An approach is provided for pooling bandwidth provided by mobile devices in an ad hoc group. Based on information in data plans provided by wireless carriers to the mobile devices, amounts of data that will be unused at the end of respective billing cycles are estimated. Based on the estimated amounts, contributions of data from the mobile devices are determined. Based on capabilities of the mobile devices, time periods during which the respective mobile devices are subscripted for providing at least some of the respective contributions of data are determined. Hand-offs among the mobile devices are coordinated to provide a cooperative usage of the bandwidth among the mobile devices which minimizes redundant streaming or downloading of content to more than one of the mobile devices. The streamed or downloaded content is presented to the ad hoc group of mobile devices.

Systems and methods that provide charging for supplemental content in a data flow separately from other content in the data flow. One embodiment comprises a network element of a Packet-Switched (PS) network that serves mobile User Equipment (UE). The network element receives a data flow of packets for a download of content requested by the UE, and identifies supplemental content in the data flow not requested by the UE, such as advertising content. The network element generates a charging request, inserts charging information for the supplemental content in the charging request, and transmits the charging request to a charging system so that the supplemental content can be charged separately from other content of the data flow.

A computer-implemented method for managing a billing policy for mobile phone associated with a first phone number corresponding to a first account and a second phone number corresponding to a second account is described herein. The billing policy defines actions performed by the mobile phone to be charged to the first account, and defines actions performed by the mobile phone to be charged to the second account. Charges are allocated to one of the first account and second account based on the billing policy. A user can configured to phone to operate in a private mode, in response to which actions are charged to a default account of the two accounts, and information about the action is not provided to an external entity.

A method includes receiving input during execution of a first application at an electronic device. The input indicates that data usage of the electronic device is to be billed to a first data usage account of a plurality of data usage accounts associated with the electronic device. The method further includes generating a request during execution of a second application at the electronic device. The method also includes, based on the input, encapsulating, by the electronic device, the request to generate an encapsulated request that identifies a destination endpoint provisioned for the first data usage account. The method further includes transmitting the encapsulated request from the electronic device to a network element.

Systems and methods discussed herein are employed in a cross-platform notification system configured to send a series of notifications to devices and/or subscription services associated with an account where a payment is due. These notifications may be sent to an increasing number of devices and/or subscription services as time passes from when payment was due, and the iterations of notifications may take up progressively more of a graphical user interface and/or be displayed for an increasing period of time until a final notification is sent, after which point access to telecommunications services and subscription services, except for emergency functions, accessed through the telecommunications service provider are no longer available to users associated with the overdue account.

A computer-implemented method for managing voicemails includes receiving, at an intermediate server communicatively coupled to a mobile phone associated with a first phone number corresponding to a first contact group and a second phone number corresponding to a second contact group, a request to receive an incoming call associated with a caller phone number. The intermediate server identifies a contact group associated with the request. The identified contact group comprises the first contact group in response to the received request corresponding to the first phone number, and the identified contact group comprises the second contact group in response to the received request corresponding to the second phone number. The intermediate server selects a voicemail setting based on the identified contact group. In response to determining to route the incoming call to voicemail, the voicemail is configured based at least in part on the selected voicemail setting.

Systems and methods that provide charging for supplemental content in a data flow separately from other content in the data flow. One embodiment comprises a network element of a Packet-Switched (PS) network that serves mobile User Equipment (UE). The network element receives a data flow of packets for a download of content requested by the UE, and identifies supplemental content in the data flow not requested by the UE, such as advertising content. The network element generates a charging request, inserts charging information for the supplemental content in the charging request, and transmits the charging request to a charging system so that the supplemental content can be charged separately from other content of the data flow.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a charging information processing method and a gateway device. The method includes sending, to a gateway forwarding plane, a charging information identification set used for identifying charging information, saving first charging information sent by the gateway forwarding plane, where the first charging information carries a first charging information identification, which is an element in the charging information identification set, receiving second charging information sent by the gateway forwarding plane and saved by the gateway forwarding plane, where the second charging information carries a second charging information identification, which is an element in the charging information identification set, and combining the first charging information and the second charging information according to the first charging information identification and the second charging information identification. In this way, a disaster recovery capability can be effectively improved and charging reliability can be ensured.

A method includes generating a request at an electronic device associated with a plurality of data usage accounts. The method also includes selectively encapsulating, by the electronic device, the request to generate an encapsulated request that identifies a destination endpoint provisioned for a first data usage account of the plurality of data usage accounts. The method further includes transmitting the encapsulated request from the electronic device to a network element.

A computer-implemented method for managing a billing policy for mobile phone associated with a first phone number corresponding to a first account and a second phone number corresponding to a second account is described herein. The billing policy defines actions performed by the mobile phone to be charged to the first account, and defines actions performed by the mobile phone to be charged to the second account. Charges are allocated to one of the first account and second account based on the billing policy. A user can configured to phone to operate in a private mode, in response to which actions are charged to a default account of the two accounts, and information about the action is not provided to an external entity.