Interactive billing control system

An account management mechanism for a telecommunications service provider, comprising:

• a billing server, for maintaining up-to-date transaction records, and for managing access to telecommunications and messaging services corresponding to an account, said billing server comprising:
• database logic, for storing said transaction records, wherein said transaction records specify transaction details and charges corresponding to said account;
• and
• an event monitor, coupled to said database logic, for scheduling queries of said transaction records to detect an account event, and, upon detection of said account event, for initiating a response as a function of the transaction charge corresponding to the transaction record of the detected account event;
• and
• a web server, coupled to said billing server, for receiving commands over a data-centric network prescribing said account event and said response, wherein said commands are entered by a service provider from a remote computer configured with a web browser.

An apparatus for monitoring and controlling access to telecommunications and messaging services provided over an internet from a server computer that is executing a web browser application, the apparatus comprising:

• a web server, for receiving commands from the server computer prescribing an account event and corresponding response;
• an event/alert buffer, coupled to said web server, for maintaining parameters that describe said account event and parameters that describe said corresponding response;
• a query tasker, coupled to said event/alert buffer, for generating periodic query requests to search an up-to-date telecommunications transaction database to detect said account event, and for initiating a request to execute said corresponding response as a function of the transaction cost associated with a transaction record of the detected account event, said telecommunications transaction database storing transaction records that include transaction costs;
• an access controller, coupled to said query tasker, for receiving said request, and for executing said corresponding response, thereby controlling access to telecommunications and messaging services associated with an account of a user.

A method for managing access to telecommunications and messaging services provided over an internet from a server computer that is executing a web browser application, the method comprising:

• maintaining up-to-date telecommunications billing records in a database, the telecommunications billing records including individual telecommunication events and associated charges;
• prescribing an account event from the server computer and transmitting the prescribed account event to a billing device;
• prescribing a response from the server computer and transmitting the prescribed response to the billing device;
• querying the database to detect the prescribed account event and determine an associated transaction charge;
• transmitting the prescribed response upon detection of the prescribed account event and as a function of the transaction charge associated with the detected account event;
• and
• managing access to the telecommunications and messaging services as a function of the prescribed response.