Real-time interconnect billing system and method of use

Abstract

A system and method of real-time interconnect billing to facilitate invoicing and reconciliation between interconnected communication and service providers. The fully customizable, scalable, and network-based system rates and monitors costs, incorporates agreements between interconnected providers, invoices, bills, and reconciles to establish an accurate and cost-effective accounting of provider revenues and costs. The system is able to communicate with devices, networks, and interconnect providers to obtain, provide and exchange billing information and payments. The system updates subscriber accounts and alerts the home provider, subscribers, interconnect providers and users of these updates.

1 . A system for interconnect billing, comprising: 
 a processing system communicable with a home provider network and at least one partner provider network, wherein the processing system manages business practices, monitors user usage of the networks, and wherein the processing system assesses the network usage, generates an invoice, and reconciles the invoice in real-time.    
   
   
       2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing system processes payment and updates billing accounts in real-time.  
   
   
       3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing system further comprises a reconciliation module, an invoicing module, and a communication module.  
   
   
       4 . The system according to  claim 3 , wherein the processing system further comprises an auditing module, a notification module, and a managing module.  
   
   
       5 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the reconciliation module comprises a robot reconciliation feature and a multi-tier reconciliation feature, the invoicing module comprises a hot billing feature the managing module comprises a rating engine, a platform management feature, partner catalogue, and an automated business logic driven routing feature, and the communication module comprises a secure access feature.  
   
   
       6 . The system according to  claim 5 , wherein the automated business logic driven routing feature is a least cost routing feature.  
   
   
       7 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the processing system further comprises a claim-handling module, a settlement module, an error handler component, and a warehouse component.  
   
   
       8 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing system determines network usage using at least one selected from the group consisting of event data records and call data records.  
   
   
       9 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein business practices include at least one from a group consisting of business agreements, definitions and listings of products and services, rating definitions, incentive programs, call and event date record templates, and billing and accounting principles.  
   
   
       10 . The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the notification module transmits a smart alert.  
   
   
       11 . The system according to  claim 10 , wherein the smart alert communication is in the form of an email or a short message service.  
   
   
       12 . The system according to  claim 9 , wherein the processing system communicates with the providers via at least one selected from a group consisting of accounts receivable, accounts payable, a switching center, and a data store.  
   
   
       13 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the processing system interfaces with the data store to confirm business practices.  
   
   
       14 . The system according to  claim 2 , wherein the processing system performs at least one function selected from a group consisting of calculating costs, identifying billing errors, correcting billing errors, synchronizing billing, instituting revenue thresholds, auditing accounting practices, transmitting notifications, and receiving and processing invoices and bills.  
   
   
       15 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is network-based.  
   
   
       16 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is fully-scaleable.  
   
   
       17 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is fully-customizable.  
   
   
       18 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is compatible with industry standard communication protocols.  
   
   
       19 . The system according to  claim 18 , wherein the partners use a signaling system that is compatible with the signaling system of the home provider.  
   
   
       20 . The system according to  claim 18 , wherein industry standard communication protocols include communication protocols selected from a group consisting of common channel signaling system number 7, common channel signaling system number 8, and transmission control protocol/internet protocol.  
   
   
       21 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing system is integrated with the home provider network.  
   
   
       22 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing system achieves at least one from a group consisting of an increase in billing accuracy, a reduction of billing processes times, a synchronization of invoicing, a synchronization of billing, attaining seamlessness of a delivery and transmittal of billing information, and an increase in the availability of billing information.