Real-time Cellular Service Marketplace for Dynamic Capacity Trading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Subscribers to cellular networks often face issues with unused capacity leading to wasted money or high overage charges, as they cannot efficiently buy or sell excess cellular service in real-time without changing their service contracts.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that enables real-time buying and selling of cellular service capacity through an exchange market, allowing subscribers to offer and request excess voice minutes, messages, or data at specified prices, without altering their existing contracts, by matching buyer and seller requests and adjusting service profiles accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If subscribers purchase fixed capacity for a given time period, then they have guaranteed service availability, but they waste money on unused capacity or incur high overage charges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic capacity marketplace where service capacity can be bought and sold in real-time based on actual usage needs. Subscribers can convert unused capacity into credit that can be traded to other subscribers, transforming the static fixed-capacity model into a dynamic system that adapts to changing demands and eliminates waste through continuous reallocation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of capacity allocation from fixed contractual amounts to flexible real-time traded quantities. By introducing real-time pricing and dynamic capacity adjustment, the system allows subscribers to optimize their service purchases based on actual usage patterns, converting unused capacity into tradable assets and avoiding overage charges.
2Reliability
If subscribers purchase excess capacity to avoid overage charges, then they ensure sufficient service coverage, but they pay for capacity they may not use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables subscribers to self-manage their capacity needs through a marketplace platform where they can automatically convert unused capacity into credit and trade it when needed. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need to pre-purchase excess capacity, as subscribers can dynamically acquire additional capacity from other users' unused allocations through real-time trading.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms capacity from a static purchased quantity to a dynamic parameter that can be adjusted in real-time through trading. Subscribers can change their effective capacity allocation by trading credit in the marketplace, allowing them to match their purchased capacity precisely with actual usage needs without paying for excess.
3Loss of energy
If subscribers want to sell excess capacity, then they can recover wasted money, but they cannot do so without a marketplace mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a marketplace intermediary platform that facilitates the buying and selling of service capacity between subscribers. This intermediary handles the complex matching, pricing, and transaction processing, allowing individual subscribers to easily sell their excess capacity without needing to directly negotiate with potential buyers, thus recovering wasted money through a managed exchange system.
4Productivity
If real-time capacity trading is implemented, then subscribers can optimize their service purchases, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal marketplace platform that handles multiple functions including capacity listing, bidding, matching, transaction processing, and credit management within a single system. This multi-functional approach consolidates the complexity into one integrated platform rather than requiring separate systems for each function, making the real-time trading system manageable while maintaining high service utilization efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method and system for buying and selling cellular service in a market allowing real-time pricing is disclosed. The computer-implemented method and system comprise storing at least one offer to sell a specified quantity of cellular service (which may be voice minutes, messages, data or other available service parameters) initiated by a seller, and processing one or more requests to purchase cellular service initiated by one or more buyers. The processing of the requests to purchase cellular service further comprises implementing a method for matching one or more requests to purchase cellular service with any stored offers; wherein when a match occurs the buyer is able to purchase the desired quantity of cellular service. The computer-implemented method and system includes deducting the purchased quantity of cellular service from a service profile of the seller and adding the purchased quantity of cellular service to a service profile of the buyer.