Patent ID: 7457609

Claim:
In a communication system, a method for controlling services provided to a plurality of shared plan subscribers having a shared account, the method comprising: establishing a shared plan defining individual restrictions for a plurality of subscribers to the shared plan, the shared plan comprising a first set of restrictions for a first subscriber to the shared plan, and a second set of restrictions for a second subscriber to the shared plan; and selectively providing services to the shared plan subscribers based on subscriber usage data and the corresponding individual restrictions defined for the shared plan; wherein selectively providing services to the shared plan subscribers based on the corresponding individual restrictions defined for the shared plan comprises: monitoring service attempts relative to subscribers to the shared plan; for service attempts associated with the first shared plan subscriber, obtaining the first set of restrictions from a plans database, obtaining first usage data associated with the first shared plan subscriber from a usage database, and determining whether the service is allowed based on the first set of restrictions and the first usage data; and if the service is allowed, providing the service to the first shared plan subscriber within any limits imposed by the first set of restrictions and the first usage data; and wherein at least one of the first set of restrictions includes a condition relative to the second subscriber to the shared plan, wherein for service attempts associated with the first shared plan subscriber, selectively providing services further comprises obtaining second usage data associated with the second shared plan subscriber from the usage database, and determining whether the service is allowed based on the first set of restrictions, the first usage data, and the second usage data.