Chenwei Yan

US Patent:

20040017905, Jan 29, 2004

Filed:

Dec 17, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/321870

Inventors:

Chandra Warrier - Schaumburg IL, US
Chenwei Yan - Hoffman Estates IL, US

Assignee:

3Com Corporation

International Classification:

H04M015/00
H04M011/00

US Classification:

379/114150, 379/114200, 455/406000

Abstract:

A method and system for providing prepaid billing for concurrent communication sessions may be accomplished by a first-network-access device, such as a WIN SCP, in a circuit-switched network receiving prepaid services drawn from a prepaid-user account associated with a prepaid-billing system that resides in a circuit-switched network. These prepaid service allow a mobile node to carry on a first-communication session. While the first communication is ongoing, Sometime a second-network-access device, such as a AAA server, in a data network may request from the prepaid-user account additional prepaid services for a second-communication session that is to occur on the data network. In response to the request, the first-network-access device receives from a prepaid-billing system a status-update request. This status-update request requests the current and possibly the future prepaid services usage for the first communication session. Responsive to the status-update request, the first-network-access device sends to the prepaid-billing system the prepaid-service usage for the first communication session. The prepaid billing system updates the prepaid user account by debiting the prepaid services usage from the prepaid-user account. If prepaid services remain after updating the prepaid user account, the second-network-access device receives from the prepaid-billing system prepaid services for the second communication session. Thereafter, during connectivity of both concurrent-communication sessions, the prepaid billing system and the network-access devices exchange periodic usage updates requests and responses, which may increase in frequency as the amount of remaining prepaid services in the user account diminishes.