Method and system for suggesting individual payments for a common billing account
US8903356B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 14, 2006 |
| Grant date | Dec 2, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M15/7652
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a shared communication service plan in which multiple subscribers operate under a common billing account, a method and system is provided for more equitably allocating service costs among the subscribers in the group, by allocating overage costs based on the extent to which each subscriber used base services available to the group. For instance, if the group plan includes a designated number of base minutes of service per month and defines a per-minute overage cost for minutes used beyond the base number, the method and system may allocate to a given subscriber a portion of the group's overage cost, with the portion being determined based on the portion of the group's base minutes used by the subscriber. Advantageously, an invoice may then be generated setting forth the equitable allocation among the subscribers in the group, thus allowing the group to more readily determine how much each subscriber should pay.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.