WO2004010393A1

WO2004010393A1 - Prepaid charging system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2004010393A1
Application number: PCT/IL2002/000601
Authority: WO
Inventors: Avi Feldman
Original assignee: Partner Communications Company Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-07-21
Filing date: 2002-07-21
Publication date: 2004-01-29
Also published as: AU2002368099A1

Abstract

A complementary system for charging Prepaid subscribers implemented in a PLMN, PSTN or DATA communication network with a plurality of Service platforms using different #SS7 and Data communication protocols and a Prepaid platform with real time charging means that communicates through a limited number of communication protocols. The PCCS monitors the signaling and Data in the network and initiates a balance request or a charge request to the Prepaid platform when a balance or charge request is received by the PCCS following a session request from a Prepaid subscriber or the opening of a session by a push platform in the case of a push service. The prepaid platform routs an account status response or 'adequate balance' or a 'balance inadequate' response with or without an account status response to the PCCS which then issues a 'supply service' or a 'do not supply service' response to the Service Platform.

Description

PREPAID CHARGING SYSTEM AND METHOD

Background of the Invention:

The so called Pre Paid service was developed with a view to supply a limited range of voice telephony services to users with a tight budget or users whose budget is controlled by others such as children under age, employees using a business telephone, prisoners etc..

According to this prevailing concept of the Prepaid Service, content services such as Data services, SMS Services, Vending machine services,GPRS services, Internet services, WAP services, IVR Enhanced Services etc. are considered out of scope. Consequently methods of charging have been developed for the voice telephony market only, the various content services remaining unsupported or not fully supported by the PrePaid platforms for the reason that these platforms are only able to monitor a limited range of # SS7 protocols and most of them are unable to monitor Data.

This attitude of the prior art to the Pre Paid service resulted in a much larger variety of services being available for the Post Paid subscriber than those enjoyed by the Pre Paid subscriber, the reason being that the operator is unable to charge the Pre Paid subscribers for those services. Obviously the present state of the art leaves a large amount of consumer demand unattended. The more so as children and teenagers, naturally belonging to the Pre Paid customer group, tend to make an extensive use of innovative and sophisticated data services.

It is a main drawback of the prior art that Pre Paid vendor systems are designed to support their own Pre Paid services only, while any other platform services are left without precharging means. Thus an Operator implementing a Pre Paid platform will not be able to supply his full variety of services to the PrePaid subscribers.

The PrePaid market has therefore created a demand for a PrePaid system with a payment method that is not limited to a class of services. It is another demand of the market that a general operator with different platforms and services be capable of supplying the same advanced voice and data services for his PrePaid subscribers and Post Paid subscribers.

It is therefore desirable to provide a PrePaid Content Charging System that enables any PrePaid Operator, regardless of the Pre Paid Platform implemented by the said Pre Paid Operator, the PrePaid services to be supplied or the kind of #SS7 or Data protocols or technology operated in the said network, to charge and support the same Content services, including Data services such as: SMS, WAP, Internet (Push and Pull forms), GRPS and Enhanced Voice Services, that are supported for the post paid subscribers.

Further, it is desirable to provide a real time charging mechanism for a Content Service such that the PrePaid subscriber is charged in the course of ordering or immediately after getting the desired service, according to any marketing definitions. Summary of the Invention

The invention concerns a charging system that is applicable in cellular telephony systems or wired systems (PSTN) or any other communication network systems using PLMN PSTN/DATA technologies and that enables real time charging of PrePaid subscribers for various Data and Voice services including Content services and Advanced Voice services employing a variety of Data and # SS7 protocols, regardless of the type of the PrePaid platform, network platform or service platforms applied in the said communication sytem.

The inventive PrePaid Content Charging System (hereafter - PCCS) is designed to function as a charging request gateway or as a service junction which includes the PrePaid subscribers Database. The PCCS monitors the different kinds of # SS7 signalling or Data in the network and it enables real time charging of the Pre Paid subscriber by routing a balance request or a charge request to the PrePaid platform via #SS7 signaling that is compatible with the said PrePaid platform when a service request or a charging request has been routed to the PCCS by a service platform via any of the said different #SS7 or Data signalling as a result of a session initiated by a PrePaid subscriber. All PrePaid subscribers related service requests are balance analyzed and charged accordingly by the PrePaid Platform that sends a response of "balance adequate" or "balance inadequate" or account status to the PCCS whereupon the PCCS responds accordingly by putting out a "supply service" or "deny service" response to the relevant service platform, via #SS7 or Data signalling appropriate for that platform.

In the event of a "push" service, the balance request or charge request is routed to the PCCs by a relevant "push" platform when the time that has been set for the service by the prepaid user arrives. In case that there is a finding of "balance inadequate", the PCCS repeats the "balance request" or "charge request" a preset number of times until a balance adequate response is received.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the PCCS may also comprise means for managing and supplying one or more PrePaid related services such as Vending machine, Parking machine, etc.

The inventive PCCS enables charging a PrePaid subscriber for any services in the network such as Push and Pull SMS services, Internet, Intranet, WAP, push IVR services, enhanced services such as ParkingNending machines etc.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of the PrePaid platform connections in an existing cellular network. Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the charging process in an existing network Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of the PCCS network connections Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a Network in which a PCCS system is implemented Fig. 5 is a representation of the charging call flow for push or pull services in a network with a PCCS system Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of the basic architecture of a PCCS system Detailed Description of the Invention in Respect of a Preferred Embodiment

Cellular telephony services providers cater to Post Paid as well as Pre Paid users. While the Post Paid user gets the desired service on the basis of future charging, the Pre Paid user may only use the service on the condition that his balance has been checked and found sufficient for the requested operation. It is therefore necessary to monitor the balance of the PrePaid user, to consider it before supplying the service, to make the decision of supplying or denying the service in real time, to charge the Customer for the service instantly and to continue monitoring the service during use such that it may be terminated when the customer reaches balance inadequate.

Current charging methods in the PrePaid World are of two kinds. The Real Time Charging method involves a PrePaid Data Base and charges Voice calls according to the PrePaid Calling Numbers, some PrePaid platforms also supporting Mobile Originated SMS and Terminated Called Numbers, whereas according to the Calling Detail Record (CDR) based Charging method - only PrePaid CDRs are analyzed and the PrePaid subscriber balance is charged accordingly.

A schematic representation of the PrePaid platform connections in an existing cellular network is shown in Fig. 1. As seen in Fig. 1, when a service is required by a Prepaid user, the Prepaid user's mobile handset initiates a request to a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) using # SS7 protocol which then sends a request to the Prepaid platform also via # SS7 protocol, the Prepaid platform response indicating via # SS7 protocol whether the subscriber's account allows him to receive the specific service. Where the response is positive, the Mobile Switching Center connects the subscriber to the requested service. In the network of Fig. 1, the PrePaid platform is only capable of performing the above described authorizing procedure in respect of Short Message Service Center (SMSC) and Mobile Originated (MO) services such as Voice Calls and Mobile Originated SMS while many other services such as SMS Push services, IVR Push Services, WAP, GPRS as well as Internet/intranet services remain out of scope for the PrePaid user for the reason that the PrePaid platform is incapable of monitoring the types of #SS7 or Data protocols employed for these services. Many PrePaid platforms fail to support even mobile originated SMS services, while other PrePaid platforms may be suited to support different types of services such as IVR only, WAP only etc., all according to PrePaid platform design. While in Fig. 1 a cellular network with a Mobile Switching Center is described, it will be understood that other Switching Center means may be used for different communication networks as known.

It will be understood that the considerably limited scope of current Prepaid Charging systems results in a large number of services being blocked for PrePaid subscribers in systems of the known type, the kind of services blocked depending on the kinds of #SS7 protocols compatible with the said PrePaid Charging system as a result of Designer choice.

While CDR based charging may be applied for services that are not supported by the PrePaid platform, this charging method has the drawback of not enabling any real time charging. This means that the operator may fail to charge the service, resulting in loss of valuable income. The charging of Content Services in existing Prepaid Charging platforms is related to the capabilities of the PrePaid platform vendor and not to the services to be charged. In other words, the PrePaid platform is only capable of charging for a limited number of services according to its design while other platform services cannot be supplied to PrePaid users due to lack of charging means.

Fig. 2 shows the charging flow of a voice session in an existing network comprising a PrePaid Platform and a Switching Center such as the network of Fig. 1, the said charging flow comprising the following steps:

Step 1 : The Prepaid subscriber initiates the session by calling a destination and/or requesting a service

Step 2: The Switching Center initiates a balance request or a charging request to the PrePaid platform

Step 3: The PrePaid platform responds according to the subscriber balance: in case that the balance is adequate, a "connect" response is routed to the Switching Center, otherwise the response routed to the Switching Center is "disconnect".

Step 4: in the event of an adequate balance the call will be routed by the Switching Center to the Called Party and it will be charged accordingly by the Prepaid platform .

In the event of an inadequate balance the call will not be routed. In some systems an announcement of "balance too low" is displayed or played to the PrePaid subscriber.

It will be understood that in some cases the PrePaid subscriber may also be the Called party, such as in the case where a third party requests a service that involves a call to the Prepaid subscriber.

In the case of a Service session, where the balance is adequate the call will be routed to the requested Service platform. However this operation is only feasible where the PrePaid platform is capable of using the type of $SS7 or Data protocol of the respective Service platform.

It is a main drawback of the prior art that due to the existing PrePaid platforms being incompatible with the protocols implemented in most services and technologies available on cellular and PSTN networks, the above described charging flow can only be realized with respect to a very limited number of services .

While the drawings of Figs. 1 and 2 refer to a cellular network, it will be understood that PrePaid subscribers in PSTN (wired) networks are subject to similar drawbacks and therefore it is also desirable to enable the charging of various additional services for the PrePaid PSTN subscriber. The PrePaid market charging requirements demand that Content Services be charged regardless of the PrePaid platform vendor and PrePaid platform version. It is a further demand of the market that Content services be charged, regardless of the type of service or service platform (WAP, IVR, Internet or other) and regardless of the type of #SS7 or Data protocol used by a service or service platform and that Pre Paid subscribers be charged regardless of service technology, whether GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA or other. The Pre Paid market demands a very fast introducing and charging of newly launched Content Services to the Pre Paid subscriber.

In accordance with the present invention a Pre Paid Content Charging System (PCCS) is proposed that enables the implementing of a real time method for the charging of PrePaid subscribers in respect of a large variety of services, platforms and technologies, including Content services and advanced Voice services.

The invention will be described hereinbelow by way of example in respect of a preferred embodiment. It will be understood however that many other variations and modifications of the invention may be made that still remain within the scope of the description and the claims.

In accordance with the invention the PCCS is implemented in a telephony network with a Prepaid Platform that may be a PSTN (Public Switching Telephony Network) or PLMN (Public Land mobile Network) or any other communication network type, and it monitors the signalling or the Data in the said network. The PCCS is provided with means for monitoring the network signalling according to a variety of # SS7 protocols such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), IN Application Protocol (INAP), or ISDN User Part Protocol (ISUP) or any other #SS7 protools applied in the network. The PCCS is further provided with means for monitoring the network Data using a variety of Data protocols such as HTTP/TCP/IP, HTTP/UCP, HTTP/MAP or any other Data Protocol applied in the network. The PCCS further has means for communicating with the PrePaid platform.

Signalling or Data in the Network that constitutes a PrePaid call or message is analyzed according to a PrePaid customer database such that all PrePaid subscribers related service requests are balance analyzed and charged accordingly.

The PCCS may be implemented as a charging request gateway or it may be implemented as a service junction that comprises the PrePaid subscribers Database.

Within the network the PCCS is connected to a BSCS (Business Support and Control System), BGW (Billing Gateway) and SOG (Service Order Gateway) or any similar subscriber management means in order to allow management of the PrePaid subscribers.

The PCCS enables the charging of a PrePaid subscriber for various services in the network supplied by platforms of various types such as Push and Pull SMS, Internet, Intranet,WAP, push IVR services, enhanced services such as Parking,Vending machines etc. Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a network in which the PCCS of the invention is applied, showing the PCCS connections in the network. As shown in Fig. 3, the PCCS connections may comprise a DWH (Data Warehouse) means for storing and processing subscriber CDRs, a BGW (Billing Gateway) means for processing raw CDRs from network platforms, a SOG (Service Order Gateway) means for storing subscriber characteristics, a BSCS (Business Support and Control System) means for storing a subscriber database, and a CSR (Customer Service Representative) such that managing and controlling customer service and data is facilitated. It will be understood by those versed in the art that the above listed systems communicate via Data protocols. Other PCCS connections comprise a variety of services and platforms that are available in the network such as IVR, GPRS,WAP, using various #SS7 protocols and SMSC, IN and Internet Gateway means using Data protocols of different kinds. In accordance with the invention, all of the above listed services may be supplied to a PrePaid user and charged accordingly due to the inventive PCCS having means for communicating via the said #SS7 and Data protocols.

It will be understood that a Gateway shown in Fig. 3 may also be a server and that many other services may be added in the said network to be charged by the inventive PCCS whether those existing today or any services to be developed in the future.

As seen in Fig. 3, the inventive Prepaid Charging Complementary System is connected to a PrePaid platform, the said connection enabling the PCCS to send a charging request or a balance request to the said PrePaid platform and to receive a response from the PrePaid platform. As shown in Fig. 3, the Prepaid Charging Complementary System communicates with the PrePaid Platform via #SS7 or Data protocols.

It will be understood to those versed in the art that the Prepaid Platform may be implemented as a PrePaid SCP or SDP or Prepaid Switch.

In Fig. 3 some of the different protocols that may be used for communication of the Prepaid Charging Complementary System of the invention with various systems within the network are indicated such as INAP, ISUP #SS7 protocols or TCP/IP Data protocols for communication with the PrePaid subscriber management means, TCP/IP or HTTP Data protocols for communication with the Data Warehouse means, INAP or HTTP Data protocols for communicating with IN means, HTTP or UCP Data protocols for communicating with SMSC means, HTTP or TCP/IP Data protocols for communicating with IVR service means, HTTP or MAP Data protocols for communicating with WAP gateway means and #SS7 Protocols for communicating with the Switching Center means and the GPRS Gateway means.

In accordance with a further advantage of the invention, the Prepaid Charging Complementary System may be adapted for communication via other protocols in case that such protocols are developed or applied in the future in communication networks.

It is one of the advantages of the inventive PCCS that it may be implemented in a preexisting network that comprises all or a part of the systems described in refence to Fig. 3 whereby the said network acquires the ability of supplying additional voice and data services that could not be supplied to the PrePaid subscriber prior to the installation of the said Prepaid Charging Complementary System. Fig. 4 is a general diagram of the preferred embodiment showing a network with a PCCS, a PrePaid platform, an MSC (Mobile Switching Center) and a variety of service platforms. The MSC (Mobile Switching Center) receives the calls initiated by the subscribers via the different platforms by means of #SS7 signaling. In the event that the subscriber is a PrePaid subscriber, the Mobile Switching Center communicates with the Prepaid Charging Complementary System of the invention by initiating a service request. The Prepaid Charging Complementary System routs a balance request or a charge request to the PrePaid platform and the said PrePaid platform responds by data or signaling or both that indicates the PrePaid subscriber balance or new balance after charging of the PrePaid subscriber balance.

In the preferred embodiment, service requests may also be routed from the platforms to the PCCS directly, without passing the Switching Center means. As seen in Fig. 4, the GPRS, IVR, SMSC, Internet Intranet and WAP service platforms communicate with the PCCS both directly and indirectly, via the MSC, while service requests from some enhanced service platforms such as Parking, Vending machines etc. are only directly routed from these platforms to the PCCS. The communication protocols used for routing the service requests include #SS7 signaling such as INAP, ISUP, MAP, UCP, CAMEL PH 2/3 and Data signaling such as HTTP, TCP/IP or any other protocol that is appropriate for the relevant service platform.

Having received a response from the PrePaid platform that indicates the said PrePaid subscriber balance, the Prepaid Charging Complementary System Signals to the relevant Service platform via INAP, ISUP, MAP, UCP, or CAMEL, PH2/3 HTTP, TCP/IP or any other #SS7 or Data protocol as appropriate depending on the relevant platform protocol and indicates a balance response according to which the service is allowed or denied.

In case of balance 0 or inadequate balance or any other predefined balance value, a "balance 0" or "balance inadequate" or any similar message is sent to the PrePaid Caller from the relevant platform, indicating that the requested service is unavailable. In accordance with the invention, the balance message may be sent by way of announcement or SMS.

In accordance with the invention, where the balance is sufficient, the charging procedure is executed by the Prepaid platform via an IN session, ISUP session or Data session in compliance with the network operational characteristics.

In accordance with another aspect of the inventive PCCS system in the event of a no acknowledge message from the PrePaid platform regarding the supply of the required service to the PrePaid subscriber, the request is repeatedly resent by the PCCS to the PrePaid platform at a later point of time until a "balance adequate" message is received by the PCCS. It will be understood that this feature of the invention has the advantage of considerably increasing the number of service events that, inter alia, by enabling Push services to Prepaid subscribers whereby the profitability of the network in which the PCCS is implemented becomes much higher.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention a resend service threshold is defined such that above the said threshold the service resend is ceased. It will be understood that other service platforms, using other protocols, may be implemented in a network according to the invention and the supply of services to PrePaid users by these platforms may be managed by employing the inventive PCCS.

Fig. 5 is a more detailed presentation of the flow of various Push and Pull services in the network of Fig 4, wherein Push services are delayed services supplied at a predetermined point of time or at a point of time that is chosen by the user, the said point of time being subsequent to the call requesting the service.

As shown in Fig. 5, a balance or charge request, indicated by arrow 1', may be routed directly from the Push platform to the Prepaid Charging Complementary System. The Prepaid Charging Complementary System then initiates a balance or a charge request, indicated by arrow 3, to the Prepaid Platform. The Prepaid platform responds by sending a response designated by arrow 4 to the Prepaid Charging Complementary System, wherein the said response 4 may be an account status response or an "adequate balance" or a "balance inadequate" response with or without an account status response. The Prepaid Charging Complementary System then outputs a "supply service" or "do not supply service" signal, indicated by arrow 5', that is routed directly from the Prepaid Charging Complementary System to the relevant service platform.

In the preferred embodiment, such direct routing of a balance of charge request occurs in the case of Vending machine and similar services. It will be understood however that other modes of making the invention may be designed in which other services will be charged by routing balance or charge requests via a Switching Center means while all or some of the services that in the preferred embodiment are requested via the Switching Center means may be charged such that the respective balance or charge requests are routed directly to the Prepaid Charging Complementary System.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, in the case of services such as IVR, WEB or SMSC, when the time chosen by the PrePaid subscriber for receiving the service arrives, the relevant Push platform initiates a request that is routed to the Prepaid Charging Complementary System via the Switching Center Means. This request is indicated by arrows 1 and 2. The Prepaid Charging Complementary System then initiates a balance or a charge request, indicated by arrow 3, to the Prepaid Platform. The Prepaid platform then sends a response indicated by arrow 4 to the Prepaid Charging Complementary System, wherein the said response 4 may be an account status response or an "adequate balance" or a "balance inadequate" response with or without an account status response. The PCCS outputs a signal to the Switching Center means designated by arrow 5 or it outputs a signal directly to the Push Platform, designated 5', the said signal being a "supply service" signal or a "do not supply service" signal according to the input 4 from the Prepaid Platform.

It will be understood that in the case of Push and Pull services that are routed through the Switching Center means, the services may be defined in a database that is comprised in the said Switching Center Means or in an external data base or they may be defined in the PCCS for the purpose of managing the said Push and Pull services.

In the case of Push and Pull services that are directly routed to the Prepaid Charging Complementary System, the said Push and Pull services are managed by an external data base or a Data base in the PCCS. While the drawings of Figs. 4-5 refer to a cellular network, it will be understood that the inventive PCCS may also be applied in a PSTN (wired) network to enable the charging of various additional services for the PrePaid PSTN subscriber.

Fig. 6 shows the basic architecture of the PCCS of the invention. The PCCS comprises three structural levels, a Service Level, an Application level and an Interface level. The

Service level comprises means for connecting to the Prepaid platform and communicating with the said Prepaid platform through an interface using #SS7 and

Data protocols.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment the Service level further comprises means for managing and supplying one or more PrePaid related services such as Vending machine, Parking machine, etc.

The Application level comprises means for monitoring the incoming #SS7 signaling or

Data transferred from the Interface level.

The Interface level comprises signaling and data stacks means for communication between the operator Network and the PCCS, the said signaling means using #SS7 protocols and the said data stacks means using DATA protocols that are compatible with the different services -Prepaid or Post paid - supplied in the network, whether of the PLMN or PSTN type, in which the PCCS is implemented.

It is a considerable advantage of the invention that due to the capability of the PCCS to communicate with the different elements of the network, including the PrePaid platform, the diverse service platforms and the MSC, via standard protocols, the charging operation is implemented through the most reliable and adequate method for the PrePaid platform and the services, regardless of the type of platforms applied for the various services in the network.

In accordance with another advantage of the invention, the inventive approach of the PCCS enables the merging of voice and data services with the PrePaid charging methods, allowing the operator ( PSTN or PLMN ) to charge a PrePaid subscriber regardless of the type of Network vendor, Content platform vendor, services or service platforms.

It is yet another advantage of the invention that the PCCS installation and activation is very simple and fast such that an old Prepaid platform may be upgraded with new Services from other vendors by installing the PCCS of the invention in a network with a Prepaid Platform of the prior art.

Claims

Claims:

1. A PrePaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network, the said communication network comprising a plurality of Service platforms using different communication protocols and a PrePaid platform with real time charging means, the said PrePaid platform being adapted to communicating with only a limited number of the said Service platforms, the said PrePaid subscriber charging system comprising a) a Service level with means for communicating with the said PrePaid platform, b) an Interface level comprising signaling and data stacks means for communication between the said communication network and the said PrePaid subscriber charging system and c) an Application level with means for monitoring signaling or data transferred from the said Interface level using the said different communication protocols, whereby the said PrePaid subscriber charging system enables real time charging of PrePaid subscribers in respect of the said plurality of Service platforms.

2. A PrePaid subscriber charging system according to claim 1 wherein the said Service level also comprises means for managing and supplying one or more Prepaid services.

3. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said communication system is a public switching telephony network.

4. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said communication system is a public land mobile network.

5. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said Prepaid platform is a Prepaid SCP or Prepaid switch.

6. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said communication system further comprises a switching center means and balance requests or charging requests from one or more of the said Service platforms are routed to the said PrePaid subscriber charging system through the said switching center means.

7. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said communication protocols are standard #SS7 or Data protocols.

8. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said communication protocols comprise a wireless application protocol (WAP) or IN application protocol (INAP) or ISDN user part protocol (ISUP) or HTTP or TCP/IP protocol or HTTP/UCP or HTTP/MAP protocol or any other suitable communication protocol.

9. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said service platforms comprise an IVR push service platform or SMSC push and pull platform or Internet platform or Intranet platform or WAP services platform or Parking or Vending machine or any other suitable service platform.

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10. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said service platforms comprise a content service platform.

11. A Prepaid subscriber charging system to be implemented in a communication network according to claim 1 hereinabove wherein the said service platforms comprise an advanced voice service platform.

12. A PrePaid subscriber charging method to be implemented in a communication system according to any of the preceding claims, the said method comprising the following steps: a. A PrePaid subscriber initiates a session by routing a request to a Service Platform, b. The Service Platform routs a service request to the PrePaid subscriber charging system, using a communication protocol designed for the said Service Platform, c. The PrePaid subscriber charging system initiates a balance or a charge request to the said Prepaid Platform, d. The prepaid platform responds by sending an account status response or an "adequate balance" or a "balance inadequate" response with or without an account status response to the said PrePaid subscriber charging system, e. The said PrePaid subscriber charging system outputs a signal of supply service or do not supply service to the said service platform according to the said response from the said Prepaid Platform.

13. A Prepaid subscriber charging method according to claim 12 hereinabove wherein the said service request is routed to the said PrePaid subscriber charging system via the said switching center means.

14. A Prepaid subscriber charging method according to claim 12 hereinabove wherein the said Service platform is a Push platform and the said session is initiated by the said Push platform at a point of time that had been preset by the said Prepaid subscriber.

15. A Prepaid subscriber charging method according to claim 12 hereinabove wherein the said Service platform is a Push platform and the said session is initiated by the said Push platform at a point of time that had been preset by a third party.

16. A Prepaid subscriber charging method according to claim 2 hereinabove wherein in the event that a "balance inadequate" response is sent from the said Prepaid Platform to the said Prepaid subscriber charging system the said Prepaid subscriber charging system repeats the said balance or charge request at preset intervals until a "balance adequate" response is received or until a preset number of repeated balance or charge requests has been performed.

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