JP2000332917A - System and method for charging toll to mobile communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication toll charging system capable of charging corresponding to the use frequency of facilities such as a radio base station, preventing the call outs from portable telephone sets from being concentrated on a specific area because of making it possible to make difference in charging between an area of high use frequency and an area of low use frequency and smoothly performing call connection in the whole areas and to provide its mobile communication charging method. SOLUTION: A 1st discount application rate is calculated by referring to an each BTS (radio base station) rank charging amount table stored in a charging information storing part 44 from the usage rate of a BTS2, a 2nd discount application rate is also calculated by referring to an each traffic state charging amount table stored in the part 44 from the traffic state of the BTS2, and charging is performed on the basis of the calculated 1st and 2nd application rates.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to mobile communication, and more particularly to a mobile communication charging system and a mobile communication charging method for charging during a mobile communication call.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional mobile communications such as cellular phones and PHSs, a large number of subdivided areas are set, and a radio base station having a plurality of channels having different frequencies is provided for each set area. A call is connected by allocating a vacant channel in response to a call from a telephone set. While the connection is being made, billing is performed, but from the viewpoint of effective use of available channels and user services, a method is generally adopted in which billing is differentiated according to the time zone and the contract type.

[0003]

However, according to the prior art, it is not possible to charge according to the frequency of use of equipment such as a radio base station, and the same charge is applied to an area with a high use frequency and an area with a low use frequency. Due to the system, there is a problem that calls from a mobile phone are concentrated in a specific area and an area where a call cannot be connected appears.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charging method in accordance with the frequency of use of equipment such as a radio base station, and to provide an area where the frequency of use is high. Can be differentiated from the billing of the less frequently used areas, so that calls from mobile phones can be prevented from concentrating on specific areas, and call connections can be made smoothly in all areas. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication charging system and a mobile communication charging method.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following constitution. The gist of the invention according to claim 1 is a mobile communication billing system in mobile communication in which communication is performed by allocating a channel of a radio base station to a call from a mobile terminal. Area charging information storage means for storing the first charging information, radio base station discriminating means for discriminating the radio base station to which the channel has been allocated for a call from the mobile terminal, and radio base station discrimination. And a charge calculating means for calculating a charge amount in the communication based on the first charge information stored in the area charge information storage means corresponding to the wireless base station determined by the means. Exist in communication billing system. The gist of the invention according to claim 2 is characterized by comprising charging information notifying means for notifying the mobile terminal of the charging amount in the communication calculated by the charging calculating means to the mobile terminal. It exists in the mobile communication billing system. The gist of the invention described in claim 3 is that the billing calculation means starts billing a predetermined time after notification of the billing amount to the mobile terminal in the communication by the billing information notifying means. A mobile communication billing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 4 includes a use state charging information storage unit that stores second charging information for each channel use state of the channel, and a channel use state determination unit that determines the use state of the channel. The charge calculation means calculates a charge amount in the communication based on the second charge information stored in the use state charge information storage means corresponding to the use state of the channel determined by the channel use state determination means. The mobile communication charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The gist of the invention described in claim 5 is that the channel use state determining means periodically determines the use state of the channel for each of the radio base stations and, based on the determination result, causes the area charging information storage means to The mobile communication charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the stored first charging information is updated. The gist of the invention according to claim 6 is that the channel use state determining means determines a change in the channel use state during the communication, and when the channel use state changes during the communication, the charging is performed. The calculation means causes the charge amount in the communication to be calculated again based on the second charge information stored in the use state charge information storage means corresponding to the change in the channel use state determined by the channel use state determination means. If there is a change in the billing amount calculated again by the billing calculating unit, the billing information notifying unit sends the billing amount in the communication again calculated by the billing calculating unit to the mobile terminal. The mobile communication charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mobile communication charging system is notified. The gist of the invention according to claim 7 is a mobile communication billing method in mobile communication in which a call from a mobile terminal is assigned to a channel of a wireless base station to perform communication. Storing first charging information for each of the mobile terminals, determining the radio base station to which the channel has been allocated for a call from the mobile terminal, and storing the first stored information corresponding to the determined radio base station. A mobile communication billing method is characterized in that a billing amount in the communication is calculated based on billing information. Claim 8
The gist of the present invention resides in the mobile communication charging method according to claim 7, wherein the calculated charging amount in the communication is notified to the mobile terminal. The gist of the invention according to claim 9 is that the charging starts in a predetermined time after notification of the charging amount to the mobile terminal in the communication. Communication billing method. The gist of the invention according to claim 10 is that the second billing information is stored for each channel use state of the channel, the use state of the channel is determined, and the stored information corresponding to the determined use state of the channel is stored. 10. The mobile communication charging method according to claim 7, wherein a charging amount for the communication is calculated based on the second charging information. The gist of the invention described in claim 11 is that
11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the use state of the channel for each of the radio base stations is periodically determined, and the stored first charging information is updated based on the determination result. The mobile communication billing method described in (1). The gist of the invention according to claim 12 is to determine a change in the channel use state during the communication, and when there is a change in the channel use state during the communication, the change in the determined channel use state is determined. The billing amount in the communication is calculated again by the corresponding stored second billing information, and when there is a change in the calculated billing amount, the calculated amount in the communication is calculated again. The mobile communication charging method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein a charging amount is notified to the mobile terminal.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a mobile communication charging system according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a BTS management table stored in a BTS management information storage unit shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a traffic state management table stored in a BTS management information storage unit shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a billing amount table by BTS rank stored in the billing information storage unit shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing traffic stored in the billing information storage unit shown in FIG. It is a figure showing the charge amount table according to a state.

In this embodiment, a plurality of radio base stations (hereinafter, referred to as BTSs) 2 for allocating an empty channel in response to a call from a mobile phone 1 as a mobile terminal, and a plurality of BTSs 2 using channels are used. Monitors the status and sets an available channel corresponding to the call from the mobile phone 1 to the BTS
BTS controller (hereinafter, referred to as BSC) 3 for instructing 2
And a mobile communication exchange (hereinafter, referred to as MSC) 4 that manages a plurality of BSCs 3.

The BTS 2 is provided for each area obtained by dividing an area into small areas, and has a plurality of channels having different frequencies.

[0010] The BSC 3 monitors the channel usage status of the plurality of BTSs 2 and instructs the BTS 2 of an available channel corresponding to the call from the mobile phone 1, and the area information of the BTS 2 that has accepted the call from the mobile phone 1. That is, the BTS number assigned to the BTS 2 and the number of available channels of the BTS 2 that have accepted the call from the mobile phone 1 are transmitted to the MSC 4, and the number of available channels of each BTS 2 is determined at regular intervals by the MSC 4. Send to

The MSC 4 includes a communication control unit 41, a BSC management unit 42, a BTS management information storage unit 43, a charging information storage unit 44, a charging amount calculation unit 45, and a charging processing unit 46.
And a sound source 47.

The communication control section 41 controls communication of various data with a plurality of BSCs 3.

When a call is made from the mobile phone 1, the BSC management unit 42 receives a call from the mobile phone 1
The BTS number of TS2 is received from the BSC 3 via the communication control unit 41, and the usage rate corresponding to the received BTS number is specified by referring to the BTS management table stored in the BTS management information storage unit 43. The usage rate is transmitted to the billing amount calculation unit 45, and the number of vacant channels of the BTS2 is received from the BSC3 via the communication control unit 41, and the traffic state management table stored in the BTS management information storage unit 43 is read. With reference to the calculation, the traffic condition represented by the number of available channels / the total number of channels is calculated and transmitted to the billing amount calculation unit 45.

Further, the BSC management unit 42 calculates the number of vacant channels of each BTS
The BTS management table stored in the BTS management information storage unit 43 is rewritten by calculating the usage rate of each BTS 2 received from the BTS 2 through the communication control unit 41. The usage rate of the BTS 2 is an average usage rate per unit time, for example, one day.

The BTS management information storage unit 43 stores a BTS management table and a traffic state management table. The BTS management table stores each BTS as shown in FIG.
2 is a table in which the usage rate of BTS2 is described for each BTS number assigned to the BTS2, and the traffic state management table includes, as shown in FIG. It is a table in which the number of channels and the number of empty channels are described.

The billing information storage unit 44 stores a billing amount table by BTS rank and a billing amount table by traffic condition. The billing amount table by BTS rank is, as shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a table showing a first discount application rate of billing according to the usage rate of TS2, and a billing amount table for each traffic state, as shown in FIG. It is a table | surface which shows the 2nd discount application rate. BTS rank charge amount table, BTS
The higher the usage rate of No. 2 is, the lower the first discount application rate is. The charge amount table by traffic condition shows that the higher the traffic condition, that is, the smaller the number of vacant channels, the lower the second discount application rate.
The discount rate is low.

The billing amount calculation unit 45 includes a BSC management unit 42
The usage rate of the BTS 2 specified by the above is received, the first discount application rate is calculated with reference to the charging amount table by BTS rank stored in the charging information storage unit 44, and the BSC is calculated.
The traffic state calculated by the management unit 42 is received, and the second discount application rate is calculated with reference to the traffic amount-based charging amount table stored in the charging information storage unit 44,
Charging is performed based on the calculated first discount application rate and second discount application rate. Then, after the end of the call, the total amount of the charging amount generated by the call is transmitted to the charging processing unit 46. Further, it instructs the sound source 47 to transmit a warning sound or an announcement for notifying the mobile phone 1 of the calculated first discount application rate and the second discount application rate.

The billing processing unit 46 receives the total billing amount generated by the call from the billing amount calculation unit 45,
Aggregate for each user.

The sound source 47 sends a warning sound or an announcement to the mobile phone 1 to notify the mobile phone 1 of the first discount application rate and the second discount application rate calculated by the billing amount calculator 45.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the mobile communication charging system according to the present invention.

First, when there is a call from the mobile phone 1, B
The SC3 specifies the vacant channel of the BTS2 and sets the BTS to connect the specified vacant channel to the outgoing call.
2 and the BTS 2 allocates an available channel designated by the BSC 3 to a call from the mobile phone 1.

Next, the BSC management unit 42
The BTS number of the BTS 2 that has received the call from the BTS 3, that is, the area information is received from the BSC 3 via the communication control unit 41, and the BTS number stored in the BTS management information storage unit 43
With reference to the management table, the usage rate corresponding to the received BTS number is specified, and the specified usage rate is calculated by the charge amount calculation unit 4.
5 (step S1).

Next, the BSC management unit 42
The number of vacant channels of the BTS 2 that has received the call from the BTS 2 is received from the BSC 3 via the communication control unit 41 and the traffic state management table stored in the BTS management information storage unit 43 is referred to. / Calculate the traffic state represented by the total number of channels and transmit it to the charging amount calculation unit 45 (step S2).

Next, the billing amount calculation unit 45 receives the BTS2 usage rate specified by the BSC management unit 42, and refers to the BTS rank-based billing amount table stored in the billing information storage unit 44 to obtain a first charge amount table. Identify the discount application rate and B
The traffic state calculated by the SC management unit 42 is received, the second discount application rate is specified with reference to the traffic amount-based charging amount table stored in the charging information storage unit 44, and the specified first discount application rate is specified. Then, the charge amount for the call is calculated using the second discount application rate (step S3).

Next, the billing amount calculator 45 issues a warning sound or an announcement for notifying the portable telephone 1 of the billing amount calculated using the first discount application rate and the second discount application rate to the sound source 47. Instructs to transmit, sound source 47
Sends a warning sound or an announcement for notifying the mobile phone 1 of the billing amount calculated by the billing amount calculation unit 45 using the first discount application rate and the second discount application rate (step S4).

Next, it is determined whether or not the call is disconnected at a unit time of billing after a predetermined time, for example, three seconds after the issuance of the warning sound or the announcement (step S5), and the call is not disconnected. In this case, the charge amount calculation unit 45
Starts charging based on the charging amount calculated using the calculated first discount application rate and the second discount application rate (step S6). In order to determine whether or not the call has been disconnected after a predetermined time has elapsed since the warning sound or announcement was issued, and to charge after the determination, the user may be charged by disconnecting the call when the discount rate is not the desired discount rate. Absent. The BSC management unit 42 monitors the traffic state at predetermined time intervals, and determines whether the traffic state has been changed at predetermined time intervals (step S7).

If the traffic state has not been changed, it is determined again in step S5 whether the call has been disconnected.

If the traffic condition changes,
In step S3, the second discount application rate according to the changed traffic condition is specified. If there is a change in the specified second discount application rate, a new charging amount is calculated using the first discount applying rate and the newly specified second discount application rate, and the calculated new charging amount is transferred to the mobile phone. A warning sound or an announcement is sent to notify the telephone 1 (step S
4), it is determined whether or not the call is disconnected after a predetermined time from the transmission of the warning sound or the announcement (step S5), and after the determination, the first discount application rate and the newly calculated second discount application rate are used. Charging based on the calculated charging amount is started (step S6).

If the call is disconnected in step S5, the charging amount calculation unit 45 transmits the total amount of the charging amount charged up to that time to the charging processing unit 46, and the charging processing unit 46
Collects the total amount of the received billing amounts for each user. (Step S8).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first discount application rate and the second discount application rate are calculated according to the area, that is, each radio base station and the traffic condition, and the calculated first discount application rate is calculated. Since charging is performed based on the discount application rate and the second discount application rate, it is possible to perform charging in accordance with the frequency of use of the equipment such as the radio base station, and to charge the frequently used area and the infrequently used area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent calls from the mobile phone from being concentrated in a specific area, and it is possible to smoothly perform connection of calls in all areas.

In the present embodiment, the use rate of each BTS 2 is determined according to the actual use condition of the channel. However, the first discount application rate may be predetermined for each BTS 2. Alternatively, the charge amount may be determined in advance for each BTS 2. In this case, the area, ie, each BTS
Since the charge amount for each BTS 2 can be disclosed, the user can grasp the charge amount for each area, that is, for each BTS 2.

Further, in the present embodiment, billing according to the traffic state is performed based on one kind of billing table for each traffic state, but a plurality of billing tables for each traffic state are provided. You can also.
In this case, by using the charging amount table for each traffic condition based on the characteristics of each area, that is, each BTS2, the charging according to the frequency of use of the equipment such as the BTS2 is considered in consideration of the characteristics of each area, that is, each BTS2. It can be carried out.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it is clear that each embodiment can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Further, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be set to numbers, positions, shapes, and the like suitable for carrying out the present invention. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0034]

According to the mobile communication charging system and the mobile communication charging method of the present invention, the first discount application rate and the second discount application rate are calculated according to the area, that is, each radio base station and the traffic condition. Since charging is performed based on the calculated first discount application rate and second calculated application rate, it is possible to perform charging in accordance with the frequency of use of the equipment such as the radio base station, and to determine the frequently used area and the frequency of use. Since it is possible to make a difference in billing between a low area and a local area, it is possible to prevent calls from a mobile phone from being concentrated in a specific area, and it is possible to smoothly connect a call in all areas. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a mobile communication charging system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a BTS management table stored in a BTS management information storage unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a traffic state management table stored in a BTS management information storage unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing B stored in a billing information storage unit shown in FIG. 1;
It is a figure which shows the charge amount table according to TS rank.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a charge table for each traffic state stored in a charge information storage unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the mobile communication charging system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 mobile phone 2 radio base station (BTS) 3 BTS control device (BSC) 4 mobile communication switch (MSC) 41 communication control unit 42 BSC management unit 43 BTS management information storage unit 44 charging information storage unit 45 charging amount calculation unit 46 Billing processing unit 47 sound source

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5K024 AA71 BB03 CC01 DD02 FF05 GG03 5K025 AA07 BB02 CC01 DD06 EE04 LL06 5K067 AA12 AA29 BB04 DD19 DD29 EE02 EE10 FF04 HH23 JJ73 KK15

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A mobile communication billing system in mobile communication for performing communication by allocating a channel of a wireless base station to a call from a mobile terminal, wherein first billing information for each wireless base station is provided. Area charging information storage means for storing: a radio base station discriminating means for discriminating the radio base station to which the channel is allocated for a call from the mobile terminal; and A mobile communication billing system comprising: billing calculation means for calculating a billing amount in the communication based on the first billing information stored in the area billing information storage means corresponding to a wireless base station. 2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a billing information notifying unit for notifying the mobile terminal of the billing amount in the communication calculated by the billing calculating unit.
The mobile communication billing system according to claim 1. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the charging calculation unit starts charging after a predetermined time has elapsed from the notification of the charging amount to the mobile terminal in the communication by the charging information notification unit. Or the mobile communication charging system according to 2. 4. A charge calculating means, comprising: charge state information storing means for storing second charge information for each channel use state of the channel; and channel use state determining means for determining the use state of the channel. Is the second state stored in the use state charging information storage means corresponding to the use state of the channel determined by the channel use state determination means.
4. The mobile communication charging system according to claim 1, wherein a charging amount for the communication is calculated based on charging information. 5. The channel use state determining means periodically determines the use state of the channel for each of the radio base stations, and based on a result of the determination, stores the channel use state stored in the area charging information storage means. 5. The mobile communication charging system according to claim 1, wherein one charging information is updated. 6. The channel use state determination means determines a change in the channel use state during the communication, and when there is a change in the channel use state during the communication, the charge calculation means determines the change in the channel use state. The charge amount in the communication is calculated again by the second charge information stored in the use state charge information storage unit corresponding to the change in the channel use state determined by the use state determination unit. When there is a change in the billing amount calculated again, the billing information notifying unit notifies the mobile terminal of the billing amount in the communication again calculated by the billing calculating unit. The mobile communication billing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A mobile communication billing method in mobile communication in which communication is performed by allocating a channel of a wireless base station to a call from a mobile terminal, wherein the first billing information for each wireless base station is provided. Discriminating the radio base station to which the channel has been allocated for a call from the mobile terminal; and in the communication based on the stored first charging information corresponding to the discriminated radio base station. A mobile communication billing method comprising calculating a billing amount. 8. The mobile communication charging method according to claim 7, wherein said calculated charging amount in said communication is notified to said mobile terminal. 9. The mobile communication charging method according to claim 7, wherein the charging is started after a predetermined time has elapsed from the notification of the charging amount to the mobile terminal in the communication. 10. The second charging information is stored for each channel usage state of the channel, the usage state of the channel is determined, and the stored second charging information corresponding to the determined usage state of the channel is stored. 10. The method according to claim 7, wherein a charge amount for the communication is calculated based on the information.
The mobile communication charging method according to any one of the above. 11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the use state of the channel for each of the radio base stations is periodically determined, and the stored first charging information is updated based on the determination result. 11. The mobile communication charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 10. 12. A change in the channel use state during the communication is determined, and when there is a change in the channel use state during the communication, the stored corresponding to the determined change in the channel use state is stored. Calculating the billing amount in the communication based on the second billing information, and if there is a change in the recalculated billing amount, the recalculated billing amount in the communication is calculated by the mobile unit. 8. A terminal is notified.
12. The mobile communication charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.