Subsidized Access Management System for Network Content Billing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network service billing models do not differentiate between types of network content, leading users to avoid high-bandwidth content due to data usage concerns, resulting in reduced access and revenue for content providers.
Innovation Solution
A subsidized access management system that detects user requests for network content via secure connections, determines if the content provider subsidizes data usage, and provides users with subsidized access based on pre-defined rules, allowing content providers to pay for or reduce data charges, thereby incentivizing access to high-bandwidth content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If users access high-bandwidth network content (video, apps, advertisements), then content exposure and potential revenue for content providers increase, but user data usage costs increase and may exceed predetermined data usage limits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements differentiated billing by content type, where high-bandwidth content (video, apps, advertisements) is charged at different rates or subsidized compared to standard content. This allows users to access more high-value content without proportionally increasing their overall data costs, resolving the contradiction between content access volume and data usage amount
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the pricing parameter for different content types, offering subsidized access to certain high-bandwidth content through secure connections. This parameter change enables users to consume more content while controlling data costs through selective subsidization based on content category and connection type
2Adaptability or versatility
If network service providers implement differentiated billing for different content types, then user flexibility and content provider revenue potential improve, but billing system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments network content into different categories (standard content vs. high-bandwidth content like video, apps, advertisements) and applies different billing rules to each segment. This segmentation enables differentiated billing flexibility while managing system complexity through clear categorization and rule-based processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary billing management layer that handles the complexity of differentiated charging. This intermediary layer processes content type identification, applies appropriate billing rules, and manages subsidies, thereby providing billing flexibility to users and content providers while containing overall system complexity through modular architecture
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary method includes a subsidized access management system detecting a request provided by an access device associated with a user to access network content by way of a secure connection within a network provided by a network service provider, the network content associated with a content provider and maintained by a content provider system, determining that a data usage charge for access by the user to the network content by way of the secure connection within the network is subsidized by the content provider in accordance with a subsidized access arrangement between the content provider and the network service provider, and providing the user with subsidized access to the network content by way of the secure connection within the network in accordance with a rule set associated with the subsidized access arrangement. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.