Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)

Robert Törnkvist

Karthikeyan Chandrasekar

Ralf Keller

Susana Fernandez Alonso

Maria Belen Pancorbo Marcos

Elena Fersman

Fuencisla Garcia Azorero

Joerg Niemoeller

Hongxin Liang

Anders P Larsson

Nipun Sharma

Harri Hakala

Yingjiao He

Jan Dahl

Marcus Karlsson

Ankur Dauneria

Ove Karlsson

Sumit Singhal

Patrik Teppo

Stefan Karlsson

Zhansheng Wei

Matti Halkosaari

JayaKrishnan Kizhakke Pullarappillil

Amit Kalra

Peter Lindau Nordhammer

Geert Claassen

Elias Blomqvist

Gaurav Bhatnagar

Curtis Goedde

Saurabh Gupta

Juergen Bos

Petter Ahlgren

Ulf Eriksson

Lars Lindborg Olsson

Arvindh Rajesh Tamilmani

Natarajan Thekkan

Sandeep Khemka

Damir Svoboda

Jan Perman

Christoph Sous

A node of a charging system associated with a communication network grants a charging request, with the response including a granted quota of units for authorizing consumption of the involved communication service by a user device, along with an indication of whether the granted quota applies on an immediate basis or on a deferred basis. For example, the response indicates whether quota management is active for the involved communication service, with the granted quota applying immediately to consumption of the service if quota management is active and applying on a deferred basis if quota management is inactive. Providing a granted quota while quota management is inactive offers several advantages, such as proactively providing individual charging sessions with granted units of service consumption that may be used subsequently, upon quota management becoming active, thereby avoiding the 'flood' of charging session requests that would otherwise be generated upon quota management becoming active.

Method and apparatus for managing charging operations for a communication network

An AMF of a communications system responds to receipt of a network attach request message of a UE requesting attachment to a network of the communication system, by sending a charging data request message toward a CHF containing a notification for the CHF to keep a charging data resource to track charging for network resources used for communications associated with UE while attached to the network. The AMF receives a response message of the CHF containing a reference for the charging data resource associated with the UE while attached to the network. The AMF responds to receiving a PDU session establishment request message of the UE, by sending a PDU session establishment request message containing the reference for the charging data resource toward a SMF. Related SMF and CHF of the communications system are disclosed.

Shared reference for a charging data resource for PDU sessions in communications system

There is provided mechanisms for event-based reporting from a second NF to a first NF in an SBA network. A method is performed by the first NF. The method comprises sending reporting instructions of events for a session with the second NF. The reporting instructions comprise a list of triggers conditions for each of the events and information of IEs whose values are cached by the first NF for the session. Each of the trigger conditions is associated with its own set of IEs. The second NF is instructed to provide a report to the first NF when one of the trigger conditions is fulfilled at the second NF. The report comprises values of the set of IEs for the event that caused the trigger condition to be fulfilled. The second NF is instructed to include values in the report of those IEs cached by the first NF only if the values have changed compared to the cached values. The method comprises receiving, on an interface between the first NF and the second NF, the report of the event upon the trigger conditions having been fulfilled at the second NF.

Event-based reporting from a network function in a service based architecture network

A network node of a communications network performs operations to determine a data traffic inactivity timer value based on subscriber event data, which identifies a subscriber and service characteristics using a communication session, being processed through a predictive model which uses historical usage data indicating idle times previously measured by charging trigger functions (CTFs) for the subscriber and the service characteristics. The operation further communicate the data traffic inactivity timer value to a CTF to configure monitoring of inactivity of the service using the communication session and to trigger a release operation related to the communication session when a data traffic inactivity timer using the data traffic inactivity timer value is determined to expire based on the monitored inactivity of the service.

Using subscriber event data to control release operations related to communication session in communications network

Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions in a communication network () provide logical interconnections between Data Networks (DNs) () and respective User Equipments (UEs) () that access the DNs () via the communication network (), and the communication network () establishes one or more affiliated sessions in conjunction with each PDU session, such as an affiliated charging or policy control session. Rather than requiring the high signaling overhead associated with mass terminations of these affiliated sessions on a per session basis, the Network Functions (NFs) () contemplated herein provide for batch termination of a potentially large plurality affiliated sessions, based on the exchange of a corresponding batch termination message. Disclosed batch termination techniques include the exchange of information during session establishment, for later determination of which affiliated sessions are subject to batch termination.

Method and apparatus for signaling session terminations in a communication network

A method for managing a charging operation in a communication network is disclosed. The method comprises receiving a content specification identifying content, vendors and a condition relating to charging the vendors for provision of the content to a UE. The method further comprises creating a charging policy for provision of the content, which specifies division of charging for provision of the content to a UE between the vendors in accordance with the condition, receiving, from a UE, a request for provision of content over the network and retrieving a charging policy corresponding to the requested content. The method further comprises creating a charging entry for provision of the requested content, the charging entry dividing charging for provision of the requested content between vendors identified in the retrieved charging policy and a subscriber account associated with the UE in accordance with the retrieved policy.

Managing a charging operation in a communication network

Systems and methods are provided for charging for resource usage by an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The method includes: creating a subscription for the IoT device; estimating, based at least in part on the subscription, a number of event notifications associated with resource usage by the IoT device expected over a period of time; transmitting a first message including the number of estimated event notifications associated with resource usage by the IoT device expected over the period of time towards an Online Charging System (OCS); and transmitting a second message including an actual number of event notifications associated with resource usage by the IoT device over the period of time towards the OCS.

Methods and systems for rule based charging for internet of things (IoT) support

According to techniques disclosed herein, a Visited Communication Network (VCN) () selectively reports usage information back to a Home Communication Network (HCN) () for user traffic that is offloaded at the VCN () to a Data Network (DN) () rather than routed back to the HCN (). Among the various advantages, the reporting supports charging operations in the HCN () regarding the offloaded traffic. Further advantages include the application of policy control and service-authorization control jointly between the VCN () and the HCN ().

Method and network node for home charging of offloaded traffic at visited network

The embodiments herein relate to a method performed by a charging function () for handling a subscriber's communication services. The charging function () detects that a subscriber's credit account has reached or fallen below a credit threshold when the subscriber has multiple ongoing communication services consuming credit from the credit account. The charging function () sends a threshold notification to a UE () on which the subscriber has at least one of the multiple ongoing communication services. The charging function () determines if a response to the threshold notification has been received with prioritization of one of the multiple ongoing communication services. If a response with prioritization of one communication service has been received, the charging function () initiates termination of all ongoing communication services except the prioritized communication service, and provides all available credit to be available for the prioritized communication service.

Method and function for handling a subscriber's communication services

One aspect provides a method performed by a network node implementing a network function repository function in a core network. A registration request message to register a CHF in a repository of network functions is received, the registration request message includes an indication of one or more sets of charging characteristics supported by the CHF and addressing information to reach the CHF. Each CHF in the repository is registered. A discovery request message including one or more search parameters for identifying a CHF, including at least an indication of a set of charging characteristics to be applied for the packet data connection is received. A CHF that supports the indicated set of charging characteristics is identified based on the one or more search parameters. A discovery response message comprising the addressing information to reach the identified CHF is transmitted.

Methods, apparatus and machine-readable mediums relating to charging in a communication network

According to one aspect of this disclosure, a charging client in a telecommunication network controls, or at least influences, the time over which a granted resource quota is considered valid for use in initiating or continuing a communication session that is subject to online charging control. When sending a given reservation request to a controlling charging server, the charging client indicates the requested timer value. Provided the requested timer value is acceptable to the charging server, the server sends a reservation response that includes a conforming granted timer value, and the charging client times expiration of the granted resource quota according to the granted timer value. In case the reservation response is non-conforming, the charging client decides whether or not to use the granted resource quota. Such operations allow the charging client to tune quota timer values, for example, in dependence on loading at the charging client.

Method and apparatus for charging in a telecommunication network

A node for use in a telecommunication network. The apparatus comprises a service session handler for establishing and controlling service sessions on behalf of end users served by the telecommunications network, and a charging generation point for generating charging data for established sessions involving served users as originating users and for reporting that charging data to a network charging system. The apparatus further comprises a signalling message handler for receiving, in respect of a given service session between an originating and a terminating user, a signalling message sent by or on behalf of the terminating user, the signalling message containing cost apportionment data apportioning costs between the originating and terminating users, the signalling message handler being configured to pass that cost apportionment data to the charging generation point. The charging generation point is further configured to apply the cost apportionment data to the generation of charging data so that the charging data reflects the required cost apportionment.

Methods and apparatus for allocating service costs in a telecommunications network

A method and apparatus advantageously consider historic usage data in determining the credit reservations made against subscriber accounts during online charging operations. In particular, with respect to a communication between first and second parties that is subject to online charging, the method and apparatus use historic usage data associated with at least one of the first and second parties, to determine credit reservations against an involved subscriber account. This approach makes the credit reservation better reflect the usage pattern or history of one or both parties. In some embodiments, the historic usage data is generalized with respect to the called or contacted party. In other embodiments, the historic usage data is generalized with respect to the calling or contacting party. In still other embodiments, the historic usage data is particularized to reflect a historic usage pattern of communication between the first and second parties.

Method and apparatus for performing credit reservations for online charging in a communication network

A method for and a feedback node capable of making feedback information provided from communication devices accessible to an application server, the feedback information being associated with at least one service provided by the application server, the feedback node comprising a processor and a memory comprising executable code which when executed by the processor causes the feedback node to: receive a second set of instructions from the application server, instructing the feedback node, under which conditions to provide feedback information from at least one of the communication devices to the application server; received feedback information from the at least one communication device, and forward the received feedback information to the application server according the second set of instructions.

Method, nodes and a communication device for handling feedback information

A method and apparatus for controlling data transmission in a communication system is provided. In one aspect of the invention relates to a method performed by a data transmission control node in a communication system. The method comprises receiving a request for a transmission rule for a device; determining a transmission impacting parameter for the device based on information received in the request and based on the transmission impacting parameter further determining a device transmission rule governing the data transmission by the device. A transmission rule deployment message is transmitted to the device enabling the device to govern transmission in accordance with the device transmission rule. Another aspect of the invention relates to a transmission control node apparatus and a further aspect relates to a user equipment device. An advantage is that enabling a sending device to optimize its traffic allows a better performing network with higher utilization.

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Karlshamn, Sweden

Robert Törnkvist