Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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ADVANCED PAYPHONE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
ADVERTISING ON PAYPHONES OVER A COMMUNICATION
NETWORK
A claim for priority is made to U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/125,189 filed March 19, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an advanced payphone system and a business
method for generating revenue from the same. Specifically, the invention
relates
to advanced pay telephones having electronic advertising, Internet and
multimedia
capabilities used to provide the user with features not available on
traditional
payphones while generating additional revenue for the pay telephone operators
and
subsidizing costs to the user. The business method of the present invention
has
broad applicability extending beyond payphones to residential and other
subscriber
terminals.
Background of the Invention
Present pay telephones often provide little if any profit to the owners or
operators of the telephones. Users of the pay telephones often use telephone
calling cards to access local or long distance carriers directly, effectively
bypassing
the charges for use of the pay telephones. Also, pay telephones presently
provide
the users with very limited features. Advances in computing,
telecommunications,
the Internet, and technology in general have not translated commensurately in
improvements to pay telephones such as increased functionality to the users.
CONFIRMATION COPY
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In many parts of the world, telephone usage charges are relatively high.
The user of a telephone, and especially the user of a pay telephone, is often
extremely conscious of the costs involved in making a call. What is desired is
a
way to reduce the costs of telephone access to the user. What is also desired
is
a way to draw users to the telephones of a particular location owner over
those
of another owner and to encourage increased use of pay telephones.
Providing advertising at the pay telephone location is seen, by the
inventor, as a way to increase revenue and improve margins for the pay
telephone operator/owner while benefiting the user in reduced costs for
telephone access and benefiting advertisers by providing greater and more
directed exposure to their messages. Others have explored the concept of
advertising to pay telephone users or other telephone users and have described
related systems in other patents. These systems have various drawbacks, as
described herein.
U.S. Patent No. 5,793,851 describes a pay telephone communication
system where pay telephones are located in booths containing advertising
materials of various businesses. Calls made to the advertising businesses from
the pay telephone are free to the user. The calls are monitored by the system
which can then bill the advertiser based upon the number of calls to the
advertiser originated at the pay telephone. While this system permits specific
calls to be free of charge to the user, one drawback of the system is that it
does
not subsidize the cost of non-advertising related calls by the user. Another
drawback of the system is that the advertising is fixed within the booth; the
system does not allow for video advertising nor does it allow for the
advertising
to be changed automatically or upon system command.
U.S. Patent No. 5,987,424 describes a system wherein various forms of
advertisements are provided to a subscriber terminal through a telephone
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exchange. Receipt and display of the advertising at the subscriber terminal
adds to
a discount money amount for that terminal which offsets the communication
charges incurred at the terminal. One drawback of this system is that it
requires
on-line streaming of advertising information. Further, very little of the
accounting
is performed at the subscriber terminal. The system requires that the
telephone
exchange or network be equipped and configured to perform numerous functions
beyond the routing of telephone calls, such as accounting and streaming of
advertising during a call. Such network equipment and functionality must be
present in order for the subscriber terminal to function as described. The on-
line
streaming of advertising increases network load.
U.S. Patent No. 5,515,424 describes a system for providing subscriber
selected advertising in the form of video images to telephone stations. One
drawback of this system is that it requires on-line streaming of advertising
information. The system requires that the telephone exchange or network be
equipped and configured to perform numerous functions beyond the routing of
telephone calls, such as accounting and streaming of advertising during a
call.
Such network equipment and functionality must be present in order for the
subscriber terminal to function as described. The network must have an image
display database. The on-line streaming of advertising increases network load.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention allows telephone companies, payphone companies
and location owners to make money from advertising that can be seen by users
of the phone and also passers by. The screen can continue to display
advertisements even when there is no one using the phone. As the payphones
are located in public areas they provide an opportunity to advertisers to
display
their messages to passers by also. This advertising on the payphone instrument
creates an additional revenue stream that was not available before.
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The present invention allows for highly targeted advertising as an
advertiser can choose to be on any individual payphone or group of payphone
instruments, all instruments, or have the ad appear at various times in the
day/week/month of choice, determine the duration of the ad, etc.
In addition to advertising, the present invention also allows for the
enhancement of revenue streams from payphone terminals by providing additional
features to the user that would tend to attract more users to the terminals
and
increase usage time of the terminals. Such features include, e-mail, video
mail,
video conferencing, Internet browsing, online chat. Also included are value
added
informational services such as airline and railway schedules and directory
informational services.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a method of
generating revenue from the operation of a communication system comprising
subscriber terminals. This method involves, under the control of a central
server, collecting a plurality of advertisements from advertisers and
distributing
at least one of the plurality of advertisements over a network to at least one
subscriber terminal when that subscriber terminal is not in use by a user. The
method also involves, under the control of that subscriber terminal, charging
a
user an amount of money for use of that subscriber terminal and displaying
that
at least one advertisement at that subscriber terminal. The invention does not
rely on the local exchange or the telephone access network for call charge
accounting or for image storing, processing, or transmission.
The system of the present invention provides advertisements over a
communication network to users of subscriber terminals. The system includes a
plurality of subscriber terminals connected to a network and, in the preferred
embodiment, a central server connected to the plurality of subscriber
terminals
over the network for facilitating the off line distribution of advertisements
to the
terminals. The central server controls the collection and distribution of
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advertisements and to a certain extent controls the display of the advertising
at the
subscriber terminals. The terminals include the functionality of traditional
pay
telephones but also facilitate more advanced features such as the display of
advertising on color screens. The terminals include modems for communication
with the central server over the communication network. The advertisements are
transmitted over the network from the central server to the terminals where
they
are then stored in a non-volatile memory. The advertisements are displayed and
scrolled in a preprogrammed order and frequency when the terminal is in use
or,
in some public locations, whether or not the terminal is in use.
Advertisements at
a given terminal are updated periodically by the central server. Audio
components of the messages can be output through a speaker of the payphone.
The terminals can accept multiple modes of payment in contrast to the
conventional one or two modes. The terminals in the system are assigned
unique IP addresses to allow them to be individually accessible through the
Internet. This allows for the terminals to provide increased functionality as
an
Internet device.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 illustrates various parties and relationships that can be facilitated
in the method of the invention;
Figure 2 illustrates a system of the present invention including a central
server and a plurality of advanced subscriber terminals;
Figure 3 illustrates an advanced subscriber terminal of the kind that can be
used with the method of the present invention;
Figure 4 illustrates the functional components of an advanced subscriber
terminal under the present invention; and
Figure 5 illustrates one process for display of advertising under the present
invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
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The present invention is directed to an advanced payphone system and
method for advertising on the same in order to improve the profitability of
payphones while increasing their utility to users. The method of the present
invention pertains and applies not only to pay telephones, but also to
advanced
residential or business telephones and to generating a revenue streams
therefrom.
While reference is made to pay telephones, payphones and ZIPFones, it is
intended that the business method of the present invention be understood to
apply
to any type of subscriber terminal capable of displaying advertising. In the
context
of the present specification, the "display" of advertising includes
presentation, by
any method, of advertising at the terminal, including audio, video (still
frame, full
motion or animation) or other methods, and any combinations thereof. Also, in
the context of the present specification, "advertising" or "advertisements"
are not
limited to commercial messages or those intended to effect a commercial
transactions. Rather, the content of the advertisement displayed can include
informational, entertaining or others forms of non-commercial messages.
The present invention addresses the above-described needs of the telephone
user, the pay telephone location owner and the advertisers. It attracts users
to
certain pay telephones, thus encouraging their use and creating revenue
streams
for various parties involved in the business method. The business method gives
advertisers access to users of payphones or other telephones. The advertisers
pay for this access and these revenues can be used to either subsidize the
calling
charges for the user and/or make additional profits for the telephone
companies
and/or payphone operating companies and other companies involved in the
business method.
Generally described, the system of the present invention includes a central
server and a plurality of advanced subscriber terminals (payphones, pay
telephones, ZIPFones). These terminals include the functionality of
traditional pay
telephones but also facilitate more advanced features such as the display of
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advertising on color screens. The terminals include modems for communication
with the central server over the communication network. The advertisements are
transmitted over the network from the central server to the terminals where
they
are then stored in a non-volatile memory. The advertisements are displayed and
scrolled in a preprogrammed order and frequency when the terminal is in use
or,
in some public locations, whether or not the terminal is in use.
Advertisements at
a given terminal are updated periodically by the central server. Audio
components of the messages can be output through a speaker of the payphone.
The terminals can accept multiple modes of payment in contrast to the
conventional one or two modes. These modes include coins, cards (magnetic
stripe/chip/smart cards/bar-coded) and cash. The cash payment option is
enabled with a built-in metering device that allows the terminal to print out
a
bill for each call using an attached printer. The amount on the bill is
charged to
the user by a location owner/operator. The terminals in the system are
assigned
unique IP addresses to allow them to be individually accessible through the
Internet. This allows for the terminals to provide increased functionality as
an
Internet device.
Figure 1 illustrates the various parties and relationships that can be
facilitated in the business method of the invention. These parties include: an
advertiser 20, the payphone operating company 30, the telephone company 40,
the
payphone user 60, the payphone location owner 70, and the credit verification
center/bank 80. The subscriber terminals used in the system, as described
above,
are shown as payphone 50 which represents one of many terminals that can be
used in the invention. Also used in the invention is an Internet Protocol (IP)
based
payphone management system 10 which can be implemented in software resident
in a central server/processor of one of the parties. In the preferred
embodiment,
the payphone operating company 30 controls or provides the payphone
management system 10.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, an important entity is the IP
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based payphone management system 10 which, as mentioned, can be incorporated
in a central server with a processor and is controlled and provided by the
payphone operating company. In Figure 2, the relative relationship between the
payphone management system and the numerous subscriber terminals is shown.
In the figure, the payphone management system 200 is connected to ZIPFone
Group 1 (210) in city A and to ZIPFone Group 2 (220) in city B some distance
separated from city A. The connections are made over one or more
communication networks 211 and 212. The present invention is not limited by
the
type of communication network used to connect the subscriber terminals with
the
payphone management system. In the preferred embodiment, it is envisioned that
the connection is made over the same telephone network to which the subscriber
terminals are connected.
Figure 3 illustrates an advanced payphone terminal of the present
invention. As shown, this terminal 300 contains a display screen 310, a
handset
350, a keypad 330, coin slots 360, a card slot 340 and preprogrammed "Hotkeys"
320.
The payphone management system 10 controls many aspects of and
performs numerous functions within the business method. One of these functions
is controlling the advertising under the present invention. Specifically, the
payphone management system controls the collection and distribution of
advertising messages and to a certain extent controls the display of the
advertising
at the subscriber terminals. The advertiser 20 is representative of one or
more
parties who wish to advertise, to sell a product or service or to provide non-
commercial messages to users of subscriber terminals. In the preferred
embodiment of the invention, the advertisers have a business relationship with
the payphone operating company through which their advertisements are
distributed to the terminals. In return, the advertisers pay the payphone
operating company for the service provided. The advertising messages are
collected from the advertiser 20 and stored at the payphone management system
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10. In the preferred embodiment, this collection is performed by the payphone
operating company. The advertising messages are typically in the form of full
motion video, still images, animation, or text. These advertising messages are
electronically coded, either by the advertiser or the payphone operating
company in a format facilitating electronic storage and transmission.
Under the control of the payphone management system, the advertising
messages are arranged and distributed to the individual subscriber terminals
over the communication network where they are then stored in the non-volatile
memories of the terminals. The advertising messages are distributed to a given
terminal when that terminal is off line - that is, during a time when it is
not
being used by a user.
Also under the control of the payphone management system is billing; in
particular, the billing of users and of location owners. The amount that a
user
of the terminals is charged for making a telephone call can depend on the
tariff
table that is applied to the call. For example, local, intrastate, interstate
and
international calls all might have different tariff tables against which the
call will
be compared to determine the amount charged to the user. Further, there may
be special rates depending on the time of day or based on marketing programs
where certain days may be discounted. These tariff tables are stored in the
terminal but can be transmitted and updated when necessary or periodically
from the payphone management system. In addition, certain surcharges can be
applied to the cost of the call. For example, the use of certain types of
calling
or credit cards may result in a surcharge as would operator assisted calls or
calls
made from more up-scale locations. The information needed for applying such
surcharges to the amount charged to the user by the terminal is obtainable
from
the payphone management system.
The billing of location owners is also accomplished by the payphone
management system. In one embodiment of the invention, the bill for a given
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location owner is sent to the terminal of the location owner where it is
stored in
memory. An indication is placed on the screen of the terminal that the bill
has
arrived. The location owner can then display it on screen or it can be printed
out. This method of billing represents a significant improvement and savings
in
costs over traditional billing by mail. Payment by the location owner on the
bill
can be made credit card or, in the preferred embodiment, by a charge to a
prearranged debit account, authorization for which can be done through the
terminal. In addition, authorization for the charge can be deemed given when a
predetermined amount of time passes after such delivery of the bill to the
location owner; fifteen days, for example.
The location owner, shown as 70 in Figure 1, refers to the party owning
or managing the premises where the terminal is installed and, in some cases,
also performing the task of running the payphone operation there on a daily
basis. This is typically true in manned payphone outlets where cash is
collected
from users after every call and where user assistance has to be provided at
the
location. In the preferred embodiment of the business method of the present
invention, the location owner is a franchisee of the payphone operating
company
and earns a regular commission on calls made from his outlet. The payphone
operating company 30 installs and maintains the terminal at the location
owner's
premises for a set time period in exchange for a franchise fee collected in
advance. The revenue collected by the location owner in the above scenario
being relatively limited, the payphone operating company, through the present
invention, provides the location owner with an additional revenue stream based
upon the advertising on the terminal. The revenue collected by the payphone
operating company from the advertisers is shared with the location owner. This
encourages the location owner's acceptance of the terminal and franchise
arrangement, even if at a relatively high franchise fee, and assures the
location
owner a stream of income without any additional effort on his or her part.
The payphone management system also facilitates and controls the
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revenue sharing arrangements among the parties involved. The revenue to be
collected from and charges to be made to the various parties are tracked and
controlled by the payphone management system. In some cases, the payphone
operating company itself owns the location where the terminal is installed. In
those cases, no location owner revenue sharing is necessary. However, in most
cases, the terminals are "rented" to the location owner for a franchise fee as
described about. The sharing of the advertising revenue, through the payphone
management system, in most cases more than offsets the franchise fee charged
to the location owner. The location owner can also participate in providing
its
own advertising to the system, usually for display on specific terminals.
The advertising revenue can also be shared with the telephone company
who provides the telephone access lines that connect to the terminals.
Normally, the telephone company would charge the payphone operating
company a fee for providing telephone network access to each terminal and also
a fee for usage of the network. Under the method of the present invention and
under the management of the payphone management system, the fees charged
by the telephone company can be discounted based on a percentage of
advertising revenue shared with the telephone company. The telephone
company can also participate in providing advertising to the system for
display
on the terminals in exchange for discounted telephone access and/or usage
charges .
The user also benefits from the revenue sharing arrangements in that the
costs charged to the user for making calls is discounted and subsidized by the
advertising revenue. Thus, from the user's perspective, using a payphone under
the system of the present invention, such as a ZIPFone, is more cost effective
than using a competing payphone. In all of the scenarios for revenue sharing
described herein, the payphone management system knows the revenue sharing
arrangements under effect for each of the terminals and thus the system keeps
track of the accounts of the various parties accordingly.
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The payphone management system also performs the function of credit
management. The various parties involved in the system can have debit
accounts with the payphone operating company. The balances of the accounts
are maintained by the payphone management system. Of importance is the
management of the debit accounts of the location owners. As users use the
phone and pay the location owner, the amount due to the payphone operating
company grows. Normally, the location owner is billed by the payphone
management system every fifteen days or at other predetermined times. When
certain predetermined thresholds for amount due are met, the payphone
management system can immediately bill the location owner so as to avoid a
lengthy delay in payment. Also, in cases where risk of non-payment is
relatively high, the terminal in question can be deactivated by the payphone
management system based on whether payment on the bill was received in a
timely manner. This prevents further charges from incurring and limits
possible
loss due to non-payment.
Another function performed by the payphone management system is
database management. An advertiser can be charged a flat fee for the display
of
their advertising messages. Through the database management capabilities of
the payphone management system, data is collected on of the number of times
an advertising message was displayed at a terminal viewed and by the number of
terminals on which it was displayed. This information can be used to determine
how much to bill the advertiser that provided that advertising message,
instead
of charging a flat fee. Other information that is collected includes the
demographics of the users - that is, identification of the types of locations
and of
the geographic areas where the advertising messages were displayed. Such
information is valuable to advertisers and can command a premium when
determining the amount to charge and advertiser. Such information allows the
advertiser to better target the advertising messages to the type of user
desired.
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The payphone management system also monitors the transactions
occurring from the terminals between users and advertisers whose messages are
displayed at the terminals. For example, when an advertising message is
displayed to a user at a terminal and that user contacts the advertiser from
that
terminal using one of the "hotkeys", that event is recorded, preferably at the
terminal, and later collected by the payphone management system. Also
recorded and collected are occurrences of completed transactions between the
user and the advertiser. The information is communicated to the advertiser
along with information pertaining to the type of location involved. For
example, indoor and more "safe" locations are more likely to result in the
completion of commercial transactions with the advertiser than are outdoor and
less more "safe" locations. Thus, advertising messages at those locations not
well suited or likely to create complete transactions can be limited to brand
recognition type messages. In contrast, advertising at "safe" location can
include point-of-sale type messages.
Also, the payphone management system facilitates remote diagnostics of
the terminals. By connecting the an individual terminal, the system can do
maintenance checks and run diagnostic tests, attempt to solve problems
remotely, and, in case of other problems, provide the technician with certain
diagnostic information in advance of a physical visit to the terminal. The
terminals themselves also allow for local diagnostic tests to be run via
connection with a portable computer or through internal programming initiated
by keypad to instruct the terminal to run a self-test.
As discussed herein with reference to Figure l, advertiser 20 is
representative of one or more parties who wish to advertise, to sell a product
or
service or to provide non-commercial messages to users of subscriber
terminals.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the advertisers have a business
relationship with the payphone operating company through which their
advertisements are distributed to the terminals. In return, the advertisers
pay
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the payphone operating company for the service provided. The advertising
messages are collected from the advertiser 20 and stored at the payphone
management system 10. In the preferred embodiment, this collection is
performed by the payphone operating company. The advertising messages are
typically in the form of full motion video, still images, animation, or text.
These advertising messages are electronically coded, either by the advertiser
or
the payphone operating company in a format facilitating electronic storage and
transmission.
The advertising messages are typically displayed while the terminal is in
use and scroll periodically. However, in certain high-visibility locations
such as
airports, it is desirable to have advertising messages displayed even when the
terminal is not in use. The messages can scroll periodically and a short audio
portion can be produced in order to attract potential users.
The advertiser can choose at what terminal locations a given advertising
message will be displayed, what type of advertising message to use (video,
still
frame, etc.) and the duration that the advertising message will be displayed.
This offers a large degree of flexibility to both the advertiser and the
payphone
operating company in devising payment schemes. For example, a voice
advertisement with a 10 second duration would command a lesser premium than
a still image of the same duration. Alternatively, the payphone operating
company can charge the advertiser a fixed amount of money for a fixed amount
of display time, irrespective of the type of message displayed. The payphone
management system is used to track the amounts to be charged the various
advertisers based, in part, on information uploaded from the terminals
regarding
frequency and duration of the advertising messages displayed of the different
advertisers.
The advertiser also has the benefit of having a captive audience in the
user of the telephone terminals. In some countries average length of telephone
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calls is on the order of 4-5 minutes. Since the user is continuously viewing
the
advertising message while using the telephone terminal, recall of the message
is
maximized. Use of the terminals by advertisers can also be made for the
purpose of conducting surveys and brand recall exercises. For example, the
user can be asked to answer a set of questions posed by the advertiser and in
return receive some free minutes of phone use. This is coordinated by the
payphone management system. The terminals can also be used to test brand
recall. As the same users, in some locations, tend to use the same terminal
over
a period of time, brand recognition can be tested over, for example, a six
month
period through the questioning of the user via the terminal.
As mentioned above, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the
payphone management system 10 is under control of the payphone operating
company 30. This entity provides the terminals and installs them at the
various
location owner sites. It enters into agreements with the advertisers, the
telephone company, the bank/credit verification companies and the location
owners. In other embodiments of the invention, the functions of the payphone
operating company can be performed by other parties, such as the advertisers
or
the telephone companies, and the payphone management system would be under
their respective control.
In Figure l, telephone company 40 is representative of the company
responsible for providing the telephone lines to the terminals. The present
invention is not limited by the method in which the telephone company connects
the terminals to its telephone network nor by the type of telephone network
used. It is envisioned that, in additional to traditional public switched
telephone
networks, other networks would be used such as wireless, satellite, etc. In
the
preferred embodiment of the invention, the payphone operating company
manages the payphone side of the business including finding the right
locations,
etc. and acts as a subscriber or franchisee to the telephone company by taking
a
fixed block of lines in a market and/or a fixed block of usage minutes in
bulk.
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The payphone operating company pays the telephone company a rentals amount
on the lines used or a one time payment for the same. In addition, it can pay
for minutes of use in bulk or as actually used. For telephone companies, an
additional benefit of the present invention is that it increases usage of its
telephone lines, which can correspond to increased revenue.
In another embodiment of the invention, the telephone company itself
sets up the payphone network, including placement of the terminals. The
management of the system is performed by a payphone management system
located at a local exchange of the telephone company. In this embodiment, the
telephone company can also easily extend the advertising aspect to advanced
residential terminals for in-home use by customers in its service area. Audio
messaging to residential customers with standard terminals can also be
accomplished.
Also shown in Figure 1 is payphone user 60. This represents an actual
user of the terminal making a telephone call therefrom. As described herein,
some of the objects and resulting benefits of the present invention include
the
attraction of multiple users to a particular terminal through the provision of
advertising, increased functionality and lower cost of calling. The business
method of the present invention offers the ability to, in the preferred
embodiment, the payphone operating company to subsidize the call charges
through advertising/merchandising at the payphone location. Since call
tariffing
is generally predetermined by the telephone company or other entity, the call
charges to the user under the present invention are discounted through
advertising. The call charges can be discounted at a flat rate (e.g. a
discount on
the per minute charges). The tariff tables transmitted to the terminal from
the
payphone management system take into account the subsidy or discount applied
against the normal tariffs used by the telephone company. The amount of the
discount may vary from location to location and may also depend on the time of
day. In another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the user
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can receive a block of free calling time by using a terminal, and being
subjected
to the display of advertising messages, for an extended period of time. This
can
be done in place of or in addition to the discounting of call charges. The
collection of free calling time instead of discounted calling effectively
delay the
subsidy, but still creates an incentive for users to use the payphone terminal
under the present invention.
The user also benefits from various promotional schemes that are run
through the payphone management system under the present invention. For
example, to attract more users to a particular terminal, the payphone
operating
company may enter into an agreement with a consumer goods company such
that a user would receive a coupon/ticket redeemable for a free good after
using
the terminal. In one scenario, the user would receive a coupon for a free soft
drink after making a call for longer than some minimum length. Another
scenario is receipt of a coupon for a free good if one or more
questions/riddles
are answered correctly via the terminal.
Advertisers or any consumer goods companies may sponsor prepaid
calling cards with advertising printed on them which can be distributed to
users.
These cards, when used in a terminal under the system of the present
invention,
will heavily discount or render free to the user the calling costs incurred.
In
one embodiment, use of an advertiser's calling card results in that
advertiser's
messages being selected from the memory of the terminal and displayed for the
user. In another embodiment, the cards contain electronic memories
("Smartcards") in which specific advertisements, are stored. When such cards
are used with terminals under the present invention, the advertisements stored
in
the terminals for display are superseded by the advertisements stored in the
calling card. The advertisement stored in the card, usually related to the
product of the distributor of the card, are displayed in the terminal for the
user.
Also shown in Figure 1 is the credit verification center/bank 80. This
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party can be included under the business method of the present invention
whenever verification of a user's credit is necessary. This is necessary when
the user has chosen to pay for a call with a credit card. The payphone
terminal
50 obtains authorization directly from the bank 80. The cost of these
verifications can be passed on the user or can be recovered by offering
advertising to the bank. Another scenario where bank verification of user
credit
is necessary is when the user chooses to complete a credit transaction with an
advertiser he has contacted from the terminal. If the advertiser does not
control
the credit verification, it can be done by the present system. The terminal
obtains pre-authorization from the bank 80 at the start of the call to the
advertiser and completes the accounting with the bank when the call and
transaction have completed.
The terminals described herein can be used for residential purposes.
The phone can be given, sold or rented to the residential user by the payphone
operating company, the telephone company, or even competitors of the
incumbent telephone company as a way to increase market penetration. The
user would be subjected to advertisements in the same way and would receive a
sizeable discount on the calling charges.
Another way that revenue can be generated through the use of the
business method of the present invention is by providing additional features
and
capabilities to the payphones/terminals. These capabilities include e-mail,
video
mail, Internet browsing, on-line chat and viewing long videos. The ability to
utilize these features will command a premium from users and will also draw
more users to the terminal. A small camera attached to the terminal can
facilitate the sending of video mails and actual video conferencing from the
terminal over the telephone or broadband network. Video games can be
displayed on the screen of the terminal so that the user can play them while
on
hold or at anytime while using the terminal. So-called "value added"
informational services can be implemented at the terminals to provided users
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with such information as airline schedules, railway schedules and directory
information services. Such information can be downloaded to the terminal from
the payphone management system or can be resident at the terminal in a CD-
ROM or other memory storage device. The use of "Smart Cards" with secure
user information stored therein can facilitate online banking and other types
of
secure transactions from the terminal. The terminals used in the system of the
present invention have individual Internet addresses. The ability to be IP
addressable expands the possibilities for types of transactions exponentially
since the terminals are then effectively Internet terminals. As the technology
used for the payphone terminals advances, additional features can be
implemented which would serve to increase the attractiveness to users and the
revenues generated. The business method of the present invention is not
limited
by the features selected to be used.
As discussed above, additional revenue can be generated in this business
method through the facilitation of Internet operability and transactions. For
example, standard browsing and e-mail facilities can be implemented on the pay
telephone. In addition, various advertising options can be used to boost the
revenue potential. For example, the display screen in addition to the regular
web page content, carries logos, baselines, product information, teasers,
contests, etc. which the user sees and to which the user can respond.
Advertising can be in the form of crawlers attached to the e-mail messages
which the user sees every time he/she accesses the mailbox. Alternatively,
every user can be made to click on to a particular web site for viewing the
advertising content. This can be used to discount the user's Internet access
charges in a variety of ways. The advertisements being displayed can be linked
to either providing the user with free Internet access for a certain time
period or
by charging only for the communication charges from the host to the Internet
service provider's server. The Internet access charges can be waived. The
system used in the business method contains the necessary means to account for
such calls and present the user with detailed statements periodically.
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Alternatively, the user can be urged to call the advertiser/manufacturer after
seeing the advertisement to learn more about the product. This constitutes
another call being originated from the terminal and the user gets the benefit
of a
free gift which the manufacturer gives out in return.
The use of the Internet with the present invention makes the following
transactions on the system possible. The user using the terminal makes several
railway inquiries through the Internet and finds the information
displayed/updated on the screen. The user confirms the reservation and the
device printer prints out the ticket or a confirmatory token which can be
exchanged for a ticket during the journey. If a device printer is not
attached,
the system gives out a unique number which may be treated as the confirmation
code. The same principle can be extended to doing any online reservation. The
payphone operating company charges the service provider like railways, the
airlines, the movie theaters, intermediaries, etc. for rendering this service.
These companies benefit from a larger user turnout and a decentralized
reservation arrangement. An advertisement message printed on the ticket being
printed may add further value to the payphone operating company as the
advertiser can be charged for this service.
Another lucrative transaction option enabled by the use of a terminal in
the present invention is that of online banking. With the banking
methodologies
embracing the Internet paradigm, there is an urgent need to facilitate
Internet
banking. Providing this facility on public access terminals and deploying a
model to support this represents yet another emerging method of tapping
additional revenue streams. In this method, the user accesses his/her bank
account from the multimedia payphone terminal and carries out a balance
inquiry, payment of bills, sends messages to the bank, requests for
personalized
services, transfers of money, etc. The charges for accessing the Internet to
carry out these transactions can again be handled in a variety of ways. In one
scenario, the user pays for the call through a credit card or a debit card.
The
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fact that several such public access terminals exist throughout the city, at
all
prime locations especially, presents a strong case to the pay telephone
operator
to negotiate with the banks for advertising. Considering the fact that these
devices may also be used for opening new accounts, all the interested banks
may attract these potential customers through intuitive advertising. In
addition,
related channel partners dealing with these banking products will be
interested
in reaching out to this population. One scenario, related to banking, is the
use
of the payphone terminal in conjunction with a currency dispenser to provide
"ATM"-type functionality. The bank in tandem with the payphone operating
company can decide on the locations where these units may be installed
Yet another unique opportunity provided by the present invention is the
generation of revenue for payphone operating companies through the use of
Internet conferencing from the payphone terminals. The operator assigns a
unique pager or account number to each of the subscribers to this service. The
scenario is explained as follows: User A wants to carry out a conference
between A , user B and user C. User A logs onto the Internet from one of the
subscriber terminals, and commences a global search for B and C through their
pager/account numbers. The system pages the other two users through special
utility programs and if they are available on the Internet, sends a suitable
message to them. If they are not available, then the payphone management
system pages them on their mobile numbers. After a set time period, user A
receives a message on his/her terminal that the other two users have been
contacted and that they have logged onto the net. What follows is either a
chat
conference between the users or chat coupled with voice and video if the
devices
permit this at each end. If this group's details are registered with the
payphone
management system, advertisements related to the group can be sent to all the
three terminals. The system so devised can be configured to charge the users
in
various ways such as "calling party pays" for both the call charges and the
Internet access charges, but the called parties do not pay the Internet
charges.
Alternatively, it can follow "called party pays" on a similar basis. The
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payphone operator company may even have the Internet charges discounted
uniformly for all the three users through advertising.
Another application of the present invention is that of mass video
conferencing. In this scenario, a small camera attached to the front of the
payphone terminal captures the image of the caller and uses the Internet
backbone or wide band telephone lines to transmit the voice and images to the
other party. The user is charged for placing the call and also based on the
time
duration of the video conference call. The pay terminal device can even print
a
bill for the amount. Alternatively, the payphone system may use a scanned
image stored in the central server and may be transmitted across to the other
side by the system. The above possibility may be effectively tapped by
providing a variety of options to the user to superimpose the image on an
electronic greeting card. This may be used on occasions like festivals by the
user to greet the person on the other side. The payphone operating company or
location owner may drive traffic to these outlets by dropping the Internet
charges using highly focused advertising.
Another high potential area that the business model and the system
address is interactive advertising. This hinges on the fact that advertising
can be
used in a very targeted, focused way to provide call benefits to the users
thereby
driving usage and hence higher revenues to the payphone operators. One
scenario is as follows. A user of the terminal initiates a call. Based on the
number being called, the terminal starts displaying advertisements that are
meaningful in and around the geographical location of the called party. This
can be advertisements like: pizza delivery, movie theaters, department stores,
etc. with an option given to the user to get instant connectivity to these
advertisers through the "Hotkey" arrangement on the terminal. The user either
gets the call completely free or pays a discounted charge based on the
advertisement seen and sale completed. Another scenario is as follows. After a
user initiates a call from a terminal, the terminal and/or the payphone
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management system read the profile of the user through his/her database
profile
stored internally and begins flashing advertising messages according to the
lifestyle, behavioral patterns, past transactions, etc. of the user. The user
can
proceed with viewing the advertisements first, get a block of free time and
then
proceed with the normal call. This provides the user a call free for a certain
time period beyond which he/she is charged for the call. Or, a set discount
percentage can be applied to the call and the user can be charged accordingly.
Yet another scenario is as follows. User A calls User B from a terminal. The
payphone management system tracks the people talking, the time of the call and
the past similar calls made by User A and displays advertisements related to
the
person, the time of the day and the past transactions done. For example, user
A is a literature enthusiast and during his last conversation with user B
ordered
for the latest best-selling fiction novel from a certain book store. During
this
call, the terminal system flashes the same advertisement in an updated format
to
include all the new releases.
Furthermore, the business method is not limited to the type of terminal
used. For example, as discussed above, residential phones can be used under
the present invention with many of the same benefits to users and advertisers.
It
is anticipated that upcoming generations of digital wireless telephone with
large
displays will be used with the present invention. Since the user is often
looking
at the phone when dialing, advertising messages can be displayed thereon,
whether transmitted on-line or when the phone was not in use. Thus, the cost
of
the calls can be subsidized by the advertiser or another party.
The terminals may also be deployed as "stand-alone" units. In certain
circumstances, it may be more cost effective for the payphone operating
company to pre-load the advertising messages onto the terminal before
deployment. Subsequent contact with the terminal is minimal. Such terminals
are deployed in remote or unmanned locations. In this scenario, the payphone
management system is not used. Rather, the revenue is collected from the
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advertisers for the advertising messages pre-loaded onto the terminals. The
messages need not be updated or refreshed for long periods of time.
Figure 4 illustrates the functional components of an advanced subscriber
terminal under the present invention, such as the one shown in Figure 3. The
internal architecture of the advanced subscriber terminal 300 is similar to
that of
a computer in that it contains a motherboard, a memory, a power supply, a
UPS, a modem, and other components commonly found in computers. It also
contains a telephone circuit card as an attachment to this computing device.
In
Figure 4, the motherboard 410 contains a microprocessor 415 to control the
operation of the subscriber terminal. The motherboard also contains numerous
standard, memory decoded input/output ports, designated as interface (I/F)
ports
420 to interface with the display device 450, the modem module 455, the
memory module 445, the keyboard/user input device 460, and the telephone
circuitry 470. The motherboard also contains card interface 425, coin
interface
425, power supply interface 440, and serial data interface 435. In the
preferred
embodiment, the serial interface is an RS-232 port to allow serial data
connection with devices such as computers or printers. It is envisioned that
this
interface can also be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) or any other type of
interface
allowing connection to the subscriber terminal.
The memory module 445 shown in Figure 4 represents the nonvolatile
memory of the subscriber terminal used to store system arid call data related
information and advertisements. The data stored in the memory remains until it
is
overwritten. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the memory module
used is a flash RAM. Alternatives include the use of a CD-ROM or of a hard
disk
drive. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that other types of non-
volatile
memory storage means can be used and that the present invention is not limited
thereby.
The display device 450 is, in the preferred embodiment, a liquid crystal
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display (LCD) with a 240 by 320 resolution and able to support 256 colors. The
display is also shown in Figure 2 as element 310. The display, in the
preferred
embodiment is backlit based on a CCFL (Cold Cathode Filament Lamp) and
displays information in two parts. The upper 204 lines are used for displaying
advertisements and the remaining lines are used for displaying call related
information such as the call amount, the duration, and the called station
name. It
is envisioned that other types of display devices can be used with the
subscriber
terminal, such as various sizes of LCDs with or without the backlight, vacuum
fluorescent device based displays, CRT based displays, elementary LED based
scrolling displays, or even displays allowing user interactivity such as touch
screens and display screens with light pens for input. The present invention
is not
limited by the type of display screen chosen for use in the subscriber
terminal.
Further, it is not necessary that the display device be incorporated in the
subscriber
terminal; the display can be attached as separate device disposed beside or
near the
subscriber terminal.
Also shown in Figure 4 is modem module 455 which represents the
modem equipped on the subscriber terminal. This is a standard data modem
chosen from among many different commercially available modems. The main
function of the modem is to allow for communication between the subscriber
terminal and a central server through which advertisements and other
information
can be transmitted to the subscriber terminal and diagnostic and other
subscriber
terminal information can be uploaded to the server. The modem also allows for
the terminal to connect with third-party devices directly; such third-parties
include
bank/credit verification centers and Internet service providers.
An uninterruptible power supply unit 465 is connected to the motherboard
410 through the power supply interface 440. The power supply 465 accepts a
standard 220 VAC as input converted to 12 V DC voltage at converter 467. The
power supply unit 465 also contains a sealed maintenance free battery 469 that
provides an online backup power source for 8-10 hours in cases of a power
failure
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or interruption. The battery is constantly charged through a charging circuit
provided internally in unit 469.
The telephone circuitry 470 connects to the motherboard through the
interface ports 420. The circuitry contains standard telephone circuitry
including
speech circuitry 472, speech amplification circuitry 476, ringer circuitry 474
and
metering circuitry 478. The subscriber terminal uses a standard -48v loop for
telephone network connection and dials digit in a standard format (DTMF or
pulse). The subscriber terminal supports both line reversal and 16 kHz
signaling
from the telephone exchange for metering the call. This allows the terminal to
function as a self charging device or as one responsive to the 16 kHz
signaling
from the telephone exchange. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art
that
described here are standard telephone circuit components. The present
invention
is not limited to the specific components described herein.
Also shown in Figure 4 is the RJ11 port 485 for allowing connection with
computer, fax machine or other device. This allows a user to connect the
user's
electronic device to the terminal and facilitates connection with the
telephone
network through the terminal. It also facilitates diagnostic analysis of the
terminal
by a service person. Other types of ports that can be used in place of the
RJ11
include Infrared (IR) and USB. Also shown as attached to the telephone
circuitry
470 is an audio speaker 480. This speaker is used, primarily, to output the
audio
component of an advertisement, the video component of which is displayed on
the
display screen 450. The speaker 480 also facilitates hands-free dialing by the
user.
The volume of the audio signal output from the speaker is adjustable from the
keypad 460 on the terminal.
Figure 4 also shows the keypad 460, which is the primary user input
device, connected to the motherboard 410 through the interface ports 420. In
Figure 3, components of the keypad are shown as keys 330 and "hotkeys" 320.
The keypad is mainly used as a means for dialing and entering information. The
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keypad also contain a plurality of "Hotkeys" which are programmed keys that,
when pressed, connect the user to a specific party. Some of the hotkeys are
dynamically programmed to be used in conjunction with the advertising message
being displayed on the screen at the time. For example, depressing one of the
hotkeys can allow the user to connect to the advertiser corresponding to the
advertising message displayed on the screen. Other hotkeys are programmed to
allow the user to scroll through advertisements already displayed. Some of the
hotkeys can be programmed to perform the same function irrespective of the
advertisement being displayed; for example, to connect directly to local
businesses. In addition to hotkeys, two special keys on the keypad allow the
user
to control the volume of the terminal and to access menu features of the
subscriber
terminal. The volume key, when depressed, increases the volume on the handset
and speaker by 2 dB increments up to an increase of 8 dB. The menu key guides
the user through various standard screens such as the instruction screen,
directory
information, etc. Other keys on the keypad are used in conjunction with the
menu
key to allow for user selection of various menu functions. Besides the keypad
460, other means by which user input can be obtained by the subscriber
terminal
include voice prompts through the handset, use of a touch screen display,
fingerprint reader, attached keyboards, as well as the use of the above
mentioned
ports 435 and 485 for connection with user devices such as computers or
personal
digital assistants (PDA) to perform dialing.
The subscriber terminal can accept multiple modes of payment including
coin and cards. These cards include prepaid calling cards, commercial credit
cards, and "Smart Cards" containing electronically readable memories. For
acceptance of coins of varying denominations a standard coin collection box is
used (not shown) connected to the coin interface 430. There is also a return
path
provided to reject alien coins to return coins when the call is not connected.
For
acceptance of payment by card, there is attached a card reader (not shown) to
the
card interface 425. The card in inserted through a card slot 340 as shown in
Figure 3. The card reader is of a hybrid variety which can read and validate
both
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"Smart Cards" and commercial credit cards. In the preferred embodiment of the
invention, the reader supports cards conforming to the international standards
T2G
and Eurochip. One such card reader is the KDE 5900 manufactured in south
Korea by KD Electronics. Validation of the user's card is based on the
industry
standard of active authentication and can be completed right from the terminal
via
modem. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the terminal includes a
bar
code scanner which reads bar codes on a user's card. Further, the terminal can
be
equipped with an optical note reader to allow paper currency to be accepted by
the
terminal for payment.
The housing for the subscriber terminal is constructed for outdoor
installations and has a rugged, vandal resistant aluminum diecast body. The
terminal is provided with a secure locking arrangement which, in the preferred
embodiment of the invention, includes an in-built electronic solenoid lock
openable
open entry of a password on the terminal. This lock is connected to the
motherboard of the terminal which keeps a log in memory. In this way, the
terminal keeps track of who has opened the terminal based upon the password
used. The electronic lock can also be controlled remotely via the terminal's
modem. In this way, the central server can lock or unlock the terminal
remotely.
Attached to the terminal via the data port 435 is an alphanumeric printer
(not shown). This printer is used primarily to print out call detail bills for
the
users of the terminal. The power supply to the printer can be drawn from the
terminal itself (12V DC). Other uses for the printer include printing
coupons/tickets for the user and payment or billing reminders to the location
owner.
Figure 5 illustrates the basic process of displaying advertisements to a user
under the present invention. In step 510, the user of the terminal picks up
the
receiver/handset and begins to dial the number of the party the user desires
to
contact. Assumed is that the user has made payment, or has obtained
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authorization either on his calling card, credit card or Smart Card, or has
obtained
authorization to use the terminal from the location owner who will charge the
user
upon completion of the call. In step 512, the processor of the terminal
detects the
off hook condition of the receiver and the fact the a user has dialed a
number.
The processor begins to display an advertisement retrieved from the memory of
the terminal. The display can begin upon the user lifting the handset or upon
the
user dialing a number. This "display" is made on the screen of the terminal in
the
case of visual advertisements, with the audio portion, if any, being input
from the
speaker. The user's call is connected, as shown in step 514. In the meantime,
as
shown in step 516, while the call is underway, the advertisements are changed
based upon a predetermined order and scheduled duration. On the screen, as
indicated in step 518, both the advertisement and call related information are
displayed. This call related information includes call charges, call duration,
called
party number and name, if available, and also the current time. When the user
completes the call, in step 520, he hangs up the receiver/handset. The
processor
detects this and terminates the display of advertisements to the user. One
variation
to this process is the display of advertisements at the terminal irrespective
of
whether the terminal is actually in use. This is useful when the terminal is
located
in high visibility areas such as train stations or airports where the display
of the
advertisements of the terminal may be seen by passers-by and may attract users
to
the terminal.
Referring again to Figure 2, it is envisioned that both the server and the
subscriber terminals can be connected to networks other than the traditional
PSTN.
Other types of networks than can be used under the present invention include
wireless networks (CDMA, TDMA, GSM and VSAT based) and digital wireline
networks (xDSL, ISDN). In these cases, the subscriber terminals are equipped
with a converter module which provides standard two wire loop signaling to the
terminal. The terminals are upgradeable in this way to facilitate operability
with
different types of networks and to ensure compatibility with future networks.
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As mentioned above, the server/payphone management system 200
controls the collection and distribution of advertisements and to a certain
extent
controls the display of the advertising at the subscriber terminals. The
advertisements are collected from the advertisers and stored at the payphone
management system 200. In the preferred embodiment, this collection is
performed entirely electronically through the connection of the central server
200 with the advertisers' computers. The advertisements are typically in the
form of full motion video, still images, animation, or text. These
advertisements are electronically coded, either by the advertiser or the
payphone
operating company in a format facilitating electronic storage and
transmission.
Coding of the advertisements is done using standard coding techniques. In the
preferred embodiment, full-motion video advertisements are coded according to
the MPEG format, still images are coded according to the JPEG or BMP
formats and animation according to the animated GIF format. It would be
apparent to one skilled in the art that many different formats for coding the
advertisements can be used. The present invention is not limited by the type
of
coding format.
Under the control of the payphone management system, the
advertisements are arranged and distributed to the individual subscriber
terminals over the communication network where they are then stored in the
non-volatile memories of the terminals. The advertisements are distributed to
a
given terminal when that terminal is off line - that is, during a time when it
is
not being used by a user. Transmission of the advertisements, in the preferred
embodiment of the invention, is accomplishing using standard PSTN modem
protocols. It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that network
specific
protocols may be used, specifically when non-PSTN networks are used to
connect the central server and the subscriber terminals.
The advertisements each have a unique signature attached to them when
transmitted to the terminal and stored in the memory of the terminal. This
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signature contains the sequence number for the advertisement as well as the
requisite duration of display and can contain time of day restriction
information.
This information enables the processor of the terminal to determine in what
order to display the advertisements and for how long. Referring again to
Figure
5, in step 516 when the processor advances advertising images while the user
is
using the terminal, these images are displayed in an order according to the
sequence number of the advertisements signature. The advertisements scroll
according to a default period (e.g. 10 seconds) or according to the duration
indicated in the signature. When the user hangs-up and the advertisement
display is suspended, the sequence number of the last advertisement is stored
in
memory. When display of advertisements begins again, for example when a
new user starts dialing, the next advertisement in the sequence is displayed.
This prevents the undesired effect of displaying the first advertisements in
the
sequence much more often than the other advertisements stored in memory.
Using the time of day information, certain advertisements can be displayed
during specific time periods only. For example, an advertiser for a certain
good
may desire to have its advertisement displayed only during the daytime.
When necessary or on a regular basis, the payphone management system
connects to the individual terminals and selectively updates one or more of
the
advertisements stored at the terminal. Usually, only some, and not all, of the
messages are updated. This is done to ensure that advertiser's new messages
are distributed to the terminals while avoiding the time consuming process of
downloading a complete set of advertisements to the terminal.
As described herein, the server/payphone management system 200 also
plays a role in the billing of the terminal users. The amount that a user of
the
terminals is charged for making a telephone call can depend on the tariff
table
that is applied to the call. For example, local, intrastate, interstate and
international calls all might have different tariff tables against which the
call will
be compared to determine the amount charged to the user. Further, there may
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be special rates depending on the time of day or based on marketing programs
where certain days may be discounted. These tariff tables are stored in the
terminal but can be transmitted and updated when necessary or periodically
from the payphone management system. In addition, certain surcharges can be
applied to the cost of the call. For example, the use of certain types of
calling
or credit cards may result in a surcharge as would operator assisted calls or
calls
made from more up-scale locations. The information needed for applying such
surcharges to the amount charged to the user by the terminal is obtainable
from
the payphone management system. When the terminal is in a self charging
mode, the call charge is computed by the processor upon comparing the call
characteristics to the stored tables and surcharges, and the amount charged is
displayed in the screen.
The server/payphone management system 200 also communicates through
the terminals to the payphone location owner. For example, messages can be
sent
from the server via the terminal modem to be displayed on the terminal screen.
Such a message can include billing information or instructions for the
location
owner. The server also communicates with the terminals for the purpose of
diagnostic analysis. Tests to be run by the terminal can be transmitted from
the
server. Results of tests run at the terminal can be displayed on the terminal
screen
for the technician or location owner. The terminals can be programmed to
contact
the server, during off peak hours, and report on diagnostic analysis of
terminal, or
simply to report. Failure to report indicates to the server that the terminal
may be
exhibiting a malfunction and the appropriate personnel can be alerted.
One embodiment of the system of the present invention provides a
unique advantage over existing systems. In this embodiment, the subscriber
terminals have individual Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. This allows them
to
be individually addressable over the Internet. The server/payphone
management system is also IP based and can connect with the individual
terminals over the Internet. In this embodiment, the modem of the terminal
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connects, over the attached network, to an Internet service provider. From
this
point, communication to and from the terminal occurs over the Internet
backbone. The server similarly connects to the Internet and can distribute the
advertisements and other information to the terminal over the Internet by
using
the terminal unique IP address. The terminal can be used as an Internet pay
phone by communicating in a standard voice-over-IP protocol. Users of the
terminal also have the ability to browse the Internet and conduct transaction
thereover. Communication is based on Internet Protocol (IP) which allows for
the instrument to be compatible with other Internet compliant devices. With
this
Internet access and compatibility, web pages, active channels, data and other
information are displayed in real time. Stock tickers and news headlines are
also be displayed on the screen. Streaming audio and video can also be
displayed. The audio portion for any of these messages can be enabled or
disabled either by user or location owner or payphone operator. The subscriber
terminal is itself individually IP addressable or addressable as a group of
terminals. The use of the Internet also allows the server to more easily
manage
large groups of terminals distributed over great distance, even worldwide.
Accordingly, in Figure 2, the networks 211 and 212 represent, in this
embodiment, the Internet backbone.
It is also anticipated that, as the technology becomes more prevalent,
users will desire to have the ability to send and receive video-mail messages,
much as they already do today with voice-mail messages. The system of the
present invention can accommodate such users and allow them to access their
video-mail messages stored at some other location, possibly the users' service
providers, and display the messages on the screen of the payphone. With the
addition of a camera to the terminals, users also have the ability, with the
system of the present invention, to send video-mail messages to another
location
and to participate in video conferencing.
The subscriber terminal can also be programmed to perform standard
CA 02366298 2001-09-19
WO 00/57624 PCT/IB00/00309
-34-
basic voice-mail functions for the users. In this embodiment, the user sets-up
a
voice mail account with the payphone operating company. A caller wanting to
leave a voice mail message for that user calls the virtual number assigned to
that
user by the payphone operating company. Alternatively, the caller can call a
specific terminal and leave a voice-mail on the extension number assigned to
the
user. In either case, the user is paged via a paging network. This provides
the
user with an indication that a voice-mail has arrived. He can then go to his
designated terminal, enter a password and retrieve the voice mail. The user
can
also call into that terminal to receive the voice mail over the telephone.
Incorporated by reference herein is the document entitled "ZIPFone
Instruction Manual" printed by ZIP Telecom Limited. It should be understood
that the above description of the invention and specific examples, while
indicating
preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of
illustration
and not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the
present invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and
the
present invention includes all such changes and modifications.
