*** Wacky Wireless - Patent Number 5,303,297 *** Yes, folks, it's for real. I mentioned this Motorola patent perhaps a year ago and here's the link: 164.195.100.11;
As you can see, there is nothing new about it! Motorola beat me to it by half a decade. They filed it July 25 1991, 3 weeks before I heard of QUALCOMM and visited them for the first time in excitement that a company was developing 'across the bandwidth' coded cellphone signals, which I'd thought [in 1989] should be doable. What a lucky, lucky, lucky find Q! was. Pure fluke. [Thanks to Bill Gardner who I happened to meet and he told me what they were doing at Little Q! - Mighty Q! came later].
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<Dynamic pricing method and apparatus for communication systems
Abstract
A communication system service billing arrangement is described that adapts to system loading in realtime. As system loading varies, one or more individual subscribers units (ISU) of a communication system are provided with realtime information on the current cost of the communication service. The system determines the locations of the ISUs and the current loading there between and calculates a calling rate based at least on the current loading. This calling rate is sent to at least one of the ISUs whose operator can choose to connect or not connect the call between the ISUs based on the current realtime variable rate.
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Inventors: Hillis; Durrell W. (Chandler, AZ)
Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Schaumburg, IL)
Appl. No.: 735733
Filed: July 25, 1991>
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Scroll down and find this [new to me just now] reference in particular to satellite systems. Motorola has described my 'invention' in some precision.
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< The advent of cellular phone systems and in particular satellite and/or cellular telephone systems makes it highly desirable to have a service billing system that adapts to system loading in real time or nearly real time. The number of simultaneous user that such a system can handle is generally much smaller than with wire line service. This problem is especially severe with satellite cellular telephone systems. As system loading varies, it is highly desirable to simultaneously vary the rate structure.
The nature of cellular telephone and data communication systems, especially satellite systems, creates a further problem in that users have little or no geographical restrictions on the locations in which they may place calls or receive calls. The old fixed price matrix method used with wire lines of fixed location or with terrestrial cellular systems of very limited geographical range are difficult to apply to satellite cellular telephone systems and large area terrestrial cellular systems. Currently, operators of the systems have no way of varying the rates in real time and users of said systems have no means of knowing the instantaneous rate prior to and during the placement of a call.>
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Perhaps Motorola would like to do some IPR exchanges with QUALCOMM or take over the L M Ericsson Globalstar handset division.
Let's hope Globalstar and QUALCOMM are awake to these possibilities.
Okay, so I wasn't first with the idea, but at least you all now know I was in good company. [If you think Motorola is good company - it's technologically pretty sound in my opinion].
TB, if you can snag, bag, drag, grab, flag or even shag, if you insist, [I wonder if they have vibraring mode yet?] a Globalstar phone for me to 'demo' I would be delighted to spend days and days roaming NZ showing anyone I come across the marvellous new phone. I will direct all sales enquiries to you [as agent for Vodafone Australia who would be the service provider if the customer didn't prefer to deal through a GlobalstarUSA roaming arrangement].
I bet I could sell a bunch after Blackstone has tidied up the pricing. New Zealand should get free minutes [while the Dubbo gateway is lightly loaded] because of the poor connectability in the 'intermittent service' zone.
When Dubbo gets busy, the Wacky Wireless scheme should increase the price to match full-service areas.
Of course such ideas will NOT be of interest to Globalstar or Vodafone [though they should be]. But at least people can now make MAYDAY calls from the mid-Tasman sea.
Mqurice
PS: Personally, I think Globalstar LP should give me a free phone [QUALCOMM only - people can keep a GSM phone for terrestrial calls] and unlimited minutes [at least for a year or two]. As you can imagine, I would be a voluble amabassador for Globalstar in NZ. |
