Telephone call billing system

A method for use in billing the basic cost of telephone toll calls between an originating station set and a terminating station set, each of said station sets being associated with a respective telephone account and having an owner, the basic costs of telephone toll calls made from said station sets being charged to said respective accounts, each of said respective telephone toll calls having a particular basic cost, said basic cost for each respective one of said telephone toll calls being determined by summing period costs for each indivisible time period passing during said respective ones of said telephone toll calls, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating a signal indicating that the owner of an account associated with the terminating station set agrees to pay for a predetermined portion of the basic cost of each telephone toll call from said originating station set, said portion including at least a portion of the period cost for at least one indivisible time period that passes during each respective telephone toll call from said originating station set, said signal being generated after the setup of said telephone toll call;
• and
• marking a billing record associated with each particular respective telephone toll call, substantially contemporaneously therewith, in response to said authorization signal, to indicate that at least said agreed to portion of the basic cost for said particular telephone toll call is to be billed to said account associated with the terminating station set.

A method for use in the billing the basic cost of a telephone toll call between an originating subscriber having particular characteristics and a terminating subscriber, the method comprising the steps of:

• storing in a data base information indicating that said terminating subscriber agrees to pay for a percentage of the basic cost of telephone toll calls from selected subscribers, said selected subscribers having a particular value of at least one specified characteristic;
• receiving information about the value of said at least one specified characteristic for said originating subscriber;
• looking up said received information in said data base for said terminating subscriber;
• responding to a match of said received information with said stored information by generating an authorization signal indicating that the terminating subscriber agrees to pay said stored percentage of the period cost for each indivisible time period of said telephone toll call;
• and
• marking a billing record associated with said telephone toll call, in response to said authorization signal, to indicate that portions of the basic cost of said telephone toll call are to be billed to both said terminating and originating subscribers.

A method for use in the billing of a telephone toll call between a originating subscriber and a terminating subscriber costing a basic cost developed by summing each respective period cost associated with each indivisible time period occurring during the existence of said telephone toll call, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating an authorization signal indicating that the terminating subscriber agrees to pay for a percentage of the basic cost of said telephone toll call, said generating being automatically performed without intervention of any person not directly a subscriber to said telephone toll call;
• creating a second billing record by duplicating a first billing record associated with said telephone toll call, in response to said authorization signal;
• modifying said second billing record to indicate that said terminating subscriber is to be billed for a first amount that is a predetermined percentage of the basic cost of said telephone toll call, said percentage being less then one hundred percent but more than zero percent and being applied against each respective period cost for each indivisible time period of said telephone toll call;
• and
• modifying said first billing record to indicate that said originating subscriber is to be billed for a second amount that is the basic cost of the telephone toll call less the amount to be billed to the terminating subscriber.

A method for use in the billing of a telephone toll calls between an originating station set and a terminating station set, said telephone toll calls existing for a number of predetermined indivisible time periods, said originating and terminating station sets each being associated with a respective telephone account, each having an owner, to which the basic cost of telephone toll calls made from said station sets are charged, the method comprising the steps of:

• storing an authorization indicator which indicates that the owner of the account associated with the terminating station set agrees to pay for a predetermined portion of the basic cost resulting from telephone toll calls from said originating station set, said indicator being stored prior to the initiation of said telephone toll call;
• generating an authorization signal when a telephone toll call is being set up between said originating station set and said terminating station set if an authorization indicator is stored for said terminating station set indicating agreement to pay for a portion of the basic cost of telephone toll calls from said originating station set;
• and
• marking a billing record associated with said telephone toll call, in response to said authorization signal, to indicate that at least a portion of the cost for said telephone toll call, including at least a portion of the period cost associated with at least one of said indivisible time periods, is to be billed to said account associated with the terminating station set.

A method for use in the billing of a telephone toll call existing for at least one predetermined indivisible time period, said telephone toll call being between a first subscriber who, after set up of said telephone toll call, is responsible for the entire basic cost of said telephone toll call, said basic, cost being a sum of period costs, one period cost being associated with each predetermined identical length, indivisible time period that lapses during said telephone toll call and a second subscriber who, after set up of said telephone toll call, is responsible for none of the basic cost of said telephone toll cost, the method comprising the steps of:

• detecting, after said telephone toll call is set up, an authorization signal indicating that the second subscriber agrees to share with said first subscriber the basic cost incurred for said telephone toll call during at least one time span, said at least one time span having a length that is accounted as an integral multiple of the length of one of said predetermined identical length indivisible time periods, the length of said at least one time span being determinable at the end of said telephone toll call;
• and
• marking at least one billing record associated with said telephone toll call, in response to said detected authorization signal, to indicate that the period cost incurred for each predetermined identical length indivisible time period that elapsed during said at least one time span is to be divided into two portions, with one portion of said period costs for each elapsed indivisible time period being assigned to each of said first and second subscribers.