MXPA96004538A - Method for obtaining billing validation directory account differences from basis of line identification data in a detelecommunication network - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for selecting one of a plurality of line identification (ID) databases for the validation of an operator-assisted call billed to a ported directory account number is described, which comprises determining whether the received billing information of a caller is based on directory number. If the billing information is based on the directory number, an operator service system (OSS) interrogates a number portability database to retrieve the available channeling information associated with the billing information provided by the caller. The channeling information is used to access a billing acceptance database, which stores a list of those service providers which allow the OSS to access its customer data. If the OSS is able to access the data of the identified service provider, the routing information received from the number portability database is used to route a bill validation request to a selected one of a plurality of databases. of line ID

Description

METHOD FOR OBTAINING BILLING VALIDATION OF NUMBERS OF DIRECTORY ACCOUNT FROM DATABASES OF IDENTIFICATION OF LINES IN A TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the field of telecommunications networks and more particularly to accessing a particular line identification database to obtain billing validation of a directory account number carried by a service system per operator. in such telecommunications networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The telecommunications industry in the United States of America is in a state of transition. Over the next several years, it is expected that the monopoly held by local carriers (LEC) will be substantially altered and that competitive access providers (CAPs) will begin to offer customer services for interurban and local calls. To facilitate the transition without creating an undue burden on customers who wish to become subscribers of the CAPs, a potability requirement of the service provider number is provided, defined as a change in service provider without a change in the directory number. Inevitably, the portability of the location number will also be available, in such a way REF: 23226 that the clients can be changed to other geographical sites without a change in the directory number. The portability of the number, regardless of the type, significantly impacts the call routing in the existing network. This is because calls between telephone users in the United States are established based on a national directory number plan, where each customer's line is identified by a ten-digit directory number that has geographical and geographic meaning. central switch. The ten-digit directory number comprises a three-digit area prefix (denoted in general by the letters "NPA") that defines a specific geographic region, which is followed by a three-digit exchange code (denoted by the letters "NXX") that identifies a switch of the particular exchange in the network. The code of the exchange is followed by a four-digit customer line identifier (denoted by the letters "XXXX") that establishes the line address of a particular customer line that is serviced by the identified central switch by the NXX digits of the directory number. Clients who change service providers while retaining their directory number are serviced by a central switch which normally service the NPA-NXX digits other than the digits NPA-NXX of the customer's directory number. In other words, such clients have "ported" their directory numbers. An exemplary proposal for accommodating directory numbers carried in the existing network is described in the copending US patent application assigned in common, Serial No. 08 / 410,585 to Akinpelu et al. (hereinafter "the request of Akinpelu et al"). The request of Akinpelu et al. describes the retrieval of a location routing number (LRN) from a number portability database, to ensure proper channeling of a call intended for a ported directory number. In the preferred embodiment of the Akinpeiu et al. Application, the LRN (lease routing number) resembles a traditional ten-digit directory number because the first six digits of the LRN identify a single switch of the exchange in the network and corresponds to the digits NPA-NXX. Unlike conventional directory numbers, however, the remaining four digits do not identify an address on the customer's line but, instead, indicate that an initial address message (IAM) parameter must be accessed for Get the address of the customer's line. Although the request of Akinpelu et al. minimizes the total inconvenience and impact of number portability on the present network by using the digits NPA-NXX to identify the exchanges of the exchange that provide service to the ported directory numbers, does not address the impact that number portability has on another important component of the network, which conventionally uses directory numbers for processing. Particularly, operator-assisted calls are handled by an operator service system (LSS) to adjust the various call billing arrangements that include calls billed to a third party (a "collect call"), billed calls. to a third party and calls billed to a calling card. Ported directory numbers complicate OSS processing because billing verification is dependent on the routing of a billing validation request to a line identification (ID) database based on the directory number to be billed . Call cards based on commonly issued directory numbers are also validated by using a directory number to route a request to a line ID database. Call cards not based on the directory number are validated when accessing a card validation database and are not affected by the portability of the number. The line ID databases usually contain all billable directory account numbers maintained by a particular service provider. In the present network, an entire NPA-NXX is normally assigned to a single service provider. Thus, the six digits NPA-NXX of a billing directory number can be used to determine the address of the ID database of the line containing the information of those directory numbers of the service provider. As PACs enter local telecommunications markets, however, they may choose to maintain their own line identification (ID) databases or choose to use a shared line ID database with other service providers. The portability of the number implies that directory numbers will be serviced with the same NPA-NXX by multiple service providers.

A problem arises when there is a plurality of line ID databases that can be accessed by an OSS and the account number of the directory to be billed is identified by a ported directory number. This is because network OSS are unable to determine the appropriate line ID database to access billing validation when billing is directed to a ported directory account number. For example, in the present system, if an OSS attempts to retrieve billing validation from a ported directory account number by routing the validation request to a line ID database based on the digits NPA-NXX of the billing directory number, you will receive a response of "invalid number" from the database, because the billing information authorization of the account number of the ported directory has been transferred to a line ID database from another service provider. Since the validation of all types of billing to ensure receipt of the profit is a primary objective of each service provider, the inability to bill and receive earnings for calls billed to ported directory account numbers is an unacceptable result. In order to properly bill calls to ported directory account numbers, an OSS must be able to efficiently and accurately determine the ID database of the line containing the billing information authorization associated with the account number of the directory to be billed. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for consistently choosing the appropriate database from a plurality of line ID databases from which to receive billing validation by ported directory account numbers for assisted calls. per operator made in a telecommunications network.

Brief description of the invention The need is solved and a technological advance in the telecommunications technique is obtained by means of the method and system of the present invention which allow that an operator service system (OSS) channels exactly billing validation requisitions to an appropriate database of a plurality of line ID (identification) databases in a telecommunications network. In the preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, a call is received at an OSS and the caller is subsequently asked for billing information. If the billing information is based on the directory number, validation is a multi-stage process. Particularly, if it is determined that the billing information is based on the directory number, the OSS accesses a number portability database to obtain any routing information associated with the billing information. The channeling information not only identifies a switch of the service provider, but can also be used to access other information related to the service provider. If routing information is found in the number portability database, it is retrieved by the OSS and used to access a billing acceptance database to determine if the calls which are invoiced by the associated service provider with the billing information they can be managed by the OSS. A validation requisition is routed to an appropriate database of a plurality of line ID databases in the telecommunications network subsequent to a determination that the OSS is allowed to access the database maintained by the provider of the data. responsible for billing the call.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a telecommunication network in which the present invention can be put into practice; and Figure 2 is a flow diagram of the steps carried out in the network of Figure 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 shows the preferred embodiment of a telecommunications network in which the present invention can be carried out.

Particularly, the telecommunications network 100 includes: a first operator service system (OSS) 102; a second service system per operator 104; a billing system 120; a signaling network 130; a card validation database 140; a database 142 of ID (identification) of LEC line; a database 144 of line ID CAP1; a database 146 of line ID CAP2; a number portability database 150; a switch 160 between exchanges; a central switch 170 of origin; a central terminating switch 180; and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 190. The OSS 102 comprises a main processor 106 for managing control functions of the entire system, which is interconnected via the system data link 105 to the switch structure 108. The switch structure 108 serves as an interconnection or interface between the system and the other parts of the network. In the embodiment shown, the switch structure 108 maintains a bidirectional mainline connection 109 to the PSTN 190. The system data link 107 interconnects the main processor 106 to a warning equipment 110 which stores and issues warnings, as shown in FIG. He knows in the technique. A dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) and / or speech recognition (112) equipment (or any other type of digital collection equipment) is interconnected to the processor 106 via the data link 111 and is responsible for the reception and processing of the data. the digits as they are received from a caller. The card recognition database 117 stores a list of recognized call card vendors and connects via the data link 113 to the main processor 106. Similarly, the data link 125 connects the main processor 106 to the database 126 of billing acceptance, which stores information concerning those service providers (identified by the digits NPA-NXX) which allows the OSS 102 to access its customer databases. The interface unit 114 is connected to the main processor 106 via the data link 115 and also serves as a conduit for the messages sent to and received from the point code converter 118, via the message link 103. As is known in the art, point code converters are used to convert the channel information to a particular network point code address. In the embodiment shown, the point code converter 118 is interconnected to the signaling network 130 via the signaling link 132 and can be used to channel billing validation requests to an appropriate line ID database, if appropriate. necessary. The number portability database 150 is connected to the signaling network 130 via the signaling link 157 and is used by the telecommunications network 100 to appropriately channel the calls directed to the ported directory numbers, as described in FIG. request of Akinpelu et al. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the routing information contained in the number portability database 150 is used to access the billing acceptance database 126 and to select the appropriate database from a plurality of line ID databases to route a bill validation request, as described later. The concomitant position 116 allows a human operator to act as a link between a caller and an OSS 102 if necessary.

The OSS 104 includes the same components as the OSS 102 and thus is not described in detail. The point code converter 119 serves the OSS 104 via the message link 105 and accesses the network 130 via the signaling link 136. Although separate point code converters are shown for OSS 102 and OSS 104 in alternative modes, the point code converter could be located in the signaling network instead of being associated with any particular OSS. Also, OSS 102 and OSS 104 can maintain separate number portability databases in alternative modes. The OSS 104 is interconnected to the PSTN 190 via the main line connection 193. The billing system 120 serves OSS 102 and OSS 104 via data links 121 and 123 respectively. The billing system 120 receives call data (such as the directory number of the called party, duration of the call, etc.) related to each call made by the operator systems, in such a way that registers can be created. billing, as is known in the art. The signaling network 130 extends the messages between the network databases and the OSSs over designated signaling links. Messages are routed to a particular database according to the network address contained in the message. In the embodiment shown, OSS 102 sends and receives messages from signaling network 130 over signaling link 139. Each database also maintains a link to the signaling network 130. Particularly, the card validation database 140 is interconnected to the signaling network 130 via the signaling link 131. The line ID database 142 LEC is interconnected to the network 130 by the signaling link 133, while the line ID database 144 CAP1 and the database CAP2 146 are interconnected to the network 130 by signaling links 135 and 137, respectively. The number portability database 150 is connected to the signaling network via the signaling link 157. In the embodiment shown, it is assumed that each line ID database is independently controlled and that it contains its own authorization data. Billing number of the directory account. The originating central switch 170 serves the public telephone 172 via the line 171 of the client and interconnects to the switching structure 108 of the OSS 102 via the bidirectional main line connection 173. The source switch 170 also maintains the bidirectional mainline connection 175 to the exchange between the exchanges 60 and the bidirectional mainline connection 177 to the PSTN 190. A caller can access the OSS 102, via the originating switch 170 and the main line 173, by dialing "0" plus a directory number from the public telephone 172 or by simply dialing "O" to contact an operator. Alternatively, the caller can dial a toll-free access number such as "1-800-555-CALL" to access switch 160 between switches via the origin switch 170 and the main link 175. Once the call is received in the switch between stations 160, it is extended by the switch to OSS 102 on the main line 163. In the embodiment shown, the exchange between exchanges 160 and the originating switch 170 is serviced by OSS 102. In practice, without However, it is more likely that the switch 160 will be serviced between exchanges by a separate OSS, such as OSS 104. The termination central switch 180 which is interconnected to the PSTN 190 via the bidirectional main link 191 is also shown. this mode, the terminating switch 180 serves a called party on the telephone 182 via the line 181 of the client. Figure 2 shows a flowchart of the steps carried out in the telecommunications network 100 to bill an operator-assisted call (that is, a call which is accomplished via OSS 102 or OSS 104) to a number of ported directory account, according to the preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention. For example purposes, assume that a caller on the public telephone 172 makes a call by calling card to a party called on the telephone 182 by pressing the buttons corresponding to the digits of the telephone number which identifies the telephone 182 (ie, the caller enters a "directory number originally marked"). Also assume that this caller has recently transferred the local LEC telephone service to CAP2, but has chosen to retain the initial directory number "708-555-1234" and a calling card account based on the initial directory number. To bill this particular call, the caller's calling card account number (which is the caller's initial directory number "708-555-1234") would normally be used to route a billing validation request to the base of LEC line ID data 142, because the digits NPA-NXX "708-555" correspond to the telephone accounts that were historically served by the LEC. However, since the caller is no longer a client of the LEC. Accordingly, all records related to the directory number "708-555-1234" have been deleted from the LEC line ID database 142. Therefore, if a bill validation requisition at the number "708-555-1234" is received by the LEC line ID database 142, the database will return an "invalid number" message to the requesting OSS . As a result of the portation, the billing authorization data (or a "validation record") corresponding to the directory number "708-555-1234" have been added to the line ID database 146 CAP2 because CAP2 is the new service provider of the caller. The invoicing validation process for the call described above, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, begins in step 200 when the OSS 102 receives a call from the originating switch 170 via the connection 173 of the main line. Alternatively, the call may have been received on the main line 163 from the switch 106 between exchanges. In stage 202, the OSS 102 requests the caller billing information when issuing an order from the warning device 110. In step 204, the OSS 102 receives the caller's billing information in the DTMF and / or speech recognition device 112 and transmits the billing information to the main processor 106 over the data link 111. In decision step 208, the main processor 106 determines whether the billing information received from the caller is based on the directory number, as is well known in the art. If the result of decision step 208 is a "NO" decision, the billing information is assumed to correspond to a calling card that is not based on the directory number and the process continues to step 209. In the step 209, the OSS 102 accesses the card recognition database 117 and verifies that the card number is issued by a recognized call card vendor. The process continues in step 210 in which a bill validation requisition is routed to the validation database 140 of the card by the OSS 102 via the signaling network 130. If, as in this case, the result of decision step 208 is a "YES" decision the process continues to step 212 in which OSS 102 sends an interrogation to the number portability database 150, via signaling link 139 using the directory number of billing (hereinafter, "billing information") to determine which line ID database must process the billing validation request. Then the process continues to the decision stage 214 in which the OSS 102 determines whether the routing information was received from the number portability database. If the result of decision step 214 is a "NO" determination, (as may be the case if the directory number is a number not carried by the directory) the process continues to step 216 in which the digits NPA- NXX of the directory number, as provided by the caller, are used to access the database 126 for billing acceptance. The billing acceptance database 126 maintains the data which identifies all the service providers (through the digits NPA-NXX) which allow the OSS 102 to access its customer data. In decision step 218, it is determined whether the OSS can access the customer data associated with the service provider identified by the digits NPA-NXX of the billing directory number. In other words, the decision stage 218 determines whether the OSS 102 can handle the processing and billing of this particular call. If the result of decision step 218 is a "YES" decision, the process continues to step 220 in which a validation request is sent to a line ID database based on the digits of the directory number NPA-NXX as provided by the caller. If the result of decision step 218 is a "NO" decision, however, the process continues through connector "A" to step 219 in which the OSS returns a failure message to the caller. In this example, the billing directory account number has been ported from one LEC service provider to another service provider, ie CAP2. Thus, the number portability database 150 returns routing information that is related to the directory number "708-555-1234". Accordingly, the result of the decision step 214 is a "YES" determination and the process continues to step 222 in which the billing acceptance database 126 is accessed, by using the first six digits of the LRN. (or digits NPA-NXX) as retrieved from the 150 number portability database. In decision step 224, it is determined whether the service provider identified by the digits NPA-NXX allows the OSS 102 to have access to its customer data. If the result of decision step 224 is a "NO" determination, the process continues through the "A" connector to step 219 in which a failure message is issued to the caller by the warning device 110. If the result of the decision step 224 is a "YES" determination, the process continues to step 226 in which a bill validation requisition from the OSS 102 is routed to a database selected from the plurality of line ID databases, according to the retrieval information retrieved from the base of number portability data. In this case, the OSS 102 routes a bill validation request, via the signaling link 139, to the line ID database 146 of the selected CAP2 by using the NPA-NXX digits of the LRN received from the base of 150 data of number portability. Since the channeling information is already in NPA-NXX form, the conversion of the channeling information by the point code converter 118 to a network address of a line ID database is unnecessary. However, the dot code converter 118 may be employed in alternative modes in which the routing information is not in NPA-NXX form.

The process continues to the decision stage 228 in which the OSS 102 determines whether billing validation was received from the accessed database. If the result of decision step 228 is a "NO" determination, (that is, OSS 102 receives an "invalid number" message from the database), the process continues to step 219 in which the warning device 110 returns a failure message to the caller. If the result of decision step 228 is a "YES" determination, (ie, OSS 102 receives a "valid number" message from the database), the process continues to step 230 in which the call is routed to the called party associated with the original dialed directory number. Subsequently, in step 231 a billing record that relates to this particular call is created to be delivered to the billing system 120. In this case, a call from the caller is routed via the PSTN 190 to a called party on the telephone 182 and to the account number of the ported card directory "708-555-1234" the call is finally loaded. The process ends in step 232. Advantageously, the efficiency of the telecommunications network is improved since the present invention uses existing number portability resources to channel the bill validation requisitions which involve a directory account number ported to an appropriate database of a plurality of line ID databases. Although the process described above is described with respect to a call by call card based on directory number, it is envisioned that the process can be used each time a caller wishes to bill a call to a ported directory number. The process is described with respect to a form of number routing LRN, but it is envisioned that it can be used with other ways of channeling numbers that can be selected by the industry. In addition, the process can be used by other systems which must access one of a plurality of line ID databases from the service provider to carry out other purposes, such as retrieving other information from the name of the calling party. . The modality described above is for illustrative purposes only. Numerous other arrangements of the invention can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (6)

1. CLAIMS 1.- In a telecommunications network that includes at least one operator service system for complementing operator-assisted calls, and a plurality of line identification databases, each line identification data base contains authorization data. of billing for at least a number of directory numbers, a method for billing an operator-assisted call to a directory number account is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: receiving in the service system by operator a directory number Originally marked and billing information of a caller, determine that the billing information received from the caller specifies the billing of a call to an account of the directory number, use the billing information received from the person calling to have access to a billing acceptance database To determine if the service system by operator has access to user or customer data from a service provider associated with the account of the directory number specified in the billing information, if the service system by operator has access to the data of the customer or user of the service provider, channeling or channeling a bill validation request to one of a plurality of line identification databases in the billing information received from the caller, and sending a billing record to a billing system in such a way that the account of the directory number can be billed for the call.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises the step of: following the step of determining that the billing information specifies the billing of a call to a directory number account, using the billing information for ask or interrogate a database capable of carrying a number that contains routed or channeled information associated with the directory number account.
3. 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises the step of: following the step of questioning or interrogation of a database capable of carrying a number, channeling or channeling a bill validation request to a of a plurality of line identification databases when using the channeling or retrieval information retrieved from the database capable of carrying a number.
4. 4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the step of channeling or channeling a bill validation request to one of a plurality of line identification databases comprises the step of: converting the channeling information or pipeline in a line identification database address.
5. 5. In a telecommunications network comprising a service system per operator linked to a plurality of line identification databases, via a signaling network in which the service system per operator is interconnected to at least one switch, A method for retrieving information from a plurality of line identification databases is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: determining that the billing information relating to a call received in the service system by operator requires access to a base of line identification data for billing validation of the call, questioning or questioning a database capable of carrying a number to retrieve the channeling or channeling information associated with the billing information; use channeling or channeling information to access a billing acceptance database to determine if the service system by operator has access to customer or service provider user data, and if the service system by operator has access to the data of the customer or user of the service provider, retrieve the information associated with the billing validation of a selected line identification database.
6. 6. A telecommunications network, characterized in that it comprises: a system of services per operator to receive calls from a plurality of switches, where each call requires the validation of the billing; a database capable of carrying an interconnected number to the service system per operator, via a data link, wherein the database capable of carrying a number stores the channeling or channeling information relating to the directory numbers dialed; a signaling network interconnecting the service system by operator with a plurality of line identification databases, at least two line identification databases contain data for directory numbers with the same NPA-XXX; and means to determine if the service system by operator has access to the line identification database maintained by a competitive access provider.