KR100387322B1 - Methods and devices for charging for the use of telecommunication networks - Google Patents

Abstract

In response to the use of the customer's telecommunications network, a billing specification for the customer is calculated. The call item specification for the customer is edited and a number of currency types 73, 75, 77 are defined. Each call item is identified as belonging to the call type and a nominal fee per item is calculated. A nominal fee per item is integrated and at least one currency category having an associated discount rate is defined. The accumulated currency type value is mapped to the category integrator corresponding to the customer reference data.

Description

Charging method and apparatus for use of telecommunication network

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for calculating a billing specification for charging a customer using a telecommunications service in an edited form of a call item.

Most telecommunication services are provided by a public switched telephone network (PSTN), where charges in the public telephone network are derived primarily from the actual use made by the network. Thus, customers can literally reach millions of other customers connected to the network, but with the exception of some standing charge, they are charged only when they communicate with other customers connected to the network. do.

In determining the charges for a switched call, factors that may affect the charges include (a) the geographic location where the customer was calling, (b) the duration of the call, and (c) the call established. That's the way. In particular, a call established by a direct dial method is charged at a lower rate than a call connected by a manual operator.

Under conventional billing environments, developing a system and apparatus that converts these parameters into an actual billable amount is the correct procedure. Therefore, after all the necessary information has been collected from a local exchange, which is stored at the local exchange when a call is being made, it is possible to provide this information in a prescribed procedure, whereby Automatically generated and bills are processed in a highly automated and efficient form.

But there are several problems here. First, problems can arise when modifications are desired for how the physical usage of the network is converted to billable amounts. In particular, as the telecommunications environment becomes more competitive, it is desired to provide competitive advantages and maximize income from customers by utilizing more advanced marketing tools, and as such, it is becoming more and more advanced.

Second, due to technological advances, the types of available calls are becoming more diversified, for example, charge card or similar accounting procedures can be used to charge a call on one phone to another phone account. Such as a new exchange system that allows. Furthermore, a fare card can be used to connect customers in a first country with customers in a second country, and the bill can actually be provided to an originating customer in a third country.

Third, problems may arise due to external costs or legislative restrictions, such as changes in VAT or similar taxes added to telecommunication charges. Considering financial or technical constraints with minimal effort, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a more advanced system for charging usage within a telecommunications network. However, advances in overcoming many of the problems associated with these situational changes have enabled them to take full advantage of such systems, enabling them to take advantage of new marketing tools quickly and effectively, and, at the same time, minimizing the risks associated with introducing errors into those systems. It is desired to stay ahead of competitors.

A marketing tool that benefits certain is to offer discounts on certain types of currencies. As new marketing opportunities arise, it is advantageous to have new discount plans, such as discount plans that contribute to increased network usage during the off-peak period. Furthermore, in addition to such services, it is also necessary to provide a mechanism for customers to selectively access these new services. Including an advanced discount plan, there will be an environment in which the actual amount charged to a customer for a given collection of call usage data depends on whether the customer has signed a particular type of service.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a method of calculating a billing specification for charging a call item specification in a form edited to a customer who uses the aforementioned telecommunication service, a plurality of call types are defined, and the call type Identify each call item as one of the following, calculate the nominal charge for each call item, and integrate the nominal charge for each call item into a currency type accumulator, wherein at least one is Define a currency category to have a discount rate associated with and calculate a billing specification for the customer, wherein the integrated nominal fee stored in the currency type integrator is mapped to a category integrator according to the customer specific data. A method is provided.

The present invention provides that an aggregate of fare is created for each individual currency type. These call types will depend on the physical environment provided in the telecommunications network and new call types may be added as technology advances. For each currency type, the running total is created at the nominal rate of that particular currency type item. Discount options are considered by defining currency categories. Accumulated nominal item rates of one or more will be mapped to currency categories as defined by customer specific data. The discount calculation can then be done according to the value supplied to the category integrator.

In a preferred embodiment, the call item identifies the manner in which the call was made, the charging band for the call, and the call duration. Preferably, each item is identified as belonging to a particular currency type by assigning a data analysis and call type identification number associated with that call.

In a preferred embodiment, customer specific data about each customer reflects an available set of terms and conditions of service, which can be identified as a customer's option, and an individual table is a service selected by the customer, It is selected based on the selected option.

The invention makes it possible to employ the option of defining a calling circle. According to a preferred embodiment, the call circle category applies discounts to telephone calls made to the set of pre-determined telephone numbers. The value accumulated in the call circle category is preferably derived from an item accumulator in which the values indicative of automatically dialed calls are accumulated in order.

In the above, a technique called "nominal fee" is used to describe the charge calculated in the first case, which may or may not be changed before sending the bill to the customer.

As envisioned in the first aspect of the present invention, the step of mapping the integrated currency type value to the category integrator may in practice be performed in one or more ways. It includes the generation of information identifying the nominal fee from the currency type integrator to which the relevant currency category in each category integrator applies. It may be done, for example, by loading a pointer into the associated currency type integrator in each category accumulator or by downloading all nominal rates to the category integrator in the associated currency type integrator.

Customer specific data may be provided using a customer profile, for example in the form of a reference table or in terms of current intelligent network technology.

The order in which the steps are performed need not be strictly the same as the order set above. For example, step iv) may be performed at any time prior to other steps when the customer initially selects a discount package.

The invention will be explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a customer terminal device interconnected with a local exchange and a central billing device,

2 is a view showing in detail the processing apparatus provided in the charging device shown in FIG. 1 including a processor,

3 is a view showing the process performed by the processor for calculating the customer account, including discount calculation,

4 is an overview of the process used to calculate the discount, including the integration of category values from the currency type totalizer,

5A to 5D are diagrams showing a detailed process of confirming a call type,

6 is a diagram illustrating a process of mapping an integrated currency type value to a currency type integrator in detail;

7 is a diagram illustrating a detailed process of integrating a discounted rate in a category integrator.

A schematic representation 15 of a customer terminal device connected to a local switching center 16 is shown in FIG. However, it is to be understood that Figure 1 represents a simplified environment in which the invention may be practiced. In most practical environments, local exchanges will in turn be connected to intercity exchanges and suburban lines and will be connected to each other carrying highly complex channels. The collection of data related to billing may be affected according to the topology shown in FIG. 1, but in alternative embodiments the billing information is directed to the billing device via an intercity exchange or via an additional fee collection system.

Each local switching center includes storage means 17 for collecting data about calls made by the customer 15 connected to the associated local switching center 16.

When the customer starts talking to the terminal device 15B using the terminal device 15A, the telephone number of the customer device 15B is checked and the data is recorded in the storage means 17 of the local switching center 16 ( logged). In addition, the information can be stored, such as local, long distance, or international, regarding the charging band of the customer device 15B. Furthermore, data confirming how the call was made is also stored. For example, this data is dialed directly at the terminal device 15A to state that the call was made by the telephone number of the terminal device 15B. As an alternative, the call may be recommended by the intervention of a manual operator, and a high rate will usually be charged to the sender 15A. Even if the terminal device 15A is used for a call, it may be in the process of being called by the customer who actually signed the terminal device 15C, and using the fare card facility, the charge amount is not an account associated with the terminal device 15A. It may be redirected to an account associated with the terminal long key 15C.

Telephone bills are usually delivered to customers four times a year, and tend to be delivered from the central billing office, not from each individual local or regional exchange. The advantage of delivering bills from a central office is that it is possible to obtain information from multiple sources and include them together in a single customer bill, especially in advanced systems with facilities that use bill cards. have. This is clearly a benefit from the customer's point of view and from the network provider's point of view, as there is no need to create more than one account for the high level of services added to conventional services, and can be supplied to the customer as a single account.

The central charging device 18 periodically polls each local switching center 16 to obtain memorized information about the performance of a particular customer. For the purposes of this example, it will be assumed that over time the central charging device 18 creates an account of the customer associated with the terminal device 15A. The charging device 18 may have already been provided with the required information, such as the use of a charge card from another device. There is a further need for a conventional investigation of normal type telephone calls now made using terminal device 15A. Thus, the charging device 18 prompts the transmission to the storage device 17 in the local switching center 16 associated with the terminal device 15A. In response to the polling signal, the storage device 17 supplies data stored in association with the terminal device 15A to the central charging device.

Obviously from the network provider's point of view, it is essential that a high degree of handshaking and safety provisions be made when this information is transmitted and many references are available explaining how this can be achieved. It is sufficient, however, to speak of the purpose of the present invention, so that all relevant information is transmitted from the storage device 17 and the device 17 is effectively removed so as to record a record of the new usage of the terminal device 15A as part of the next billing period. You can start

The charging device 18 includes a number of processing units running in parallel, each arranged to create a customer account. A typical system found in the charging device 18 is shown in FIG. The system includes a central processing unit 21 arranged to receive data relating to the usage history of the customer from the main memory 22, and additionally receiving a customer table from the table storage 23. The processing apparatus 21 is also arranged to supply data to and receive data from the recording storage area 24, and basically the processor 21 accounts for print data. Arranged to feed into the device 25.

The customer usage record information is supplied from the remote storage area 26 to the main data storage area 22, which is arranged to receive a charge card use record and other high-charging records. Conventional billing records are received from storage 17 at the local switching center via polling device 27, as described above, using the facilities provided within the network itself and contacting each local switching center as much as possible. Arranged to receive data about the performance of a particular customer. Under the control of the main coordinating processor, a billing statement is calculated for a particular customer, and as a result, data relating to the customer are collected in the main data storage area 22, in the form of the telephone number, the talk time, and the means from which the call was initiated. It is decided to come out.

In response to the program control, the processor 21 is arranged to interpret the data stored in the main data storage area 22 and to provide data that can be supplied to the toll printing device 25. Modern marketing trends define how usage is converted into service charges, and not all customers are offered the same terms and conditions. Customers may be offered a choice of options and, depending on their needs for service use, they may make specific choices of available options, defining their service terms and conditions. Furthermore, corporate customers can be provided with different sets of options for domestic customers, with particular emphasis on increasing non-peak usage of telecommunication networks to reflect different operating conditions. It is necessary to load data relating to a particular option selected by the customer when processing a fee of a particular customer, which data is provided by the storage area 23 in the form of a customer reference table and category definition. This category definition defines how discounts are applied to specific system usage. The present invention facilitates the definition of a call circle in which a group of customers is identified as belonging to a group and calls within that group are charged at lower rates than similar currencies outside that group.

An overview of a portion of the process performed by processor 21 in connection with this embodiment is shown in FIG. The process includes a main control system that acts to communicate a specific action process. In step 31 a call is made from the main operating system to enter a specific routine to accumulate fees and apply discounts.

In step 32 the customer being charged is identified, allowing a specific option to be identified and allowing a customer reference table and category definition related to that option to be read from the table storage area 23.

In step 33 source information about the call item associated with the identified customer is collected, as already mentioned, the source information is more specific, including the collection of normal data by local exchange polling and the use of a rate card. Includes the collection of data.

In step 34 the data associated with the item is interpreted to associate the data with a particular currency type. The processing for realizing this step is shown in Figs. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D.

After each call item is associated with a particular call type, in step 35 a fee is calculated for each item and integrated into the individual call type totalizer.

In step 36, the discount rate is integrated in the category integrator by mapping the value accumulated in the rate type integrator to the category integrator. After step 36 the discounted rate is calculated and control returns to the main system in step 37.

A schematic representation of the relationship between currency type totalizer and category totalizer is shown in FIG. In step 35 of FIG. 3, the nominal fee is calculated for each item and integrated in the individual currency type accumulator. The call type accumulator 41 will accumulate all call charges associated with the first particular call type and similarly the call type accumulator 42 will accumulate call charges associated with the second call type. However, depending on the selected option, the same discount is applied to the value accumulated in the currency type accumulator 41 as it is applied to the value accumulated in the currency type accumulator 42. The value integrated in both currency type integrators 41 and 42 before the discounted rate is calculated is itself integrated in the category integrator 43.

Furthermore, the value integrated in the currency type integrator 45 is transmitted to the category integrator 45 according to the option defined by the customer reference table, and the currency type value integrated in the currency type integrator 46 is category integrator 47. To be accumulated. According to this particular option the category integrator 48 is not used even if it is used in other selectable options.

As shown in FIG. 4, a specific discount (49) is applied to each value integrated in the category integrator, after which the discounted value can be used to calculate the final bill. In the example shown in FIG. 4, in some situations the discounted value is simply summed up by the final output accumulator 50, even if the itemized bill is made under a separate heading derived from the category.

The process identified as step 34 of FIG. 3 for identifying the call type for the individual call item is shown in detail in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D. The process begins at step 71 and the next data element is read at step 72 and a question is asked whether this element represents a payable currency. The pay-to-call does not contain information identifying the called customer and is not an entry listed in the final bill. If the question received in step 72 is answered affirmatively then it is checked if the element indicates a short time call that will not be itemized and the element is identified as type 15 and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 72 is answered negatively, control passes to step 74 where a question is asked as to whether the element indicates a special network service call. Special network service calls provide services, such as private branch exchanges, which are commonly found in public network environments. Special network services include minutes of calls, call waiting, call transfers, and similar features, which require additional reservations and are not likely to be offered a special discount. If the question received in step 74 is answered affirmatively, the element is identified as type 16 with the effect that the element indicates a special network service and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 74 is answered negatively, control passes to step 76 where a question is asked as to whether the element is a maritime currency. If this question is answered affirmatively, the element is probably identified as type 14 as a result of representing an expensive marine call using a satellite link and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 76 is answered negatively, control passes to step 78 and a question is asked as to whether the currency is VAT exempt. VAT exemption occurs when a currency originating outside the country in which the customer registers the VAT is transferred to another customer outside the VAT registration area. If the question received in step 78 is answered affirmatively then the data element is identified as call type 1 and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 78 is answered negatively, then in step 80 a question is asked as to whether the call is of a type in which the called customer pays in full or part of the call charge. In the UK, calls with the prefix "0800" are charged by the customer receiving the call, while numbers with the prefix "0345" are charged to the person who calls the rate at the local rate and the other person who receives the call. bear. The 0800 call is identified as call type 10 and the 0345 call is identified as call type 11. Control then passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 80 is answered in a negative manner, control goes to step 82 and is asked whether the call was dialed normally, ie without using the toll card and without the operator's intervention. If the question received in step 82 is answered affirmatively, then in step 83 another question is asked as to whether the data represents a local call. If this question is answered affirmatively, the result is an indication that the data is a normal local call and the call is identified as type 21 and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 83 is answered negatively, then the normally dialed call is not a local call and control goes to step 85 where a question is asked whether the call is a domestic long distance call or a long distance call. If this question is answered affirmatively, the data indicates a normal long distance call, the data is identified as type 22, and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 85 is answered negatively, control goes to step 87 and the call is identified as a general international call, and the call is placed in type 23. Control then passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 82 is answered negatively, the data will not indicate a normally dialed call and control will go to step 88 (FIG. 5B) to be asked whether it is a low rate operator call. . An operator call is thought to be of two types, a local operator call occurs when the customer attempts to use the operator by using the direct dialing technique, while the customer first calls the operator without first attempting to make a conventional call. When looking for high rate operator currency.

If the question received in step 88 is answered affirmatively, then in step 89 a question is asked as to whether the data element represents a local call. If this question is answered affirmatively, then it is a low rate operator call and control goes to step 90 and the call information is identified as type 24 and control then to step 111.

If the question received in step 89 is answered negatively, then control passes to step 91 and is asked whether the call is a long distance call. If this question is answered affirmatively, confirm the low rate operator long distance call, the call data is identified as type 25, and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 91 is answered in a negative manner, it is confirmed that a low rate operator international call has been made, control proceeds to step 93, call information is confirmed as type 26, and control then proceeds to step 111.

If the question received in step 88 is answered negatively, control goes to 94 and is asked whether a high rate operator call has been made. If this question is answered affirmatively, control goes to step 95 and is asked whether or not a local call has been made. If this question is answered affirmatively, the call is identified as a high rate operator call and the call information is identified as type 27 and control then passes to step 111.

Alternatively, if the question received in step 95 is answered in a negative manner, control passes to step 97 and is asked whether the call is a long distance call. If this question is answered affirmatively, the call is identified as a high rate operator long distance call, the call data is identified as type 28, and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 97 is answered negatively, the call is confirmed as a high rate operator international call, control passes to step 99 and the call data is identified as type 29 and control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 94 is answered negatively, control goes to step 100 (FIG. 5C) and is asked whether the call is an autodial farecard call. If this question is answered affirmatively, in step 101 a question is asked as to whether the call is a local call and if this question is answered affirmatively the call is identified as a local autodial rate card call and the call information is identified as type 30. Control passes to step 111.

If the question received in step 101 is answered in a negative manner, control passes to step 103 and is asked whether the call is a long distance call. If this question is answered affirmatively, the call is identified as a long distance auto dial farecard call and the call information is identified as call type 31 and control passes to step 111.

As an alternative, if the question received in step 103 is answered negatively, the call is confirmed as an international automatic toll card call, control goes to step 105, call information is identified as call type 35, and control then goes to step 111.

If the question received in step 100 is answered negatively, the only remaining alternative is that the call is made through the operator using a farecard. Thus, in step 106 a question is asked as to whether the call is a local call and if the answer is affirmatively answered, the call is identified as a local operator farecard call and the call information is identified as type 32 and control is directed to step 111.

If the question received at step 106 is answered negatively, then control passes to step 108 and is asked whether the call is a long distance call. If this question is answered affirmatively, control proceeds to step 109 where the call is identified as a long distance operator farecard call and the call information is identified as call type 33.

If the question received in step 108 is answered negatively, control goes to step 110, the call is identified as an international operator farecard call, the call information is identified as call type 34 and then control goes to step 111.

In step 111 it is asked as to whether the customer has a call circle. A call circle is a special form of discount convenience that a group of customers thinks they belong to each other. A call circle is a marketing tool used to promote the increase in telephone usage, especially for regular social calls among club members. Call circle calls are limited to certain types, for example, can only be applied to autophone calls, not to calls through an operator, and therefore if the question in step 111 is answered affirmatively, the call method is a call circle call. A question is asked as to whether it is included in a suitable one.

If the question in step 112 is answered affirmatively, a question is asked as to whether the number dialed by the customer in step 113 is in the call circle. If the question at step 113 is answered affirmatively, control passes to step 114 and the new currency type is identified by adding 100 to the old type. For example, a manually dialed local call is identified as belonging to call type 21 in step 84. If this call is suitable for inclusion in the call circle, the new call type is identified as call type 121 in step 114.

After making a new call type in step 114, control passes to step 115. Control also passes to step 115 if there is a negative response to any of the questions received in steps 111, 112 and 113.

In step 115 a prefix table is retrieved to determine whether or not the telephone number being called is included in the prefix present in the prefix table. The prefix table remembers the prefix for the Preferred Rate Service, which will generally not go into any discount plan.

In step 116 a question is asked as to whether the prefix of the call exists in the prefix table. If the answer to the question received at step 116 is affirmative, then at step 117 the new currency type is read from the prefix table and thereafter is asked whether there is another item to be processed at step 118.

If the question received in step 116 is negatively answered, control goes to step 118 and if the question received in step 118 is answered affirmatively, control returns to step 71 to repeat the process. When all elements have been processed the question received in step 118 will be answered negatively and control will go to step 35 in FIG.

As already mentioned, the nominal rates for each item are integrated into the individual type accumulators after each item is identified as belonging to a particular currency type. The process identified in step 35 of FIG. 3 is shown in detail in FIG.

In step 161 the currency type integrator is cleared and the integrated value for previously processed customer data is cleared.

Subsequent to the processing performed in step 34, in step 162, data relating to the next item is read and will have a call type number associated with it. In step 163 the call type number for the particular item is confirmed and in step 164 the nominal fee calculation for the particular call type is performed. This nominal fee represents the fee to be charged to the customer without any discount plan provided.

In step 65 the fee calculated in step 64 is added to the value stored in the individual currency type integrator and a question is asked in step 166 whether other items exist.

If the question received in step 166 is answered affirmatively, control returns to step 162 and the next item is processed to add another nominal fee to the appropriate type integrator. Eventually the question received in step 166 will be answered negatively and control will go to step 36.

After finishing the process identified in FIG. 6, the value will be integrated into the currency type accumulator with reference to 41, 42, 44 and 46 of FIG. Depending on the process identified in step 36, the next step will be related to the transfer of the values stored in the call type integrator to the category integrator. The process identified in step 36 of FIG. 3 is detailed in FIG.

In step 171 the customer's option is confirmed and in step 172 the category defined by the option is loaded according to the customer reference table.

In step 173, in a first iteration, the next category will be considered the first category and the call type associated with this category is identified. Referring to FIG. 4, in a first iteration, category 43 will identify call type totalizers 41 and 42 according to the customer reference table. The call type charge of the call type integrator identified in stem 174 is added to the category charge sum. Referring again to the example shown in FIG. 4, after the currency type integrators 41 and 42 are confirmed in step 173, the values stored therein are added to the category integrator 43.

In step 173 a question is asked as to whether another category exists and when a positive response is issued, control returns to step 173. Referring again to the example shown in FIG. 4, in a second iteration, the next category will be category 45 and the charges accumulated in currency type accumulator 44 will result in being accumulated in category accumulator 45.

Eventually the question received in step 175 will be answered negatively and a question in step 176 will be asked as to whether all call types have been processed. It is possible for a customer reference table to provide mappings for all currency types. As a result, any residual currency type integration is added together in step 177 and considered as "other charge".

In step 178 a discount calculation is performed on the value integrated in each category integrator and is schematically represented by reference numeral 49 in FIG. These discounted values provide the final data based on the customer account.

As a result, the way in which discounted values for each category are subsequently processed to provide a customer account is beyond the scope of the present invention. The conversion of the discounted value may be set by another routine in the pole system and after step 178 control returns to the main system at step 37.

In the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. 4, the contents of each call type integrator 41 are transmitted only to one of the category integrators. This has the effect that only one discount package can be applied per currency type. This is an advantage in the UK where there are restrictions on the regulations on discounts, but it should be considered that embodiments of the invention that allow multiple discounts on one currency type are within the scope of the invention. The contents of the currency type accumulator may be read with one or more category accumulators and may be appropriately handled.

Claims (15)

Claims [1] A method of calculating a billing specification for charging a bill in a form in which a call item specification is edited to a customer who uses a telecommunication service. Defining a plurality of currency types (73, 75, 77), Identifying (34) each call item so as to belong to one of the call types; Calculating a nominal rate for each call item (164); Integrating the nominal rate for each currency type into the call type integrators 41 and 42 (165); Defining a currency category such that at least one of the currency categories has a discount rate associated therewith; Mapping the accumulated currency type value stored in the currency type totalizer according to the customer specific data to the category totalizer. Method for calculating a billing specification, characterized in that it comprises. The method of claim 1, The currency item is a method of calculating a billing specification, characterized in that for identifying the manner in which the currency was made. The method of claim 1, And the currency item identifies a charging band for the currency. The method of claim 1, And the call item identifies a call duration. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Interpreting the call-related data and assigning an identification number for each call type to this to identify each item so as to belong to a specific call type. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, At least one currency category accumulator (43) contributes from at least two currency type accumulators (41, 42). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The customer-specific data reflects the terms and conditions of the set of services available; And a table is selected in response to the service option selected from the customer. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, A method of calculating a billing specification, wherein a discount is applied to a telephone call for which a call circle category has been set for a predetermined set of telephone numbers. The method of claim 8, And wherein the integrated value for the call circle category is obtained from a data item representing an autodial call. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, Inquiring about whether the currency data indicates a specific currency type, and repeating this process until the currency type is identified to calculate the billing specification, wherein the currency data is identified so that the currency data belongs to the specific currency type. How to. A method of processing call item data to calculate billing data for customer billing regarding the use of a telecommunications service, the method comprising: i) classifying call item data according to call type; ii) calculating a first rate for each call item according to the call type; iii) integrating the first rate for each currency type into a currency type totalizer; iv) storing customer-related data and identifying one or more selected categories of individual customers; v) further classifying the first fare according to the one or more selected currency categories; vi) calculating a second rate for the first rate to which the selected call category is applied. The method of claim 11, The step v) identifies all currency type totalizers to which each currency category is applied, and adds the first fare accumulated in each identified currency type totalizer to the data storage device assigned to the individual currency category in a data structure. Call item data processing method characterized in that the transmission. The method according to claim 11 or 12, vii) outputting the second fee calculated in step vi) to a bill issuer. A device for charging a customer for use of a communication network, Means (17, 26) for storing data items for each call made by the customer; Table storage means (23) for storing data relating to billing options; Processing means 21 for processing the item data in combination with the option data; A bill printing means 25 for printing bill data calculated by the processing means 21, The processing means Means (73, 75, 77) for defining a plurality of currency types; Means (34) for identifying each of said call item so as to belong to one of said call types, Means (164) for calculating the nominal fee for each call item; Means (165) for integrating the nominal rates for each call item in call type integrators (41, 42), At least one of the currency categories includes means for defining a currency category having a discount rate associated therewith; And means for mapping the value of the accumulated currency type from the currency type integrator (41, 42) to the category-specific accumulator according to the customer specific data. The method of claim 14, The device for charging a customer, characterized in that the device is arranged to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 13.