Patent ID: 7072638

Claim:
A method for automatically notifying, by a telecommunications network, a subscriber tat the subscriber has talked on a mobile terminal for a subscriber-defined amount of time, the method comprising the steps of: defining, via a mobile terminal at a first predetermined time, a plurality of categories of usage of the mobile terminal; defining, via the mobile terminal at the first predetermined time, a respective interval for each category of the plurality of categories of usage of the mobile terminal that is operatively connected to a telecommunication network; storing, at the telecommunication network at the first predetermined time, the defined intervals and the respectively associated categories of usage; determining for a call at a second time that is later than the first predetermined time, a current applicable category of the plurality of categories for the mobile terminal; monitoring, by the telecommunication network, a time that a call has been active on the mobile terminal; comparing the time the call has been active to the stored interval that is associated with the current applicable category; and sending a predetermined notification signal from the telecommunication system to the mobile terminal when the time that the call has been active exceeds the stored interval that is associated with the current applicable category.