules are used  84  to select the identity/account that applies at this point in time; if not, other rules are used  86  to select the account. Prescription logic in the selected account is then applied  88  to inhibit unacceptable activities, such as interactive gaming. Since SCP  24  controls the services provided to terminal  22 , it is easy to restrict activities using the subscriber profile in the charging system. These restrictions may be expressed in white and black lists, lack of a defined activity in the profile, lack of a defined feature in the profile, the lack of a defined tariff for an activity, or the lack of funding sources in the account.  
         [0086]     A more detailed flowchart of the method for determining an identity of a subscriber is illustrated in  FIG. 6  which will be described with reference to the sample database entries illustrated in  FIG. 7 . At the start  100 , the rule number is initiated so that the next rule  102  to be considered is Rule Number  1  in the entries for the subscriber in identity database  28  ( FIG. 2 ). If the rule matches  104  the activity, location, date/time and current identity of the subscriber, the rule will be applied. In the exemplary database entries in  FIG. 7 , if it is between September 11, and Sep. 25, 2004 during the hours of 07:00 and 19:00 and the subscriber is in Boston, then the first rule matches  104 . As indicated by the “Y” in the last column of  FIG. 7 , this rule requires  106  a change in identity. Therefore, the current identity of the subscriber will be changed  108  to “Business.” Next, it is determined  110  whether the “Business” identity of the subscriber permits the activity that the subscriber has initiated. For example, the “Business” identity of this subscriber might permit international long distance (as well as any other voice calls), a virtual private network (VPN) and short message service (SMS). If the subscriber is initiating one of these activities, the activity will be permitted  112 .  
         [0087]     If it is determined  110  that the subscriber is attempting an activity that is not permitted by the identity, such as playing interactive games, then it is determined  114  whether there is an alternate identity for this rule. In the case of Rule Number  1  in  FIG. 7 , there is an alternate identity of “Personal” which might permit the activity. Once again, it is determined  116  whether the rule requires the identity to be changed and, if so, the identity is changed  118 . Regardless of whether the identity is changed, it is determined  120  whether the activity is permitted. For example, the subscriber may not have signed up for the service being requested, or may not have enough money in a pre-paid account to pay for the requested service.  
         [0088]     If the criteria for application of the first rule are not matched  104 , the next rule is selected  102  for consideration. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 7 , if the date/time do not match  104  the requirements for Rule Number  1 , but the subscriber is calling from or to a telephone number that begins with area code  617  and exchange  101 , then the subscriber&#39;s “Business” account may be charged, but without changing  108  his or her identity for subsequent activities. If the subscriber attempts to engage in an activity not permitted  110  by the “Business” identity, it will be determined  114  that there is no alternate identity in Rule Number  2  and the activity will be rejected  122 .  
         [0089]     If no match  104  is found for the selection criteria in the first two rules, the remaining rules are considered in sequence. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 7 , Rule Number  3  applies from Monday at 9 a.m. to Friday at 5 p.m. to identify the subscriber using his or her “Business” identity, unless the activity is not permitted  110 , in which case the subscriber&#39;s “Personal” identity may be used. Rule Number  4  applies on weekends to identify the subscriber using the “Personal” identity with an alternate identity of “Family.” The “Family” identity might permit an additional activity, such as long distance calls, or be provided as a backup if there is a problem with the subscriber&#39;s “Personal” account. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 7 , Rule Number  5  charges all gaming to the subscriber&#39;s “Personal” account without changing the current identity of the subscriber for subsequent activities.  
         [0090]     A history of the changes in identity is preferably maintained in a log file. Each time a subscriber&#39;s identity is switched, a history record is recorded and stored in association with the subscriber&#39;s detail record. This history record can be used to inform the subscriber about all identity switches and may be referenced by customer care personnel when researching billing problems. An example of a portion of such a log file containing only identity changes for a single subscriber is provided in  FIG. 8 . The first column, “Key” is a subscriber identifying number, such as an MSISDN, MIN, etc. The second and third columns indicate the type and time of the activity. The fourth and fifth columns indicate the type and method used to perform the change or switch in identity, while the last two columns indicate what change occurred.  
         [0091]     The present invention has been described primarily with respect to use of a cellular telephone as a communication terminal. However, the invention is not limited to this particular type of terminal and can be employed in other communications networks. The invention can be used in any system where a user is charged for usage and is identified by the system using an identification value such as an MSISDN, an IP address, a directory number, an account number, or any other identifying attribute.  
         [0092]     The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as recited in the claims which may include the phrase “at least one of A, B and C” as an alternative expression that means one or more of A, B and C may be used, contrary to the holding in  Superguide v. DIRECTV,  69 USPQ2d 1865 (Fed. Cir. 2004).