KR20020003860A - A charging method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention maintains a record of content of a communication network accessed by a user of a network, determining a fee to be charged to an affiliate based on access of the content associated with the affiliate based on the record, and based on the record. And determining a fee to be charged to the user based on the access of the other contents of the record.

Description

Billing method and system {A CHARGING METHOD AND SYSTEM}

Most Internet users typically connect to the Internet through the equipment of an Internet service provider (ISP) and pay for the time they are connected. The applicant does not incur session connection charges as disclosed in the specification of International Patent Application No. PCT / AU00 / 00418, which is incorporated herein by reference and cited as "the access system specification". Instead, we developed a method and system for accessing certain content. "Free" content may be provided by institutions or individuals who are considered affiliates or associates of an ISP. However, the cost of accessing free content is still at the expense of the ISP. Affiliates will also want to receive information in return for providing free content, suggesting that they can benefit from joining an ISP. It would be desirable to provide a charging method and system that at least provides a useful alternative to the charging method and system or to existing charging methods or systems for these issues.

The present invention relates to a method and system for charging for the use of a communication network, such as the Internet.

1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a network access system.

2 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of a charging method performed by the system.

According to the present invention, a charging method is provided, which method comprises:

Maintaining a record of the content of the communication network accessed by a user of the network;

Checking whether the content is content of an affiliate;

Generating a fee to an affiliate based on access of the affiliate content; And

Incurring a fee for the user based on access to other content of the record.

The present invention also provides a billing method, which method comprises:

Maintaining a record of the content of the communication network accessed by a user of the network;

Determining a fee to be charged to an affiliate based on access of content associated with the affiliate based on the record; And

Determining a fee to be charged to the user based on access to other content of the record based on the record.

The present invention also provides a billing system and billing software for performing the steps of the method.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The communication access system includes a plurality of remote access servers (RASs) 4, a layer four or higher switch 6, a database server 8, as shown in FIG. A web server system 10 and a router 12 are provided. The RAS 4 is provided so that the remote user's computers 14 can connect to each of the input ports of the RAS 4 by dialing into the system using a standard communication line and modem. Once connected to the port of the RAS 4, the RAS 4 and the user's computer 14 establish a unique TCP / IP session and the IP traffic for that session is diverted by the switch 6. If the user is authenticated or authorized, the user's computer 14 is allowed to access the requested data on the Internet 16. The web server system 10 controls the pages provided to the users 14 connected to the RAS 4, and processes authentication using the member profile database held in the database server 8, as described below. Used to A Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) authentication server 11 is also provided for use in authentication. As the user 14, the equipment (4), (6), (8), (10), (11) and (12) of the access system are part of the Internet.

The equipment (4) to (12) preferably comprises commercially available standard hardware and basic databases, web servers and internet access software known to those skilled in the art and used in the access systems of most ISPs. The equipment 4 to 12 then also contains unique program code for managing and controlling each session. The layer 4 or higher switch 6 is an exception. The switch 6 is usually used by ISPs to regulate the traffic handled by the RAS 4. An example of a suitable Layer 4 switch is AceDirector AD3 ™, produced by Alteon WebSystems Inc. The access system uses the layer 4 switch 6 as described in the access system specification to connect the user to the web server system 10 and based on a limited number of access states encoded in the switch 6. It differs from that provided by ISPs in that 14 controls access to the Internet 16. Alternatively, the unique program code and the equipment (4) to (12) may be replaced, in whole or in part, with a unique integrated circuit, such as ASIC, to perform the same function. The system is identical to that disclosed in the access system specification, except that the system further comprises a software component performed by either the database server 8 or the web server 10 to perform the charging method described below. Do.

When accessing the Internet using the access system, all locations, or URLs, accessed by the user 14 are stored in the database 8 past the switch 6 as part of a member access record. With this location, the initial time of approach is also recorded. This occurs at step 20 as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, for each TCP session for the user, the member access record indicates the start of the session and has a set of location and initial access time. The difference between the initial access times provides information about the time the user spent at each location during the session.

When the access system is used as a billing system, member access records are retrieved from the database 8 and continue to be processed in step 22 to facilitate charging for users and affiliates providing free content. A determination as to whether the recorded location of the member or user record corresponds to the affiliate location is made in step 24. Affiliate location is a location on the Internet 16 or web server 10 specified by a URL that holds free content for those subscribed to a provider of the system. If the location is not an affiliate location, this is then reported in step 26 and a charge record is compiled for the user based on the user's access to a location in the member access record that is not the affiliate location. The fee may be a standard flat fee, or a time rate fee based on access time, or may be another billing system employed by an ISP to charge a user.

If at step 24 it is confirmed that the location is the affiliate's location, it is recorded at step 28 and details of the access of the affiliate's location are maintained and a fee is charged to the affiliate. Affiliate record is generated in step 30 based on captured data including the location of the accessed affiliate, the access time, and the time the location was accessed, and also for a user accessing the location. Check the details. The affiliate record is stored in the database 8 and can be accessed on the web server 10 as part of a secure web site for the affiliate. The data held in the affiliate record may be communicated to the affiliate in various formats on a secure web site. The affiliate is automatically charged a fee based on the time rate for access in step 28 or based on another charging scheme based on the user's access to the affiliate location. The fee may also be determined and provided immediately after the affiliate record has been processed. Fees may be charged to members and affiliates in a variety of ways, such as by sending invoices or by electronic credit card transactions.

The charging method and system is particularly advantageous because it establishes a charging model that is completely different from what is currently used for ISPs. Content providers, i.e., affiliates, may be charged as well as users who access the Internet. This is also particularly beneficial because the user has free access to the content. The content provider is also provided with detailed information by the affiliate record regarding the benefits that come from providing the content. The actual accessed location and user details are provided to the content provider. Since the access system has an access profile attached to each user, these profile details may also be provided to content providers in the affiliate record to provide additional information about the users accessing their content.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Claims (9)

Maintaining a record of the content of the communication network accessed by a user of the network; Checking whether the content is content of an affiliate; Generating a fee to an affiliate based on access of the affiliate content; And Charging a user based on access to other content of the record. The method of claim 1, The record includes a location of a communication network representing the content, and the verifying step involves identifying whether the location corresponds to the content of the affiliate. The method of claim 1, And a plurality of affiliates having content of each affiliate, wherein the fee is charged to the affiliate based on the user accessing the content of each affiliate. The method of claim 1, Generating an affiliate record of a location corresponding to the respective affiliate content accessed by the user for the affiliate. The method of claim 4, wherein The affiliate record includes an access time for each location and each user. The method of claim 5, The member record can be accessed via a communication network. Maintaining a record of the content of the communication network accessed by a user of the network; Determining a fee to be charged to an affiliate based on access of content associated with the affiliate based on the record; And Determining a fee to be charged to the user based on access to other content of the record based on the record. A charging system having a system component for performing the steps of the charging method of any one of the preceding claims. Claimed software stored on a computer readable storage medium and having code for performing the steps of the method of any one of claims 1-7.