Patent Publication Number: US-2012030102-A1

Title: Facilitating a network communication service for a subscriber linked to a plurality of accounts

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a facilitation of a network communication service, and more particularly, in a situation where a subscriber is linked to a plurality of accounts, and thus, a charge for the network communication service may be levied in accordance with one of a plurality of pricing plans. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     An individual consumer of network services, for example, a mobile phone subscriber, is challenged by two contrasting positions. On the one hand, the person desires a single device with which to communicate to the rest of the world. On the other hand, the person has different roles to play in life, and at least some of those roles might represent an alternative financial arrangement between the person and a third party. Any given call or content download or other chargeable event could be associated with any one of those roles. 
     The person has a choice to make. The person could opt to carry multiple devices, one for each role that is played, such that the financial implications of the chargeable events are neatly apportioned to the appropriate paying parties. This nicely handles the financial aspects, but leaves the person carrying around multiple phones. Alternatively, the person could opt to simply carry a single phone, accept all financial liability for all events, and then arrange for compensation from relevant third parties after the fact. This allows for the person to carry a single phone, but places a heavy burden of financial reconciliation on the person. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     There is provided a method that includes (a) receiving a notification of an event concerning a network communication service involving a subscriber, in which the subscriber is linked to a first account having first account terms, and a second account having second account terms, (b) making a decision of whether to handle the network communication service in accordance with the subscriber being linked to the first account or in accordance with the subscriber being linked to the second account, and (c) issuing a communication to a device to facilitate the network communication service, pursuant to the decision. There is also provided a system that performs the method, and a storage medium that contains instructions for controlling a processor to perform the method. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a configuration of accounts for services provided by a service provider. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a communication system that enables provision of a service for a subscriber that is linked to a plurality of accounts. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a pre-authorization process for a network communication service. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An event is a chargeable activity in a communication network. The technique disclosed herein is presented in the context of an event involving a mobile telephone service subscriber attempting to make a call with a cell phone. However, there is nothing intrinsic to this technique that imposes a limitation to a mobile telephone service. The technique is equally applicable to a person attempting to order a pay-per-view movie from a cable set top box, a person attempting to download online content, or any other scenario in which network actions are converted into ratable events that are charged to some liable party. 
     The present description introduces a concept referred to herein as a “shadow subscriber.” A shadow subscriber is a subscriber to a service for which certain charge liabilities are redirected from one account to another. The shadow subscriber is liable for those redirected charges. For example, if an employee must pay for calls outside of business hours, then charges for calls made after work can be redirected to a personal account. 
     At the end of the present description, there is a table, namely Table 1, that contains definitions of some other terms. 
     The shadow subscriber feature allows a single end-user, i.e., the “real” subscriber, to exist in an environment where the financial liability for any given call or event can be redirected to one or more other liable accounts. Shadow subscribers are created in the context of the account that is accepting liability, to insure that the liable party is indeed accepting financial responsibility for the charges that may be redirected to it. Shadow subscribers benefit from all the features and flexibilities that a normal subscriber record does. 
     The redirection to a shadow subscriber either can be determined based on evaluation of configured rules, or can alternatively be manually overridden to redirect unconditionally to a specific shadow subscriber. 
     When events are redirected to a shadow subscriber, they are rated and charged in the context of the pricing plans and balances of the shadow subscriber, regardless of what plans and balances the real subscriber might have. The amount of financial liability that the account which owns the shadow subscriber is willing to undertake can be limited on a cyclical, i.e. in alignment with monthly billing cycle, basis or be left unlimited. 
     All of these evaluations happen in real-time, as a part of call pre-authorization. 
       FIG. 1  is an illustration of a configuration of accounts, i.e., configuration  100 , for services provided by a service provider. Configuration  100  includes an Acme account hierarchy  101 , with a corporate-level account  102 , which in turn has sub-accounts  105 ,  110  and  115 . 
     Account  102  is a corporate-level account for Acme, Inc. John is an employee of Acme, Inc. Sub-account  115  presents billing for John&#39;s phone. A subscriber  120  represents John&#39;s phone as a delivery point for services, and the “Best Voice” offer, i.e., a pricing plan  125 , defines pricing plans for the products and services John receives. Each of sub-accounts  105  and  110  also has a subscriber and a pricing plan for products and services. 
     Acme won&#39;t pay for personal use calls, and pricing plan  125  doesn&#39;t even allow data services. Acme will, however, allow John to pay for personal use and data services himself. So, John calls the service provider to set up an alternative billing relationship via liability redirection to a shadow subscriber  135 . In this scenario, John as an individual becomes the liable party represented by an account  130 . Shadow subscriber  135  is set up to receive liability redirection from subscriber  120 . Shadow subscriber  135  has its own “My all-in-one” pricing plan, i.e., a pricing plan  140 , that allows for both voice calls and data services. John wants to limit his personal spending to $50/month, so he establishes a spending limit  145  of $50/month that consumes an available balance  150  on account  130 . Available balance  150  represents real money that is actually used to pay for the data services. 
     With John&#39;s account, i.e., account  130 , shadow subscriber  135  and pricing plan  140  in place, John can now consume data services and have personal calls charged to him. John Smith the person, designated by reference numeral  155 , is represented in the billing system by both Acme sub-account  115  and its subordinate entities, and by account  130  and its subordinate entities. 
     A system that processes the call will initially guide the call to subscriber  120 , and redirection rules will be evaluated to determine whether charges should be redirected to shadow subscriber  135 . In this particular case, the redirection rules would indicate (a) that any type of data service, occurring at any point in time, should be redirected to shadow subscriber  135 , and (b) that any voice call made outside of business hours should also be redirected to shadow subscriber  135 . The amount that will be charged for the call, i.e., its rated amount, will be computed based on John&#39;s personal pricing plan, i.e., pricing plan  140 , rather than his Acme pricing plan, i.e., pricing plan  125 . The charge for the call will count against spending limit  145 , and if spending limit  145  is exceed, then the call will revert back to subscriber  120  for further processing. If there is available funding on spending limit  145 , then there still must be funds in available balance  150  to cover the charges. Spending limit  145  simply restricts the amount of funds that shadow subscriber  135  is allowed to consume, but is in-and-of-itself no guarantee that John&#39;s personal account, i.e., account  130 , actually has funds to pay for the network event; that can only be assured by examining available balance  150 , and therefore both must be consulted. If there is either (a) insufficient funding on spending limit  145  to cover the charges OR (b) insufficient funds in available balance  150  to cover the charges, then again processing of the call reverts back to subscriber  120 . If, on the other hand, if there is (a) available funding on spending limit  145  to cover the charges AND (b) funds in available balance  150  to cover the charges, then a rated amount for the call is counted against spending limit  145  and deducted from available balance  150  and the call is authorized. 
     John  155  is a member of a calling circle  175  that includes Tom Jones  160 . A subscriber  165  represents a phone as a delivery point for services for Tom Jones  160 , pursuant to a pricing plan  170 . Shadow subscriber  135  can participate in calling circle  175  independently from any calling circle memberships of its associated real subscriber, i.e., subscriber  120 . For cases where the call is made by John  155  to Tom Jones  160 , i.e., another member of calling circle  175 , if the call is redirected to shadow subscriber  135 , calling circle benefits are conferred. But for cases where John  155  makes a call and it is NOT redirected, but rather, is processed in the context of subscriber  120 , calling circle benefits are NOT conferred. For cases where a call is made to John  155  by Tom Jones  160 , the sum of all calling circle memberships across John  155 &#39;s entire representation in the system, in this case shadow subscriber  135  and subscriber  125 , are considered in determining if calling circle benefits should be conferred. In this specific case, because shadow subscriber  135  is a member of the same calling circle as subscriber  165 , calling circle benefits are conferred. 
     In cases like the corporate example of  FIG. 1 , imagine that the subscriber roles were reversed for John, that the real subscriber was under his individual account  130 , call this real subscriber A, and the shadow subscriber was under account  115  in the Acme hierarchy of account  102 , we&#39;ll call this shadow subscriber B. 
     If Acme account hierarchy  101  had an intra-hierarchy discounting plan set up, which gives special pricing considerations for calls between subscribers that are in Acme account hierarchy  101 , then shadow subscriber B would be able to take part in that as well. That is, if John  155  placed a call that was redirected to shadow subscriber B, and it was made to a subscriber under one of John&#39;s co-worker&#39;s sub-accounts  105  or  110 , that would be considered an intra-hierarchy call and discounted as such. If, on the other hand, the call was not redirected, and was instead rated and charged in the context of John&#39;s personal account, i.e., account  130 , and real subscriber A, it would not be considered an intra-hierarchy call, and as such no special intra-hierarchy discounting would apply. Any other Acme employee making calls to John  155  will receive intra hierarchy pricing considerations, because John  155  has an associated shadow subscriber B in Acme account hierarchy  101 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a communication system  200  that enables provision of a service for a subscriber that is linked to a plurality of accounts. System  200  includes a mobile switch  224  and a processing system  202 . 
     Mobile switch  224  is a switch for facilitating a service, for example a voice call or a data service, over a network (not shown). Mobile switch  224  operates in accordance with a communication that it receives from processing system  202  in a manner that affects the provision of the service. For example, in response to the communication, mobile switch  224  may allow the provision of the service, deny the service, or in some other way modify the provision of the service. 
     Processing system  202  includes a processor  204  and a memory  206 . Processor  204  is configured of logic circuitry that responds to and executes instructions. Memory  206  contains instructions that are readable by processor  204  and cause processor  204  to perform actions of a Payments/Recharge module  228 , a Customer Management module  234 , a module that represents products and services, i.e., Products and Services  244 , and Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250 , a Network Self-care module  262 , a Liability Redirection Processing module  258 , and a Shadow Subscriber Management module  266 . The term “module” is used herein to denote a functional operation that may be embodied either as a stand-alone component or as an integrated configuration of a plurality of sub-ordinate components. 
     In Customer Management module  234 , processor  200  maintains data representing a real subscriber  236  and a shadow subscriber  238 . 
     A subscriber  220  is a person that is consumer of network services. For purposes of illustration in this document, subscriber  220  is in possession of a mobile phone to accomplish this. Subscriber  220  places calls that are evaluated by processing system  202 . 
     A liable account  208  is an entity accepting financial responsibility for at least a portion of charges from subscriber  220 . Subscriber  220  can have a billing relationship with more than one liable account, but for simplicity of illustration, only one liable account, i.e., liable account  208 , is shown here. Conversely, liable account  208  can have a billing relationship with more than one subscriber, but similarly, for simplicity, only one, i.e., subscriber  220 , is shown here. 
     Customer Management module  234  encompasses the representation of liable account  208  and subscriber  220  information within processing system  202 , as well as Products and Services  244  to which liable account  208  and subscriber  220  have subscribed. Subscriber  220  is represented in Customer Management module  234  by its primary entity, i.e., real subscriber  236 , and by shadow subscriber  238 , each of which reflects a billing relationship between subscriber  220  and liable account  208 . 
     Products and Services  244  represents services that subscriber  220 , via real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238 , receives over the network through his cell phone, as well as the pricing plans for those services. 
     Each of real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238  has a pricing plan, i.e., account terms, (not shown in  FIG. 2 , but similar to pricing plans  125  and  140  shown in  FIG. 1 ). Real subscriber  236 &#39;s pricing plan may provide for charging a first rate for a network communication service, and shadow subscriber  238 &#39;s pricing plan may provide for charging a second rate for the network communication service. 
     Shadow Subscriber Management module  266  manages storage, validation, and evaluation of shadow subscriber  238  information, a billing relationship between subscriber  220  and shadow subscriber  238 , and a billing relationship between liable account  208  and shadow subscriber  238 . 
     Mobile switch  224  facilitates a call made from the cell phone of subscriber  220  and seeks pre-authorization from Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250 . 
     Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  consults with Shadow Subscriber Management module  266  to understand the billing relationship present between real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238 . Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  interacts with Liability Redirection Processing module  258  to evaluate whether the call should be processed in the context of real subscriber  236  or shadow subscriber  238 . Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  queries Products and Services  244  to understand the pricing plan via which the call should be rated and charged. 
     Liability Redirection Processing module  258  facilitates the evaluation of liability redirection rules that determine whether a call is guided to real subscriber  236  or to shadow subscriber  238 , and, if necessary, the transfer of processing of the call from the context of real subscribers  236  to the context of shadow subscriber  238 . 
     Network Self-care module  262  allows subscriber  220 , via his cell phone, to set liability redirection override information in Shadow Subscriber Management module  266 . Liability redirection override allows subscriber  220  to bypass redirection rule processing and indicate that liability is unconditionally redirected to a specific shadow subscriber, e.g., shadow subscriber  238 , regardless of the nature of the network event. 
     Payments/Recharge module  228  allows for liable account  208  to make a payment on an invoice that reflects the charges that were redirected to it by the subscriber  220  via shadow subscriber  238 . Payments/Recharge module  228  also allows for either subscriber  220  or liable account  208  to recharge prepaid balances of shadow subscriber  238 . The balances on shadow subscriber  238  can be recharged via an interactive voice response (IVR) interaction initiated by subscriber  220 . Network Self-care module  262  detects whether subscriber  220  has shadow subscribers  238  in addition to its real subscriber  236 . If subscriber  220  has a plurality of shadow subscribers, subscriber  220  is prompted to identify which of the plurality that subscriber  220  would like to recharge. 
     Before subscriber  220 &#39;s use of shadow subscriber  238 , subscriber  220  establishes a presence, via an interaction  218 , as real subscriber  236 . Products and Services  244  that real subscriber  236  receives are established via an interaction  242 . 
     A person-to-person agreement between liable account  208  and subscriber  220 , via an interaction  214 , is reached to establish a billing relationship whereby liable account  208  accepts liability for a subset of the charges incurred by subscriber  220 . This billing relationship is represented via (a) an interaction  212  where, as a result, shadow subscriber  238  is created, (b) interaction  242  where shadow subscriber  238 &#39;s distinct set of Products and Services  244  is selected, and (c) an interaction  240  where the billing relationship between real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238  is maintained. 
     The billing relationship between real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238  is given a distinct name to distinguish it from other billing relationships established between other entities. The billing relationship is represented by a liability redirection rule that indicates the conditions under which charges should be redirected from real subscriber  236  to shadow subscriber  238 . 
     Subscriber  220  has the option to override the liability redirection rules associated with its billing relationship to shadow subscriber  238  and unconditionally redirect all liability to shadow subscriber  238 . This is accomplished by interaction  226  between subscriber  220  and Network Self-care module  262 . Liable account  208  can, however, as the entity accepting financial responsibility, indicate that subscriber  220  is not allowed to manually override liability redirection to shadow subscriber  238 . 
     At this point all relationships have been set up to enable the redirection of a call to shadow subscriber  238 . 
     Via an interaction  222 , subscriber  220  places a call that is handled by mobile switch  224 . Mobile switch  224 , via a synchronous interaction, i.e., an interaction  248 , asks Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  for pre-authorization of the network event. The pre-authorization insures that some financially-responsible party will be able to pay for the network services consumed. 
     Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  (a) via an interaction  260 , obtains information about real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238  from Shadow Subscriber Management module  266 , and (b) via an interaction  252 , evaluates liability redirection rules from Liability Redirection Processing module  258 , which (c), via an interaction  256 , redirects the call, to shadow subscriber  238 . An interaction  246  provides, to Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250 , information related to Products and Services  244 . Upon successful processing against shadow subscriber  238 , a yes/no communication is provided back to mobile switch  224 , as the synchronous response for interaction  248 , that will then either allow or deny the call depending upon whether the communication is a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, respectively. For example, a decision of whether to authorization of a call that would be charged to shadow subscriber  238  may be based on whether the charge would exceed shadow subscriber  238 &#39;s spending limit. 
     Thus, in review, processing system  202  receives a notification of an event, via interaction  248 , concerning a network communication service involving subscriber  220 , where subscriber  220  is linked to real subscriber  236 , i.e., a first account having first account terms, and shadow subscriber  238 , i.e., a second account having second account terms. Processing system  202  makes a decision of whether to handle the network communication service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to real subscriber  236  or in accordance with subscriber  238  being linked to shadow subscriber  238 . Thereafter, processing system  202  issues a communication via interaction  248  to mobile switch  224 , i.e., a device in the network, to facilitate the network communication service, pursuant to the decision. 
     Processing system  202  (i) charges real subscriber  236  for the network communication service pursuant to account terms of real subscriber  236 , if the decision is to handle the network communication service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to real subscriber  236 , or (ii) charges shadow subscriber  238  for the network communication service pursuant to account terms of shadow subscriber  238 , if the decision is to handle the network communication service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to shadow subscriber  238 . 
     Processing system  202  will bill subscriber  220  for charges to real subscriber  236 , and will bill liable account  208  for charges to shadow subscriber  238 . 
     The network communication service can be any of a plurality of services, for example, a voice call or a data service. The decision of how to handle the network communication service may consider the nature of the service being provided, or that the network communication service is a particular service. For example, processing system  202  may decide to either (i) handle the network communication service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to real subscriber  236 , if the network communication service is a voice call, or (ii) handle the network communication service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to shadow subscriber  238 , if the network communication service is a data service. 
     Subscriber  220 , through his link to either or both of real subscriber  236  or shadow subscriber  238 , and more particularly the respective pricing plans for real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238 , may be a member of a particular pricing plan such as a calling circle or an intra-hierarchy discounting plan. The decision of how to handle the network communication service may consider whether subscriber  220  is a member of such a pricing plan. For example, assuming real subscriber  236  has a pricing plan that provides for intra-hierarchy discounting, the decision may be to handle the network communication service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to real subscriber  236  based, at least in part, on subscriber  220 &#39;s membership in the intra-hierarchy discounting plan, via real subscriber  236 . In another example, if the network communication service involves a call with a party that is a member of a calling circle, and if shadow subscriber  238 &#39;s pricing plan provides for membership in the calling circle, the decision may be to handle the call in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to shadow subscriber  238 . 
     Subscriber  220 , via his cell phone, can access Network Self-care module  262  via an interaction  226  to set a liability redirection override to shadow subscriber  238 , which is then set in Shadow Subscriber Management module  266  via an interaction  264 . For example, Network Self-care module  262  can receive an instruction from subscriber  220  that mandates a handling of all service in accordance with subscriber  220  being linked to shadow subscriber  238 , and in Shadow Subscriber Management module  266 , the decision of how to handle a service would operate in accordance with the instruction. 
     Prepaid balances of shadow subscriber  238  can be replenished by Payments/Recharge module  228  being triggered by subscriber  220  via an interaction  216  or by liable account  208  via an interaction  210 . In either case, Payments/Recharge  228  obtains details from Shadow Subscriber Management module  266  via an interaction  230  and applies funds to shadow subscriber  238  via an interaction  232 . 
     Although processing system  202  is described herein as having the instructions installed into memory  206 , the instructions can be tangibly embodied on an external computer-readable storage medium  268  for subsequent loading into memory  206 . Storage medium  268  can be any conventional storage medium, including, but not limited to, a floppy disk, a compact disk, a magnetic tape, a read only memory, or an optical storage medium. The instructions could also be embodied in a random access memory (not shown), or other type of electronic storage (not shown), located on a remote storage system and coupled to memory  206 . 
     Processing system  202  is shown herein as being implemented with a single processor  202  and a single memory  206 . However, processing system  202  can be implemented as a distributed system configured with a plurality of processors and a plurality of memories. Moreover, although components of processing system  202  are described herein as being installed in memory  206 , and therefore being implemented in software, they could be implemented in any of hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a pre-authorization process, referred to herein as method  300 , performed by processing system  202 . Accordingly, the following description of  FIG. 3  refers to several components shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     In step  302 , subscriber  220  is making a call, and the call has been guided to real subscriber  236  by Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250 . From step  302 , method  300  progresses to step  304 . 
     In step  304 , Liability Redirection Processing module  258  determines whether any liability redirection (LR) is configured for real subscriber  304 . If “no”, then method  300  advances to step  328 . If “yes”, then method  300  progresses to step  306 . 
     In step  306 , Liability Redirection Processing module  258  checks whether real subscriber  236  has specified a liability redirection override to shadow subscriber  238 . If “yes”, then method  300  advances to step  314 . If “no”, then method  300  progresses to step  308 . 
     In step  308 , Liability Redirection Processing module  258  evaluates liability redirection rules and determines a liability redirection target. From step  308 , method  300  progresses to step  310 . 
     In step  310 , Liability Redirection Processing module  258  compares the attributes of the call (e.g., time of day, type of call, destination number) against the liability redirection rules configured for real subscriber  236 . If no matching rules are found, then method  300  advances to step  328 . If at least one matching rule is found, then method  300  progresses to step  312 . If more than one matching rule is found, the rule with the closest and most significant matching criteria is selected for processing in step  312 . 
     In step  312 , Shadow Subscriber Management module  266  determines whether the liability redirection target, i.e., the entity to accept liability for the call being placed, is a shadow subscriber. If “no”, then method  300  advances to step  330 . If “yes”, then method  300  progresses to step  314 . For example, if the selected rule (from step  310 ) simply points to an account, i.e., a non-shadow subscriber scenario, then method  300  advances to step  330 . 
     In step  314  Shadow Subscriber Management module  266  re-guides the call to shadow subscriber  236  tied to either (a) the liability redirection override discovered at step  306 , or (b) the liability redirection rule identified at steps  310  and  312 , thereby transforming the context of the evaluation of the call from that of real subscriber  236  to that of shadow subscriber  238 . From step  314 , method  300  progresses to step  316 . 
     In step  316 , Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  rates the call in the context of the applicable pricing plans of shadow subscriber  238 . Referring back to  FIG. 1 , it might be the case that the pricing terms of the “Best Voice” offer, i.e., pricing plan  125 , have been specifically negotiated between Acme and the service provider, and part of the condition is that they not be offered for personal use. Pricing plan  125  might, for example, include free calling to all points in North America. Pricing plan  140 , on the other hand, might for example rate calls to North American countries outside the US at $0.05/min. Rating the call from the context of the shadow subscriber insures that this call is rated at $0.05/min as opposed to being rated as free. From step  316 , method  300  progresses to step  318 . 
     In step  318 , Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250 , based on the rated amount determined in step  316 , evaluates the amount against the spending limit of shadow subscriber  238 . From step  318 , method  300  progresses to step  320 . 
     In step  320 , assuming that liable account  208  has chosen to limit its liability to a set amount per billing cycle, then Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  compares (a) the amount consumed to date by shadow subscriber  238 , plus the rated amount for the call currently being processed against (b) the set spending limit. If the spending limit is exceeded, then method  300  advances to step  326 . If the spending limit is not exceeded, then method  300  progresses to step  322 . Also, if liable account  208  has not chosen to limit its liability to a set amount per billing cycle, then there is no set spending limit, and as such, method  300  progresses to step  322 . 
     In step  322  Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  charges shadow subscriber  238  balances based on the rated amount determined in step  316 . From step  322 , method  300  progresses to step  324 . 
     In step  324 , assuming that the spending limit evaluated in step  320  is being consumed from an available balance, the available balance must have available funds to cover the rated amount of the charge determined in  316 . Accordingly, Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  determines whether there is a sufficient available balance to fund the call. If “no”, then method  300  progresses to step  326 . If “yes”, then the charge amount is counted against the spending limit and deducted from the available balance, and method  300  advances to step  332 . 
     In step  326 , regardless of whether method  300  reached here from step  320  or step  324 , for one reason or another, the call cannot be funded by shadow subscriber  238 . The liability redirection rule that just failed to fund the event is removed from consideration, and method  300  loops back to step  308 , where the evaluation process further considers liability redirection rules for real subscriber  236 . 
     In step  328 , normal call processing continues in the context of real subscriber  236  without liability redirection. 
     In step  330 , liability redirection processing continues in the context of real subscriber  236 . 
     In step  332 , Authorization, Ratings and Charging module  250  sends a communication to mobile switch  224  indicating that the call is authorized. 
     Shadow subscriber are treated the same as real subscribers in nearly all facets of the system. This allows processing to capitalize on implementation already established for run-of-the-mill subscriber call pre-authorization processing. 
     The main technical benefit of the shadow subscriber solution is that by providing a technique, via software implementation, to recast the pre-authorization evaluation of an event into the context of the real subscriber or any of its shadow subscribers, it allows for that complex relationship to exist in only one place and be applicable and accessible to all systems. Without this capability, additional hardware and data synchronization would be necessary, increasing deployment complexity and system cost. 
     Via a single device, e.g., a cell phone, a person can have billing relationships with multiple financially accountable parties. 
     The relationship of real subscriber  236  with multiple shadow subscribers such as shadow subscriber  238  allows subscriber  220  to have a multi-dimensional footprint in processing system  202 . Real subscriber  236  and shadow subscriber  238  memberships in multiple calling circles and account hierarchies allow subscriber  220  to garner benefits for calling circle and intra-hierarchy discounting that would not be possible with just a single representation of subscriber  220  in the system. 
     Processing system  202  gives the service provider the power to model the wide variety of complicated billing relationships that its customers demand. Paying parties have the flexibility to accept charges in the context of pricing plans that they select, rather than remaining at the mercy of the plan(s) selected by the consuming party. Paying parties have the opportunity to limit the amount of liability they want to accept in any given period, putting them in control of their spending. Redirection, evaluation against the payer&#39;s pricing plans, and enforcement of spending limits, is all evaluated in real-time during call pre-authorization, so the service provider can offer all this capability to its prepaid subscribers, whereas historically this kind of complexity was only available in a postpaid environment. End-users can use the manual override feature as a means to keep charges for calls related to the different parts of their life (personal, day job, entrepreneurial undertaking, etc) separated in a nice and tidy fashion. 
     The techniques described herein are exemplary, and should not be construed as implying any particular limitation on the present disclosure. It should be understood that various alternatives, combinations and modifications could be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, steps associated with the processes described herein can be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified or dictated by the steps themselves. The present disclosure is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Definitions 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Term 
                 Definition 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Account 
                 An entity that represents a customer of an operator. An account 
               
               
                   
                 can be billable (for example, the liable party that owns the accounts 
               
               
                   
                 receivable) or non-billable. An account contains the subscriber 
               
               
                   
                 profile details and can have associated subscribers and offers. An 
               
               
                   
                 account can have one or more child accounts (organized in a 
               
               
                   
                 hierarchy), as well as one or more subscribers and offers. An 
               
               
                   
                 account can have zero or one account bundle. Accounts can have 
               
               
                   
                 real-time balances and accumulators. 
               
               
                 Balance 
                 A balance is a collection of funds of a similar unit type. Balances 
               
               
                   
                 can be either (1) running (real-time authorization) balances or (2) 
               
               
                   
                 financial (accounts receivable) balances. A balance is a 
               
               
                   
                 representation of either a monetary or a non-monetary (units-based) 
               
               
                   
                 amount. A balance can be either postpaid or prepaid. A postpaid 
               
               
                   
                 balance can signify a unit amount, a monetary credit, or a spending 
               
               
                   
                 limit, or the total amount due; all of which are incremented based 
               
               
                   
                 upon user consumption activity. A real-time prepaid balance can 
               
               
                   
                 represent the reserved holding of funds or units drawn from when a 
               
               
                   
                 user consumes services. 
               
               
                 Calling Circle 
                 A group that subscribers can join to secure special/differentiated 
               
               
                   
                 rates and discounts for intra-group usage activity. 
               
               
                 Guiding 
                 The process of determining the charging party for the consumed 
               
               
                   
                 usage. 
               
               
                 IVR 
                 Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an interactive technology that 
               
               
                   
                 allows a computer to detect voice and keypad inputs allowing 
               
               
                   
                 customers to service their own enquiries by following the 
               
               
                   
                 instructions. 
               
               
                 Liability Redirection 
                 A feature that allows charges to be paid for by an entity (account or 
               
               
                   
                 shadow subscriber) other than the entity that uses the services. 
               
               
                   
                 Liability redirection involves configurable charge redirection to 
               
               
                   
                 liable parties as follows: 
               
               
                   
                 Account to account 
               
               
                   
                 Subscriber to account 
               
               
                   
                 Subscriber to shadow subscriber 
               
               
                 Liable Account 
                 Account that is liable for payments for services used by the owning 
               
               
                   
                 account and/or subscribers. 
               
               
                 Postpaid 
                 A general description of the financial arrangement between the 
               
               
                   
                 operator and the end-user, whereby the user accrues charges over 
               
               
                   
                 the course of a billing period (typically a month), and the operator 
               
               
                   
                 bills the end-user for those charges after the fact. In this model, the 
               
               
                   
                 operator is in essence extending credit to the end-user. 
               
               
                 Pre-authorization 
                 The process by which the network requests, in advance of actually 
               
               
                   
                 providing a network service to a consumer, authorization from an 
               
               
                   
                 authorizing entity which is trusted to insure that the network 
               
               
                   
                 service about to be consumed can be paid for by some financially 
               
               
                   
                 responsible party. Access to the network service is either granted 
               
               
                   
                 or denied based on the response from the authorizing entity. 
               
               
                 Prepaid 
                 A general description of the financial arrangement between the 
               
               
                   
                 operator and the end-user, whereby the end-user provides funds up 
               
               
                   
                 front, and then accrued charges are debited against those funds 
               
               
                   
                 until exhausted, at which point in time service will be denied until 
               
               
                   
                 additional funds are provided in advance. 
               
               
                 Real-time 
                 Describes an activity or transaction that occurs during the rating 
               
               
                   
                 and/or charging process, as opposed to waiting until the end of a 
               
               
                   
                 cycle (bill time). Note that the “real-time” rating and/or charging 
               
               
                   
                 process takes place, in most cases, during the actual duration of the 
               
               
                   
                 usage event that is being rated and/or charged. 
               
               
                 Recharge 
                 Recharging is a process by which a subscriber adds time, units, or 
               
               
                   
                 monetary value for services to running balances. This can also 
               
               
                   
                 extend or change an expiration date for a running balance. 
               
               
                   
                 Recharging is done with physical or electronic recharge vouchers. 
               
               
                   
                 Recharges are the primary way that money is received into prepaid 
               
               
                   
                 operations. 
               
               
                 Redirection Rules 
                 Rules that are used to determine if a given network event (i.e. call) 
               
               
                   
                 should be redirected to an alternative party for rating and charging. 
               
               
                   
                 Rules are evaluated based on the characteristics of the network 
               
               
                   
                 event, for example, the type of event, the date, day, and/or time on 
               
               
                   
                 which it occurred, and the target, i.e. the called number, of the 
               
               
                   
                 network event. 
               
               
                 Subscriber 
                 A subscriber is at a specific service-delivery point for a product or 
               
               
                   
                 service being used by an account. Examples: a telephone line, a 
               
               
                   
                 login account for an online service, an end point in a leased line 
               
               
                   
                 network. 
               
               
                 Shadow Subscriber 
                 A subscriber whose charges are paid by an account other than its 
               
               
                   
                 own. A shadow subscriber is a virtual subscriber. The shadow- 
               
               
                   
                 subscriber feature allows certain charge liabilities to be redirected 
               
               
                   
                 from one account to another. The shadow subscriber is liable for 
               
               
                   
                 those redirected charges. For example, if an employee must pay 
               
               
                   
                 for calls outside of business hours, then charges for calls made after 
               
               
                   
                 work can be redirected to a personal account. See also liability 
               
               
                   
                 redirection and liable account. 
               
               
                 Synchronous 
                 A synchronous interaction between two systems is such that the 
               
               
                   
                 party making the request will suspend processing and wait for a 
               
               
                   
                 response to the request. This is in contrast to asynchronous 
               
               
                   
                 interaction, where the requesting party will fire off the request, go 
               
               
                   
                 about its business, and process the response, once received, in an 
               
               
                   
                 interrupt-driven manner.