TCS gets a patent for message debit solution — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Allows real-time billing for messaging and information services} TCS gets a patent for message debit solution

9 Oct 2008 at 04:20 GMT Timo Poropudas

TeleCommunication Systems, a provider of wireless communications solutions, Wednesday announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,428,510 for "Prepaid Short Messaging."

This TCS invention allows a mobile operator to provide messaging and information services to its prepaid subscribers using a method that prevents fraud and revenue loss. The invention determines if a subscriber has sufficient funds in their account to receive a short message and either delivers the message or prevents delivery of the message based on the account balance.

The recipient's account is debited in real time prior to the message being sent using a flexible rating structure that supports flat rate, message length, or different rates for different message types.

The Prepaid Short Message invention is offered as part of TCS' Short Message Service Center (SMSC) solution to mobile operators. Frost and Sullivan reports that the prepaid market segment is the growth driver for new subscribers in the US and accounts for over 35 million subscribers in the US.

"The wireless industry had a problem with fraud and abuse of prepaid messaging and information services as conventional prepaid voice billing solutions do not support messaging," said Drew Morin, Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer for TCS in the company press release.

"Messaging would either not decrement a subscriber's prepaid account or would not do so in real-time. This introduced the opportunity for a prepaid subscriber to receive free messages. In cases where only the calling party pays, free voice service could also occur since the prepaid subscriber could invite the other wireless caller to originate the call. TCS invented a solution that stopped fraud and revenue loss for our mobile operator customers, and allowed them to safely offer prepaid messaging and information services."