Prepaid short message services revenue capture

US8682289B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, INC. · US

Inventors

• Donghong Gao · Clarksville, US
• Lewis Tuttle · Stevensville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 14, 2012
• Grant date: Mar 25, 2014
• Expiry date: May 3, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04M2215/96
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A prepaid messaging solution that utilizes a pre-delivery debit query to tariff a short message, coupled with an additional debit query performed once necessary billing information has been acquired. A short message is tariffed prior to message delivery via a pre-delivery debit query to a prepaid server. During message delivery, the prepaid server is queried a second time, following the HLR query performed by the Short Message Service Center (SMSC). This subsequent debit query bills a subscriber for any additional service fees discovered throughout message delivery, e.g., international/roaming fees, etc. If either the pre-delivery debit query or the subsequent debit query indicates that a subscriber has insufficient account balance to deliver a short message, the message is prevented from being delivered. If a message is dropped due to lack of account balance, any funds debited throughout the attempted message delivery may be credited back to the subscriber's prepaid account.