Transaction sets for automated electronic ordering of telecommunications products and services
A system and method for electronically exchanging information related to telecommunication services includes separating data representing the information to be exchanged into predefined segments corresponding to telecommunication services, associating a segment identification code with each segment, and grouping each segment identification code with corresponding data. The system and method also include concatenating the segment identification codes and associated data according to a predefined sequence to form an electronic transaction and transmitting the electronic message to a telecommunications wholesaler or reseller. Preferably, the information is exchanged over a TCP/IP connection in an interactive, transaction-based exchange.
1. A computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed microprocessor for electronically exchanging information related to telecommunication services, the storage medium comprising instructions for:
providing an interactive interface in real-time between a telecommunications reseller and a telecommunications wholeseller;
automatically translating data to or from an interface format associated with the telecommunications reseller from or to, respectively, a standard transaction set associated with the telecommunications wholeseller, the transaction set formatted for telecommunications services or products; and
providing access for the telecommunications reseller to dynamic data as a function of providing the interactive interface and automatically translating data.
2. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein automatically translating data comprises:
obtaining the telecommunications service information to be exchanged, the data being in a plurality of predefined segments;
associating a segment identification code with each of the plurality of predefined segments, at least one of the segments corresponding to one of the telecommunications services; and
concatenating the segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information according to a predefined sequence; and
wherein providing an interactive interface and providing access comprise transmitting the concatenated segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information from the telecommunications reseller to the telecommunications wholeseller.
3. The computer readable storage medium of claim 2 wherein the predefined segment identification codes are determined by a standards organization.
4. The computer readable storage medium of claim 2 wherein associating a segment identification code comprises associating at least one unique segment identification code selected from the group consisting of: jeopardy notification, account loss notification, telephone number selection, due date selection, and customer service record retrieval.
5. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein providing an interactive interface and providing access comprise transmitting over a TCP/IP socket connection.
6. The computer readable storage medium of claim 2 further comprising instructions for:
parsing the telecommunications service information as a function of the predefined segments;
identifying a corresponding telecommunications service; and
automatically generating an acknowledgement containing segment identification codes for the corresponding telecommunications service.
7. The computer readable storage medium of claim 2 further comprising instructions for:
retrieving customer service information;
formatting the customer service information as a function of the segment identification codes; and
transmitting the formatted customer service information to the telecommunications services reseller.
8. The computer readable storage medium of claim 2 further comprising instructions for:
identifying a request related to telephone number selection from the telecommunications services information;
searching for available telephone numbers; and
responding with a segment identification code and at least one available telephone number.
9. The computer readable storage medium of claim 2 further comprising instructions for:
identifying a request related to a due date selection from the telecommunications services information;
searching for available due dates; and
responding with a segment identification code and at least one available due date.
10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions for:
transmitting an error response from the wholeseller to the reseller.
11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions for:
providing a telecommunications service to an end-user responsive to the translated data.
12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising instructions for:
transmitting the data formatted as the standard transaction set to the telecommunications wholeseller; and
requiring further information from the reseller within a set time period after performing the transmission of the data.
13. A computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed microprocessor for electronically exchanging between a telecommunications wholeseller and a telecommunications reseller information related to telecommunication services, the storage medium comprising instructions for:
collecting the telecommunications service information in at least one electronic document;
translating the telecommunications service information from the electronic document to a standard telecommunications transaction data set;
associating a segment identification code with each of a plurality of segments the telecommunications service information;
concatenating the segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information in a single data stream; and
transmitting the concatenated segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information from a telecommunications reseller to a telecommunications wholeseller.
14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13 further comprising instructions for:
retrieving customer service information; formatting the customer service information using the segment identification codes; and
forwarding the formatted customer service information to a telecommunications services reseller.
15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13 further comprising instructions for:
identifying a request related to telephone number selection on the data associated with a telephone number selection segment.
16. A character protocol for electronically exchanging information related to telecommunication services, the protocol comprising commands for:
providing an interactive interface in real-time between a telecommunications reseller and a telecommunications wholeseller;
automatically translating data to or from an interface format associated with the telecommunications reseller from or to, respectively, a standard transaction set associated with the telecommunications wholeseller, the transaction set formatted for telecommunications services or products; and
providing access for the telecommunications reseller to dynamic data as a function of providing the interactive interface and automatically translating data.
17. The character protocol of claim 16 wherein automatically translating data comprises:
obtaining the telecommunications service information to be exchanged, the data being in a plurality of predefined segments;
associating a segment identification code with each of the plurality of predefined segments, at least one of the segments corresponding to one of the telecommunications services; and
concatenating the segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information according to a predefined sequence; and
wherein providing an interactive interface and providing access comprise transmitting the concatenated segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information from the telecommunications reseller to the telecommunications wholeseller.
18. The character protocol of claim 17 wherein the predefined segment identification codes are determined by a standards organization.
19. The character protocol of claim 17 wherein associating a segment identification code comprises associating at least one unique segment identification code selected from the group consisting of: jeopardy notification, account loss notification, telephone number selection, due date selection, and customer service record retrieval.
20. The character protocol of claim 16 wherein providing an interactive interface and providing access comprises transmitting the commands over a TCP/IP socket connection.
21. The character protocol of claim 17 further comprising commands for:
parsing the telecommunications service information as a function of the predefined segments;
identifying a corresponding telecommunications service; and
automatically generating an acknowledgement containing segment identification codes for the corresponding telecommunications service.
22. The character protocol of claim 17 further comprising commands for:
retrieving customer service information;
formatting the customer service information as a function of the segment identification codes; and
transmitting the formatted customer service information to the telecommunications services reseller.
23. The character protocol of claim 17 further comprising commands for:
identifying a request related to telephone number selection from the telecommunications services information;
searching for available telephone numbers; and
responding with a segment identification code and at least one available telephone number.
24. The character protocol of claim 17 further comprising commands for:
identifying a request related to a due date selection from the telecommunications services information;
searching for available due dates; and
responding with a segment identification code and at least one available due date.
25. The character protocol of claim 16 further comprising commands for:
transmitting an error response from the wholeseller to the reseller.
26. The character protocol of claim 16 further comprising commands for:
providing a telecommunications service to an end-user responsive to the translated data.
27. The character protocol of claim 16 further comprising commands for:
transmitting the data formatted as the standard transaction set to the telecommunications wholeseller; and
requiring further information from the reseller within a set time period after performing the transmission of the data.
28. A character protocol for electronically exchanging between a telecommunications wholeseller and a telecommunications reseller information related to telecommunication services, the protocol comprising commands for:
collecting the telecommunications service information in at least one electronic document;
translating the telecommunications service information from the electronic document to a standard telecommunications transaction data set;
associating a segment identification code with each of a plurality of segments the telecommunications service information;
concatenating the segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information in a single data stream; and
transmitting the concatenated segment identification codes and associated telecommunications services information from a telecommunications reseller to a telecommunications wholeseller.
29. The character protocol of claim 28 further comprising instructions for:
retrieving customer service information;
formatting the customer service information using the segment identification codes; and
forwarding the formatted customer service information to a telecommunications services reseller.
30. The character protocol of claim 28 further comprising instructions for:
identifying a request related to telephone number selection on the data associated with a telephone number selection segment.