WO2000078067A1

WO2000078067A1 - Arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers

Info

Publication number: WO2000078067A1
Application number: PCT/EP1999/004108
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Roomer
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 1999-06-11
Filing date: 1999-06-11
Publication date: 2000-12-21
Also published as: AU4513399A

Abstract

This invention relates to the provision of supplementary telecommunication services, and in particular, to a new type of solution for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers. A system according to the invention comprises a system server that is connected to Internet (11), to a GSM network (1), and to an external system interface (20), means for generating messages (34) according to a profile previously specified by the subscriber, and means for distributing the information to the subscriber (35), the distribution means having a selection of different means (36), (38), (39), (41), (42) for sending messages. The solution according to the invention can be used as a service solution in telecommunications networks.

Description

ARRANGEMENT FOR DISTRIBUTING STOCK EXCHANGE INFORMATION TO

SUBSCRIBERS

This invention relates to the provision of supplementary telecommunication services, and in particular, to a new type of solution for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers. The solution according to the invention can be used as a service solution in telecommunication networks.

In the world of today the investment in different stock markets has become more and more popular. Not only professional people but also ordinary people have a stock portfolio of their own. With stocks and commodities the prices are changing all the time. In order to be successful in the stock exchange one must be able to react fast to changes in the marketplace. The retrieving of the right information at the right time is of crucial importance.

People nowadays have busier schedules and the communication with different parties is done more rapidly and altogether in a more efficient manner. Growing numbers of people move and travel around a lot in their work.

People are also more used to communicating with different devices. For instance, the use of SMS-messages (SMS, Short Message Service) has rapidly increased. In general people like information, in particular the stock exchange information, to reach them as soon as possible. This irrespective of whether they are in the office or not. The demand is clearly visible for new types of communication services and applications.

At present there are services providing stock exchange information to the subscribers of such a service. The present solutions are usually based on the delivery of such information via the Internet or the paging Network. Such services are usually quite complex and costly and usually do not provide the possibility of configuring the service to one's liking. The majority of these services are also only available through a fixed network, which makes it hard for a mobile subscriber of today to benefit from them.

The drawbacks of prior art solutions are that they do not provide the service provider an efficient solution for distributing stock exchange information to the subscribers nor do they support communication from the subscriber to the service provider or third parties.

The aim of this invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art solutions and to provide a new type of solution for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers .

According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers comprising a system server that is connected to Internet, to a GSM network, and to an external system interface, which is characterized by that the system also comprises means for generating messages according to a profile previously specified by the subscriber, and means for distributing the information to the subscriber, the distribution means having a selection of different means for sending messages so that in a part of the message there is an action that can be chosen to be executed by the subscriber as he receives the message.

A more complete understanding of the system and method of the present invention may be obtained by the preferred embodiments that follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is an illustrative diagram showing the general architecture of a network arrangement according to the present invention,

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention,

Figure 3 is a flowchart diagram of an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention, and Figure 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention.

Figure 1 is an illustrative diagram showing the general architecture of a network arrangement according to the present invention. The network arrangement comprises a GSM network 1, a Public Switched Telecommunications Network (PSTN) 7, Internet 11, server arrangement 17, external system interface 20, subscriber's mobile phone 18 and subscriber's personal computer 19.

In the network arrangement the GSM network 1 has a number of Mobile Switching Centers (MSC) 2, a Short Message Service Center (SMS-C) 3, a number of Base Station Controllers (BSC) 4, and Base Stations (BS) 5 and GSM mobile phones 18. Short Message Service Center (SMS-C) 3 functions as a part of the operator's network used for SMS notification.

GSM network 1 is also connected to the Public Switched

Telecommunications Network (PSTN) 7 via switch arrangement 6. PSTN network 7 has several switches which are marked with reference numbers 8, 9 and 10. Public Switched Telecommunications Network 7 can be used to send voice messages to those without a mobile phone 18.

PSTN network 7 and GSM network 1 are both connected to Internet 11. Internet has several routing devices which are marked with reference numbers 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Internet can be accessed by, for example, a cable television network connection. The server arrangement 17 contains all subscriber specific information and is connected to the GSM network 1, to the Short Message

Service Center (SMS-C) 3 and to the external system interface 20.

The subscriber can use a personal computer 19 to access the Internet 11, either via local exchange 10 and PSTN network 7 or via a cable television network connection. In an Internet session the subscriber can fill in, and later modify, his/hers service profile stored in the server 17 database. In this service profile the subscriber will specify the conditions in which the server 17, connected to the Internet 11, the GSM network 1 and to the external system interface 20, is to send notifications towards the mobile phone 18 of the subscriber or messages to anybody with a mobile phone or fixed phone.

The system for distributing information to subscribers according to the present invention comprises: a system server 17 that is connected to Internet 11, to a GSM network 1 and to an external system interface 20, - means for generating messages according to a profile previously specified by the subscriber, and means for distributing the information to the subscriber, the distribution means having a selection of different means for sending messages.

In a part of the message there is an action that can be chosen to be executed by the subscriber as he receives the message. This action can, for example, be an initiation of a phone call or a financial transaction.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention. The arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention comprises: a central database 21, which stores all notifications together with their status of distribution, - a message database 22, which contains the prepared message e.g. SMS, Voice messages, E-mail, Fax or, Telex messages, that are to be distributed to the different medium, an SMS message database 23, which contains all incoming notifications and prepared SMS messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses as well as all the feedback status information received from the subscriber via SMS, a voice message database 24, which contains the prepared voice messages that have to be distributed and the status of the voice messages, an E-mail message database 25, which contains all prepared E-mail messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses as well as all the feedback status information received from the subscriber via E-mail, a Fax message database 26, which contains all prepared Fax messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses, a Data message database 27, which contains all prepared data messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses as well as all the feedback status information received from the subscriber via data messages, a History information database 28, which contains the history information in regard to subscribers and events, a System info database 29, which contains all system parameters for tuning the system, a Personal information database 30, which contains the subscriber specific information such as the subscriber's service description including the templates which are used to generate messages for different medium in different languages, a third party interface 31, which connects the system to an external system, a third party application database 32, which contains the information of an external system, - a unit for classifying and updating history information 33, which stores the updated information to the history information database 28, a message generator 34, which selects a notification from the Central database 21, creates a new message for distribution by one of the selected media, and stores the prepared message in the Message database 22 for further distribution, a message sender 35, which selects the available messages from the Message database 22 and distributes the different messages types to the different distribution media, an SMS sender 36, which distributes SMS-messages to the subscriber, an SMS receiver 37, which receives SMS-messages from the subscriber, a Voice Response Unit (VRU) sender/receiver 38, which handles incoming calls as well as outgoing calls, that are handled according to the information stored in the voice message database 24, - an E-mail sender 39, which distributes E-mail messages to the subscriber, an E-mail receiver 40, which receives E-mail messages from the subscriber, a Fax message sender 41, which distributes E-mail messages to the subscriber, a Data message sender 42, which distributes Data messages to the subscriber, a Data message receiver 43, which receives Data messages from the subscriber, - a message status handler 44, which reads out new information received in the medium databases for registration purposes to keep the Central database 21 up to date, and a Presentation layer 45, which is used to maintain and monitor the service and as an interface for accessing all databases and processes.

When the system according to the invention receives updated information that is to be distributed to a subscriber, this information is stored directly or via a human agent in a local database. The database contains information about the subscribers and also contains the subscriber specific service description, describing the personal data of a subscriber with the different medium such as GSM-number, SMS or Fax-number to contact him.

Based on the new messages stored in the Central database 21, the message generator 34 is triggered. The message generator 30 is the application to translate the information from the Central database 21 into the message database 22. The message generator 34 is a process that will run on the Administration server. The message generator 34 is a continuous process that will request the Central database 21 for the next notification. The message generator 34 selects the next notification to be processed from the Central database 21 and creates a message based on the notification information and the related template information for the correct distribution medium indicated by the subscriber. For example, when preparing an SMS message, the message generator 34 reads the notification message from the Central database 21 and creates a SMS message based on the notification message and the subscriber specific SMS-template stored in the Personal information database 30. The message generator 34 stores the result in the Message database 22.

The prepared message is stored in the Message database 22 for distribution. The message sender 35 distributes the messages stored in the Message database 22 to the database 23-27 of the right medium. Based on the system parameters stored in the System info database 29 this medium 36, 38, 39, 41, 42 will try for a certain time-period to get in contact with the subscriber to distribute the message to him. The message sender 35 is a separate process and works in parallel to the message generator 34. In this way new medium can easily be added, without changing the complete system. The message sender 35 is a process that will run on the Administration server. The Message sender 35 is a permanent process that will read the Message database 22 on information to pass through. The application will read and remove the next message from the Message database 22 based on the First In, First Out (FIFO) principle and place it in the right medium Message database 23-27.

When the subscriber can not be contacted or does not confirm the message in time, the Message status handler 44 will remove the message from the Medium database 23-27 and ask the Message Generator 34 to generate a message of a different medium to contact this particular subscriber.

The Message status handler 44 is a permanent process that will read the Medium databases 23-27 and System Info database 29 on information to pass through to Central database 21.

The Presentation layer 45 can be used to handle and present the all requested management information and can also be used to measure the performance of the overall system. By adjusting the system parameters stored in the System Info database 29, the Presentation layer 45 can be used to test different System Configurations.

Figure 3 is a flowchart diagram of an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention. Firstly, there is a notification 46 that starts the procedure. For example, a value of a certain stock may have risen above the limit value set by the subscriber. The subscriber may also have set in advance a related action for this notification, and the arrangement now proposes 47 this action to the subscriber. There is an occurrence message 48 delivered to the customer. In case the customer is not reached and the message is still relevant 49, the message will be distributed again 50 to the customer.

The system tries to contact the subscriber using a certain medium. When the customer can not be reached with a certain medium there will be a new medium selected 51. The system will continue to try to contact the customer again 53, until the medium is out of time 54. If the customer can still not be reached and the message is still relevant 49, there will be a new medium selected 51. In the case where all media have been tried there is a status message 52 stating that the customer could not be reached. In case the subscriber can be contacted, the subscriber is requested to confirm the proposed action 55. The action will then be executed accordingly 57 and the subscriber will receive a confirmation message 56. The action can, for instance, be a mobile phone call initiated to a broker.

Figure 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers according to the present invention. The stock exchange information distribution arrangement according to the invention comprises a system server 17 that is connected to Internet 11, to a GSM network 1 and to an external system interface 20. The PSTN network is marked with a reference number 7. The stock exchange information distribution arrangement also comprises means for checking messages according to a profile previously specified by the subscriber, means for generating messages, and means for distributing the information to the subscriber having a selection of different means for sending messages.

The arrangement initiates when a notification is sent © from the external system 20 to the system server 17. The system server 17 will then send © a notification and a proposed action over the GSM network 1 as an SMS-message to the subscriber 18. When the subscriber 18 confirms ® the proposed action there is a confirmation message sent to the customer, and the proposed action is executed according to the subscriber profile. As a proposed action, for example, a mobile phone call is initiated © to the subscriber's broker 58.

The subscriber can specify the conditions in which the system server 17 will send notifications towards the subscriber and how the notifications are performed. The subscriber can use his personal computer 19 to access © the Internet page of the service provider and enter the notification information to his specific subscriber profile. In this subscriber profile the subscriber can compose his own portfolio of stocks, funds, options etc., set threshold values for stocks, and choose one or more stock exchanges to receive information from. The subscriber 19 can also select the point of contact where the notifications are to be sent to. The subscriber can also select the service to be charged via the phone bill .

The arrangement according to the invention can receive information that the value of a certain stock has changed beyond a limit set by the subscriber. This information is stored directly in a local database. The database contains the service description of all subscribers, describing the personal data of a subscriber with the different media such as GSM-number, SMS, Fax-number, E-mail or telex to contact the subscriber.

The solution according to the invention provides the subscriber with a convenient tool to handle his investments. The subscriber can receive the information that is relevant to him directly to his mobile phone and he is also able to initiate transactions without delay using his mobile phone. System solution according to the invention is flexible and scaleable because of the modular, process oriented design. System has a secure and easy connection to the network by using an open architecture.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An arrangement for distributing stock exchange information to subscribers, comprising a system server (17) that is connected to Internet (11) , to a GSM network (1) and to an external system interface (20) , characterized in that the system also comprises means for generating messages (34) according to a profile previously specified by the subscriber, and - means for distributing the information to the subscriber (35) , the distribution means having a selection of different means (36) , (38) , (39) , (41) , (42) for sending messages, so that in a part of the message there is an action that can be chosen to be executed by the subscriber as he receives the message.

2. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement enables a subscriber to access the Internet page of the service provider and enter the notification information to his specific subscriber profile.

3. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the action is an initiation of a phone call .

4. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the action is a financial transaction.

5. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises a means for distributing SMS-messages (36) to the subscriber.

6. An information distribution arrangement according to

Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises a means for sending voice messages (38) , which means will handle the communication with the subscriber.

7. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises a means for distributing E-mail messages (39) to the subscriber.

8. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises a means for distributing Fax messages (41) to the subscriber .

9. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises a means for distributing Data messages (42) to the subscriber.

10. An information distribution arrangement according to

Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises a central database (21) , which stores all notifications together with their status of distribution, - a message database (22), which contains the prepared message e.g. SMS, Voice messages, E-mail, Fax or, Telex messages, that are to be distributed to the different medium, an SMS message database (23), which contains all incoming notifications and prepared SMS messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses as well as all the feedback status information received from the subscriber via SMS, a voice message database (24) , which contains the prepared voice messages that have to be distributed and the status of the voice messages, an E-mail message database (25) , which contains all prepared E-mail messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses as well as all the feedback status information received from the subscriber via E-mail, - a Fax message database (26) , which contains all prepared Fax messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses, a Data message database (27) , which contains all prepared data messages that have to be distributed to the requested addresses as well as all the feedback status information received from the subscriber via data messages, a History information database (28) , which contains the history information in regard to subscribers and events, a System info database (29) , which contains all system parameters for tuning the system, a Personal information database (30) , which contains the subscriber specific information such as the subscriber's service description including the templates which are used to generate messages for different medium in different languages, a third party interface (31) , which connects the system to an external system, - a third party application database (32) , which contains the information of an external system, a unit for classifying and updating history information (33), which stores the updated information to the history information database (28) , - a message generator (34) , which selects a notification from the Central database (21) , creates a new message for distribution by one of the selected media, and stores the prepared message in the Message database (22) for further distribution, - a message sender (35) , which selects the available messages from the Message database (22) and distributes the different messages types to the different distribution media, an SMS sender (36) , which distributes SMS-messages to the subscriber, an SMS receiver (37) , which receives SMS-messages from the subscriber, - a Voice Response Unit (VRU) sender/receiver (38) , which handles incoming calls as well as outgoing calls, that are handled according to the information stored in the voice message database (24) , an E-mail sender (39) , which distributes E-mail messages to the subscriber, an E-mail receiver (40) , which receives E-mail messages from the subscriber, a Fax message sender (41) , which distributes E-mail messages to the subscriber, - a Data message sender (42) , which distributes Data messages to the subscriber, a Data message receiver (43), which receives Data messages from the subscriber, a message status handler (44), which reads out new information received in the medium databases for registration purposes to keep the Central database 21 up to date, and a Presentation layer (45) , which is used to maintain and monitor the service and as an interface for accessing all databases and processes.

11. An information distribution arrangement according to

Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement comprises the steps of - informing the customer in case of a notification (46) using a certain medium, selecting a new medium (51) in case the customer can not be reached with a certain medium, repeating (53) , (54) the steps of informing the customer and selecting a new medium (51) using all specified media until the customer is reached (55) .

12. An information distribution arrangement according to

Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so, that when a notification is sent (©) from the external system (20) to the system server (17) , the system server (17) will send (©) a notification and a proposed action over the GSM network (1) as an SMS-message to the subscriber (18) , and when the subscriber (18) confirms (©) the proposed action there is a confirmation message sent to the customer, and the proposed action is executed according to the subscriber profile.

13. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so that a subscriber can specify the conditions in which the system server (17) will send notifications towards the subscriber, and how the notifications are to be performed.

14. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so that a subscriber can access the Internet page of the service provider and enter the notification information to his specific subscriber profile.

15. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 14, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so that in the subscriber profile the subscriber can compose his own portfolio of stocks, funds and options.

16. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 14, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so that in the subscriber profile the subscriber can set threshold values for stocks,

17. An information distribution arrangement according to

Claim 14, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so that in the subscriber profile the subscriber can choose one or more stock exchanges to receive information from.

18. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the arrangement is configured so that the subscriber (19) can select the point of contact where the notifications are to be sent to.

19. An information distribution arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the service will be charged via the phone bill.