Network Agent Self-Storage for Prepaid Service Authorization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing prepaid wireless network service schemes require service providers to maintain a central database for each network agent, leading to increased computational overhead and difficulties in reconciling cross-charges between service providers in real time.
Innovation Solution
Network agents store their own account balance information, which identifies them to the network, allowing service providers to grant or deny services based on data stored within the agent, reducing the need for a central database and enabling real-time reconciliation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a central database is maintained to map network agents to account balances, then service authorization and charging can be performed, but computational overhead and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the account balance information from the central database and places it directly into the network agent device. This eliminates the need for the network to maintain a separate central database for each agent, as the authorization data is now self-contained within the agent itself, reducing computational overhead and system complexity while maintaining reliable service authorization
Solution Approach 2:
The network agent becomes self-sufficient by storing its own account balance and authorization information locally. The agent can independently verify its own service entitlement without requiring continuous queries to a central database, enabling self-service authorization that reduces the burden on network infrastructure
2Adaptability or versatility
If a central database is used to track account balances, then prepaid service management is enabled, but real-time cross-charge reconciliation between service providers becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal solution where the network agent stores standardized account balance information that can be recognized and verified by any service provider network. This multi-functional approach enables the same local storage mechanism to work across different networks and service providers, facilitating real-time cross-charge reconciliation without requiring proprietary central databases for each provider
3Productivity
If account balance information is stored in the network agent, then computational overhead for service providers is reduced, but the network agent must store and manage additional data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by storing only the essential account balance and authorization information needed for service verification in the network agent, rather than maintaining complete transaction histories or extensive user profiles. This selective data storage reduces the computational overhead for service providers while keeping the data burden on the agent manageable and minimal
Data Source
AI summary
In a communications network, data that establishes a network agent's entitlement to network services is stored within the network agent and not within the network. Network services are provided to the network agent by storing network service authorization information and network service usage allowance information within a network agent, which the network agent transmits to the network when network service is requested. The network does not store an account balance for the network agent but instead stores authorization information and actual network service usage information for the network agent.