ZA200504199B - SMS system - Google Patents

Description

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INFORMATION EXCHANGE SYSTEM

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the exchange of information over a telecommunications network. In particular, the invention provides for an information exchange system for exchanging information between a customer or a prospective customer and a supplier of goods and/or services.

Background to the Invention

The inventor is aware of a need for an information exchange system for the exchange of information between customers in an area and suppliers of goods and/or services willing to service that area.

The inventor is further aware that in some areas there are many prospective suppliers however, using conventional methods of locating suppliers a customer may not locate a particular supplier willing to provide the goods and/or services.

One such example is a directory listing wherein many suppliers are listed in alphabetical order and customers may only call one or two suppliers before making a choice. la

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The inventor is further aware that at least some suppliers take bigger advertisements in these directories than other suppliers so that potential customers would rather call them than those listed alphabetically before them in the directory.

Thus, after long deliberation, the inventor proposes an information exchange system for customers and suppliers in an area which utilises the telecommunications network to achieve fast and efficient information exchange while providing a supplier with an opportunity to present its goods and/or services preferentially over other suppliers to a client.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an information exchange system, said system including: - a database of subscribing suppliers including o supplier information sufficient to permit supplier information to be extracted in relation to predetermined categories of goods and/or services; and o contact details for contacting the suppliers by means of a telecommunications system;

® L200 gn - a messaging server for receiving and processing incoming messages and generating one or more outgoing messages in response to an incoming message wherein: o the incoming message includes = a category identifier; * an area identifier, and = customer contact information sufficient to permit the customer to be contacted by suppliers in response to the incoming message by means of a telecommunications network; o the one or more outgoing message includes one or more of » contact details of one or more suppliers extracted from the database in response to the category and area identifiers; and s customer contact information; and - telecommunication means for receiving the incoming message and transmitting the one or more outgoing message.

The area identifier may be obtained passively from the incoming message from the telecommunication network.

The system may include a data carrier, such as a flyer, a fridge magnet, an advertisement, an internet advertisement, a radio adverosement, street posters,

® PO JIE bill boards, or the like, whereby customers may be alerted of the system and have the list of category and area identifiers that are a pre-requisite for using the system, handy.

Several outgoing messages may be generated in response to a single incoming message.

Typically, a single customer originating message may result in the generation of an outgoing message to each of a predetermined number of suppliers providing the customer's contact information and an outgoing message to the customer providing a list of suppliers to whom the outgoing message has also been sent and their respective contact details.

The incoming message may originate on a computer linked to the Internet and the incoming message may be generated on a website before being passed to the messaging server.

The incoming message may be a mobile telecommunications device originating message, such as a SMS, MMS, e-mail, or the like. However, the incoming message may be generated by an automated attendant system such as an

Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) server in response to a telephone call from a customer.

® SP HE CE

In this specification, the term “automated attendant” when used in relation to a messaging system or a telephony system is intended to mean a system whereby a caller is prompted by a pre-recorded or computer generated message to select one of several options by pressing one or more keys on their handset or speaking to a voice recognition system, and/or to leave a contact number by pressing keys on their handset corresponding to their number or speaking their number into a voice recognition system. Yet further, a message left using the automated attendant is referred to in the specification as an automated attendant message. An IVR server is an automated attendant system configured to respond to voice prompts as well as key presses.

The invention extends to a subscription system for suppliers to subscribe to the information exchange system, said subscription system including: o a computer system to which prospective suppliers have access; o registration module on the computer system for registration of prospective suppliers on the system; o bidding module on the computer system for bidding by suppliers registered on the system to be admitted to the subscriber list for a forthcoming period, said bids being on a charge per referral basis; and o databasing module for evaluating the bids of the prospective subscribers and admitting a predetermined number of subscribers to the subscriber database of the information exchange system for the forthcoming period based on the outcome of the bidding process.

All suppliers who have registered can bid to become subscribers, but only a predetermined number, typically 6, per category, per area, actually become subscribers. Suppliers are databased immediately from registration, which is a pre-requisite for bidding, and their status then changes to that of bidders, who may either be subscribers or prospective subscribers.

There may be no limit to the number of suppliers that can register and participate in the bidding process, however, there is a limitation is on the number of subscribers per category and per area.

The computer system may be a point of presence on the internet, thereby permitting suppliers to register online on the internet on the system.

The computer system may include a website on which suppliers may register and/or place their bids.

The databasing module may admit a specified maximum number of subscribers to the suppliers database for each category for a specific geographic regions.

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Thus, the databasing module will typically only database, as subscribers, six of the bidders for a specific region per category of goods and/or services.

In one embodiment, a prospective customer sends a premium rated SMS including a category and an area identifier either directly or indirectly to the messaging server i.e. the incoming message, which SMS may include the customers contact number for receiving a replying SMS, however, this number may be passively supplied from CLID information by the GSM service provider.

The messaging server identifies the category of goods and/or services and the area for which the client requires suppliers and sends SMS’s to six suppliers in the database for the geographic region of the customer, providing the customers contact information. Also, an SMS is sent to the customer with the contact details of the same six suppliers so that the customer knows that the request has been processed and so that the customer may choose to contact the suppliers before he is contacted.

The bidding process may optimise, as well as determine the service lead prices while simultaneously determining who the subscribers will be.

Description of an Example of the Invention

The invention will now be described, at the hand of a practical example, which description is not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention but rather to highlight a particular use thereof.

The example that follows is an integral part of the disclosure of the invention and any feature not described hereinbefore which appears in the example is intended to disclose the use of such feature in general and not just in the specific situation in which it appears.

In the example the following terms are used:

Subscription Period

The rolling 3-month periods during which subscribers will be entitled to receive service leads generated by the network.

Prices or Bids

The amounts posted as bids on the website by service providers. These amounts represent the amounts that the service providers are willing to pay per business lead received from the network (the Service Lead Fees).

Subscribers

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The 6 service providers who posted the 6 highest bids as at the Closing Date (or who became a replacement subscriber during the subscription period), and who are entitled to receive service leads.

Exiting Subscribers

Subscribers who voluntarily choose to terminate their participation during the

Subscription Period.

Replacement Subscribers

Subscribers who had the highest bid on the bid page at the time the terminating subscriber exited.

Minimum Bid Amount

For every Service Category, the minimum amount that service providers in that category can bid.

Maximum Bid Amount

For every Service Category, the maximum amount that service providers in that category can bid.

Minimum Bid Increment

For every Service Category, the minimum difference between bid amounts.

Description of the Example

The service has been designed to satisfy the general public's need for a simple and convenient way of contacting providers of commonly used products and services related primarily to the household. The way that the general public has taken to cellphone technology has surprised everyone, and SMS technology in particular was identified as potentially the best way of satisfying this need for a better way of establishing contact with service providers.

By combining the widespread usage of cellphones with the simplicity of sending a single SMS, to a single cellphone number, with a single keyword, all that was missing was a way of displaying the keywords that residents would be comfortable with. The fridge magnet emerged as the simplest way of displaying the keywords.

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The service is thus a mix of old and new — the old fridge magnet technology combining perfectly with high-tech SMS technology to provide a solution to the problem that is both simple and extremely efficient, both from a time and cost point of view.

One keyword, one SMS, one contact number — instantly resulting in a choice of 6 service providers for the consumer. No more time-consuming and costly searches for telephone numbers from sources that may be outdated or even completely wrong. Instead, the certainty of receiving an SMS back with 6 names and contact numbers, plus the added benefit that the service providers will call them directly should they indicate in the keyword that it is an emergency (by adding .now to the keyword on the fridge magnet).

The flip-side was identifying a way of providing similar value for service providers.

All of the service categories supported operate in extremely competitive markets, and are naturally always on the lookout for ways to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. By limiting participation to a maximum of 6 service providers per category within small, demarcated service communities, and by making their contact details available to consumers (and vice versa) the moment consumers express interest in the product or service by sending the SMS, the subscribers get the competitive edge they seek.

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The flexibility of the pricing model is another factor that service providers will see value in. An internet-based auction mechanism enables subscribers to find a true market value for the service, in an open and transparent way. Subscribers decide for themselves how much they are prepared to pay for service leads, and these decisions become the basis for determining who the subscribers are in each category, for every 3 month subscription period. The ability to terminate the service at any time (with the ability to become a subscriber again, even within the current subscription period) is yet another measure of flexibility that subscribers will be able to use to their advantage.

Finally the concept encourages the allocation of business within the small demarcated areas or service communities. This has benefits for all parties — residents are assured of quick responses, while the overall costs of subscribers naturally reduce if the bulk of their work is done in the immediate vicinity of their offices.

Registration

In order to become subscribers to the service, service providers must register.

Registration to the service is free.

Registration entails the signing of the Subscription Agreement.

Another requirement of the registration process is the provision of basic information about their company, including the names and cellphone contact numbers that the system will use to send the service leads to.

The passwords necessary to access the website and to bid by SMS will also be issued during the registration process. Once a service provider is registered, it will be able to bid online or by SMS, and will be able to subscribe to the service indefinitely.

Registration thus entitles service providers to place bids which are irrevocable offers to subscribe to the service. What this means is that every bid is an offer, by the service provider, to pay the amount that it bids for every service lead that it becomes entitled to receive by becoming a subscriber.

A subscriber is a service provider who receives service leads. Service providers can become subscribers in two ways; either by being one of the top 6 bidders at close of bidding on the Closing Date, or by being the highest bidder (excluding current subscribers) at the time an exiting subscriber terminates its service.

The Internet Auction

A continuous oniine Internet-based auction is used and service providers will be entitled to place bids in the relevant Bid Tables on the website in relation to one or more service communities and one or more service categories.

Subscription to the service

All bids posted by service providers on the website are irrevocable offers to subscribe to the service. As such, they represent the amounts that the service providers commit to paying for every service lead delivered to them by the system, should they qualify as subscribers for the next subscription period (or should they be appointed as a replacement subscriber).

For purposes of identifying the 6 subscribers that will receive the service leads in the next Subscription Period, all participants will be notified, towards the end of the current Subscription Period, of a date on which bidding for the next

Subscription Period will be deemed to have “closed” (The Closing Date). The top 6 bidders at midnight on this Closing Date will become the 6 subscribers in the next 3 month Subscription Period.

Auction Objectives

The objectives of the web-based auction are:

® to identify who the subscribers in every service category will be in the next subscription period by ranking the bids posted by bidders on the website auction pages, 2 to establish the prices that individual subscribers will pay for each business lead delivered in the next subscription period; and @ to determine who will replace exiting subscribers who voluntarily choose to terminate their participation during the current subscription period.

The Bidding Process

Bidding online

Registered service providers will be issued with usernames and passwords on registration and will access the relevant bid pages on the website. On the bid page, all bidders will be displayed in a bid table, ranked in order of bid values first, then by time of bid (where two bids are equal, the bid posted earlier is ranked above the bid posted after it .

Another table on the bid page will show the names and bids of the 6 current subscribers.

A table showing the number of leads processed by the network in the past 5, 10 and 15 days, and in the past month will also be shown on the bid page. These

® numbers will also be displayed as a rate per day for that service category for information purposes.

Bidding by SMS

Bidders will first view the current rankings and then bid, or they will just place a bid.

To view the current rankings, bidders will send an SMS with the word ‘rank’ followed by the keyword for that category on the fridge magnet (e.g. rank.plumber.1). The system will respond by sending back an SMS showing the bidders own position as well as the top positions in the rankings relevant to making a bidding decision.

To place a bid, bidders will send an SMS with their password associated with the relevant auction (issued to them on registration which may be changed), followed by the bid amount in the format Rand.Cents (e.g. 7.40 for a bid of seven Rand and forty cents). The system will verify that a secure cellphone number is being used to bid and then validate the password. The system will verify this bid, insert the bid amount alongside the bidder's name in the bid table, re-sort the bid table and generate an SMS reply that shows the effect of the new bid on the table rankings (should the service provider go online, he would see the same

® information, but the SMS reply will only show the relevant bids as mentioned above).

Each SMS sent will cost the service provider R2, which will be recovered by their cellphone service provider and reflected on their statement from their service provider. The system-generated responses are provided free of charge to the subscriber.

Rules for continuous bidding © A Minimum Bid Amount will be specified per Service

Category. ® A Maximum Bid Amount may be specified per Service

Category. @ A Minimum Bid Increment amount will be specified per

Service Category © New bids, equal in value to current bids, will be accepted.

The earlier bid will enjoy higher priority in the ranking process. ® Throughout the auction all bids reflected on the Bid Tables will be ranked in descending order of value, including those of the current subscribers.

® 2)» Current subscribers will continue to receive service leads until the end of the contract period, regardless of their position in the bid table or if they have withdrawn from the auction as bidders. # The Bids reflected on the Bid Table will be used to determine the replacement subscriber, who will be the highest current bidder (excluding existing subscribers). ® Withdrawals and reductions in the value of bids posted are prohibited on the Closing Date.

The SMS Bidding Keywords 1) rank.(sk) 2) rules.(sk) 3) (yourpassword).(RR).(cc) 4) (yourpassword).0 5) (yourpassword).terminate

All words above that are in brackets - e.g. (sk) - represent changing values.

Below is an explanation of how they are used. Please note that there are dots separating the parts of the keywords.

Explanation of Bidding-Related Keywords

1) rank.(SK)

This keyword requests your own current ranking in the Bid Table and a list of the top 6 bids for a specified Service Keyword (SK). It will be used to check the subscriber's position in the rankings according to the bidding positions relevant to making a bidding decision (at the time requested). The system will identify bidders by their secure cellphone numbers on record.

Indicates that the SMS is a request for current rankings

Specifies the auction for which the rankings are being requested. This (SK) must be the Service Keyword as it appears on the fridge magnet 2) rules.(SK)

This keyword requests the rules for an auction of a specified Service Keyword (SK).

Indicates that the SMS is a request for auction rules

Specifies the auction for which the rules are being requested. This must (SK) be the Service Keyword as it appears on the fridge magnet

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All Examples:

® 3) (yourpassword).(RR).(cc)

This keyword is used to place a bid.

Password.

Each auction in which a Service Provider can participate must be associated with a password that is unique to them. This is (yourpassword). because a Service Provider can participate in more than one community and in more than one service (and auction) per community.

Represents the rand value of the bid which the bidder is (RR). supplying.

Represents the cent value of the bid which the bidder is (cc). supplying.

Example: plibob.7.40 plibob is the password that plumber bob uses for the plumbers.1 auction and

R7.40 is the bid amount sent by plumber bob 5) (yourpassword).0

This keyword is used to withdraw an existing bid from the specified continuous auction (without affecting the receipt of leads in the current subscription period, if

® a subscriber). This keyword will be used by bidders wishing to remove their current bids (their offer to subscribe) from the specified auction. The system will reject these requests to withdraw on the Closing Dates since bid withdrawals and reductions are prohibited on this date.

Password.

Each auction in which a Service Provider can participate must be associated with a password that is unique to them. This is (yourpassword). because a Service Provider can participate in more than one community and in more than one service (and auction) per community.

The zero represents the intention to withdraw your bid from

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Example: pl1bob.0 plibob is the password that plumber bob uses for the plumbers.1 auction and submitting this “0” will remove plumber bob’s bid from the specified continuous auction. 6) (yourpassword).terminate

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This keyword is used by subscribers to cease receiving leads and remove their current bid from the specified continuous auction. It will result in the subscriber being replaced by a replacement subscriber in the top 6.

Password.

Each auction in which a Service Provider can participate must be associated with a password that is unique to them. This is (yourpassword). because a Service Provider can participate in more than one community and in more than one service (and auction) per community.

Indication that the subscriber wishes to cease receiving leads terminate immediately and wishes to withdraw its bid completely from the specified continuous auction.

Example: plibob.terminate plibob is the password that plumber bob uses for the plumbers.1 auction and terminate is the request to cease receiving leads immediately and withdrawing its current bid.

Termination and Replacement

Current subscribers are free to terminate their subscription at any time during the course of the subscription period.

The replacement subscriber will be the highest bidder on the auction system, excluding existing subscribers, at the time that a current subscriber terminates its subscription.

The replacement subscriber will be appointed for the outstanding portion of the current subscription period. It will not be required to make payment of any subscription fee relating to the current month, but will become liable for the monthly subscription fee for any months remaining in the current subscription period. The replacement subscriber will also be required to pay for every service lead delivered to it as long as it is a subscriber, priced at the amount bid by it at the time that the terminating subscriber exited.

Example of a Service Community

The following suburbs have been grouped together to form the Beyers Naudé service community. In total, there are approximately 30,466 households in this area according to PRIMEDIA@ HOME.

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Randpark Ridge Sundowner Boskruin

Bromhof Northcliff Montroux

Risidale Blackheath Berario

Aldara Park Darrenwood Cresta

Linden Jacanlee Robindale

Robin Acres Fountainebleau Randpark

Windsor Glen Robin Hills Windsor East

Windsor Wes Kelland Montgomery Park

Roosevelt Park Victory Park Emmarentia Westdene Melville

Service/Product categories supported

The following service and product categories are supported in the Beyers Naudé service community:

Appliance Repairs Paint & DIY

Builders PC Support

Carpet Cleaners Plumbers

Cellphone Support Pool Services

Electricians Pre-owned Dealerships

Estate Agents Refuse Removals

Furniture Removals Security Products

Garden Services Tree Fellers

Handymen Tyre Dealerships

Security

Cellphone numbers e All registered Service Providers will supply one or more secure cellphone numbers on registration e Secure cellphone numbers will be used for: a. Bidding by SMS. The cellphone number is used as the first layer of security. A Service Provider may not bid by SMS from any other cellphone — the system will perform a check to ensure that the bidder is using one of the secure cellphone numbers on record. b. Identifying the Service Provider in case of a forgotten password.

Passwords e A password will be issued to every registered Service Provider for accessing their online account information on registration. e Once registered, each Service Provider will be allowed to participate in auctions in their relevant Service category(ies) and in their relevant community(ies).

® a. For SMS bidding, the Service Provider will be assigned a password unique to them for every auction/service category in which they participate. The system uses this password, as well as the cellphone number used to make a bid, to identify and validate the identity of the Service Provider and the auction for which they are bidding. b. Online bidding requires the Service Providers to log in once, and they will be allowed to bid on the auctions relevant to them.

Forgotten Passwords e Online account password: 1. Service Providers accessing their account online can type in their cellphone number. 2. If their cellphone number is found in the database as a secure number for a registered Service Provider, the password will be sent directly to that cellphone by SMS. e SMS bidding passwords: 1. To view and change the forgotten password, Service Providers need only log in to their secure account online. 2. Accessing their account information includes the passwords which they use for SMS bidding.

® 3. If the Service Provider does not have access to the Internet, they will have to phone a contact and identify themselves by providing the contact with requested information on record. 4. The contact will access the online account on behalf of the service providers.

Changing Passwords ¢ Secure Online account Password: 1. This can only be changed online. 2. The Service Providers must click on the “forgotten password” link, fill in their secure cellphone number and click “submit”. 3. The system will look for the number in the database of secure cellphones, retrieve the password, and SMS it to the provided secure number. ¢ SMS Bidding passwords 1. To change the SMS passwords online 1. Service Providers can access their online account information and update the necessary passwords. 2. To change the SMS passwords by phone 1. Service Providers must call a contact.

2. The contact will request their login details for their secure online account, access the online account for the Service

Provider, and update the passwords as requested.

Whole System

The following diagram, labelled Figure 1, shows an overview of the system of the above example as a whole.

The claims which follow herebelow form an integral part of the disclosure as if specifically reproduced hereabove. If any integer of any claim is not specifically stated in the consistories above then it is hereby expressly included therein.

Claims (25)

® Claims

1. An information exchange system, said system including: - a database of subscribing suppliers including o supplier information sufficient to permit supplier information to be extracted in relation to predetermined categories of goods and/or services; and o contact details for contacting the suppliers by means of a telecommunications system; - a messaging server for receiving and processing incoming messages and generating one or more outgoing messages in response to an incoming message wherein: o the incoming message includes = a category identifier, » an area identifier; and «= customer contact information sufficient to permit the customer to be contacted by suppliers in response to the incoming message by means of a telecommunications network; o the one or more outgoing message includes one or more of = contact details of one or more suppliers extracted from the database in response to the category and area identifiers; and

» customer contact information; and - telecommunication means for receiving the incoming message and/or transmitting the one or more outgoing message. 2 A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location identifier is obtained from the telecommunication network from the users message.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, including a data carrier whereby customers are alerted of the system and have the list of category and area identifiers that are a pre-requisite for using the system, handy.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the data carrier is selected from a fridge magnet and an advertisement

5. A system as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, wherein several outgoing messages are generated in response to a single incoming message.

6. A system as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, wherein a single customer originating incoming message results in the generation of an outgoing message to each of a predetermined number of suppliers providing the customer's contact information and an outgoing message to the customer providing a list of suppliers to whom the outgoing message has also been sent and their respective contact details.

7. A system as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, wherein the incoming message is a mobile telecommunications device originating message.

8. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the incoming message originates on a computer linked to the Internet and the incoming message is generated on a website.

9. A system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the mobile telecommunications device originating message is selected from an SMS, MMS, and an e-mail.

10. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 6, wherein the incoming message is generated by an automated attendant system in response to a telephone call from a customer.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the automated attendant system is an Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) server.

12. A subscription system for suppliers to subscribe to an information exchange system as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, said subscription system including: o a computer system to which prospective suppliers have access;

® o registration module on the computer system for registration of prospective suppliers on the system; o bidding module on the computer system for bidding by suppliers registered on the system to be admitted to the subscriber list for a forthcoming period, said bids being on a charge per referral basis; and o databasing module for evaluating the bids of the prospective subscribers and admitting a predetermined number of subscribers to the subscriber database of the information exchange system for the forthcoming period based on the outcome of the bidding process.

13. A system as claimed in claim 12, wherein suppliers who have registered are permitted to bid to become subscribers, but only a predetermined number per category, per area, become subscribers.

14. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the predetermined number is 6.

15. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein suppliers are databased from registration, which is a pre-requisite for bidding, and their status then changes to that of bidders, who may either be subscribers or prospective subscribers.

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16. A system as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein there is no limit to the number of suppliers that are permitted to register and participate in the bidding process, however, there is a limitation is on the number of subscribers per category and per area.

17. A system as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the computer system is accessible over the internet, thereby permitting suppliers to register online on the internet on the system.

18. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the computer system includes a website on which suppliers may register and/or place their bids.

19. A system as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein the databasing module admits a specified maximum number of subscribers to the suppliers database for each category for a specific geographic regions.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the databasing module will only database, as subscribers, six of the bidders for a specific region per category of goods and/or services.

21. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a prospective customer sends a premium rated SMS including a category and an area identifier and/or location information supplied by the telecommunication network, either directly or indirectly to the messaging server, which SMS serves as the incoming message, and which SMS includes the customer's contact number for receiving a replying SMS, provided that this number and the location identifier may be passively supplied by the GSM service provider.

22. A system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the messaging server identifies the category of goods and/or services and the area for which the client requires suppliers and sends SMS’s to six suppliers in the database for the geographic region of the customer, providing the customers contact information and an SMS is sent to the customer with the contact details of the same six suppliers so that the customer knows that the request has been processed and so that the customer may choose to contact the suppliers before he is contacted.

23. A system as claimed in claim 1, substantially as herein described and illustrated.

24. A system as claimed in claim 12, substantially as herein described and illustrated.

25. A new system substantially as hereinbefore described. DATED THIS 24™ DAY OF MAY 2005. HAHN HAHN INC. Vs nts for Applicant