Prepaid Service Authorization via Suspect Subscriber List

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing prepaid mobile service authorization process introduces substantial delays due to full processing requirements, leading to user dissatisfaction and potential revenue loss for service providers, while 'hot billing' approaches can result in fraudulent usage and unintended service termination for honest subscribers.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a suspect subscriber list to immediately authorize service requests from non-suspect subscribers, allowing parallel processing of service access and response-determinative processing, and using a volatile memory database for transaction data storage to minimize delays and fraud.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If full processing of SAR is performed before authorization, then service fraud is prevented and account balance verification is ensured, but substantial processing delays occur (4 seconds or more)

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice authorization accuracyVSAvoidauthorization response time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining a suspect subscriber list in advance, allowing immediate authorization decisions for non-suspect subscribers while reserving full processing for suspect cases. This preliminary categorization enables most transactions to bypass lengthy processing while maintaining fraud prevention capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The subscriber base is segmented into two categories: suspect subscribers and non-suspect subscribers. This segmentation allows differential processing - immediate authorization for non-suspect subscribers and full processing for suspect subscribers - thereby resolving the contradiction between speed and reliability for different user groups.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of time

If hot billing approach is used to reduce delays, then user satisfaction improves and revenue loss is minimized, but fraudulent usage increases and honest subscribers experience unintended service termination

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthorization response timeVSAvoidservice authorization accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Different authorization approaches are applied to different subscriber groups based on their creditworthiness characteristics. Non-suspect subscribers receive immediate authorization (hot billing style), while suspect subscribers undergo full processing. This localized quality approach ensures that the reliability concerns of hot billing only affect a small fraction of suspect subscribers while maintaining user satisfaction for the majority.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The suspect subscriber list acts as an intermediary mechanism that identifies which subscribers require full processing. This intermediary enables the system to apply full processing selectively rather than universally, thereby maintaining authorization accuracy for at-risk subscribers while allowing rapid service for credit-worthy subscribers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If multiple third-party applications and specialized databases are accessed for full SAR processing, then comprehensive service verification is achieved, but processing complexity and latency increase (200 milliseconds to 1.5 seconds per step)

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice verification completenessVSAvoidprocessing system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and separates the critical fraud prevention function (suspect subscriber identification) from the complete authorization processing chain. By taking out this essential verification step and performing it independently via the suspect subscriber list, the system enables immediate authorization for non-suspect subscribers while maintaining comprehensive verification capabilities for suspect cases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS8032114B2Service access request authorization

Publication Date: 2011.10.04 HCL TECH LTD

AI summary

Embodiments of methods for handling a service authorization request (SAR) from a mobile subscriber are disclosed. The SAR represents a request for access to a given prepaid mobile service. The method includes ascertaining, using suspect subscriber list, whether the SAR is associated a suspect subscriber in the suspect subscriber list. The method further includes authorizing, if the SAR is not associated with the suspect subscriber, the SAR without waiting until response-determinative processing is performed on the SAR.