Patent Application
20220279325
The present disclosure relates to a system and method for online charging in real time, preferably in a telecommunication network.
At present, the majority of communication services provided on mobile telecommunication networks have been mainly communication sessions, such as for example voice calls, and communication events, relating to wallet transaction services such as for example SMS, MIMS, mobile data sessions.
There are a variety of methods for providing a cost calculation for charging users of such communication services. A common method is online charging where, upon the purchase of e.g. a pre-paid communication service, a user is charged by a communication service provider based on various charging parameters.
In general, an online charging system (OCS) is set up in a telecommunication network where standard signalling protocol is used for communicating information in the telecommunication network. Moreover, the communication services are typically run in volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM), of the telecommunication network.
The advent of an increase in the number of users of communication services has caused a strain on the standard signalling protocol to efficiently communicate large amounts of information in the telecommunication network. This has often resulted in inaccurate charging. An example of this is when the duration of a communication session displayed to a user in real time is either longer or shorter than the charged duration in the database of the communication service provider. In the former case, this may result in financial losses to the communication service provider. In the latter case, this may result in user dissatisfaction.
Moreover, the ever increasing simultaneous use of the various communication services by a user has complicated the charging methods and added further strain on the resources of the telecommunication network.
One approach for solving this problem has been to expand and/or upgrade the OCS in order to cope with the increasing demand of the network resources. However, this approach has several limitations, particularly putting a great financial burden on the communication service provider. Another limitation is the possibility of glitches and/or crashes occurring when a processing module is overloaded, and, thus resulting in loss of communicated information. This may cause inaccurate charging of communication services and may result in user dissatisfaction and/or financial losses to the communication service provider.
Document EP 2 107 464 A1 describes creating a convergent mediation system and method that meet the technical requirements of low latency time and high throughput, without compromising the interoperability and ease of administration of the system. This is achieved by providing a convergent mediation system that comprises a common platform providing processing power for both online processing and off-line processing of data. The convergent mediation system is also provided with a system controller that is adapted to dynamically allocate the processing power of the common platform for the online processing and off-line processing of data.
Hanson (U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,062) describes a prepay telecommunications system including a prepay call management platform which is directly coupled to a telecommunications carrier switch. A customer database is coupled to the prepay call management platform for storing prepay customer data, and a plurality of customer interface facilities are provided for accepting customer prepayment and immediately updating the customer database. An unregistered roaming call is recognized by the mobile identification number and is routed to the prepay call management platform coupled to and co-located with the telecommunications carrier switch for processing. The caller is prompted for a payment option which may include payment by credit card or a collect call. The caller is then prompted for a credit card number if the credit card option is selected. The credit card number may be validated and verified by a credit card verification processor coupled to prepay call management platform. The prepay call is then released to the telecommunications carrier switch for line termination.
Sharma et al. (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/472,879) describe an IMS charging collection function node for processing incoming accounting requests (ACRs). The node includes an ACR database that stores ACR messages, an Incomplete database that stores any ACR [Interim] or [Stop] received by the charging collection function node when a corresponding ACR [Start] is not stored in the ACR database, or also ACR[Start] when the remaining accounting requests, consisting of ACR [Interim] or [Stop] are not available with the charging collection function, a disk that stores ACRs; a first transformation engine that aggregates CDRs, a CDR aggregation database that stores aggregated CDRs, a second transformation engine that correlates CDRs, a CDR correlation database that stores correlated CDRs, and a third evaluation engine that cyclically evaluates the Incomplete database, wherein the IMS charging collection function node is communicatively and collaboratively coupled with other IMS charging collection function nodes across the IMS network to eliminate or reduce production of incomplete CDRs.
Sharma et al. (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/541,880) describe systems and methods that generate a partial Charging Data Record (CDR) when charging transfers from a primary charging function to a secondary charging function due to a failure. The system receives an interim accounting request for a session from a secondary charging function after charging was transferred from the primary charging function. The system then opens a new partial CDR for the session based on the interim accounting request. The system receives a prior partial CDR for the session from the primary charging function, parses the prior partial CDR to identify a CDR timestamp, and records a start time in the new partial CDR based on the CDR timestamp. The system parses the interim accounting request to identify an accounting timestamp for the session, records an end time in the new partial CDR based on the accounting timestamp, and closes the new partial CDR.
Therefore, it is an object of the disclosure to provide an online charging system and method which does not show one or more of the above mentioned disadvantages.
It may be an object of the disclosure to prevent inaccurate charging of a communication service.
An aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for online charging telecommunication services in real time, comprising the step of, upon establishment of a communication session on a telecommunication network, gathering first charging parameters for the communication session and a wallet balance of a respective user. The communication session may be, but is not limited to, voice calls.
The method further comprises the steps of running a money-to-time algorithm, which comprises computing a time balance for the communication session based on the first charging parameters and the wallet balance; determining whether the time balance is greater than zero; upon determining that the time balance is greater than zero, creating a charging data record (CDR) and writing a start timestamp therein, setting a terminate session timer based on the time balance, and confirming to the telecommunication network that the communication session may take place; and upon determining that the time balance is not greater than zero, or upon expiration of the terminate session timer, instructing the telecommunication network to terminate the communication session, wherein upon expiration of the terminate session timer an end timestamp is written in the CDR.
The termination session timer can exist independently from other processes in the telecommunication network. As a result, any interferences with the termination session timer can be reduced. Therefore, the method allows for accurate online charging of a communication service in real time.
The terminate session timer provides the time remaining rather than an elapsed time in a communication session. As a result, there is no need for continuous communication of information through the standard signalling protocol to determine the status of a communication session in the telecommunication network. This can effectively reduce the amount of information communicated in the telecommunication network. Advantageously, the method for online charging in real time may be used to increase the speed of communicating information during a communication service. For example, communication and processing modules may be used less frequently to communicate information of a communication service which increases the efficiency of the communication service taking place, and also lowers the information traffic on the standard signalling protocol.
Furthermore, since the method allows for reducing the frequency of communicated information, the method may, apart from using versatile memory, also use disk, flash or persistent memory without affecting the efficiency of a communication service taking place. Advantageously, the use of disk, flash or persistent memory of the telecommunication network, may reduce the risk of losing any communicated information. For example, the reliability of disk, flash or persistent may prevent loss of communication information or communication event due to any occurrence of a glitch or crash caused by an overload of a processing module or any other reason, and may reduce maintenance cost, such as down time cost.
According to an embodiment, the method may further comprise communicating information to the telecommunication network for displaying the terminate session timer to the respective user. Advantageously, the method allows for real time display of time remaining for a communication service, and, thus, improve user satisfaction.
According to a further embodiment, the method may further comprise the step of, upon receipt of information from the telecommunication network that the communication session has been terminated, removing the terminate session timer and writing an end timestamp in the CDR based on the time lapsed on the terminate session timer. Thereby, the method allows for reducing the number of terminate session timers that are not needed.
According to an embodiment, the method may further comprise the steps of, upon an increase or decrease of the wallet balance, determining whether there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR which does not contain an end timestamp; upon determining that there is an unconcluded CDR for the respective user, running the money-to-time algorithm based on the first charging parameters and the increased or decreased wallet balance and updating the terminate session timer accordingly. Thereby, accurately updating the wallet balance and the remaining time in a communication session.
As used herein, the term “unconcluded CDR” refers to a created CDR that contains a start timestamp but not an end timestamp.
According to a further embodiment, the method may further comprise the steps of, upon establishment of a communication event relating to the respective user, gathering the communication event charge and the wallet balance of the respective user; determining whether there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR which does not contain an end timestamp;
upon determining that there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR, determining whether the communication event may take place based on the wallet balance, the communication event charge and a current cost of the communication session corresponding to the unconcluded CDR.
According to an even further embodiment, the method may further comprise the steps of setting “now” (i.e. the present time) as a preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR; running a time-to-money algorithm to calculate the current cost based on the start timestamp and the preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR and the first charging parameters; and comparing the communication event charge with the current wallet balance, which is the wallet balance minus the current cost. Thereby, the method allows for accurately charging a communication event while a communication session is taking place.
According to another embodiment, the method may further comprise the steps of, upon changing from the first charging parameters to second charging parameters, determining whether there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR which does not contain an end timestamp; upon determining that there is an unconcluded CDR for the respective user, setting “now” as a preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR; running a time-to-money algorithm to calculate a current cost based on the start timestamp, the preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR and the first charging parameters and decreasing the wallet balance by subtracting the calculated current cost; and running the money-to-time algorithm based on the decreased wallet balance and the second charging parameters and updating the terminate session timer accordingly. Advantageously, the method allows for a relatively quick change of charging parameters while a communication session is taking place and allows the communication service provider to ensure that all communication services are charged using up-to-date charging parameters and wallet balance.
An aspect of the present disclosure also provides an online charging system (OCS) for online charging telecommunication services in real time, configured for performing the method.
The system comprises a communication module configured to communicate with a telecommunication network and a processing module configured to, upon establishment of a communication session on the telecommunication network, gather first charging parameters for the communication session and a wallet balance of a respective user.
The processing module in the system is further configured to run a money-to-time algorithm, which comprises computing a time balance for the communication session based on the first charging parameters and the wallet balance; determine whether the time balance is greater than zero; upon determining that the time balance is greater than zero, create a charging data record, CDR, in a memory module and write a first start timestamp therein, set a terminate session timer based on the time balance, and confirm to the telecommunication network that the communication session may take place; and, upon determining that the time balance is not greater than zero, or upon expiration of the terminate session timer, instruct the telecommunication network to terminate the communication session, wherein upon expiration of the terminate session timer an end timestamp is written in the CDR.
In embodiments, the communication module may be further configured to communicate information to the telecommunication network for displaying the terminate session timer to the respective user.
In embodiments, the processing module may be further configured to, upon receipt of information from the telecommunication network that the communication session has been terminated, remove the terminate session timer and write an end timestamp in the CDR based on the time lapsed on the terminate session timer.
In embodiments, the processing module may be further configured to, upon an increase or decrease of the wallet balance, determine whether there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR which does not contain an end timestamp; and, upon determining that there is an unconcluded CDR for the respective user, run the money-to-time algorithm based on the first charging parameters and the increased or decreased wallet balance and update the terminate session timer accordingly.
In embodiments, the processing module may be further configured to, upon establishment of a communication event relating to the respective user, gather the communication event charge and the wallet balance of the respective user; determine whether there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR which does not contain an end timestamp; and, upon determining that there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR, determine whether the communication event may take place based on the wallet balance, the communication event charge and a current cost of the communication session corresponding to the unconcluded CDR.
In embodiments, the processing module, upon determining whether the communication event may take place based on the wallet balance, may be further configured to set “now” (i.e. the present time) as a preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR; run a time-to-money algorithm to calculate the current cost based on the start timestamp, the preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR and the first charging parameters; and compare the communication event charge with the current wallet balance, which is the wallet balance minus the current cost.
In embodiments, the processing module may be further configured to, upon changing from the first charging parameters to second charging parameters, determine whether there is for the respective user an unconcluded CDR which does not contain an end timestamp; upon determining that there is an unconcluded CDR for the respective user, set “now” as a preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR; run a time-to-money algorithm to calculate a current cost based on the start timestamp, the preliminary end timestamp in the unconcluded CDR and the first charging parameters and decrease the wallet balance by subtracting the calculated current cost; and run the money-to-time algorithm based on the decreased wallet balance and the second charging parameters and update the terminate session timer accordingly.
The present disclosure will be discussed in more detail below, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
The following descriptions depict only example embodiments and are not considered limiting in scope. Any reference herein to the disclosure is not intended to restrict or limit the disclosure to exact features of any one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present specification.
Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.
A first embodiment of an online charging system (OCS) and method for online charging telecommunication services in real time according to the disclosure will be described with reference to
The (mobile) telecommunications network 20 and user's equipment or device 30 are known in the art and will therefore not be described herein in great detail.
The processing module 12 of the OCS 10 is configured to, upon establishment of a communication session on the network 20 involving a user 30 to whom the session is to be charged, gather currently applicable charging parameters 21 (e.g. a tariff plan) and a wallet balance 22 of the respective user 30. The parameters 21 and wallet balance 22 are used to determine if the user has enough balance to allow the communication session and if so, for how long the session may go on. In the embodiment shown, the charging parameters 21 and wallet balance 22 are gathered from a database 25 of the network provider, but in alternative embodiments this information may also be stored within the OCS.
In particular, the processing module 12 is configured to run a money-to-time algorithm 14, which comprises computing a time balance for the communication session based on the currently applicable charging parameters 21 and the wallet balance 22, and determine whether the calculated time balance is greater than zero. Upon determining that the time balance is greater than zero, the processing module creates a charging data record 15, CDR, in the memory module 13 and writes a first start timestamp therein, sets a terminate session timer 17 based on the calculated time balance 23, and confirms to the telecommunication network 20 that the communication session may take place. Upon determining that the time balance is not greater than zero, or upon expiration of the terminate session timer 30, the processing module instructs the telecommunication network 20 to terminate the communication session. If the termination results from expiration of the terminate session timer, an end timestamp is written in the CDR 15, so the CDR becomes a completed record.
The CDR may comprise information on chargeable communication services relevant to source and destination identification (e.g. user ID, device ID, account ID, and/or telephone number), communication service identification (e.g. voice, internet, SMS, MMS, etc.), start and end timestamp (e.g. date and time) and duration (e.g. in milliseconds, seconds, minutes and/or hours) of a communication session, completion status of a communication service, amount of data transferred (in kilobytes, megabytes, and/or gigabytes), amount of usage units (e.g. user downloaded 1 movie), etc. The CDR may also be called a “(dial) call detail record” or referred to as a “usage detail record (UDR)”.
The charging parameters may comprise information to define rules of charging based on time or day (e.g. daytime, peak time, off peak time, weekend, weekday etc.), source and destination network (e.g. on-net, off-net, international, national, closed user group, etc.), promotion (e.g. festival, bundle, etc.), charging rates, or charging units (e.g. charging rates per milliseconds, seconds, minutes, etc.) of a communication service.
The communication module 11 may be further configured to communicate information to the telecommunication network 20, which may in turn communicate this information further to the user device 30 for displaying the terminate session timer 17 in real-time to the respective user. This may take the form of displaying the remaining session time on a display of the user's mobile device, for example in a telecommunications app 31 running on said device, or in a separate app, e.g. an app configured for displaying user account information, the user's wallet balance etc., or in another way.
With reference to
An embodiment of the algorithm 1 for starting a communication session and online charging the communication session in real time according to the disclosure will be described with reference to
In embodiments, two or more communication sessions involving one or more common users may be handled simultaneously by performing the method as defined herein before in parallel for each communication session. This can involve adding one or more communication sessions while a first communication session is taking place, or merging two or more communication sessions. This is referred to hereon in as a conference communication session (e.g. conference call). In embodiments, a user involved in a conference communication session may be charged based on charging parameters applicable to the conference communication session and/or to each communication session taking place in which a user is involved. In embodiments, a user requesting a conference communication session may be charged based on charging parameters applicable to the conference communication session and/or to each communication session taking place.
In embodiments, a non-transient computer readable medium containing a computer executable software which when executed on a computer system performs the method as defined herein before by the embodiments of the present disclosure. A non-transient computer readable medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a non-transient computer readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, device or module.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17274207 | Mar 2021 | US |
| Child | 17747013 | US |
