Service delivery using broadband - Patent Review 5629978

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TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to telephone service delivery. More particularly, this invention relates to a system and method for providing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) service subscribers the capability to directly purchase and customize telephone services via the Broadband Network without direct interaction with PSTN service provider personnel.

BACKGROUND ART

The existing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) includes service activation and control functionality to perform two basic tasks: (1) service delivery, i.e., the provision and modification of telephone services; and (2) service assurance, i.e., maintenance of the system. This service activation and control functionality takes the form of complex hardware and software which must be physically manipulated by human operators at remote stations, i.e., service and operations centers such as ESAC (Electronic Service Assistance Center), RCMAC (Recent Change Memory Administration Center), NOC (Network Operations Center), complex translations, business office, etc. These stations are operative to access systems, i.e. databases which are known and generally referred to by those skilled in the art as the "old legacy systems". These systems include, for example, CRIS (Customer Record Information System), SOPAD (Service Order Processing And Delivery), etc.

These numerous service and operations centers and their corresponding physical organizations of personnel, all communicate with one another to provide and modify telephone services for PSTN subscribers. A simple residential telephone service request thus requires input and interaction from dozens of employees at multiple locations resulting in a process which is excessively time-consuming, expensive, inefficient and highly prone to error.

Against this background, telephone service providers have long recognized that any marginal profit which might be realized from upgrading a residential subscriber's telephone service may, as a commercial reality, be vastly outweighed by the direct time and labor costs incurred in providing the requested service or change. Consequently, telephone service providers, and in particular, Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) service providers, who have the technical capability to provide very powerful personalized telephone services, have heretofore been economically inhibited from providing such services to their subscribers. Instead, telephone service providers have been forced to offer only those services which can be mass-marketed, or otherwise economically justified.

It is understood that the above-noted economic obstacles to providing powerful personalized telephone services may be overcome through automation of the service activation and control functions. In such an automated system, the physical manipulation of these operations is shifted directly to the telephone subscriber. The complex web of physical organizations of persons and places which have conventionally performed the same functions are therefore substantially reduced, if not eliminated, along with their attendant costs.

The general solution to the above problem is thus simple in theory and as a result, has long been contemplated by PSTN designers. The practical implementation of that solution, however, has not been apparent. Until the present invention, the practical implementation has evaded PSTN designers. More particularly, in order to effectively shift the data manipulation functions to the telephone subscriber, an appropriate interface must be provided and properly configured to allow the subscriber to easily navigate the many powerful telephone services which are available, especially when deployed in Advanced Intelligent Networks.

Consider, for example, the approach taken in U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,094 (Asmuth et al) which teaches a method for defining an individual service for an individual subscriber. In that method, a telephone service is performed by a subscriber program resident on an external host computer which a subscriber defines using conventional programming sequences. As readily seen, while this method permits a new individual customer service to be configured without modifying the telephone network switching system software, the applicability of the method is severely limited. Most significantly, the method requires that every customer who uses the service have an individual host computer external to the telephone system. Still further, designing a service in accordance with the teachings of the '094 patent requires a computer programmer to write program sequences to define as well as modify the selected service.

Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,588 (Babson, III et al.) teaches a system and process for providing programmable or customized customer telephone information services. Like Asmuth, however, Babson requires the use of an external personal computer (PC) having similar programming drawbacks.

Traditional Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) interfaces, which are typically found on Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), have also proven difficult and exceedingly time-consuming to use. Consider, for example, AIN services which, as referenced above, are highly powerful and might take extensive prompts by the user to navigate the required logic necessary to implement or modify even a basic telephone service. The traditional DTMF interface has thus proven unacceptable from a human factor standpoint, especially for time-of-day applications.

Consequently, a need has developed to provide a system and method for providing telephone service subscribers the capability to purchase, customize and modify telephone services. Such a system and method must incorporate a user-friendly interface which may be easily manipulated directly by PSTN service subscribers so as to reduce or eliminate the need for interaction with telephone service provider personnel.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is thus a principal object of the present invention to provide a system and method for providing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) service subscribers the capability to purchase, customize and modify telephone services without direct interaction with PSTN service provider personnel.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a system and method for providing PSTN service subscribers the capability to directly purchase and customize both switch-based and Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) services via the broadband network.

Still further it is an object of the present invention to provide such a system and method which incorporates a Graphical User interface (GUI).

In carrying out the above objects and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention, the system and method disclosed and claimed herein is directed for use in cooperation with a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) having service activation and control functionality. The system and method are further directed specifically for use in providing PSTN service subscribers the capability to directly purchase, customize and modify telephone services via the broadband network. The present invention thus substantially reduces, if not eliminates, the complex web of physical organizations of service provider personnel which have heretofore been necessary to effect the system activation and control functionality found in conventional telephone networks.

The system and method further incorporates a Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as a television or the like which is operative to access the PSTN service activation and control functionality through a Set Top Box--called a Set Top Terminal (STT) by those skilled in the art. The Set Top Terminal is provided in electrical communication with the graphical user interface and the broadband network for receiving downloaded video for display to the subscriber and sending upstream signaling to the broadband network. A remote control is further provided to allow the subscriber to easily navigate the graphical user interface so as to select, effect, and modify desired telephone services.

In one form of the invention disclosed herein, the graphical user interface is a color television which has both full motion video and audio capability. The system and method are specifically adapted for use in purchasing and customizing switch-based services as well as purchasing, customizing and modifying Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) telephone services. The invention thus includes a Service Switching Point (SSP) and an AIN Service Control Point (SCP). In accordance with the invention, the SCP is provided in electrical communication with the SSP and the PSTN service activation and control functionality. The SCP is operative to provide an AIN service template for each of the PSTN service subscribers. The telephone subscription includes multiple services and options which may be selected and enabled by subscribers via the broadband network.

In another form of the disclosed invention, a Service Node (SN) is provided in place of both the SSP and the AIN SCP. The Service Node, like the SSP and AIN SCP which it is designed to replace, is operative to provide an AIN service template to each of the PSTN service subscribers.

In operation, the method of the present invention provides telephone service subscribers including, but not limited to, PSTN service subscribers, the capability to purchase, customize and modify telephone services via the broadband network without direct interaction with telephone service provider personnel. The method comprises the provision of both a Graphical User Interface operative to access telephone services and a Set Top Terminal which is provided in electrical communication with both the GUI and the broadband network. By navigating the GUI with a remote control, the telephone service subscriber may select the desired telephone service sought to be purchased, customized or modified. In operation, video is downloaded from the broadband network on the STT for display to the telephone service subscriber on the GUI. Thereafter, control signals are generated at the STT for upstream receipt by the telephone service provider through the broadband network so as to effect the desired purchase, customization or modification of telephone services.

The attainment of the foregoing and related objects, advantages and features of the present invention should be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art after review of the following more detailed disclosure of the invention, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a generalized block diagram of the system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional broadband network to which the system and method of the present invention are directed for use with;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one form of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen contemplated by applicants for use with the present invention in purchasing and customizing switch-based telephone services;

FIGS. 4-6 are schematic diagrams of yet another form of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen contemplated by applicants for use with the present invention in purchasing, customizing and modifying Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) telephone services;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the contemplated exchange of messages between the broadband network and the Public Switched Telephone Network, where the PSTN is the service provider;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the contemplated exchange of messages between the broadband network and a non-PSTN service provider; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the method steps of the present invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Turning now to the drawings, more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of the system of the present invention designated generally by reference numeral 10. System 10 may be viewed as including three basic elements: the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) designated generally by reference numeral 12, the Broadband Network referenced generally by reference numeral 14, and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) designated generally by reference numeral 16.

Public Switched Telephone Network 12 is understood by those skilled in the art as comprising a Narrow Band network incorporating copper leads such as twisted pair setting up point-to-point connections for providing voice services. Public Switched Telephone Network 12 further includes service activation and control functionality 18 which, as referenced above, is operative to perform the basic tasks of service delivery, i.e., the provision and modification of telephone services; and service assurance, i.e. maintenance of the telephone system. This service activation and control functionality takes the form of complex hardware and software which, as also referenced above, must be physically manipulated by human operators at one or more of the old legacy systems, i.e., service and operations centers. Service activation and control functionality 18 is of a type conventionally employed by Public Switched Telephone Network service providers, and the novelty of the present invention resides in the particular system arrangement and marriage with the broadband network. The design and operation of service activation and control functionality 18 will therefore not be explained in further detail.

Still referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, Public Switched Telephone Network 18 is shown directly interfaced with the Broadband network 14. Within the telephone industry, the term "broadband" denotes a very high digital line rate, such as the 156 megabits per second (Mb/s) optical line rate of new SONET OC3-Level fiberoptic systems. Broadband network 14 is of a conventional type and, as explained in further detail below, includes a Level one network 20, a Level two gateway 22 and a Level three application 24. The Broadband Network 14 is provided in electrical communication with CPE 16 and, more specifically, STT 26, which is connected to a Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as television 28. As shown, STT 26 is further provided in electrical communication with both GUI 28 and the Broadband Network 14 for receiving downloaded video for display to the telephone subscriber and sending upstream signaling to the broadband network 14. Also shown is a remote control 30 for navigating the user interface, i.e. television 28 which, in the preferred embodiment, is provided with full motion video and audio capability.

In one preferred embodiment, the present invention is adapted for use in purchasing, customizing and modifying both switch-based and Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) telephone services. PSTN 12 may therefore include a Service Switching Point (SSP) 32 which is provided in electrical communication with the telephone service subscriber's telephone 34, as well as the service activation and control functionality 18. In AIN architecture, the Service Switching Points are known to those skilled in the art as generally nodes (usually the subscriber's local switch/central office switch) that recognize the "triggers" used when a subscriber invokes an intelligent network service and then communicates with the Service Control Point (SCP) 36 to operate the service. A Service Node (SN) 39 in electrical communication with PSTN Service Activation and Control functionality may be used to replace SSP 32 and AIN SCP 36. SN 39 is operative to provide an AIN service template for telephone subscribers to receive data therefrom via Broadband Network 14 to enable existing AIN services.

SCP 36, as shown in FIG. 1 is provided in electrical communication with SSP 32 through common channel Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) protocol and Service Transfer Point (STP) 38. Designed to be used primarily in high speed digital networks, common channel Signalling System No. 7 is capable of controlling low-speed analog facilities as well. SS7 generally operates at 64 KbPS and can support variable message links up to 2,176 bits (272 octets) of information per message. Service Transfer Points of the type shown and designated by reference numeral 38 are further known to those skilled in the art as packet switches used to generate signalling messages within the network. Service Transfer Point 38 is provided in electrical communication with SCP 36 and SSP 32 via signalling links 40. SCP 36 is further provided in electrical communication with PSTN service activation and control functionality 18 through signalling link 42 which may comprise ROSE TCP/IP or any other suitable signalling protocol.

In limited traffic situations, Service Switching and Control Points (SSCPs)(not shown) may also be provided for combining the functions of SCP 36 and SSP 32. Once again, because the novelty of the present invention lies in the unique system which interfaces with the customer premises equipment through the broadband network, neither the service activation and control functionality 18 nor the AIN components reference above, which are of conventional type, will be described in further detail.

Turning now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the interface between the public switch telephone network 12 and broadband network 14 will be described in further detail. As shown in FIG. 2 and referred to above, the broadband network is of a conventional type and is divided into three general Levels known to those skilled in the art: the Level 1 network; the Level 2 gateway; and the Level 3 video application. The Level 1 network is concerned primarily with the physical delivery of the video signals to the graphical user interface more particularly shown as television 28 in FIG. 1. The Level 1 network thus handles the upstream communication from STT 26.

Similarly, the Level 2 gateway, referred to generally by applicants as an Interactive Video Delivery System (IVDS), provides the interface for Level 3 applications (referred to by applicants as the Video Information Provider (VIP)) to access the broadband network 14. The Level 2 gateway handles many of the bookkeeping functions such as launching Level 3 video applications, setting up the physical connections between the Level 3 applications and the STT 26 and billing for use of the broadband network 14.

STT 26 is an integral part of the system of the present invention as its functionality spans all three broadband Levels. As known to those skilled in the art, hardware is provisioned in the STT to terminate broadband network signals. Software resident on the STT 26 also provides interfaces with the Level 2 gateway. In operation, video services are downloaded and executed on the STT 26. The STT is operative to access multi-media assets stored in the Level 2 gateway or the video application servers shown in FIG. 2 as Foreign Application Servers (FAS) 42, Interactive information Servers (IIS) 44 and Interactive Application Servers (IAS) 46.

In accordance with the invention, and as discussed in further detail below, an application running on the broadband network 14 will communicate with the Public Switched Telephone Network 12 using an appropriate interface and message flows. The specific lower layers of the protocol, X.25, TCP/IP, etc., are not crucial to the present invention provided that they meet anticipated and actual performance needs and support the required information. Likewise, PSTN 12 will communicate with non-PSTN service providers using an appropriate interface with information as also defined in further detail below. The specific lower layers of the protocol (X.25, TCP/IP, etc.), again however, are not important so long as they meet the performance needs and support the desired informatio