JP2001119466A - Terminal with communication channel utilizing condition advice function and method for controlling the communication channel utilizing condition advice function, and communication channel utilizing condition advice system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal device that properly gives an advice to a user on an optimum communication channel with a simple method so as to allow the user to select a communication channel with lower communication cost. SOLUTION: A speech history information storage section 40 stores history information such as the date and time of a speech and data transfer counted by a clock section 30 and a speech time and a speech destination, and a channel utilizing charge storage section 50 stores various available channel services and utilizing information. An estimated channel utilizing charge calculation section 60 calculates the utilizing charge by each service based on the history information and the charge information and a channel utilizing charge notice section 70 informs a user about the calculated utilizing charge to realize the advice.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal having a line use condition advice function of a terminal connected to a public line and performing communication, a control method therefor, and a communication line use condition advice system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, it has become an issue how to reduce communication costs when performing communication using a pay communication line. As a technology to solve this problem, functions and services such as automatically selecting the cheapest available communication line based on the area code, time, and day of the week when communicating are commonly used. ing.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-207120 discloses a use line advice device that advises a use line most suitable for a user's request according to a line type, a line speed, and a traffic situation. this is,
By automatically specifying the line and the charge for the line by inputting the line specification items, it is displayed immediately, and it was proposed to facilitate business talks between the system provider and the user. Things.

[0004]

However, the technique described above still has the following problems.

In the past, the function and service for automatically selecting the cheapest available communication line could be used simply by selecting the line to be used. However, at present, even when communication is performed at the same time on the same communication line, in addition to the selection of the communication line, subscription setting conditions such as various communication discount privilege services provided by the use line provider, It is necessary to select a combination of these setting conditions, addition of a new service, and the like, and it is complicated and difficult for a user to select a subscription setting condition that can be used at lower cost.

[0006] In addition, the use line advice device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-207120 automatically calculates a suitable line and its usage fee when a user inputs a line designation item. This is to construct a so-called system such as instantaneous display, and find out the most suitable communication line configuration for the system from various lines. However, it is possible to advise on the optimal communication line by inputting each item specified for the line that the user intends to use in the future. Cannot be done at all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple method for appropriately providing advice on an optimum communication line for a user's usage situation. To provide a terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function that can be transmitted to a user, a control method of the communication line use condition advice function, and a communication line use condition advice system.

[0008]

A terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function according to the present invention is a terminal device having a communication function of connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line and performing a telephone call and data transfer. Clock means for counting the date and time and day of the week, use history information storage means for extracting the date and time and day of the week connected or disconnected from the toll communication line by the clock means, and storing it as history information, A line usage fee storage unit for storing a plurality of patterns of line usage fee charging information, and a different connection condition stored in the line usage fee storage unit, for different history information stored in the usage history information storage unit. Expected line usage fee calculating means for calculating the line usage fee for each connection condition, and forecast of each connection condition calculated by the expected line usage fee calculation means Notification means for notifying the line usage fee together with the connection conditions.

Further, in the terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function according to the present invention, the line use charge storage means stores the use condition and charge information of the line use fee transferred via a pay communication line such as a public line. Is stored.

[0010] Further, in the terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function of the present invention, the expected line use fee calculation means includes a use condition information stored in the use history information storage means and the line use charge storage means. When calculating the fee according to the above, the calculation is performed using the date and time and the period of the line usage fee billing period.

A method of controlling a communication line use condition advice function according to the present invention is a method of controlling a communication line use condition advice function in a terminal device having a communication function of performing communication and data transfer by connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line. A method of measuring the date and time and day of the week, extracting the date and time and day of the week when the connection or disconnection to the pay communication line is stored, storing usage history information to be stored as history information, and using the usage conditions and line usage under different connection conditions. Store multiple patterns of charge information,
In the stored different connection conditions, the line usage fee of each connection condition for the stored history information is calculated, and the calculated estimated line usage fee of each connection condition is reported together with the connection condition. I do.

[0012] A communication line use condition advice system according to the present invention includes a terminal device having a communication function of connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line and performing a telephone call and data transfer, and a terminal device having the communication function via the pay communication line. An external device for communication;
The terminal device comprises: a clock means for measuring the date and time and the day of the week; and a usage history for extracting the date and time and the day of the week connected or disconnected by the clock means to and from the pay communication line, and storing the information as history information. Information storage means, and use history information transmission means for transmitting history information stored in the use history information storage means to the external device, wherein the external device is capable of transmitting usage conditions and line usage charges under different connection conditions. A line usage fee storage unit for storing a plurality of patterns of charging information, and a line usage of each connection condition for history information transmitted from the terminal device under different connection conditions stored in the line usage fee storage unit. An expected line usage fee calculating means for calculating a fee, and an expected line usage fee of each connection condition calculated by the expected line usage fee calculating means. And a predicted line utilization fee transmitting means for transmitting to the terminal together with the connection conditions, the terminal device,
Further, there is provided a notifying means for receiving, as data, the expected line usage fee of each connection condition transmitted from the external device together with the connection condition, and notifying the expected line usage fee together with the connection condition.

A communication line use condition advice system according to the present invention includes a terminal device having a communication function of connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line and performing a telephone call and data transfer, and a terminal device having the communication function via the pay communication line. An external device for communication;
Wherein the terminal device includes an identification number transmitting unit that transmits an identification number of the terminal device, the external device includes a clock unit that measures time and date or a day of the week, and a terminal for each terminal identification number. The terminal call history storing means for storing the call history information, the terminal identification number receiving means for receiving the identification number transmitted from the terminal device, and the terminal identification number received by the terminal identification number receiving means, Terminal owner call history information extracting means for extracting call history information of the terminal owner specified by the terminal owner specifying means from the terminal call history storage means, Terminal owner history information updating means for updating terminal owner call history information; line usage charge storage means for storing available line service and charge information; Expected line usage fee calculating means for calculating a usage fee for each service in accordance with the call history information extracted by the end owner's call history information extraction unit and the usage fee stored in the line usage fee storage means; Line usage fee transmission means for transmitting the usage fee calculated by the line usage fee calculation means to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device further calculates an expected line usage fee of each connection condition transmitted from the external device. And notifying means for receiving the estimated line usage fee together with the connection condition as data together with the connection condition.

Further, in the communication line usage condition advice system according to the present invention, the expected line usage fee calculating means determines the usage line information from the information stored in the usage history information storage means and the line usage fee storage means. When calculating the fee, the calculation is performed using the date and time and the period of the line usage fee billing period.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a communication line use condition advice function control method and a communication line use condition advice function according to the present invention; Will be described in detail.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device having a communication line use condition advice function according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In each of the following embodiments (first to third embodiments), the description will be made assuming that the communication line use condition advice device is attached to a mobile phone for easy understanding.

A terminal device 1a such as a mobile phone is connected to a pay public line 2 and communicates with a communication processing unit 20 for making calls and transferring data.
And a clock unit 30 for counting the date and time and the day of the week, and the mobile phone 1a
The date and time of a call or data transfer using
A call history information storage unit 40 for storing history information of call destinations, a line usage charge storage unit 50 for storing available line service and charge information, and a call history information storage unit 40. Expected line usage fee calculation unit 60 that calculates usage fees for each service according to call history information and usage fees stored in line usage fee storage unit 50
And a line usage fee notification unit 70 for notifying the usage fee calculated by the estimated line usage fee calculation unit 60, a control unit for controlling each of the above-mentioned units, and a program for controlling the whole, though not shown. , An input unit for inputting a telephone number and the like, a display unit for displaying the input telephone number and the like, a microphone, a speaker, and the like.

The call history information storage section 40 stores history information when the terminal device 1a such as a mobile phone is used.

FIG. 2 is a data configuration diagram showing an example of history information stored in the call history information storage section 40 and using the terminal device 1a such as a mobile phone. As a data configuration of the history information, for example, when communication is performed via the communication processing unit 20, the call start date / time 402 and the call duration time 403 measured by the clock unit 30 are given a time-series history information item number 401. And stored (depending on the case, it may not be chronological).

The line charge storage unit 50 stores charge information based on line use conditions.

FIG. 3 shows an example of usage fee information stored in the line usage fee storage unit 50. For example, a charge closing date 500, which is information indicating a reference period for calculating a charge, and condition information (510, 520, 530) of a discount service according to a use time zone are stored.
If this usage fee information can be downloaded from a server via a public line, the latest fee information can always be owned.

When the user makes a request for communication line usage condition advice from the input unit, the usage fee stored in the line usage fee storage unit 50 and the call history information stored in the call history information storage unit 40 The usage fee is calculated by the expected line usage fee calculation unit 60 using the above.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation from requesting a communication line use condition advice to calculating a usage fee. Hereinafter, the operation will be described in detail with reference to this flowchart.

First, current date information is obtained from the clock unit 30 (step S1). For example, if today is May 22, a date such as May 22 is acquired. Next, the charge closing date stored in the line usage charge storage unit 50 is acquired (step S2). For example, in the case of the data example stored in the line usage charge storage unit 50 shown in FIG. 3, the cutoff date is 15th of every month.
Information such as date is acquired. Using the current date information acquired in step S1 and the information on the closing date acquired in step S2, a recent fee calculation period is obtained (step S3). Here, the current date is May 22,
Since the closing date is the 15th of each month, May 15 is the latest closing date, and one month before that, that is, one month from April 16 to May 15, is the required fee calculation period.

During the charge calculation period obtained in step S3, a target case using the terminal device 1a such as a mobile phone is extracted from the call history information storage unit 40 (step S4). For example, in the case of the history data example stored in the call history information storage unit 40 shown in FIG. May 15, 1 of item number 21 of information item 401
The 14 cases up to the case where the call starts at 3:05 are the target cases. For each of the target cases obtained in step S4, the call charge is calculated while changing the use conditions.

The counter n indicating the order of the target case from the beginning among the target cases obtained in step S4 is reset to 0 (step S5). Next, the counter n is incremented (step S6). It is determined whether or not the case indicated by the counter n exists in the target cases extracted in step S4 (step S7). If the result of the determination is that there is no case indicated by the counter n, the process moves to step S16.

In step S7, if the case indicated by the counter n exists in the target cases obtained in step S4, the n-th case is extracted (step S8). Among the usage conditions stored in the line usage fee storage unit 50, a counter k indicating the number of the usage condition from the beginning is reset to 1 (step S9). It is determined whether the use condition indicated by the counter k exists (step S1).
0). As a result of the determination, if the use condition indicated by the counter k does not exist, it is determined that the calculation of the call fee for the n-th case has been completed, and the process returns to step S6 to perform the process for the next case.

In step S10, if the usage condition indicated by the counter k exists, the k-th usage condition is extracted (step S11). For example, service A (the basic charge is 1000 yen and the call charge is 10 yen every 60 seconds) 51
0 is extracted.

Based on the k-th use condition extracted in step S11, a call charge for the n-th case extracted in step S8 is calculated (step S12), and the calculated charge is stored as a comparison calculation content (step S13). .
Next, the counter k is incremented (step S1).
4) Returning to step S10, processing for the next use condition is performed.

By repeating the above steps S10 to S14, the calculation of the call charge for the n-th case is performed according to all the use conditions, and the processing from step S6 to step S10 is repeated. , The call charge can be calculated for every available condition.

FIG. 5 is an example of the calculation of the fee calculated by the above processing. Here, based on the above processing, the usage fee for each service is calculated for each item number of the history information, the total of the call fee is calculated for each service unit, the basic fee is added, and the service fee is calculated for each service unit. In this example, the total charge for each month, here, for April is calculated.
When the calculation of the fee is completed by the above process, that is, when it is determined in step S7 that the n-th case does not exist, the line usage fee notification unit 70 notifies the user of the calculated fee (step S16).

With the above operation, the fee can be calculated based on the history information and the usage conditions, and the calculated fee can be notified to the user. As a result, the user can reduce the cost based on the reported fee, such as switching the line or changing the use time.

In the first embodiment, the means and method for realizing the communication line use condition advice function when all necessary information is held and stored on the terminal side have been described.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication line use condition advice system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The communication line use condition advice system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal device 1b such as a portable telephone and a server 3b connected to the pay public line 2.

The terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone is connected to the pay public line 2 to perform a call or data transfer.
A clock unit 30 for measuring the date and time, etc., and a call history information storage unit for storing history information such as the date and time when the call or data transfer was performed using the terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone, the call time, and the other party of the call. 40, a call history information transmitting unit 1b1 for transmitting the call history information stored in the call history information storage unit 40 to the server 3b, and a line usage fee receiving unit 11 for receiving a usage fee transmitted from the server 3b. A line usage fee notification unit 70 for notifying the user of the usage fee received by the line usage fee reception unit 11, a control unit (not shown) for controlling the whole, and a program for controlling the whole are stored. Input section for inputting ROM, telephone number, etc.
It is composed of a display unit for displaying the input telephone number and the like, a microphone, a speaker and the like. The communication processing unit 2
0, the clock unit 30, the call history information storage unit 40, and the line usage fee notification unit 70 are functionally the same as those constituting the terminal device 1a such as the mobile phone in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment. It is. Therefore, detailed description here is omitted.

On the other hand, the server 3b has a line usage charge storage unit 50 storing available line service and charge information, and a call history for receiving call history information transmitted from the terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone. An information receiving unit 3b1,
An expected line usage charge calculating unit 60 for calculating a usage fee for each service according to the call history information received by the call history information receiving unit 3b1 and the usage fee stored in the line usage fee storage unit 50; A line usage fee transmission unit 31 for transmitting the usage fee calculated by the usage fee calculation unit 60 to the terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone. The line usage charge storage unit 50 and the estimated line usage charge calculation unit 60
Is a terminal device 1 such as the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment.
It is functionally the same as that constituting a. Therefore, detailed description here is omitted.

When the user wants to receive advice on the communication service when using the line, the terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone transmits the call history information to the server 3b. On the server 3b side, after receiving the transmitted call history information, the estimated line usage charge calculating unit 60 uses the received call history information and the usage fee stored in the server 3b to calculate the line usage fee. Is calculated, and the calculated fee is transmitted from the line usage fee transmission unit 31. The terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone receives the usage fee transmitted from the server 3b,
Notify the user with 0.

The calculation of the estimated line usage fee on the server 3b side is the same as the operation in the flowchart of FIG. 5 in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description here is omitted.

With the above operation, it is not necessary for the terminal device 1b such as a mobile phone to own the usage fee information of a plurality of types of lines, and only by storing the call history information in the terminal device 1b, the usage fee of the line is reduced. Can be calculated.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another configuration of a communication line use condition advice system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The communication line use condition advice system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone and a server 3c connected to the pay public line 2.

A terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone is connected to the pay public line 2 to perform a call or data transfer.
And an identification number transmitting unit 1c1 for transmitting the identification number of the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone, a line usage fee receiving unit 11 for receiving the usage fee transmitted from the server 3c, and a reception by the line usage fee receiving unit 11. And a control unit (not shown) for controlling the entire system, a program for controlling the entire system, and a ROM in which a terminal-specific identification number is stored. ,
It comprises an input unit for inputting a telephone number and the like, a display unit for displaying the input telephone number and the like, a microphone, a speaker, and the like. The communication processing unit 20 and the line usage fee receiving unit 1
1. The line usage fee notification unit 70 is functionally the same as that of the terminal device 1b such as the mobile phone in FIG. 6 of the second embodiment. Therefore, detailed description here is omitted. Further, the identification number is the terminal device 1 such as a mobile phone.
c At the time of purchase, a different number is registered for each terminal device, whereby the terminal device and the owner are specified.

On the other hand, the server 3c transmits from the clock unit 30 for counting the date and time, the terminal call history storage unit 3c1 storing terminal call history information for each terminal identification number, and the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone. Terminal identification number receiving section 3c2 for receiving the identification number received, and terminal identification number receiving section 3c2.
The terminal owner specifying unit 3c3 for specifying the owner based on the terminal identification number received in step 1, and the terminal possession extracting the call history information of the terminal owner specified by the terminal owner specifying unit 3c3 from the terminal call history storage unit 3c1. Call history information extraction unit 3c
4, a terminal owner history information updating unit 3c5 for updating the extracted terminal owner call history information, and a line usage fee storage unit 5 storing available line service and fee information.
0, an expected line usage charge calculating unit that calculates a usage fee for each service according to the call history information extracted by the terminal owner call history information extraction unit 3c4 and the usage fee stored in the line usage fee storage unit 50. 60, and a line usage fee transmission unit 31 that transmits the usage fee calculated by the expected line usage fee calculation unit 60 to the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone. The line charge storage unit 50, the estimated line charge calculation unit 60, and the line charge transmission unit 31 are functionally the same as those constituting the server 3b of FIG. 6 of the second embodiment. Further, the terminal call history storage unit 3c1 is the same except that information for a plurality of persons is stored in the call history information storage unit 40 of FIG. 1 in the first embodiment. Therefore, detailed description here is omitted.

When communication is performed using the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone, the terminal device 1c is connected to the server 3c via the communication processing unit 20. At the time of this connection, an identification number for identifying the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone is transmitted to the server 3c. After receiving the identification number, the server 3c specifies the owner of the terminal with the terminal owner specifying unit 3c3 and extracts the call history information of the owner. The extracted call history information is updated by the terminal owner history information update unit 3c5 each time the call is ended, and stored in the terminal call history storage unit 3c1.

When the user requests the advice of the call charge, the call history information extracted by the terminal owner call history information extraction unit 3c4 and the usage fee stored in the line usage fee storage unit 50 are used. Then, the usage fee calculated by the expected usage fee calculating unit 60 and the usage fee calculated by the usage fee transmission unit 31 are transmitted to the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone. The terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone notifies the transmitted usage fee by the line usage fee notification unit 70. This content is the same as that of FIG. 6 except that the server 3c first receives the identification number and extracts the terminal call history information according to the identification number. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

With the above operation, the terminal device 1c such as a mobile phone has a small memory, and even if the terminal device 1c does not store anything, only the identification number is transmitted and the use of the terminal device 1c such as the mobile phone according to the identification number is possible. It is possible to provide a system in which the server 3c advises on the fee.

The contents of the embodiments described above are not limited to the above description unless the gist of the present invention is changed.

[0050]

The terminal device with the communication line use condition advice function, the control method of the communication line use condition advice function, and the communication line use condition advice system according to the present invention have the following effects.

First, in the terminal device with the communication line use condition advice function of the present invention and the control method thereof, it is possible to accurately calculate the call charge based on the past user's history information and give advice to the user. In particular, the system configuration is effective when the terminal device has a large-capacity memory (there is enough memory capacity). Further, the user always obtains a call charge based on the latest call charge table by downloading and using the latest information from an external device such as a server connected to a public line as a stored line use charge. In addition to this, the service provider can easily promote the better service to the user. Further, when calculating the line usage fee, the calculation is performed using the line usage fee billing period in the history information, so that the user can be notified of the call fee in a more realistic manner. Become.

Next, in the communication line use condition advice system according to the present invention, the communication charge calculated by the terminal device having the communication line use condition advice function itself is reduced by the server side connected via the public line. In order to advise the terminal device user on the call charge, if only the history information is retained on the terminal side,
It is not necessary to keep a large amount of line usage fee information, and even if the service in line usage increases, or even if the terminal device has little memory, history information and It becomes possible to accurately calculate and notify the call charge based on the line usage charge information. Furthermore, since the history information is also managed on the server side, even when the memory on the terminal device side is small (only a small amount of memory is provided), the call charge can be calculated efficiently. . In addition, when calculating the line usage fee, the calculation was performed using the line usage fee billing period in the history information,
It is possible to notify the user of a more realistic call charge.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of data stored as usage status history information.

FIG. 3 is an example of data stored as line usage fee information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control for calculating a fee of the terminal device having the communication line use condition advice function according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of a call charge calculated by comparison calculation using the advice function of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1a, 1b, 1c Terminal device (with a communication line use condition advisory function) such as a mobile phone 11 Line use fee receiving unit 1b1 Call history information transmitting unit 1c1 Identification number transmitting unit 2 Paid public line 3b, 3c server 31 line usage fee transmitting unit 3b1 call history information receiving unit 3c1 terminal call history storage unit 3c2 terminal identification number receiving unit 3c3 terminal owner specifying unit 3c4 terminal owner communication history information extracting unit 3c5 terminal owner history information updating unit 20 communication processing Unit 30 clock unit 40 call history information storage unit 50 line charge storage unit 60 expected line charge calculation unit 70 line charge notification unit

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device having a communication function of connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line and performing a telephone call and data transfer, comprising: clock means for measuring date and time and day of the week; Usage history information storage means for extracting the date and time and day of the week when connection or disconnection to and storing the history information, line usage fee storage means for storing a plurality of patterns of usage condition and line usage fee charging information under different connection conditions, For different connection conditions stored in the line usage fee storage unit, an expected line usage fee calculation unit that calculates a line usage fee of each connection condition for the history information stored in the usage history information storage unit, Notification means for notifying the estimated line usage fee of each connection condition calculated by the expected line usage fee calculation unit together with the connection condition. Communication line usage conditions advice function terminal device with which the butterflies. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said line usage fee storage means stores said usage conditions and charging information of a line usage fee transferred via a pay communication line such as a public line. Terminal device with communication line usage condition advice function. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said estimated line usage charge calculating means calculates a line usage charge based on information stored in said usage history information storage means and said line usage charge storage means. 3. The terminal device with a communication line use condition advice function according to claim 1, wherein the calculation is performed using the date and time and the period of the billing period. 4. A method of controlling a communication line use condition advice function in a terminal device having a communication function of performing a telephone call or data transfer by connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line, wherein a time and date and a day of the week are measured. It extracts the date and time and day of the week when it was connected or disconnected from the toll communication line, stores usage history information to be stored as history information, and stores multiple patterns of usage conditions and line usage fee charging information under different connection conditions. A communication characterized by calculating a line charge for each connection condition for stored history information under different connection conditions, and notifying the calculated estimated line charge for each connection condition together with the connection condition. Control method of the line usage condition advice function. 5. A terminal device having a communication function of connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line and performing a telephone call or data transfer, and an external device communicating with the terminal device via the pay communication line. The terminal device comprises: a clock unit for measuring the date and time and the day of the week; and a usage history information storage for extracting the date and time and the day of the week connected or disconnected by the clock unit and storing the same as history information. Means, and usage history information transmission means for transmitting history information stored in the usage history information storage means to the external device, wherein the external device has usage information and line usage fee charging information under different connection conditions. Transmission fee storage means for storing a plurality of patterns, and transmission from the terminal device under different connection conditions stored in the transmission fee storage means. Expected line usage fee calculating means for calculating the line usage fee of each connection condition for the received history information; and the expected line usage fee of each connection condition calculated by the expected line usage fee calculation means together with the connection condition. Means for transmitting an expected line usage fee to the terminal, the terminal device further receiving, as data, an expected line usage fee of each connection condition transmitted from the external device together with the connection condition, and A communication line usage condition advice system, comprising: a notification unit that notifies a charge together with a connection condition. 6. A terminal device having a communication function of connecting to a pay communication line such as a public line and performing a telephone call or data transfer, and an external device communicating with the terminal device via the pay communication line. In the system, the terminal device includes an identification number transmitting unit that transmits an identification number of the terminal device, the external device includes a clock unit that measures time and date and a day of the week, and a terminal call history for each terminal identification number. Terminal call history storage means for storing information; terminal identification number receiving means for receiving an identification number transmitted from the terminal device; and owner identification based on the terminal identification number received by the terminal identification number receiving means. Terminal owner specifying means for extracting, and terminal owner call history information extracting for extracting call history information of the terminal owner specified by the terminal owner specifying means from the terminal call history storing means. Step, terminal owner history information updating means for updating the extracted terminal owner call history information, line usage charge storage means storing available line service and charge information, and the terminal owner call history An expected line usage fee calculating unit that calculates a usage fee for each service according to the call history information extracted by the information extraction unit and the usage fee stored in the line usage fee storage unit; Line usage fee transmission means for transmitting the usage fee calculated in the above to the terminal device, the terminal device further includes an estimated line usage fee of each connection condition transmitted from the external device as data together with the connection condition. Notification means for receiving and notifying the expected line usage fee together with the connection condition, and a communication line usage condition advice system. . 7. The estimated line usage fee calculating means calculates a line usage fee based on information stored in the usage history information storage means and the line usage fee storage means in accordance with usage conditions. 7. The communication line usage condition advice system according to claim 5, wherein the calculation is performed using the date and time of the billing period.