Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/8275830
Timestamp: 2019-08-23 17:30:47
Document Index: 640510032

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61']

US Patent for Device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing Patent (Patent # 8,275,830 issued September 25, 2012) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents Client/serverUS Patent for Device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing Patent (Patent # 8,275,830)
Jan 27, 2010 - Headwater Partners I LLC
Device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing is provided. In some embodiments, device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing for a wireless network includes collecting device generated service usage information for one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and providing the device generated service usage information in a syntax (e.g., a device assisted charging data record (CDR)) and a communication protocol (e.g., 3GPP, 3GPP2, or other communication protocols) that can be used by other network devices to augment or replace network generated service usage information for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network.
Latest Headwater Partners I LLC Patents:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/206,354 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed Jan. 28, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/206,944 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed Feb. 4, 2009, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/207,393 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed Feb. 10, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/207,739 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed on Feb. 13, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/270,353 entitled DEVICE ASSISTED CDR CREATION, AGGREGATION, MEDIATION AND BILLING filed on Jul. 6, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/264,126 entitled DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICES ACTIVITY MAP filed on Nov. 24, 2009, which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
This application is a continuation in part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/380,778, entitled VERIFIABLE DEVICE ASSISTED SERVICE USAGE BILLING WITH INTEGRATED ACCOUNTING, MEDIATION ACCOUNTING, AND MULTI-ACCOUNT, filed on Mar. 2, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/380,771, entitled VERIFIABLE SERVICE BILLING FOR INTERMEDIATE NETWORKING DEVICES, filed on Mar. 2, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, and which each claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/206,354 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed Jan. 28, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/206,944 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed Feb. 4, 2009, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/207,393 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed Feb. 10, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/207,739 entitled SERVICES POLICY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD filed on Feb. 13, 2009, which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 2 illustrates another wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 3 illustrates another wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 4 illustrates provisioning of a wireless network for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 5 illustrates a network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 6 illustrates another network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 7 illustrates another network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 8 illustrates another network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 9 is a functional diagram illustrating a device based service processor and a service controller in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 10 provides a table summarizing various service processer functional elements in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 11 provides a table summarizing various service controller functional elements in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 12 illustrates a device stack providing various service usage measurement from various points in the networking stack for a service monitor agent, a billing agent, and an access control integrity agent to assist in verifying the service usage measures and billing reports in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment similar to FIG. 12 in which some of the service processor is implemented on the modem and some of the service processor is implemented on the device application processor in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 14 illustrates various embodiments of intermediate networking devices that include a service processor for the purpose of verifiable service usage measurement, reporting, and billing reports in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 15 illustrates a wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing including a proxy server in accordance with some embodiments.
There are many new types of digital devices where it is becoming desirable, for example, to connect these devices to wireless networks including wireless wide area networks (WWAN, such as 3G and 4G) and/or wireless local area (WLAN) networks. These devices include, for example, consumer electronics devices, business user devices, and machine to machine devices that benefit from flexible wide area data connections and the Internet. Example devices include netbooks, notebooks, mobile Internet devices, personal navigation (e.g., GPS enabled) devices, music and multimedia players, eReaders, industrial telemetry, automotive emergency response and diagnostics, 2-way home and industrial power metering and control, vending machines, parking meters, and many other devices. For example, it is highly advantageous to offer service usage and service billing plans for such devices that are more optimal for each type of device and each type of desired user experience. To accomplish this, more sophisticated service usage measuring and service usage billing systems are needed as compared to the conventional network based techniques in existence today. By providing more flexibility in service measurement and billing, more advantageous and cost effective service plans can be created for, for example, the new WWAN connected devices cited above for all three markets (e.g., consumer, business and machine to machine) that still maintain the necessary profit margins for the WWAN carriers to be successful with these various service businesses.
Accordingly, various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a new and flexible augmentation or replacement for existing carrier network service usage measurement, service usage accounting, and service usage billing systems and techniques.
A charging data record (CDR) is a term that as used herein defines a formatted measure of device service usage information, typically generated by one or more network functions that supervise, monitor, and/or control network access for the device. CDRs typically form the basis for recording device network service usage, and often form the basis for billing for such usage. Various embodiments are provided herein for device assisted CDR creation, mediation, and billing. There are many limitations to the capabilities of service usage recording, aggregation and/or billing when CDRs are generated exclusively by network based functions or equipment. Accordingly, by either augmenting network based service usage measures with device based service usage measures, or by replacing network based service usage measures with device based service usage measures, it is possible to create a CDR generation, aggregation, mediation and/or billing solution that has superior or more desirable capabilities/features. While in theory, many of the service usage measures that can be evaluated on a device can also be evaluated in the network data path using various network equipment technologies including but not limited to deep packet inspection (DPI), there are many examples where measuring service usage at the device is either more desirable or more practical, or in some cases it is the only way to obtain the desired measure. Such examples include but are not limited to the following:
Application layer service usage measures (e.g., traffic usage categorized by application or by combinations of application, destination, and/or content type);
Usage measures that do not involve user traffic but instead involve network overhead traffic (e.g., basic connection maintenance traffic, signaling traffic, network logon/AAA/authentication/monitoring traffic, service software update traffic);
Usage that is associated with services that are charged to another entity other than the end user (e.g., basic network connection service offer traffic, traffic associated with providing network access to or downloading service marketing information, traffic associated with advertiser sponsored services, traffic associated with content provider sponsored services, 911 service traffic);
Usage measures involving encrypted traffic (e.g., traffic that is run over encrypted networking protocols or between secure end points);
Implementing service usage measure collection and/or service usage billing across multiple networks that may have different and in some cases incompatible, inaccessible (to the CDR system of record) or incomplete service usage measurement capabilities;
Service usage measurement and/or service usage billing capabilities that are not supported by the present network gateways, routers, MWC/HLRs, AAA, CDR aggregation, CDR mediation, billing and/or provisioning systems;
New service usage measures and/or new service usage billing capabilities that are desirable to implement in a manner that does not require major changes or upgrades to the existing network gateways, routers, MWC/HLRs, AAA, CDR aggregation, CDR mediation, billing and/or provisioning systems;
New service usage measures and/or new service usage billing capabilities that are desirable to implement in a manner that allows for rapid definition and implementation of new service measures and/or billing plans;
New service usage measures and/or new service usage billing capabilities that are desirable to implement in a manner that may be implemented in a manner that enables multiple device group definitions in which each device group gets a customized programmable definition for service usage collection, accounting and/or billing;
Multi device billing;
Multi user billing;
Intermediate device billing with single user and multi user with and without multi device;
Content downloads from a specific source to a specific application with the content being of a specific type or even identified down to a particular content ID; and/or
Various other single event transactions used for billing purposes.
For these and other reasons, it is desirable to provide a system/process that utilizes device assisted service usage measures that provides either an enhancement of existing network based service usage CDR system capabilities and techniques and/or a replacement for network based CDR system capabilities and techniques.
In some embodiments, techniques, such as a system and/or process, that utilize device assisted service usage measures include one or more of the following: (1) receiving a service usage measure from a device in communication with a wireless network, (2) verifying or protecting the validity of the service usage measure, (3) generating a CDR based on the service usage measure (e.g., device assisted CDR), (4) aggregating CDRs, and (5) mediating the CDR with network CDRs. In some embodiments, the techniques also include providing a design and provisioning of devices/network equipment to recognize the CDRs. In some embodiments, the techniques also include provisioning to recognize that the device belongs to a Device Assisted Services (DAS) device group and that corresponding CDRs should be accepted and mediated. In some embodiments, the device assisted CDRs are also generated using formats, network communications protocols, network device authentication and/or provisioning to allow device assisted CDRs into the network CDR system, encryption, and/or signatures as required by the network (e.g., to comply with network generated CDR requirements or based on any other network and/or service provider requirements and/or standards).
In some embodiments, mediation rules include multi device, multi user, single user devices, and/or intermediate networking devices that can be single user or multi user, as described herein.
In some embodiments, a device assisted CDR generator collects device based service usage measures that are used as the basis for, or as an enhancement (e.g., as a supplement or in addition) to, one or more (e.g., network generated) CDRs that provide one or more networking functions with properly formatted service usage reports that the network function(s) accepts as being transmitted from an authorized source, read, and utilized for helping to determine the service usage of a device or group of devices. In some embodiments, the network functions that the device assisted CDR generator shares CDRs with typically include one or more of the following: service usage/CDR aggregation and/or mediation servers, gateways, routers, communication nodes, Mobile Wireless Centers (MWCs, including HLRs), databases, AAA systems, billing interfaces, and billing systems. For example, the process of CDR creation in the CDR generator typically includes either using one or more device based measures of service usage, or one or more device based measures of service usage in combination with one or more network based measures of service usage, possibly processing one or more of such service usage measures according to a set of CDR creation, CDR aggregation, and/or CDR mediation rules to arrive at a final device usage measure that is, for example, then formatted with the proper syntax, framed, possibly encrypted and/or signed, and encapsulated in a communication protocol or packet suitable for sharing with network functions. In some embodiments, the CDR generator resides in the device. In some embodiments, the CDR generator resides in a network server function that receives the device assisted service usage measures, along with possibly network based usage measures, and then creates a CDR (e.g., in the service controller 122).
In some embodiments, the device assisted CDR generator can reside in the service processor (e.g., service processor 115), for example, in the service usage history or billing server functions. In some embodiments, the device assisted CDR generator resides in the device itself, for example, within the service processor functions, such as the billing agent or the service monitor agent.
There are several factors that are considered in the various embodiments in order to create a useful, reliable, and secure device assisted CDR system, including, for example, but not limited to:
Identification of each device based service usage measure with one or more usage transaction codes;
Verification of the device based usage measure(s);
Secure communication of the device based usage measures to the network;
Efficient (e.g., low bandwidth) communication of the device based service usage measure;
Coordination/comparison/aggregation of the device based service usage measure with network based service usage measure(s);
Formatting the device based service usage measure into a CDR that can be properly communicated to the network functions and/or equipment that process service usage information;
Causing the network based functions and/or equipment used for CDR collection, aggregation, mediation and/or billing to recognize, authorize, and accept communications and CDRs from the device assisted CDR generator, reading and properly implementing the correct network session context for the CDR so that the CDR is properly associated with the correct device/user/session;
Implementing the CDR aggregation rules that determine how to collect and aggregate the device assisted CDRs as they are reported through the network CDR system hierarchy;
Implementing the mediation rules that determine how the various device based service usage transaction code measures are combined and mediated with the other device based service usage transaction code measures to result in consistent service usage information for each of the transaction code categories maintained in the network;
Implementing the mediation rules that determine how the device assisted CDRs are combined and mediated with network based CDRs to result in consistent service usage information for each of the transaction code categories maintained in the network;
Implementing mediation rules to reconcile the variances between network based CDR usage measures and device assisted CDR usage measures;
Classification of one or more device groups, with each group having the capability to uniquely define the service usage collection, accounting, and/or billing rules;
Collecting CDRs generated on networks other than the home network so that service usage may be measured, accounted for, and/or billed for across multiple networks;
Multi user billing; and/or
Intermediate device billing with single user and multi user with and without multi device.
In some embodiments, verification of the relative accuracy of the device assisted service usage measure is provided. Given that, for example, the service usage measure is often being generated on an end user device or a device that is readily physically accessed by the general public or other non-secure personnel from a network management viewpoint, in some embodiments, the device agents used in one or more of the service processor 115 agents are protected from hacking, spoofing, and/or other misuse. Various techniques are provided herein for protecting the integrity of the agents used for generating the device assisted service usage measures.
In some embodiments, the service usage measures are verified by network based cross checks using various techniques. For example, network based cross checks can provide valuable verification techniques, because, for example, it is generally not possible or at least very difficult to defeat well designed network based cross checks using various techniques, such as those described herein, even if, for example, the measures used to protect the device agents are defeated or if no device protection measures are employed. In some embodiments, network based cross checks used to verify the device assisted service usage measures include comparing network based service usage measures (e.g. CDRs generated by service usage measurement apparatus in the network equipment, such as the BTS/BSCs 125, RAN Gateways 410, Transport Gateways 420, Mobile Wireless Center/HLRs 132, AAA 121, Service Usage History/CDR Aggregation, Mediation, Feed 118, or other network equipment), sending secure query/response command sequences to the service processor 115 agent(s) involved in device assisted CDR service usage measurement or CDR creation, sending test service usage event sequences to the device and verifying that the device properly reported the service usage, and using various other techniques, such as those described herein with respect to various embodiments.
In some embodiments, one or more of the following actions are taken if the device based service usage measure is found to be in error or inaccurate: bill the user for usage overage or an out of policy device, suspend the device, quarantine the device, SPAN the device, and/or report the device to a network administration function or person.
In some embodiments, the CDR syntax used to format the device assisted service usage information into a CDR and/or network communication protocols for transmitting CDRs are determined by industry standards (e.g., various versions of 3GPP TS 32.215 format and 3GPP2 TSG-X X.S0011 or TIA-835 format). In some embodiments, for a given network implementation the network designers will specify modifications of the standard syntax, formats and/or network communication/transmission protocols. In some embodiments, for a given network implementation the network designers will specify syntax, formats, and/or network communication/transmission protocols that are entirely different than the standards.
In some embodiments, within the syntax and formatting for the CDR the device assisted service usage is typically categorized by a transaction code. For example, the transaction code can be similar or identical to the codes in use by network equipment used to generate CDRs, or given that the device is capable of generating a much richer set of service usage measures, the transaction codes can be a superset of the codes used by network equipment used to generate CDRs (e.g., examples of the usage activities that can be labeled as transaction codes that are more readily supported by device assisted CDR systems as compared to purely network based CDR systems are provided herein).
In some embodiments, the device sends an identifier for a usage activity tag, an intermediate server determines how to aggregate into CDR transaction codes and which CDR transaction code to use.
In some embodiments, the device service processor 115 compartmentalizes usage by pre-assigned device activity transaction codes (e.g., these can be sub-transactions within the main account, transactions within a given bill-by-account transaction or sub-transactions within a bill-by-account transaction). The device implements bill-by-account rules to send different usage reports for each bill-by-account function. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 programs the device to instruct it on how to compartmentalize these bill-by-account service usage activities so that they can be mapped to a transaction code.
In some embodiments, the device reports less compartmentalized service usage information and the service controller 122 does the mapping of service usage activities to CDR transaction codes, including in some cases bill-by-account codes.
In some embodiments, the CDR sent to 118 or other network equipment, for example, can include various types of transaction codes including but not limited to a raw device usage CDR, a bill-by-account (e.g., a sub-activity transaction code) CDR, a billing offset CDR, and/or a billing credit CDR. For example, the decision logic (also referred to as business rules or CDR aggregation and mediation rules) that determines how these various types of CDR transaction codes are to be aggregated and mediated by the core network and the billing system can be located in the network equipment (e.g., a network element, such as service usage 118), in the service controller 122, and/or in the billing system 123.
In some embodiments, the device assisted CDR generator uses the device assisted service usage measures to generate a CDR that includes service usage information, service usage transaction code(s), and, in some embodiments, network information context. In some embodiments, the service usage information, transaction code, and/or network information context is formatted into communication framing, syntax, encryption/signature, security and/or networking protocols that are compatible with the formatting used by conventional networking equipment to generate CDRs. For example, this allows networking equipment used for CDR collection, recording, aggregation, mediation, and/or conversion to billing records to properly accept, read, and interpret the CDRs that are generated with the assistance of device based service usage measurement. In some embodiments, the device assisted service measures are provided to an intermediate network server referred to as a service controller (e.g., service controller 122). In some embodiments, the service controller uses a CDR feed aggregator for a wireless network to collect device generated usage information for one or more devices on the wireless network; and provides the device generated usage information in a syntax (e.g., charging data record (CDR)), and a communication protocol (e.g., 3GPP or 3GPP2, or other communication protocol(s)) that can be used by the wireless network to augment or replace network generated usage information for the one or more devices on the wireless network.
In some embodiments, mediation rules include multi device, multi user, single user devices, intermediate networking devices that can be single user or multi user. For example, the device assisted CDRs can be formatted by the device assisted CDR generator to include a transaction code for one user account, even though the CDRs originate from multiple devices that all belong to the same user. This is an example for a multi-user device assisted CDR billing solution. In another example for a multi-user device assisted CDR billing solution, device assisted CDRs from multiple devices and multiple users can all be billed to the same account (e.g., a family plan or a corporate account), but the bill-by-account CDR transaction records can be maintained through the billing system so that sub-account visibility is provided so that the person or entity responsible for the main account can obtain visibility about which users and/or devices are creating most of the service usage billing. For example, this type of multi-user, multi-device device assisted CDR billing solution can also be used to track types of service usage and/or bill for types of service usage that are either impossible or at least very difficult to account and/or bill for with purely network based CDR systems. In some embodiments, bill-by-account CDR transaction records can be used to provide sponsored transaction services, account for network chatter, provide service selection interfaces, and other services for multi-user or multi-device service plans.
In addition to conventional single user devices (e.g., cell phones, smart phones, netbooks/notebooks, mobile internet devices, personal navigation devices, music players, electronic eReaders, and other single user devices) device assisted service usage measurement and CDRs are also useful for other types of network capable devices and/or networking devices, such as intermediate networking devices (e.g., 3G/4G WWAN to WLAN bridges/routers/gateways, femto cells, DOCSIS modems, DSL modems, remote access/backup routers, and other intermediate network devices). For example, in such devices, particularly with a secure manner to verify that the device assisted service usage measures are relatively accurate and/or the device service processor 115 software is not compromised or hacked, many new service provider service delivery and billing models can be supported and implemented using the techniques described herein. For example, in a WiFi to WWAN bridge or router device multiple user devices can be supported with the same intermediate networking device in a manner that is consistent and compatible with the central provider's CDR aggregation and/or billing system by sending device assisted CDRs as described herein that have a service usage and/or billing code referenced to the end user and/or the particular intermediate device.
In some embodiments, the device assisted CDRs generated for the intermediate networking device are associated with a particular end user in which there can be several or many end users using the intermediate networking device for networking access, and in some embodiments, with each end user being required to enter a unique log-in to the intermediate networking device. For example, in this way, all devices that connect using WiFi to the intermediate networking device to get WWAN access generate CDRs can either get billed to a particular end user who is responsible for the master account for that device, or the CDRs can get billed in a secure manner, with verified relative usage measurement accuracy to multiple end users from the same intermediate networking device. In another example, an end user can have one account that allows access to a number of intermediate networking devices, and each intermediate networking device can generate consistent device assisted CDRs with transaction codes for that end user regardless of which intermediate networking device the end user logs in on.
In some embodiments, some of the services provided by the intermediate networking device are billed to a specific end user device assisted CDR transaction code, while other bill-by-account services are billed to other transaction code accounts, such as sponsored partner transaction service accounts, network chatter accounts, sponsored advertiser accounts, and/or service sign up accounts. For example, in this manner, various embodiments are provided in which intermediate networking devices (e.g., a WWAN to WiFi router/bridge) can sold to one user but can service and be used to bill other users (e.g., and this can be covered in the first purchasing user's service terms perhaps in exchange for a discount), or such intermediate networking devices can be located wherever access is desired without concern that the device will be hacked into so that services can be acquired without charge.
In some embodiments, various types of service usage transactions are billed for on the intermediate networking device, to any of one or more users, in which the information required to bill for such services is not available to the central provider or MVNO network equipment, just as is the case with, for example, conventional single user devices. In view of the various embodiments and techniques described herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that similar service models are equally applicable not just to WWAN to WiFi intermediate networking devices, but also to the Femto Cell, remote access router, DOCSIS, DSL and other intermediate WWAN to WiFi networking devices.
FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, FIG. 1 includes a 4G/3G/2G wireless network operated by, for example, a central provider. As shown, various wireless devices 100 are in communication with base stations 125 for wireless network communication with the wireless network, and other devices 100 are in communication with Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) or Mesh 702 for wireless communication to Wi-Fi Access CPE 704 in communication with central provider access network 109. In some embodiments, each of the wireless devices 100 includes a service processor 115 (as shown), and each service processor connects through a secure control plane link to a service controller 122. In some embodiments, the network based service usage information (e.g., CDRs) is obtained from one or more network elements. As shown, an MVNO core network 210 also includes a CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118, a MVNO billing interface 122, and a MVNO billing system 123 (and other network elements as shown in FIG. 1).
As shown in FIG. 1, a CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (e.g., service usage 118, including a billing aggregation data store and rules engine) is a functional descriptor for, in some embodiments, a device/network level service usage information collection, aggregation, mediation, and reporting function located in one or more of the networking equipment components attached to one or more of the sub-networks shown in FIG. 1 (e.g., central provider access network 109 and/or central provider core network 110), which is in communication with the service controller 122, and a central billing interface 127. As shown in FIG. 1, service usage 118 is shown as a function in communication with the central provider core network 110. In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 function is located elsewhere in the network or partially located in elsewhere or integrated with as part of other network elements. In some embodiments, CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 functionality is located or partially located in the AAA server 121 and/or the mobile wireless center/Home Location Register(HLR) 132 (as shown, in communication with a DNS/DHCP server 126). In some embodiments, service usage 118 functionality is located or partially located in the base station, base station controller and/or base station aggregator, collectively referred to as base station 125 in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 functionality is located or partially located in a networking component in the central provider access network 109, a networking component in the core network 110, the central billing system 123, the central billing interface 127, and/or in another network component or function. This discussion on the possible locations for the network based and device based service usage information collection, aggregation, mediation, and reporting function (e.g., CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118) can be easily generalized as described herein and as shown in the other figures described herein by one of ordinary skill in the art. Also as shown in FIG. 1, the service controller 122 is in communication with the central billing interface 123 (also sometimes referred to as the external billing management interface or billing communication interface) 127, which is in communication with the central billing system 123. As shown, an order management 180 and subscriber management 182 are also in communication with the central provider core network 110 for facilitating order and subscriber management of services for the devices 100 in accordance with some embodiments.
In some embodiments, the rules engine is included in (e.g., integrated with/part of) the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118. In some embodiments, the rules engine and associated functions, as described herein, is a separate function/device. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 performs some or all of these rules engine based functions, as described herein, and communicates with the central billing interface 127. In some embodiments, the service controller 122 performs some or all of these rules engine based functions, as described herein, and communicates with the central billing system 123.
In some embodiments, the rules engine (e.g., performed by the service usage 118 or another network element, as described herein) provides a bill-by-account billing offset. For example, device generated usage information (e.g., charging data records (CDRs)) includes a transaction type field (e.g., indicating a type of service for the associated service usage information). The rules engine can apply a rule or a set of rules based on the identified service associated with the device generated usage information to determine a bill-by-account billing offset (e.g., a new CDR can be generated to provide the determined bill-by-account billing offset). In some examples, the determined bill-by-account billing offset can be provided as a credit to the user's service usage account (e.g., a new CDR can be generated with a negative offset for the user's service usage account, such as for network chatter service usage, or transactional service usage, or for any other purposes based on one or more rules performed by the rules engine).
In some embodiments, the service controller 122 is provisioned as a new type of networking function that is recognized as a valid and secure source for CDRs by the other necessary elements in the network (e.g., the Service Usage History/CDR Aggregation and Mediation Server 118). In some embodiments, in which the network apparatus typically only recognize CDRs from certain types of networking equipment (e.g., RAN Gateway 410 or Transport Gateway 420 (as shown in FIG. 3)), then the Service Controller 122 can provide authentication credentials to the other networking equipment that indicate it is one of the approved types of equipment (e.g., for purposes of generating/providing CDRs). In some embodiments, the link between the Service Controller 122 and the necessary CDR aggregation and mediation equipment is secured, authenticated, encrypted and/or signed.
In some embodiments, the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 discards the network based service usage information (e.g., network based CDRs) received from one or more network elements. In these embodiments, the service controller 122 can provide the device based service usage information (e.g., device based CDRs) to the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (e.g., the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 can just provide a store, aggregate, and communication function(s)), and the device based service usage information is provided to the central billing interface 127 or the central billing system 123.
In some embodiments, the device based CDRs and/or new CDRs generated based on execution of a rules engine as described herein is provided only for devices that are managed and/or based on device group, service plan, or any other criteria, categorization, and/or grouping.
FIG. 2 illustrates another wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2, some devices 100 are in communication with DOCSIS Head End 125 and some devices 100 are in communication with DSLAM 125, which are in communication with the central provider access network 109.
FIG. 3 illustrates another wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments. Referring now to the 4G/3G/2G access network as shown in FIG. 3, the 4G/3G and 3G/2G base stations/nodes 125 are in communication with a 4G/3G/2G Radio Access Network (RAN) gateway 410 via a radio access network 405, which are in communication with a 4G/3G/2G transport gateway 420 via an access transport network 415. The central provider core network 110 is in network communication with the access transport network 415 (e.g., via a dedicated/leased line, and as shown, via a firewall 124). The Internet 120 is available via a firewall 124 and the transport gateway(s) 420, as shown. Also, as shown, a network apparatus provisioning system 160, order management 180, and subscriber management 182 are in communication with the central provider core network 110. As shown, a AAA server 121, a mobile wireless center/Home Location Register(HLR) 132, a DNS/DHCP 126, and CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 are also in communication with the access transport network 415. The central billing system 123 and the central billing interface 127 are shown in communication with the central provider core network 110.
As shown, FIG. 3 includes a 4G/3G/2G wireless network operated by, for example, a central provider. In some embodiments, each of the wireless devices 100 includes a service processor 115 (as shown), and each service processor connects through a secure control plane link to a service controller 122. In some embodiments, the network based service usage information (e.g., network generated CDRs) is obtained from Radio Access Network (RAN) gateway(s) 410 and/or transport gateway(s) 420. In some embodiments, device based service usage information (e.g., device assisted CDRs) are generated by the service processor 115 and/or service controller 122 for some or all of the wireless devices 100 using similar techniques as described herein, and in some embodiments, such device based service usage information (e.g., device assisted CDRs) is sent to the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 (e.g., the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 can just provide a store, aggregate, and communication function(s)), and/or to the central billing interface 127 or the central billing system 123, as similarly described herein with respect to various embodiments.
FIG. 4 illustrates provisioning of a wireless network for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 4, the provisioning of various network equipment is provided as shown to recognize each other as an authorized source of CDRs (e.g., this can be done manually or in an automated manner). For example, order management 180, subscriber management, billing interface 127, billing system 123, network provisioning system 160, service controller 122, access network AAA server 121, mobile wireless center 132, and CDR storage, aggregation, mediation feed 118 communicate with each other for such provisioning, which can be implemented using various techniques. In some embodiments, the various network elements are provisioned to recognize device assisted CDRs being generated by the service controller 122, which, for example, can be provided to the billing interface 127 and/or the billing system 123. In some embodiments, network generated CDRs are provided by RAN/Access gateway 410, aggregation/transport gateway 425, and/or base station controller 125. In some embodiments, other network elements generate/receive/store device assisted CDRs.
In some embodiments, provisioning of various network equipment is provided to recognize a given device as belonging to a device group that supports a service usage and/or billing plan that relies upon and/or utilizes device assisted CDRs.
In some embodiments, the CDR formats, transaction codes, and CDR transmission destinations are programmed for each device that generates CDRs, including the service controller 122 (e.g., in some embodiments, the service controller 122 is the intermediary for CDRs) and/or service processor 115 (e.g., in some embodiments, the device sends CDRs to network CDR aggregation or billing interface 127/billing system 123 with no intermediate server function).
FIG. 5 illustrates a network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, network generated CDRs are sent from various network elements to the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 and the service controller 122, as shown in dashed lines with arrows in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, the network generated CDRs are used for verification of device assisted service (DAS) usage and/or billing information. In some embodiments, the network generated CDRs are provided to the service controller 122, and the service controller 122 implements aggregation and/or mediation rules to examine and, in some cases, aggregate and/or mediate network generated/based CDRs with device assisted/based CDRs.
In some embodiments, device assisted CDRs are sent from the service controller 122 to CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 and communicated to the billing system 123, as shown in solid lines with arrows in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 uses DAS service usage CDRs to augment network generated/based CDRs with bill-by-account transaction codes (e.g., as similarly described herein). In some embodiments, CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 implements aggregation and/or mediation rules to account for DAS CDR usage amount in a new bill-by-account transaction code and removes the same service usage amount from the bulk device account transaction code. In some embodiments, a first DAS CDR is sent for the new bill by account transaction code, and a second DAS CDR is sent to be used as a correction (credit) to the main device usage account transaction code, and CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 implements the rules to perform this mediation. In some embodiments, a first DAS CDR is used for a given bill-by-account transaction code, and a second DAS CDR is used as the main device account transaction code, in which the service controller 122 (or device) has already implemented the mediation rules so that CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 simply passes such DAS CDRs to billing after aggregating them.
FIG. 6 illustrates another network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 6 also shows the communication of device assisted CDRs and network generated CDRs using solid and dashed lines with arrows, respectively. As shown, in some embodiments, CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118 sends network based CDRs to service controller 122 for various purposes, such as those previously described herein.
In some embodiments, service controller 122 sends DAS CDRs to billing for various uses by the billing system 123. In some embodiments, the billing system 123 uses DAS service usage CDRs to augment network based CDRs with bill-by-account transaction codes. In some embodiments, the billing system 123 implements aggregation and/or mediation rules to account for DAS CDR usage amount in a new bill-by-account transaction code and removes the same service usage amount from the bulk device account transaction code. In some embodiments, a first DAS CDR is sent for the new bill by account transaction code, and a second DAS CDR is sent to be used as a correction (credit) to the main device usage account transaction code, and the billing system 123 implements the rules to perform this mediation. In some embodiments, a first DAS CDR is used for a given bill-by-account transaction code, and a second is used as the main device account transaction code, in which the service controller 122 (or device) has already implemented the mediation rules so that the billing system 123 simply passes such DAS CDRs after aggregating them.
FIG. 7 illustrates another network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 7 also shows the communication of device assisted CDRs and network generated CDRs using solid and dashed lines with arrows, respectively. FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 6, except as shown in FIG. 7, service usage information is passed through the billing interface 127 instead of the billing CDR aggregation interface. For example, the service usage detailed bill-by-account information and offset (credit) information can be formatted as a CDR or can be formatted in a higher level syntax as required by the billing interface 127.
FIG. 8 illustrates another network architecture for providing device assisted CDRs in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8 also shows the communication of device assisted CDRs and network generated CDRs using solid and dashed lines with arrows, respectively. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, the central provider need not modify the existing CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118, so the additional aggregation and mediation rules discussed above with respect to FIG. 5 are implemented as a new layer of rules in a new network function, shown as secondary DAS CDR aggregation mediation 118A, that is located between the billing system and the CDR storage, aggregation, mediation, feed 118. For example, this new network function (e.g., secondary DAS CDR aggregation mediation 118A) can reside in the network (as shown) or in the service processor 115, in the service controller 122, or elsewhere in the network or on the device.
FIG. 9 is a functional diagram illustrating a device based service processor 115 and a service controller 122 in accordance with some embodiments. For example, this provides relatively full featured device based service processor implementation and service controller implementation. As shown, this corresponds to a networking configuration in which the service controller 122 is connected to the Internet 120 and not directly to the access network 1610. As shown, a data plane (e.g., service traffic plane) communication path is shown in solid line connections and control plane (e.g., service control plane) communication path is shown in dashed line connections. As will be apparent, the division in functionality between one device agent and another is based on, for example, design choices, networking environments, devices and/or services/applications, and various different combinations can be used in various different implementations. For example, the functional lines can be re-drawn in any way that the product designers see fit. As shown, this includes certain divisions and functional breakouts for device agents as an illustrative implementation, although other, potentially more complex, embodiments can include different divisions and functional breakouts for device agent functionality specifications, for example, in order to manage development specification and testing complexity and workflow. In addition, the placement of the agents that operate, interact with or monitor the data path can be moved or re-ordered in various embodiments. For example, the functional elements shown in FIG. 9 are described below with respect to FIGS. 10 and 11.
As shown in FIG. 9, service processor 115 includes a service control device link 1691. For example, as device based service control techniques involving supervision across a network become more sophisticated, it becomes increasingly important to have an efficient and flexible control plane communication link between the device agents and the network elements communicating with, controlling, monitoring, or verifying service policy. In some embodiments, the service control device link 1691 provides the device side of a system for transmission and reception of service agent to/from network element functions. In some embodiments, the traffic efficiency of this link is enhanced by buffering and framing multiple agent messages in the transmissions. In some embodiments, the traffic efficiency is further improved by controlling the transmission frequency or linking the transmission frequency to the rate of service usage or traffic usage. In some embodiments, one or more levels of security or encryption are used to make the link robust to discovery, eavesdropping or compromise. In some embodiments, the service control device link 1691 also provides the communications link and heartbeat timing for the agent heartbeat function. As discussed below, various embodiments disclosed herein for the service control device link 1691 provide an efficient and secure solution for transmitting and receiving service policy implementation, control, monitoring and verification information with other network elements.
As shown in FIG. 9, the service controller 122 includes a service control server link 1638. In some embodiments, device based service control techniques involving supervision across a network (e.g., on the control plane) are more sophisticated, and for such it is increasingly important to have an efficient and flexible control plane communication link between the device agents (e.g., of the service processor 115) and the network elements (e.g., of the service controller 122) communicating with, controlling, monitoring, or verifying service policy. For example, the communication link between the service control server link 1638 of service controller 122 and the service control device link 1691 of the service processor 115 can provide an efficient and flexible control plane communication link, a service control link 1653 as shown in FIG. 9, and, in some embodiments, this control plane communication link provides for a secure (e.g., encrypted) communications link for providing secure, bidirectional communications between the service processor 115 and the service controller 122. In some embodiments, the service control server link 1638 provides the network side of a system for transmission and reception of service agent to/from network element functions. In some embodiments, the traffic efficiency of this link is enhanced by buffering and framing multiple agent messages in the transmissions (e.g., thereby reducing network chatter). In some embodiments, the traffic efficiency is further improved by controlling the transmission frequency and/or linking the transmission frequency to the rate of service usage or traffic usage. In some embodiments, one or more levels of security and/or encryption are used to secure the link against potential discovery, eavesdropping or compromise of communications on the link. In some embodiments, the service control server link 1638 also provides the communications link and heartbeat timing for the agent heartbeat function.
In some embodiments, the service control server link 1638 provides for securing, signing, encrypting and/or otherwise protecting the communications before sending such communications over the service control link 1653. For example, the service control server link 1638 can send to the transport layer or directly to the link layer for transmission. In another example, the service control server link 1638 further secures the communications with transport layer encryption, such as TCP TLS SSH version 1 or 2 or another secure transport layer protocol. As another example, the service control server link 1638 can encrypt at the link layer, such as using IPSEC, various possible VPN services, other forms of IP layer encryption and/or another link layer encryption technique.
As shown in FIG. 9, the service controller 122 includes an access control integrity server 1654. In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 collects device information on service policy, service usage, agent configuration and/or agent behavior. For example, the access control integrity server 1654 can cross check this information to identify integrity breaches in the service policy implementation and control system. In another example, the access control integrity server 1654 can initiate action when a service policy violation or a system integrity breach is suspected.
In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) acts on access control integrity agent 1694 reports and error conditions. Many of the access control integrity agent 1654 checks can be accomplished by the server. For example, the access control integrity agent 1654 checks include one or more of the following: service usage measure against usage range consistent with policies (e.g., usage measure from the network and/or from the device); configuration of agents; operation of the agents; and/or dynamic agent download.
In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) verifies device service policy implementations by comparing various service usage measures (e.g., based on network monitored information, such as by using IPDRs or CDRs, and/or local service usage monitoring information) against expected service usage behavior given the policies that are intended to be in place. For example, device service policy implementations can include measuring total data passed, data passed in a period of time, IP addresses, data per IP address, and/or other measures such as location, downloads, email accessed, URLs, and comparing such measures expected service usage behavior given the policies that are intended to be in place.
In some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) verifies device service policy, and the verification error conditions that can indicate a mismatch in service measure and service policy include one or more of the following: unauthorized network access (e.g., access beyond ambient service policy limits); unauthorized network speed (e.g., average speed beyond service policy limit); network data amount does not match policy limit (e.g., device not stop at limit without re-up/revising service policy); unauthorized network address; unauthorized service usage (e.g., VOIP, email, and/or web browsing); unauthorized application usage (e.g., email, VOIP, email, and/or web); service usage rate too high for plan, and policy controller not controlling/throttling it down; and/or any other mismatch in service measure and service policy. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the access control integrity server 1654 (and/or some other agent of service controller 122) provides a policy/service control integrity service to continually (e.g., periodically and/or based on trigger events) verify that the service control of the device has not been compromised and/or is not behaving out of policy.
As shown in FIG. 9, service controller 122 includes a service history server 1650. In some embodiments, the service history server 1650 collects and records service usage or service activity reports from the Access Network AAA Server 1621 and the Service Monitor Agent 1696. For example, although service usage history from the network elements can in certain embodiments be less detailed than service history from the device, the service history from the network can provide a valuable source for verification of device service policy implementation, because, for example, it is extremely difficult for a device error or compromise event on the device to compromise the network based equipment and software. For example, service history reports from the device can include various service tracking information, as similarly described above. In some embodiments, the service history server 1650 provides the service history on request to other servers and/or one or more agents. In some embodiments, the service history server 1650 provides the service usage history to the device service history 1618. In some embodiments, for purposes of facilitating the activation tracking service functions (described below), the service history server 1650 maintains a history of which networks the device has connected to. For example, this network activity summary can include a summary of the networks accessed, activity versus time per connection, and/or traffic versus time per connection. As another example, this activity summary can further be analyzed or reported to estimate the type of service plan associated with the traffic activity for the purpose of bill sharing reconciliation.
As shown in FIG. 9, service controller 122 includes a policy management server 1652. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 transmits policies to the service processor 115 via the service control link 1653. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 manages policy settings on the device (e.g., various policy settings as described herein with respect to various embodiments) in accordance with a device service profile. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 sets instantaneous policies on policy implementation agents (e.g., policy implementation agent 1690). For example, the policy management server 1652 can issue policy settings, monitor service usage and, if necessary, modify policy settings. For example, in the case of a user who prefers for the network to manage their service usage costs, or in the case of any adaptive policy management needs, the policy management server 1652 can maintain a relatively high frequency of communication with the device to collect traffic and/or service measures and issue new policy settings. In this example, device monitored service measures and any user service policy preference changes are reported, periodically and/or based on various triggers/events/requests, to the policy management server 1652. In this example, user privacy settings generally require secure communication with the network (e.g., a secure service control link 1653), such as with the policy management server 1652, to ensure that various aspects of user privacy are properly maintained during such configuration requests/policy settings transmitted over the network. For example, information can be compartmentalized to service policy management and not communicated to other databases used for CRM for maintaining user privacy.
In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 provides adaptive policy management on the device. For example, the policy management server 1652 can issue policy settings and objectives and rely on the device based policy management (e.g., service processor 115) for some or all of the policy adaptation. This approach can require less interaction with the device thereby reducing network chatter on service control link 1653 for purposes of device policy management (e.g., network chatter is reduced relative to various server/network based policy management approaches described above). This approach can also provide robust user privacy embodiments by allowing the user to configure the device policy for user privacy preferences/settings so that, for example, sensitive information (e.g., geo-location data, website history) is not communicated to the network without the user's approval. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 adjusts service policy based on time of day. In some embodiments, the policy management server 1652 receives, requests or otherwise obtains a measure of network availability and adjusts traffic shaping policy and/or other policy settings based on available network capacity.
As shown in FIG. 9, service controller 122 includes a network traffic analysis server 1656. In some embodiments, the network traffic analysis server 1656 collects/receives service usage history for devices and/or groups of devices and analyzes the service usage. In some embodiments, the network traffic analysis server 1656 presents service usage statistics in various formats to identify improvements in network service quality and/or service profitability. In other embodiments, the network traffic analysis server 1656 estimates the service quality and/or service usage for the network under variable settings on potential service policy. In other embodiments, the network traffic analysis server 1656 identifies actual or potential service behaviors by one or more devices that are causing problems for overall network service quality or service cost.
As shown in FIG. 9, service controller 122 includes a beta test server 1658. In some embodiments, the beta test server 1658 publishes candidate service plan policy settings to one or more devices. In some embodiments, the beta test server 1658 provides summary reports of network service usage or user feedback information for one or more candidate service plan policy settings. In some embodiments, the beta test server 1658 provides a mechanism to compare the beta test results for different candidate service plan policy settings or select the optimum candidates for further policy settings optimization.
As shown in FIG. 9, service controller 122 includes a service download control server 1660. In some embodiments, the service download control server 1660 provides a download function to install and/or update service software elements (e.g., the service processor 115 and/or agents/components of the service processor 115) on the device, as described herein.
As shown in FIG. 9 service controller 122 includes a billing event server 1662. In some embodiments, the billing event server 1662 collects billing events, provides service plan information to the service processor 115, provides service usage updates to the service processor 115, serves as interface between device and central billing server 1619, and/or provides trusted third party function for certain ecommerce billing transactions.
As shown in FIG. 9, the Access Network AAA server 1621 is in network communication with the access network 1610. In some embodiments, the Access Network AAA server 1621 provides the necessary access network AAA services (e.g., access control and authorization functions for the device access layer) to allow the devices onto the central provider access network and the service provider network. In some embodiments, another layer of access control is required for the device to gain access to other networks, such as the Internet, a corporate network and/or a machine to machine network. This additional layer of access control can be implemented, for example, by the service processor 115 on the device. In some embodiments, the Access Network AAA server 1621 also provides the ability to suspend service for a device and resume service for a device based on communications received from the service controller 122. In some embodiments, the Access Network AAA server 1621 also provides the ability to direct routing for device traffic to a quarantine network or to restrict or limit network access when a device quarantine condition is invoked. In some embodiments, the Access Network AAA server 1621 also records and reports device network service usage (e.g., device network service usage can be reported to device service history 1618).
As shown in FIG. 9, the device service history 1618 is in network communication with the access network 1610. In some embodiments, the device service history 1618 provides service usage data records used for various purposes in various embodiments. In some embodiments, the device service history 1618 is used to assist in verifying service policy implementation. In some embodiments, the device service history 1618 is used to verify service monitoring. In some embodiments, the device service history 1618 is used to verify billing records and/or billing policy implementation. In some embodiments, the device service history 1618 is used to synchronize and/or verify the local service usage counter.
As shown in FIG. 9, the central provider billing server 1619 is in network communication with the access network 1610. In some embodiments, the central provider billing server 1619 provides a mediation function for central provider billing events. For example, the central provider billing server 1619 can accept service plan changes. In some embodiments, the central provider billing server 1619 provides updates on device service usage, service plan limits and/or service policies. In some embodiments, the central provider billing server 1619 collects billing events, formulates bills, bills service users, provides certain billing event data and service plan information to the service controller 122 and/or device 100.
As shown in FIG. 9, in some embodiments, modem selection and control 1811 selects the access network connection and is in communication with the modem firewall 1655, and modem drivers 1831, 1815, 1814, 1813, 1812 convert data traffic into modem bus traffic for one or more modems and are in communication with the modem selection and control 1811. In some embodiments, different profiles are selected based on the selected network connection (e.g., different service profiles/policies for WWAN, WLAN, WPAN, Ethernet and/or DSL network connections), which is also referred to herein as multimode profile setting. For example, service profile settings can be based on the actual access network (e.g., home DSL/cable or work network) behind the Wi-Fi not the fact that it is Wi-Fi (or any other network, such as DSL/cable, satellite, or T-1), which is viewed as different than accessing a Wi-Fi network at the coffee shop. For example, in a Wi-Fi hotspot situation in which there are a significant number of users on a DSL or T-1 backhaul, the service controller can sit in a service provider cloud or an MVNO cloud, the service controls can be provided by a VSP capability offered by the service provider or the service controller can be owned by the hotspot service provider that uses the service controller on their own without any association with an access network service provider. For example, the service processors can be controlled by the service controller to divide up the available bandwidth at the hotspot according to QoS or user sharing rules (e.g., with some users having higher differentiated priority (potentially for higher service payments) than other users). As another example, ambient services (as similarly described herein) can be provided for the hotspot for verified service processors.
In some embodiments, the service processor 115 and service controller 122 are capable of assigning multiple service profiles associated with multiple service plans that the user chooses individually or in combination as a package. For example, a device 100 starts with ambient services that include free transaction services wherein the user pays for transactions or events rather than the basic service (e.g., a news service, eReader, PND service, pay as you go session Internet) in which each service is supported with a bill by account capability to correctly account for any subsidized partner billing to provide the transaction services (e.g., Barnes and Noble may pay for the eReader service and offer a revenue share to the service provider for any book or magazine transactions purchased from the device 100). In some embodiments, the bill by account service can also track the transactions and, in some embodiments, advertisements for the purpose of revenue sharing, all using the service monitoring capabilities disclosed herein. After initiating services with the free ambient service discussed above, the user may later choose a post-pay monthly Internet, email and SMS service. In this case, the service controller 122 would obtain from the billing system 123 in the case of network based billing (or in some embodiments the service controller 122 billing event server 1622 in the case of device based billing) the billing plan code for the new Internet, email and SMS service. In some embodiments, this code is cross referenced in a database (e.g., the policy management server 1652) to find the appropriate service profile for the new service in combination with the initial ambient service. The new superset service profile is then applied so that the user maintains free access to the ambient services, and the billing partners continue to subsidize those services, the user also gets access to Internet services and may choose the service control profile (e.g., from one of the embodiments disclosed herein). The superset profile is the profile that provides the combined capabilities of two or more service profiles when the profiles are applied to the same device 100 service processor. In some embodiments, the device 100 (service processor 115) can determine the superset profile rather than the service controller 122 when more than one “stackable” service is selected by the user or otherwise applied to the device. The flexibility of the service processor 115 and service controller 122 embodiments described herein allow for a large variety of service profiles to be defined and applied individually or as a superset to achieve the desired device 100 service features.
As shown in FIG. 9, an agent communication bus 1630 represents a functional description for providing communication for the various service processor 115 agents and functions. In some embodiments, as represented in the functional diagram illustrated in FIG. 9, the architecture of the bus is generally multipoint to multipoint so that any agent can communicate with any other agent, the service controller or in some cases other components of the device, such user interface 1697 and/or modem components. As described below, the architecture can also be point to point for certain agents or communication transactions, or point to multipoint within the agent framework so that all agent communication can be concentrated, or secured, or controlled, or restricted, or logged or reported. In some embodiments, the agent communication bus is secured, signed, encrypted, hidden, partitioned and/or otherwise protected from unauthorized monitoring or usage. In some embodiments, an application interface agent (not shown) is used to literally tag or virtually tag application layer traffic so that the policy implementation agent(s) 1690 has the necessary information to implement selected traffic shaping solutions. In some embodiments, an application interface agent (not shown) is in communication with various applications, including a TCP application 1604, an IP application 1605, and a voice application 1602.
In some embodiments, all or a portion of the service processor 115 functions disclosed herein are implemented in software. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the service processor 115 functions are implemented in hardware. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the service processor 115 functionality (as discussed herein) is implemented and stored in software that can be performed on (e.g., executed by) various components in device 100. In some embodiments, it is advantageous to store or implement certain portions or all of service processor 115 in protected or secure memory so that other undesired programs (and/or unauthorized users) have difficulty accessing the functions or software in service processor 115. In some embodiments, service processor 115, at least in part, is implemented in and/or stored on secure non-volatile memory (e.g., non volatile memory can be secure non-volatile memory) that is not accessible without pass keys and/or other security mechanisms. In some embodiments, the ability to load at least a portion of service processor 115 software into protected non-volatile memory also requires a secure key and/or signature and/or requires that the service processor 115 software components being loaded into non-volatile memory are also securely encrypted and appropriately signed by an authority that is trusted by a secure software downloader function, such as service downloader 1663 as shown in FIG. 16. In some embodiments, a secure software download embodiment also uses a secure non-volatile memory. Those of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that all memory can be on-chip, off-chip, on-board and/or off-board.
FIG. 10 provides a table summarizing various service processer 115 functional elements in accordance with some embodiments. Many of these agents are similarly described above, and the table shown in FIG. 10 is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of these agents, nor an exhaustive description of all functions that the agents perform or are described herein, but rather FIG. 10 is provided as a summary aid in understanding the basic functions of each agent in accordance with some embodiments and how the agents interact with one another, with the service controller server elements, and/or with other network functions in certain embodiments to form a reliable device based service delivery solution and/or platform.
FIG. 11 provides a table summarizing various service controller 122 functional elements in accordance with some embodiments. Many of these agents/elements are similarly described above, and the table shown in FIG. 11 is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of these server elements, nor an exhaustive description of all functions that the elements perform or are described herein, but rather FIG. 11 is provided as a summary aid in understanding the basic functions of each element in accordance with some embodiments and how the elements interact with one another, certain network elements, and/or the service processor agents in certain embodiments to form a reliable device based service delivery solution and/or platform.
FIG. 12 illustrates a device stack providing various service usage measurement from various points in the networking stack for a service monitor agent, a billing agent, and an access control integrity agent to assist in verifying the service usage measures and billing reports in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 12, several service agents take part in data path operations to achieve various data path improvements, and, for example, several other service agents can manage the policy settings for the data path service, implement billing for the data path service, manage one or more modem selection and settings for access network connection, interface with the user and/or provide service policy implementation verification. Additionally, in some embodiments, several agents perform functions to assist in verifying that the service control or monitoring policies intended to be in place are properly implemented, the service control or monitoring policies are being properly adhered to, that the service processor or one or more service agents are operating properly, to prevent unintended errors in policy implementation or control, and/or to prevent tampering with the service policies or control. As shown, the service measurement points labeled I through VI represent various service measurement points for service monitor agent 1696 and/or other agents to perform various service monitoring activities. Each of these measurement points can have a useful purpose in various embodiments described herein. For example, each of the traffic measurement points that is employed in a given design can be used by a monitoring agent to track application layer traffic through the communication stack to assist policy implementation functions, such as the policy implementation agent 1690, or in some embodiments the modem firewall agent 1655 or the application interface agent, in making a determination regarding the traffic parameters or type once the traffic is farther down in the communication stack where it is sometimes difficult or impossible to make a complete determination of traffic parameters. The particular locations for the measurement points provided in these figures are intended as instructional examples, and other measurement points can be used for different embodiments, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the embodiments described herein. Generally, in some embodiments, one or more measurement points within the device can be used to assist in service control verification and/or device or service troubleshooting.
In some embodiments, the service monitor agent and/or other agents implement virtual traffic tagging by tracking or tracing packet flows through the various communication stack formatting, processing and encryption steps, and providing the virtual tag information to the various agents that monitor, control, shape, throttle or otherwise observe, manipulate or modify the traffic. This tagging approach is referred to herein as virtual tagging, because there is not a literal data flow, traffic flow or packet tag that is attached to flows or packets, and the book-keeping to tag the packet is done through tracking or tracing the flow or packet through the stack instead. In some embodiments, the application interface and/or other agents identify a traffic flow, associate it with a service usage activity and cause a literal tag to be attached to the traffic or packets associated with the activity. This tagging approach is referred to herein as literal tagging. There are various advantages with both the virtual tagging and the literal tagging approaches. For example, it can be preferable in some embodiments to reduce the inter-agent communication required to track or trace a packet through the stack processing by assigning a literal tag so that each flow or packet has its own activity association embedded in the data. As another example, it can be preferable in some embodiments to re-use portions of standard communication stack software or components, enhancing the verifiable traffic control or service control capabilities of the standard stack by inserting additional processing steps associated with the various service agents and monitoring points rather than re-writing the entire stack to correctly process literal tagging information, and in such cases, a virtual tagging scheme may be desired. As yet another example, some standard communication stacks provide for unused, unspecified or otherwise available bit fields in a packet frame or flow, and these unused, unspecified or otherwise available bit fields can be used to literally tag traffic without the need to re-write all of the standard communication stack software, with only the portions of the stack that are added to enhance the verifiable traffic control or service control capabilities of the standard stack needing to decode and use the literal tagging information encapsulated in the available bit fields. In the case of literal tagging, in some embodiments, the tags are removed prior to passing the packets or flows to the network or to the applications utilizing the stack. In some embodiments, the manner in which the virtual or literal tagging is implemented can be developed into a communication standard specification so that various device or service product developers can independently develop the communication stack and/or service processor hardware and/or software in a manner that is compatible with the service controller specifications and the products of other device or service product developers.
It will be appreciated that although the implementation/use of any or all of the measurement points illustrated in FIG. 12 is not required to have an effective implementation, such as was similarly shown with respect to various embodiments described herein, various embodiments can benefit from these and/or similar measurement points. It will also be appreciated that the exact measurement points can be moved to different locations in the traffic processing stack, just as the various embodiments described herein can have the agents affecting policy implementation moved to different points in the traffic processing stack while still maintaining effective operation. In some embodiments, one or more measurement points are provided deeper in the modem stack where, for example, it is more difficult to circumvent and can be more difficult to access for tampering purposes if the modem is designed with the proper software and/or hardware security to protect the integrity of the modem stack and measurement point(s).
Referring to FIG. 12, describing the device communications stack from the bottom to the top of the stack as shown, the device communications stack provides a communication layer for each of the modems of the device at the bottom of the device communications stack. Example measurement point VI resides within or just above the modem driver layer. For example, the modem driver performs modem bus communications, data protocol translations, modem control and configuration to interface the networking stack traffic to the modem. As shown, measurement point VI is common to all modem drivers and modems, and it is advantageous for certain embodiments to differentiate the traffic or service activity taking place through one modem from that of one or more of the other modems. In some embodiments, measurement point VI, or another measurement point, is located over, within or below one or more of the individual modem drivers. The respective modem buses for each modem reside between example measurement points V and VI. In the next higher layer, a modem selection & control layer for multimode device based communication is provided. In some embodiments, this layer is controlled by a network decision policy that selects the most desirable network modem for some or all of the data traffic, and when the most desirable network is not available the policy reverts to the next most desirable network until a connection is established provided that one of the networks is available. In some embodiments, certain network traffic, such as verification, control, redundant or secure traffic, is routed to one of the networks even when some or all of the data traffic is routed to another network. This dual routing capability provides for a variety of enhanced security, enhanced reliability or enhanced manageability devices, services or applications. In the next higher layer, a modem firewall is provided. For example, the modem firewall provides for traditional firewall functions, but unlike traditional firewalls, in order to rely on the firewall for verifiable service usage control, such as access control and security protection from unwanted networking traffic or applications, the various service verification techniques and agents described herein are added to the firewall function to verify compliance with service policy and prevent tampering of the service controls. In some embodiments, the modem firewall is implemented farther up the stack, possibly in combination with other layers as indicated in other Figures. In some embodiments, a dedicated firewall function or layer is provided that is independent of the other processing layers, such as the policy implementation layer, the packet forwarding layer and/or the application layer. In some embodiments, the modem firewall is implemented farther down the stack, such as within the modem drivers, below the modem drivers, or in the modem itself. Example measurement point IV resides between the modem firewall layer and an IP queuing and routing layer. As shown, an IP queuing and routing layer is separate from the policy implementation layer where the policy implementation agent implements a portion of the traffic control and/or service usage control policies. As described herein, in some embodiments, these functions are separated so that a standard network stack function can be used for IP queuing and routing, and the modifications necessary to implement the policy implementation agent functions can be provided in a new layer inserted into the standard stack. In some embodiments, the IP queuing and routing layer is combined with the traffic or service usage control layer. For example, a combined routing and policy implementation layer embodiment can also be used with the other embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 12. Measurement point III resides between the IP queuing and routing layer and a policy implementation agent layer. Measurement point II resides between the policy implementation agent layer and the transport layer, including TCP, UDP, and other IP as shown. The session layer resides above the transport layer, which is shown as a socket assignment and session management (e.g., basic TCP setup, TLS/SSL) layer. The network services API (e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP3, DNS) resides above the session layer. Measurement point I resides between the network services API layer and an application layer, shown as application service interface agent in the device communications stack of FIG. 12.
As shown in FIG. 12, the application service interface layer is above the standard networking stack API and, in some embodiments, its function is to monitor and in some cases intercept and process the traffic between the applications and the standard networking stack API. In some embodiments, the application service interface layer identifies application traffic flows before the application traffic flows are more difficult or practically impossible to identify farther down in the stack. In some embodiments, the application service interface layer in this way assists application layer tagging in both the virtual and literal tagging cases. In the case of upstream traffic, the application layer tagging is straight forward, because the traffic originates at the application layer. In some downstream embodiments, where the traffic or service activity classification relies on traffic attributes that are readily obtainable, such as source address or URL, application socket address, IP destination address, time of day or any other readily obtained parameter, the traffic type can be identified and tagged for processing by the firewall agent or another agent as it initially arrives. In other embodiments, as described herein, in the downstream case, the solution is generally more sophisticated when a traffic parameter that is needed to classify the manner in which the traffic flow is to be controlled or throttled is not readily available at the lower levels of the stack, such as association with an aspect of an application, type of content, something contained within TLS, IPSEC or other secure format, or other information associated with the traffic. Accordingly, in some embodiments the networking stack identifies the traffic flow before it is fully characterized, categorized or associated with a service activity, and then passes the traffic through to the application interface layer where the final classification is completed. In such embodiments, the application interface layer then communicates the traffic flow ID with the proper classification so that after an initial short traffic burst or time period the policy implementation agents can properly control the traffic. In some embodiments, there is also a policy for tagging and setting service control policies for traffic that cannot be fully identified with all sources of tagging including application layer tagging.
As shown in FIG. 12, a service monitor agent, which is also in communication with the agent communication bus 1630, communicates with various layers of the device communications stack. For example, the service monitor agent, performs monitoring at each of measurement points I through VI, receiving information including application information, service usage and other service related information, and assignment information. An access control integrity agent is in communication with the service monitor agent via the agent communications bus 1630, as also shown.
FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment similar to FIG. 12 in which some of the service processor is implemented on the modem and some of the service processor is implemented on the device application processor in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, a portion of the service processor is implemented on the modem (e.g., on modem module hardware or modem chipset) and a portion of the service processor is implemented on the device application processor subsystem. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that variations of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 13 are possible where more or less of the service processor functionality is moved onto the modem subsystem or onto the device application processor subsystem. For example, such embodiments similar to that depicted in FIG. 13 can be motivated by the advantages of including some or all of the service processor network communication stack processing and/or some or all of the other service agent functions on the modem subsystem (e.g., and such an approach can be applied to one or more modems). For example, the service processor can be distributed as a standard feature set contained in a modem chipset hardware of software package or modem module hardware or software package, and such a configuration can provide for easier adoption or development by device OEMs, a higher level of differentiation for the chipset or modem module manufacturer, higher levels of performance or service usage control implementation integrity or security, specification or interoperability standardization, and/or other benefits.
Referring to FIG. 13, describing the device communications stack from the bottom to the top of the stack as shown, the device communications stack provides a communication layer for modem MAC/PHY layer at the bottom of the device communications stack. Measurement point IV resides above the modem MAC/PHY layer. The modem firewall layer resides between measurement points IV and III. In the next higher layer, the policy implementation agent is provided, in which the policy implementation agent is implemented on the modem (e.g., on modem hardware). Measurement point II resides between the policy implementation agent and the modem driver layer, which is then shown below a modem bus layer. The next higher layer is shown as the IP queuing and routing layer, followed by the transport layer, including TCP, UDP, and other IP as shown. The session layer resides above the transport layer, which is shown as a socket assignment and session management (e.g., basic TCP setup, TLS/SSL) layer. The network services API (e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP3, DNS) resides above the session layer. Measurement point I resides between the network services API layer and an application layer, shown as application service interface agent in the device communications stack of FIG. 13.
FIG. 14 illustrates various embodiments of intermediate networking devices that include a service processor for the purpose of verifiable service usage measurement, reporting, and billing reports in accordance with some embodiments. For example, FIGS. 14(A) through 14(E) illustrate various extended modem alternatives for access network connection through an intermediate modem or networking device combination that has a connection (e.g., LAN connection) to one or more devices 100.
In some embodiments, device 100 includes a 3G and/or 4G network access connection in combination with the Wi-Fi LAN connection to the device 100. For example, the intermediate device or networking device combination can be a device that simply translates the Wi-Fi data to the WWAN access network without implementing any portion of the service processor 115 as shown in FIG. 14(A). In some embodiments, an intermediate device or networking device combination includes a more sophisticated implementation including a networking stack and some embodiments a processor, as is the case for example if the intermediate networking device or networking device combination includes a router function, in which case the service processor 115 can be implemented in part or entirely on the intermediate modem or networking device combination. The intermediate modem or networking device combination can also be a multi-user device in which more than one user is gaining access to the 3G or 4G access network via the Wi-Fi LAN connection. In the case of such a multi-user network, the access network connection can include several managed service links using multiple instantiations of service processor 115, each instantiation, for example, being implemented in whole or in part on device 100 with the intermediate modem or networking device combination only providing the translation services from the Wi-Fi LAN to the WWAN access network.
Referring now to FIGS. 14(B)-(D), in some embodiments, the service processors 115 are implemented in part or in whole on the intermediate modem or networking device combination. In the case where the service processor 115 is implemented in part or in whole on the intermediate modem or networking device combination, the service processor 115 can be implemented for each device or each user in the network so that there are multiple managed service provider accounts all gaining access through the same intermediate modem or networking device combination. In some embodiments, the functions of service processor 115 are implemented on an aggregate account that includes the WWAN access network traffic for all of the users or devices connected to the Wi-Fi LAN serviced by the intermediate modem or networking device combination. In some embodiments, the central provider can also provide an aggregated account service plan, such as a family plan, a corporate user group plan and/or an instant hotspot plan. In the case where there is one account for the intermediate modem or networking device combination, the intermediate modem or networking device combination can implement a local division of services to one or more devices 100 or users in which the services are controlled or managed by the intermediate modem or networking device combination or the device 100, but the management is not subject to service provider control and is auxiliary to the service management or service policy implementation performed by service processors 115. In some embodiments, another service model can also be supported in which there is an aggregate service provider plan associated with one intermediate modem or networking device combination, or a group of intermediate modems or networking device combinations but where each user or device still has its own service plan that is a sub-plan under the aggregate plan so that each user or device has independent service policy implementation with a unique instantiation of service processor 115 rather than aggregate service policy implementation across multiple users in the group with a single instantiation of service processor 115.
As shown in FIG. 14(B), in some embodiments, device 100 includes a Wi-Fi modem, a Wi-Fi modem combined with a 3G and/or 4G WWAN modem on intermediate modem or networking device combination 1510, and the intermediate modem or networking device combination forwards WWAN access network traffic to and from device 100 via the Wi-Fi link. For example, the service processor 115 can be implemented in its entirety on device 100 and the service provider account can be associated exclusively with one device. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 14(C), such an implementation can be provided using a different access modem and access network, such as a 2G and/or 3G WWAN, DSL wire line, cable DOCSIS wire line or fiber wire line configuration in place of the 3G and/or 4G access network connection to the intermediate modem or networking device combination 1510. In addition, various other embodiments similarly use DSL as shown in FIGS. 14(D), USB, Ethernet, Bluetooth, or another LAN or point to point connection from device 100 to the intermediate modem or networking device combination 1510, or a femto cell modem and DSL/cable/T1/other combination as shown in FIG. 14(E).
FIG. 15 illustrates a wireless network architecture for providing device assisted CDR creation, aggregation, mediation and billing including a proxy server(s) 270 in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, FIG. 2 includes a proxy server(s) 270 in communication with a 4G/3G/2G wireless network operated by, for example, a central provider. For example, the proxy server(s) 270 can be used to implement and/or assist in providing various techniques described herein, such as service usage measurement and/or other techniques as described herein.
As another example showing how multiple types of network generated service usage accounting records may be used to complement each other and strengthen the verification of service charging bucket accounting partitions, interim data records can be used with FDRs. Interim data records are available in accordance with some embodiments, in which the interim data records are generated on a regularly scheduled basis by a network element (e.g., gateway, base station, HLR, AAA, and/or other network element/function). Interim data records are typically near real time records that report the aggregate traffic usage for the device as of a point in time, but often do not include traffic address information or other traffic details. In embodiments in which both interim accounting records and FDRs are available, when the interim accounting records are indicating service usage that is not being reported in the FDR stream this is evidence that a device has one or more long term socket connections that are open and are not terminating. In this case, the service controller can verify that the device based usage reports are properly accounting for the total amount of service usage reported by the interim accounting records, and/or the service controller can force an FDR report for the open sockets by issuing a stop-resume service command as similarly discussed above.
In some embodiments, the service charging bucket recording software in the proxy server/router can be programmed into an ambient service partners network equipment directly thus eliminating the need for special apparatus. The ambient service partner's equipment (e.g., a web server, load balancer or router) can recognize the device using one of the techniques described above, aggregate the device service charging bucket accounting, and periodically send the usage accounting to the service controller or other network service usage mediation function.
Programming and/or provisioning the types of ambient services, user service plan services and/or specialized services disclosed in various embodiments described herein can be a complex process. In some embodiments, a simplified user programming interface, also referred to herein as a service design interface, is used to program the necessary policy settings for such services is desirable. For example, a service design interface is provided that organizes and/or categorizes the various policy settings that are required to set up an ambient service (e.g., or other service) including one or more of the following: a policy list of service activities that are allowed under the ambient service (e.g., or other service), access control policies, rules for implementing and/or adapting an allowed list of network destinations, rules for implementing and/or adapting a blocked list of network destinations, service charging bucket policies, user notification policies, service control, and/or service charging bucket verification policies, actions to be taken upon verification errors. In some embodiments, the required information for one or more of these policy sets is formatted into a UI that organizes and simplifies the programming of the policies. In some embodiments, the UI is partly graphical to help the user understand the information and what settings need to be defined in order to define the service. In some embodiments, the UI is created with an XML interface. In some embodiments, the UI is offered via a secure web connection. In some embodiments, a basic service policy for an ambient service (e.g., or another service) is created that includes one or more of the above service policy settings, and then this service policy set becomes a list or an object that can be replicated and used in multiple service plan policy set definitions (e.g., “dragged and dropped” in a graphical UI). In some embodiments, the resulting set of policies created in this service design interface are then distributed to the necessary policy control elements in the network and/or on the device that act in coordination to implement the service policy set for a given device group. For example, if a service processor is used in conjunction with a service controller, then the service design interface can load the service policy settings subsets that need to be programmed on the service controller and the device service processor into the service controller, and the service controller loads the service controller policy settings subset into the service controller components that control the policies and loads the device policy settings subset to the devices that belong to that device group. In embodiments in which a proxy server/router is used to help control and account for services, in some embodiments, the service design interface loads the service policy settings subsets that need to be programmed on the proxy server/router into the proxy server/router. In embodiments where other network equipment (e.g., gateways, base stations, service usage recording/aggregation/feed equipment, AAA, home agent/HLR, mediation system, and/or billing system) need to be provisioned or programmed, in some embodiments, the service design interface also loads the appropriate device group policy subsets to each of the equipment elements. Accordingly, various techniques can be used as described herein to greatly simplify the complex task of translating a service policy set or service plan into all the myriad equipment and/or device settings, programming, and/or provisioning commands required to correctly implement the service. It will now be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that several of these techniques can similarly be used for the VSP service design interface.
a processor of a network device in communication with a wireless network, wherein the processor is configured to: collect device generated service usage information for one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and provide the device generated service usage information in a syntax and a communication protocol that can be used by other network devices to augment or replace network generated service usage information for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and
2. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR).
3. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the service usage information includes network service usage information.
4. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the network device includes a service usage data store.
5. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the network device includes a service usage data store and a rules engine for aggregating the collected device generated service usage information.
6. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
aggregate device assisted CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and
apply a set of rules to the aggregated CDRs using a rules engine.
7. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
aggregate device assisted CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network;
apply a set of rules to the aggregated device assisted CDRs using a rules engine; and
communicate a new set of CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network to a billing interface or a billing system.
8. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
verify the aggregated device assisted CDRs; and
9. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
verify the aggregated device assisted CDRs by comparing at least a subset of the aggregated device assisted CDRs to a set of network generated CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and
communicate a new set of CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network to a billing interface or a billing system based on the verifying of the aggregated device assisted CDRs.
10. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
apply a set of rules to the aggregated CDRs using a rules engine, wherein at least one rule includes a bill by account rule; and
11. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
apply a set of rules to the aggregated device assisted CDRs using a rules engine, wherein at least one rule includes a bill by account rule; and
communicate a new set of CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network to a billing interface or a billing system, wherein at least one CDR includes a billing offset.
12. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and the network device is a CDR feed aggregator, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
communicate with a service controller to collect the device generated service usage information for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network.
communicate with a service controller, wherein the service controller is in communication with a billing interface or a billing system, and wherein the service controller communicates the device generated service usage information to the network device.
communicate the device generated service usage information to a billing interface or a billing system.
16. The system recited in claim 1, wherein a service controller in communication with the network device performs a rules engine for aggregating and mediating the device generated service usage information.
17. The system recited in claim 1, wherein a rules engine device in communication with the network device performs a rules engine for aggregating and mediating the device generated service usage information.
communicate with a transport gateway or a Radio Access Network (RAN) gateway to collect the network generated service usage information for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network.
execute rules for performing a bill by account aggregation and mediation function.
a processor of an intermediate network device in communication with a wireless network, wherein the processor is configured to: collect device generated service usage information for one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network via the intermediate network device; and provide the device generated service usage information in a syntax and a communication protocol that can be used by other network devices to augment or replace network generated service usage information for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and
21. The system recited in claim 20, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR), and wherein the processor is further configured to:
send device assisted CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network, wherein the device assisted CDRs include a transaction code for associating a user or the intermediate networking device with the service usage information.
a processor of a communications device in communication with a wireless network, wherein the processor is configured to: generate device service usage information for the communications device based at least in part on a device service usage activity map, wherein the device service usage activity map includes a categorization of device service usage activities based on one or more of the following categories: by URL, by network domain, by website, by network traffic type, and by application or application type; and send to a service controller the device generated service usage information in a syntax and a communication protocol that can be used to augment or replace network generated service usage information for the communications device; and
collecting device generated service usage information for one or more devices in wireless communication on a wireless network; and
providing the device generated service usage information in a syntax and a communication protocol that can be used by other network devices to augment or replace network generated service usage information for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network.
24. The method recited in claim 23, wherein the syntax is a charging data record (CDR).
25. The method recited in claim 23, further comprising:
aggregating device assisted charging data records (CDRs) for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network;
verifying the aggregated device assisted CDRs by comparing at least a subset of the aggregated device assisted CDRs to a set of network generated CDRs for the one or more devices in wireless communication on the wireless network; and
communicating a new set of CDRs for the one or more devices on the wireless network to a billing interface or a billing system based on the verifying of the aggregated device assisted CDRs.
6263055 July 17, 2001 Garland et al.
6317584 November 13, 2001 Abu-Amara et al.
6449479 September 10, 2002 Sanchez
6532235 March 11, 2003 Benson et al.
6532579 March 11, 2003 Sato et al.
6539082 March 25, 2003 Lowe et al.
6574321 June 3, 2003 Cox et al.
6574465 June 3, 2003 Marsh et al.
6725031 April 20, 2004 Watler et al.
6785889 August 31, 2004 Williams
6829596 December 7, 2004 Frazee
6829696 December 7, 2004 Balmer et al.
6996076 February 7, 2006 Forbes et al.
6998985 February 14, 2006 Reisman et al.
7027408 April 11, 2006 Nabkel et al.
7058968 June 6, 2006 Rowland et al.
7069248 June 27, 2006 Huber
7092696 August 15, 2006 Hosain et al.
7142876 November 28, 2006 Trossen et al.
7158792 January 2, 2007 Cook et al.
7174174 February 6, 2007 Boris et al.
7180855 February 20, 2007 Lin
7242920 July 10, 2007 Morris
7245901 July 17, 2007 McGregor et al.
7280816 October 9, 2007 Fratti et al.
7289489 October 30, 2007 Kung et al.
7317699 January 8, 2008 Godfrey et al.
7322044 January 22, 2008 Hrastar
7325037 January 29, 2008 Lawson
7336960 February 26, 2008 Zavalkovsky et al.
7349695 March 25, 2008 Oommen et al.
7356337 April 8, 2008 Florence
7366497 April 29, 2008 Nagata
7373136 May 13, 2008 Watler et al.
7388950 June 17, 2008 Elsey et al.
7401338 July 15, 2008 Bowen et al.
7403763 July 22, 2008 Maes
7418253 August 26, 2008 Kavanah
7421004 September 2, 2008 Feher
7450591 November 11, 2008 Korling et al.
7450927 November 11, 2008 Creswell et al.
7486185 February 3, 2009 Culpepper et al.
7499537 March 3, 2009 Elsey et al.
7516219 April 7, 2009 Moghaddam et al.
7580857 August 25, 2009 VanFleet et al.
7610328 October 27, 2009 Haase et al.
7617516 November 10, 2009 Huslak et al.
7620065 November 17, 2009 Falardeau
7620162 November 17, 2009 Aaron et al.
7647047 January 12, 2010 Moghaddam et al.
7650137 January 19, 2010 Jobs et al.
7668903 February 23, 2010 Edwards et al.
7720505 May 18, 2010 Gopi et al.
7734784 June 8, 2010 Araujo et al.
7747240 June 29, 2010 Briscoe et al.
7747699 June 29, 2010 Prueitt et al.
7792708 September 7, 2010 Alva
7797401 September 14, 2010 Stewart et al.
7822837 October 26, 2010 Urban et al.
7848768 December 7, 2010 Omori et al.
7873705 January 18, 2011 Kalish
7882029 February 1, 2011 White
7929960 April 19, 2011 Martin et al.
7937069 May 3, 2011 Rassam
7941184 May 10, 2011 Prendergast et al.
7957511 June 7, 2011 Drudis et al.
7975184 July 5, 2011 Goff et al.
7984130 July 19, 2011 Bogineni et al.
8005459 August 23, 2011 Balsillie
8010080 August 30, 2011 Thenthiruperai et al.
8010081 August 30, 2011 Roskowski
8015133 September 6, 2011 Wu et al.
8015234 September 6, 2011 Lum et al.
8019687 September 13, 2011 Wang et al.
8023425 September 20, 2011 Raleigh
8095666 January 10, 2012 Schmidt et al.
8099077 January 17, 2012 Chowdhury et al.
8099517 January 17, 2012 Jia et al.
8144591 March 27, 2012 Ghai et al.
8170553 May 1, 2012 Bennett
8190675 May 29, 2012 Tribbett
8194549 June 5, 2012 Huber et al.
8200775 June 12, 2012 Moore
20020022472 February 21, 2002 Watler et al.
20020120540 August 29, 2002 Kende et al.
20020131404 September 19, 2002 Mehta et al.
20020138601 September 26, 2002 Piponius et al.
20020199001 December 26, 2002 Wenocur et al.
20030005112 January 2, 2003 Krautkremer
20030018524 January 23, 2003 Fishman et al.
20030133408 July 17, 2003 Cheng et al.
20030182420 September 25, 2003 Jones et al.
20030220984 November 27, 2003 Jones et al.
20030224781 December 4, 2003 Milford et al.
20040019539 January 29, 2004 Raman et al.
20040021697 February 5, 2004 Beaton et al.
20040030705 February 12, 2004 Bowman-Amuah et al.
20040044623 March 4, 2004 Wake et al.
20040047358 March 11, 2004 Chen et al.
20040073672 April 15, 2004 Fascenda
20040082346 April 29, 2004 Skytt et al.
20040103193 May 27, 2004 Pandya et al.
20040127200 July 1, 2004 Shaw et al.
20040198331 October 7, 2004 Coward et al.
20040236547 November 25, 2004 Rappaport et al.
20040249918 December 9, 2004 Sunshine
20050021995 January 27, 2005 Lal et al.
20050048950 March 3, 2005 Morper
20050055291 March 10, 2005 Bevente et al.
20050055309 March 10, 2005 Williams et al.
20050097516 May 5, 2005 Donnelly et al.
20050107091 May 19, 2005 Vannithamby et al.
20050128967 June 16, 2005 Scobbie
20050166043 July 28, 2005 Zhang et al.
20050228985 October 13, 2005 Ylikoski et al.
20050238046 October 27, 2005 Hassan et al.
20050250508 November 10, 2005 Guo et al.
20050254435 November 17, 2005 Moakley et al.
20050266825 December 1, 2005 Clayton
20050266880 December 1, 2005 Gupta
20060014519 January 19, 2006 Marsh et al.
20060019632 January 26, 2006 Cunningham et al.
20060034256 February 16, 2006 Addagatla et al.
20060040642 February 23, 2006 Boris et al.
20060072646 April 6, 2006 Feher
20060112016 May 25, 2006 Ishibashi
20060143098 June 29, 2006 Lazaridis
20060178917 August 10, 2006 Merriam et al.
20060183462 August 17, 2006 Kolehmainen et al.
20060190314 August 24, 2006 Hernandez
20060199608 September 7, 2006 Dunn et al.
20060206904 September 14, 2006 Watkins et al.
20060218395 September 28, 2006 Maes
20060233108 October 19, 2006 Krishnan
20060233166 October 19, 2006 Bou-Diab et al.
20060236095 October 19, 2006 Smith et al.
20060291477 December 28, 2006 Croak et al.
20070019670 January 25, 2007 Falardeau
20070022289 January 25, 2007 Alt et al.
20070036312 February 15, 2007 Cai et al.
20070055694 March 8, 2007 Ruge et al.
20070076616 April 5, 2007 Ngo et al.
20070093243 April 26, 2007 Kapadekar et al.
20070101426 May 3, 2007 Lee et al.
20070104126 May 10, 2007 Calhoun et al.
20070130315 June 7, 2007 Friend et al.
20070140275 June 21, 2007 Bowman et al.
20070220251 September 20, 2007 Rosenberg et al.
20070226225 September 27, 2007 Yiu et al.
20070243862 October 18, 2007 Coskun et al.
20070248100 October 25, 2007 Zuberi et al.
20070254675 November 1, 2007 Zorlu Ozer et al.
20070255848 November 1, 2007 Sewall et al.
20070263558 November 15, 2007 Salomone
20070274327 November 29, 2007 Kaarela et al.
20070282896 December 6, 2007 Wydroug et al.
20070294395 December 20, 2007 Strub et al.
20070298764 December 27, 2007 Clayton
20080005285 January 3, 2008 Robinson et al.
20080010452 January 10, 2008 Holtzman et al.
20080039102 February 14, 2008 Sewall et al.
20080049630 February 28, 2008 Kozisek et al.
20080059743 March 6, 2008 Bychkov et al.
20080060066 March 6, 2008 Wynn et al.
20080064367 March 13, 2008 Nath et al.
20080066149 March 13, 2008 Lim
20080082643 April 3, 2008 Storrie et al.
20080083013 April 3, 2008 Soliman et al.
20080109679 May 8, 2008 Wright et al.
20080127304 May 29, 2008 Ginter et al.
20080130656 June 5, 2008 Kim et al.
20080132268 June 5, 2008 Choi-Grogan et al.
20080134330 June 5, 2008 Kapoor et al.
20080147454 June 19, 2008 Walker et al.
20080160958 July 3, 2008 Abichandani et al.
20080162637 July 3, 2008 Adamczyk et al.
20080162704 July 3, 2008 Poplett et al.
20080177998 July 24, 2008 Apsangi et al.
20080183812 July 31, 2008 Paul et al.
20080184127 July 31, 2008 Rafey et al.
20080189760 August 7, 2008 Rosenberg et al.
20080207167 August 28, 2008 Bugenhagen
20080212470 September 4, 2008 Castaneda et al.
20080222692 September 11, 2008 Andersson et al.
20080225748 September 18, 2008 Khemani et al.
20080229388 September 18, 2008 Maes
20080256593 October 16, 2008 Vinberg et al.
20080298230 December 4, 2008 Luft et al.
20080305793 December 11, 2008 Gallagher et al.
20080311885 December 18, 2008 Dawson et al.
20080316923 December 25, 2008 Fedders et al.
20080318547 December 25, 2008 Ballou et al.
20080319879 December 25, 2008 Carroll et al.
20090013157 January 8, 2009 Beaule
20090054030 February 26, 2009 Golds
20090068984 March 12, 2009 Burnett
20090079699 March 26, 2009 Sun
20090113514 April 30, 2009 Hu
20090125619 May 14, 2009 Antani
20090197585 August 6, 2009 Aaron
20090271514 October 29, 2009 Thomas et al.
20090286507 November 19, 2009 O'Neal et al.
20090288140 November 19, 2009 Huber et al.
20100017506 January 21, 2010 Fadell
20100042675 February 18, 2010 Fujii
20100043068 February 18, 2010 Varadhan et al.
20100071053 March 18, 2010 Ansari et al.
20100188990 July 29, 2010 Raleigh
20100188994 July 29, 2010 Raleigh
20100191576 July 29, 2010 Raleigh
20100191846 July 29, 2010 Raleigh
20100192170 July 29, 2010 Raleigh
20100197268 August 5, 2010 Raleigh et al.
20100198698 August 5, 2010 Raleigh et al.
20100198939 August 5, 2010 Raleigh et al.
20100325420 December 23, 2010 Kanekar
20110126141 May 26, 2011 King et al.
1463238 September 2004 EP
1739518 June 2005 EP
1772988 April 2007 EP
1978772 October 2008 EP
WO 99/65185 December 1999 WO
WO 03/014891 February 2003 WO
WO 03/058880 April 2003 WO
WO 2004/028070 April 2004 WO
WO 2004/077797 September 2004 WO
WO 2004/095753 November 2004 WO
WO 2006/004467 January 2006 WO
WO 2006/050758 May 2006 WO
WO 2006/073837 July 2006 WO
WO 2006/077481 July 2006 WO
WO 2007/018363 August 2006 WO
WO 2006/130960 December 2006 WO
WO 2007/001833 January 2007 WO
WO 2007/014630 February 2007 WO
WO 2007/053848 May 2007 WO
WO 2007/069245 June 2007 WO
WO 2007/107701 September 2007 WO
WO 2008/017837 February 2008 WO
WO 2008/051379 May 2008 WO
WO 2008/066419 June 2008 WO
WO 2008/080139 July 2008 WO
WO 2008/080430 July 2008 WO
WO 2008/099802 August 2008 WO
2010088413 August 2010 WO
Knight et al., Layer 2 and 3 Virtual Private Networks: Taxonomy, Technology, and Standardization Efforts, IEEE Communications Magazine, Jun. 2004.
Koutsopoulou et al., Middleware Platform for the Support of Charging Reconfiguration Actions, 2005.
Nilsson et al., A Novel MAC Scheme for Solving the QoS Parameter Adjustment Problem in IEEE802.11e EDCA, Feb. 2006.
Author Unknown, Overview of GSM, GPRS, and UMTS, Chapter 2, Nov. 4, 2008.
Chaouchi et al., Policy Based Networking in the Integration Effort of 4G Networks and Services, 2004 IEEE.
Zhu et al., A Survey of Quality of Service in IEEE 802.11 Networks, IEEE Wireless Communications, Aug. 2004.
Kyriakakos et al., Ubiquitous Service Provision in Next Generation Mobile Networks, Proceedings of the 13th IST Mobile and Wireless Communications Summit, Lyon, France, Jun. 2004.
Farooq et al., An IEEE 802.16 WiMax Module for the NS-3 Simulator, Mar. 2-6, 2009.
Author Unknown, HP, IP Multimedia Services Charging, A White Paper from HP, Jan. 2006.
Author Unknown, Kindle™ User's Guide 3rd Edition, Copyright 2004-2009.
Hartmann et al., Agent-Based Banking Transactions & Information Retrieval—What about Performance Issues? 1999.
Van Eijk, et al., GigaMobile, Agent Technology for Designing Personalized Mobile Service Brokerage, Jul. 1, 2002.
Yu Li, Dedicated E-Reading Devices: The State of the Art and Challenges, Scroll, vol. 1, No. 1, 2008.
Dikaiakos et al., A Distributed Middleware Infrastructure for Personalized Services, Nov. 24, 2003.
Rao et al., Evolution of Mobile Location-Based Services, Communication of the ACM, Dec. 2003.
Chandrasekhar et al., Femtocell Networks: A Survey, Jun. 28, 2008.
Hossain et al., Gain-Based Selection of Ambient Media Services in Pervasive Environments, 2008.
Author Unknown, 3GPP TS 23.203, V8.4.0, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Policy and Charging Control Architecture (Release 8), Dec. 2008.
Author Unknown, 3GPP TS 23.401, V8.4.0, 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; General Packer Radio Service (GPRS) Enhancements for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Access (Release 8), Dec. 2008.
Stephan Steglich, I-Centric User Interaction, Nov. 21, 2003.
Han et al., Information Collection Services for Qos-Aware Mobile Applications, 2005.
Alonistioti et al., Intelligent Architectures Enabling Flexible Service Provision and Adaptability, 2002.
Rolf Oppliger, Internet Security: Firewalls and Bey, Communications of the ACM, May 1997, vol. 40. No. 5.
International Search Report and Written Opinion mailed Mar. 24, 2010 from International Serial No. PCT/US2010/022271 filed Jan. 27, 2010.
Author Unknown, “Data Roaming Tariffs—Transparency Measures.” EUROPA—Europe's Information Society Thematic Portal website, date unknown.
Patent number: 8275830
Patent Publication Number: 20100197266
Assignee: Headwater Partners I LLC (Redwood Shores, CA)
Inventor: Gregory G. Raleigh (Woodside, CA)
Attorney: Krista S. Jacobsen
Application Number: 12/695,019
Current U.S. Class: Client/server (709/203); Bill Preparation (705/34); Special Services (379/201.01); Special Service (455/414.1)