Patent ID: 8489070

Claim:
An account management engine, for managing a prepaid service account, comprising: a processor; and a memory having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: calculating a message delay time for a schedule according to which continue-communication messages are transmitted to a communications-network node for authorizing continuation of an established communication involving the prepaid service account; wherein calculating the message delay time comprises: calculating, by the processor, the message delay time according to a rule related to (i) a balance of the prepaid service account and (ii) a threshold account balance used to trigger calculation of the message delay time; and calculating, by the processor, the message delay time, according to the rule, in response to a determination that the balance of the prepaid service account has a predetermined relationship to the threshold account balance, wherein the processor calculates the delay time only when triggered by the determination that the balance of the prepaid service account has the predetermined relationship to the threshold account balance.