Flexible billing support in a service selection gateway (SSG)

US7899166B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Cisco Technology, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Vinodh Kumar Ravindranath · Bengaluru, IN
• Kotha Subba Rama Chandra Murty · Bengaluru, IN
• Navneet Agarwal · Bengaluru, IN
• Marco C. Centemeri · Rho, IT
• Amit Phadnis · Savanuru, IN

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 18, 2003
• Grant date: Mar 1, 2011
• Expiry date: Nov 7, 2027

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04M17/02
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A service selection gateway (SSG) which permits multiple access quotas associated with a pre-paid service accessed by a user. For example, the user's access may be terminated if the usage exceeds a specified time or volume of data transferred (examples of access quotas). According to another aspect, access of a service is permitted based on different tariffs. Thus, a user may be charged differently depending on the applicable tariff. In an embodiment implemented in the context of pre-paid tariffs, multiple access quotas may be received associated with the same resource, and each quota may be computed according to a corresponding tariff.