US Patent 7236768 Systems and methods for a carrier-independent calling-party-pays system

Disclosed are systems and methods for providing a carrier-independent calling-party-pays system. In one embodiment, upon having a call routed to a mobile switching center from a calling party, the mobile switching center determines if the called party is a calling-party-pays (CPP) customer. Depending on whether the called party is a CPP customer or not, the mobile switching center may bill only the calling party, or both the calling party and the called party.