Ben Yi Chen

7366136, Apr 29, 2008

May 27, 2005

11/138343

Rohit S. Kalbag - Bridgewater NJ, US
Robert Ephraim - Bridgewater NJ, US
Ben Chen - Northboro MA, US

Cellco Partnership - Bedminster NJ

H04Q 7/00

370329, 370345, 455450, 455406

Duration based accounting for a packet data service, for example offered as a prepaid mobile IP (MIP) service through a public mobile wireless communication network, uses last detected user activity to determine the end of each session for accounting purposes. The accounting policy or algorithm defines user activity so as to include receipt of signaling related to the MIP session, such as signaling related to a termination by the user or the user's mobile station, in addition to packet data routed for the mobile station. If a session ends due to a network termination, e. g. binding expires or the network disconnects upon prepaid quota exhaustion, then the last user activity used for accounting purposes is the last data packet communication to/from the mobile station or the last received MIP session-related signaling message. For example, if MIP signaling terminates the session, then the session duration runs until receipt of that signaling.