Mobile address management and billing for personal communications

Use of a 'location authority' and a separate 'billing authority' for personal identification numbers (PIDs) is proposed to exploit the existing telephone infrastructure. A mobile PID has no inherent location or routing information. A 'location authority' is responsible for tracking the PID's current location and detecting duplicate PID usage. A 'billing authority' operates like a credit card company, offering on-line credit and service profile verification. A PID could have several 'billing authorities' responsible for maintaining the users service profile and guaranteeing payment to service providers. The author examines transactions, database requirements, and billing for log-in and call set-up under the proposed concept.<
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