Billing Control System

Abstract

To prevent inappropriate multiple billing for SMS message transmission.SOLUTION: A billing control system 1 includes an uplink SMS GW 10 which is a first device and a vMPN 20 which is a second device, which are included in a moving body communication network which transmits SMS messages to a predetermined terminal by other communication than mobile communication: The uplink SMS GW 10 includes: a transmission unit 11, which transmits a message to a predetermined terminal; and a billing control unit 12 which performs control related to billing for the message transmission. The vMPN 20 includes: a transfer unit 21 which transfers a message destined to the predetermined terminal to the uplink SMS GW 10; and an identifier assignment unit 22 which assigns to the transferred message an identifier which can be used to identify whether or not the message is retransmitted. The billing control unit 12 performs billing control for the message transmission, based on the identifier assigned to the message.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging control system for controlling charges for sending SMS (Short Message Service) messages, and a device included in the charging control system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a system has been proposed for transmitting and receiving SMS messages between a terminal under a mobile communication network and a terminal not under a mobile communication network (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-220594 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above messages are sent and received, for example, between a user's mobile communication terminal under the mobile communication network and a company's terminal not under the mobile communication network. This message exchange allows companies to provide information to users, and users to apply for services and products to companies. The message from the user's mobile communication terminal is sent to the company's terminal by, for example, a gateway of the mobile communication network. In this case, the gateway may process charges for the SMS sent. If the same message from the user to the company is received multiple times by the gateway due to a failure or the like in the mobile communication network, multiple charges may be incurred for the same message.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to provide a billing control system and a device included in the billing control system that prevents inappropriate multiple billing for sending SMS messages. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the charging control system of the present invention is a charging control system including a first device and a second device included in a mobile communication network that transmits an SMS message to a specific terminal by communication other than mobile communication, the first device includes a transmission unit that transmits the message to the specific terminal, and a charging control unit that controls charging for the transmission of the message by the transmission unit, the second device includes a forwarding unit that forwards a message addressed to the specific terminal to the first device, and an identifier assignment unit that assigns an identifier to the message forwarded by the forwarding unit that can be used to identify whether the message has been resent, and the charging control unit performs charging based on the identifier assigned to the message. , one About sending messages Prevent multiple charges Take control.

[0007] In the billing control system according to the present invention, the first device controls billing based on the identifier assigned to the message by the second device, so that billing can be performed according to whether the message has been resent. Therefore, the billing control system according to the present invention can prevent inappropriate multiple billing for sending SMS messages.

[0008] Furthermore, the first device and the second device included in the billing control system according to the present invention each have a novel configuration and are an invention in themselves. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent inappropriate multiple charges for sending SMS messages. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a charging control system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and an upstream SMS GW and a vMPN which are devices included in the charging control system. [Diagram 2] 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed in the billing control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of an upstream SMS GW and a vMPN, which are devices included in the charging control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a billing control system and an apparatus included in the billing control system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0012] 1 shows a billing control system 1 according to this embodiment. The billing control system 1 includes an upstream SMS GW (gateway) 10 and a vMPN (virtual media processing node) 20. The billing control system 1 is included in a mobile communication network N1, and realizes some of the functions of the mobile communication network N1, which will be described later.

[0013] The mobile communication network N1 is a communication network that provides a mobile communication function to the mobile communication terminal 100. The mobile communication network N1 relays SMS messages sent from the mobile communication terminal 100. In the following, when simply described as a message, it is assumed to be an SMS message. The message includes, for example, text or an image, or both. A message is usually transmitted and received between the mobile communication terminal 100 under the mobile communication network N1 and a mobile communication terminal under another mobile communication terminal connected to the mobile communication network N1, and is not transmitted and received to a terminal that is not under any mobile communication network.

[0014] A mobile communication terminal 100 under the mobile communication network N1 is a mobile communication terminal 100 that is capable of mobile communication in the mobile communication network N1 by a user of the mobile communication terminal 100 making a contract with a communication carrier of the mobile communication network N1.

[0015] The mobile communication network N1 is connected to an external network N2 that is not a mobile communication network. In this embodiment, the mobile communication network N1 can transmit (relay) a message sent from the mobile communication terminal 100 and addressed to a specific terminal that can communicate via the external network N2. That is, the mobile communication network N1 transmits an SMS message to a specific terminal by communication other than mobile communication. The mobile communication network N1 may also transmit (relay) a message sent from the specific terminal and addressed to the mobile communication terminal 100.

[0016] The specific terminal is, for example, the company terminal 200. The company related to the company terminal 200 can provide the user with information on products or services provided by the company and can accept various applications for the products or services from the user by exchanging messages with the user. For example, if the company is engaged in a mobile communication business, the company can provide information on rate plans, communication capacity, speed restrictions, etc. to the user, and the user can carry out procedures, inquiries, applications, etc. related to the above to the company. Alternatively, if the company is engaged in a SL (Smart Life) business, the company can provide information on hotels or tickets (for example, information on available rooms at hotels on the waiting list for cancellations) to the user, and the user can carry out procedures, inquiries, applications, etc. related to the above to the company. The generation of messages in the company terminal 200 may be performed, for example, by an operator (human) or by a chatbot. In this way, the mobile communication network N1 provides B2C services.

[0017] Such information exchange is also possible with RCS (Rich Communication Service). However, not all users of the mobile communication terminal 100 use RCS. The mobile communication network N1 according to this embodiment enables the exchange of information similar to that of RCS with SMS messages.

[0018] In order to exchange messages between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the corporate terminal 200, the corporate terminal 200 is registered in advance in the mobile communication network N1. At this time, a unique number is set for each corporate terminal 200. The number is included in a message and indicates the destination or source of the message. For example, the number is composed of a prefix number + a number for each corporate terminal 200. The prefix number is a number indicating that the terminal is connected to the external network N2, that is, that the terminal is not under the control of a mobile communication network including the mobile communication network N1, and is, for example, a four-digit number. The number for each corporate terminal 200 is a number that is different for each corporate terminal 200 following the prefix number, and is, for example, a one- to six-digit number. By providing the prefix number to the number of the corporate terminal 200 as described above, it is possible to perform processing that is different from the transmission and reception of messages between terminals under the control of a mobile communication network. In this embodiment, a message transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the corporate terminal 200 is called an upstream SMS.

[0019] The billing control system 1 according to this embodiment transmits an upstream SMS to the company terminal 200 and processes the billing for the transmission of the upstream SMS. In this embodiment, the billing for the message is performed on a message-by-message basis. Furthermore, the billing for the transmission of the upstream SMS is performed on the company. That is, reverse billing is performed for the transmission of the upstream SMS. However, billing does not necessarily have to be performed on the company, and may be performed on the user.

[0020] The mobile communication network N1 includes, as nodes related to message transmission / reception and charging, an upstream SMS GW 10 and a vMPN 20 included in the charging control system 1, a vIWG (virtual InterWorking Gateway) (ASN: Application Serving Node) 30, and a charging processing node 40. These nodes 10, 20, 30, and 40 are configured to include computers such as server devices that constitute the mobile communication network N1. These nodes may also be virtual machines realized on the computers. These nodes included in a conventional mobile communication network may have the same functions as conventional ones as long as they do not contradict the functions according to this embodiment. The mobile communication network N1 also includes conventional devices and nodes for providing mobile communication functions other than those described above.

[0021] The GW10 for upstream SMS is a GW for upstream SMS, which is a first device according to this embodiment. The GW10 for upstream SMS receives an upstream SMS from the vMPN 20 and transmits the upstream SMS to the corporate terminal 200 via the external network N2. As will be described later, the GW10 for upstream SMS transmits information required for charging for the transmission of the upstream SMS to the charging processing node 40.

[0022] The vMPN 20 is a second device according to this embodiment that processes media data such as messages. The vMPN 20 receives messages from the vIWG 30. The vMPN 20 transfers upstream SMS, among the messages received from the vIWG 30, to the upstream SMS GW 10. The vMPN 20 transfers messages other than upstream SMS to the vIWG 30.

[0023] The vIWG30 is a GW for SMS. The vIWG30 receives a message from the mobile communication terminal 100 via a wireless section or the like in the mobile communication network N1. The message includes information indicating the destination of the message. An upstream SMS addressed to the corporate terminal 200 includes a number set in the corporate terminal 200, including the above-mentioned prefix number, as information indicating the destination. The vIWG30 judges whether the message is an upstream SMS or not based on the format of the information indicating the destination of the message. For example, the vIWG30 judges a message including a prefix number at the beginning of the information indicating the destination of the message to be an upstream SMS. When the vIWG30 judges that the message is an upstream SMS, it transfers the message to the vMPN20 as an upstream SMS. The destination corporate terminal 200 is specified using a number management file stored in advance in the mobile communication network N1. The number management file is different from the subscriber management database used to manage the mobile communication terminal 100.

[0024] The vIWG 30 also transfers messages other than the upstream SMS to the vMPN 20. The vIWG 30 also receives the messages from the vMPN 20 and transmits them to the mobile communication terminals that are the destinations of the messages. The vIWG 30 also transmits information required for billing related to the transmission of messages other than the upstream SMS to the billing processing node 40.

[0025] The charging processing node 40 is a node that performs processing regarding charging for message transmission. The charging processing node 40 receives information necessary for charging for the transmission of the upstream SMS from the GW 10 for upstream SMS. Specifically, the charging processing node 40 receives information from the GW 10 for upstream SMS that the transmission of the upstream SMS has been successful, and generates information for charging the company related to the corporate terminal 200 to which the upstream SMS is sent based on the information. The generation of information for charging the company may be performed in the same manner as the generation of information for charging the user of the mobile communication terminal. In addition, the charging processing node 40 receives information necessary for charging for the transmission of the message from the vIWG 30, and generates information for charging for the transmission of the message based on the information. Note that the processing related to the transmission (transfer) and charging of messages other than the upstream SMS may be performed in the same manner as in a conventional mobile communication network. In addition, the information necessary for charging for the transmission of the message may be the same as in the conventional one.

[0026] Next, a description will be given of the functions of the upstream SMS GW 10 and the vMPN 20 included in the billing control system 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the upstream SMS GW 10 includes a transmission unit 11 and a billing control unit 12.

[0027] The transmitting unit 11 is a functional unit that transmits a message to a predetermined terminal. The transmitting unit 11 receives (inputs) an upstream SMS from the vMPN 20. Information related to the upstream SMS between the GW 10 for upstream SMS and the vMPN 20 is transmitted and received, for example, by the Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol. The transmitting unit 11 refers to information indicating a destination included in the received upstream SMS, and transmits the upstream SMS to the corporate terminal 200 via the external network N2.

[0028] The transmission unit 11 transmits an upstream SMS to the corporate terminal 200, for example, by using HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) or HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure). For example, the transmission unit 11 may transmit an upstream SMS by an HTTP request. In this case, when the corporate terminal 200 receives the HTTP request, it transmits an HTTP response, which is a response to the HTTP request, to the upstream SMS GW10. The transmission unit 11 receives the HTTP response. When the transmission unit 11 receives the HTTP response, it transmits the response to the vMPN 20.

[0029] The accounting control unit 12 is a functional unit that controls accounting for the transmission of messages by the transmission unit 11. The accounting control unit 12 transmits information necessary for accounting for the transmission of upstream SMS to the accounting processing node 40. For example, when the transmission of the upstream SMS by the transmission unit 11 is successful (for example, when an HTTP response is received), the accounting control unit 12 transmits information to that effect to the accounting processing node 40. In response to the transmission of the above information by the accounting control unit 12, accounting for the transmission of the upstream SMS is performed.

[0030] As described above, since the information (number) that is the destination of the corporate terminal 200 is in a special form, the conventional subscriber information management cannot be performed for the corporate terminal 200. Therefore, the conventional billing method cannot be adopted for the transmission of the upstream SMS to the corporate terminal 200. In the upstream SMS GW10, if the upstream SMS transmission is successful as described above, the upstream SMS transmission is billed. In this case, if the response related to the upstream SMS transmission from the upstream SMS GW10 to the vMPN 20 is not normally performed, the vMPN 20 recognizes that the upstream SMS has not arrived and retransmits it. In this case, the upstream SMS GW10 treats the retransmitted upstream SMS as a different message (if the upstream SMS GW10 and the vMPN 20 do not have the function according to this embodiment), and therefore transmits the upstream SMS to the corporate terminal 200 again. As a result, multiple billing occurs for the transmission of the upstream SMS. This embodiment is intended to prevent such multiple billing. For this purpose, the transmission unit 11 and the billing control unit 12 perform retransmission control and billing control in accordance with the functions of the vMPN 20 according to this embodiment, as described below.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the vMPN 20 includes a transfer unit 21 and an identifier assignment unit 22.

[0032] The forwarding unit 21 is a functional unit that forwards a message addressed to a predetermined terminal to the GW10 for uplink SMS, which is a first device. The forwarding unit 21 receives an uplink SMS from the vIWG30 and transmits (forwards) it to the GW10 for uplink SMS. Information related to the uplink SMS between the vIWG30 and the vMPN20 is transmitted and received by a unique protocol in the mobile communication network N1 according to, for example, a standard specification (for example, a specification of 3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project)). Information may also be transmitted and received between the mobile communication terminal 100 and the vIWG30 by a similar protocol. In this way, information is transmitted and received between the GW10 for uplink SMS and the vMPN20 by a protocol different from that between the vIWG30 and the vMPN20. An identifier is assigned to the uplink SMS forwarded to the GW10 for uplink SMS by the forwarding unit 21 by the identifier assigning unit 22, as described later.

[0033] In addition, information identifying the transmission (information for each transmission) is added to the upstream SMS to be sent. For example, "deliver_sm:SequenceNumber 0x01" is added as information identifying the transmission. The "0x01" part of the above information is information that differs for each transmission.

[0034] In response to the transmission of the upstream SMS to the GW 10 for uplink SMS, the forwarding unit 21 receives a response from the GW 10 for uplink SMS. The response includes information that identifies the above transmission. For example, "deliver_sm resp:SequenceNumber 0x01" is received as the response.

[0035] If the forwarding unit 21 does not receive a response to an upstream SMS from the transmission of the upstream SMS to the GW 10 for upstream SMS until a preset response timeout time has elapsed, the forwarding unit 21 resends the upstream SMS to the GW 10 for upstream SMS. For example, if there is no response due to packet loss, device failure, session disconnection, or the like, the vMPN 20 cannot receive a response. Note that, at the time of resending, the information identifying the above-mentioned transmission is different from that at the time of the initial transmission. For example, if the information at the time of the initial transmission is as described above, at the time of resending, "deliver_sm:SequenceNumber 0x02" is added as information identifying the transmission. The response timeout time is preset, for example, in the mobile communication network N1, and is, for example, several seconds to several tens of seconds.

[0036] The identifier assigning unit 22 is a functional unit that assigns an identifier to an upstream SMS, which is a message forwarded by the forwarding unit 21, that can be used to identify whether the upstream SMS is a resent SMS or not. The identifier is information that does not change even if the upstream SMS is resent by the forwarding unit 21. The identifier assigning unit 22 monitors the upstream SMS forwarded by the forwarding unit 21, and assigns an identifier to the upstream SMS in a format that can be referenced by the upstream SMS GW 10. The identifier is configured, for example, by a combination of information for each message and information on the sender of the upstream SMS.

[0037] For example, TP-MR (Transfer Protocol-Message Reference) is used as the information for each message. TP-MR (TP-MR information) is information that is also used in conventional mobile communication networks. TP-MR is a value set in the SMS by a mobile communication terminal (originating terminal) that transmits a message. TP-MR is incremented by the mobile communication terminal 100 every time a message is transmitted. The setting range of TP-MR is 0x00 to 0xFF, and it is used cyclically.

[0038] If a mobile communication terminal cannot receive a response to a message transmission request due to some factor such as packet loss in the wireless section, the mobile communication terminal resends the same message without incrementing the TP-MR. Conventionally, a vMPN holds a TP-MR set by a mobile communication terminal, and has a function of returning an error response (duplicate SM) to the mobile communication terminal to prevent duplicate billing when the same message is received by the phone number (subscriber number) and TP-MR of the mobile communication terminal that sent the message.

[0039] The identifier assigning unit 22 acquires the TP-MR set by the mobile communication terminal 100 with reference to the upstream SMS, and assigns it to the upstream SMS as part of the above identifier in a format that can be referenced by the GW 10 for upstream SMS. The identifier assigning unit 22 transparently sets the TP-MR in the user_message_reference of the SMPP-IF (interface), for example. For example, "user_message_reference: 0x00 to 0xFF" is assigned. Of the above information, the portion "0x00 to 0xFF" corresponds to the TP-MR, and any information (value) in the range of 0x00 to 0xFF is set.

[0040] Furthermore, the identifier assigning unit 22 refers to the uplink SMS to obtain information for identifying the mobile communication terminal 100 that is the sender of the uplink SMS, and assigns the information to the uplink SMS in a format that can be referenced by the GW 10 for uplink SMS as part of the above-mentioned identifier. The information for identifying the mobile communication terminal 100 that is the sender of the uplink SMS is, for example, the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 100. For example, "source_addr:81X0-XXXX-XXXX" is assigned. Of the above-mentioned information, the portion "81X0-XXXX-XXXX" corresponds to the telephone number.

[0041] Next, the functions of the transmitter 11 and the billing controller 12 of the upstream SMS GW 10 according to the functions of the vMPN 20 according to this embodiment will be described. The billing controller 12 controls billing for the transmission of the upstream SMS based on the identifier given to the upstream SMS. The billing controller 12 stores the identifier given to the upstream SMS for a predetermined period of time, compares the identifier given to a new upstream SMS with the stored identifier, and controls billing for the transmission of the upstream SMS based on the comparison result. The billing controller 12 stores the identifier for a period longer than the time interval for retransmitting the upstream SMS by the vMPN 20. Specifically, the billing controller 12 controls as follows.

[0042] The accounting control unit 12 acquires the TP-MR and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 100, which are identifiers assigned to the upstream SMS received from the vMPN 20 by the transmitting unit 11, and stores them in association with each other. The accounting control unit 12 compares the acquired combination (identifier) ​​of the TP-MR and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 100 with the stored combination (identifier) ​​of the TP-MR and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 100, and judges whether or not there is a combination that matches the acquired combination among the stored combinations. In other words, the accounting control unit 12 judges whether or not the same upstream SMS has been received in the past.

[0043] If any of the stored combinations matches the acquired combination, the upstream SMS related to the acquired combination was resent from the vMPN 20 to the GW10 for upstream SMS because the response from the GW10 for upstream SMS to the vMPN 20 (for example, the above-mentioned ``deliver_sm resp:SequenceNumber 0x01'') was not received.

[0044] In this case, the accounting control unit 12 prohibits the transmitting unit 11 from transmitting the upstream SMS related to the acquired combination to the corporate terminal 200. That is, the accounting control unit 12 performs control to suppress multiple transmission of one upstream SMS. Because this control prevents the upstream SMS from being transmitted to the corporate terminal 200, the accounting control unit 12 does not transmit information required for charging for the transmission of the upstream SMS to the charging processing node 40. That is, the accounting control unit 12 performs control to suppress multiple charging for one upstream SMS. In this case, the transmitting unit 11 may transmit a response to the vMPN 20 again.

[0045] If there is no combination that matches the acquired combination among the stored combinations, the upstream SMS related to the acquired combination is not a resent SMS, but is a new SMS sent from the vMPN 20. In this case, control to prohibit sending of the upstream SMS is not performed, and the sending unit 11 sends the upstream SMS related to the acquired combination to the corporate terminal 200. Note that, if there is no combination that matches the acquired combination among the stored combinations, the billing control unit 12 may store the acquired combination.

[0046] Furthermore, the accounting control unit 12 deletes the stored combination after a preset time has elapsed since it was stored. For one upstream SMS, multiplex transmission and multiplex accounting need only be suppressed for a certain period of time, and since TP-MR is used cyclically, the same combination may occur after a long period of time even though it is not a retransmission. The stored time is set to be longer than the time interval between retransmissions of the upstream SMS by the vMPN 20. As described above, the time interval (response timeout time) between retransmissions of the upstream SMS by the vMPN 20 is several seconds to several tens of seconds, so for example, the accounting control unit 12 stores the combination for one minute and deletes the combination one minute after it has been stored. The above are the functions of the upstream SMS GW 10 and the vMPN 20 included in the accounting control system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0047] Next, an example of the process executed by the billing control system 1 according to this embodiment (the operation method performed by the billing control system 1) will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 2. This process is performed when an upstream SMS to the enterprise terminal 200 is transmitted from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the mobile communication network N1. In the vMPN 20, first, the forwarding unit 21 receives the upstream SMS transmitted from the vIWG 30 (S01). Next, the identifier assigning unit 22 assigns an identifier to the upstream SMS (S02). The assigned identifier is the TP-MR and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 100 that is the source of the upstream SMS. The upstream SMS to which the identifier has been assigned is transmitted from the forwarding unit 21 to the GW 10 for upstream SMS (S03).

[0048] In the upstream SMS GW 10, the transmitter 11 receives the upstream SMS sent from the vMPN 20 (S03). Next, the billing control unit 12 acquires an identifier from the received upstream SMS and compares the acquired identifier with the identifiers stored at that time (S04). Since the above SMS is not related to retransmission, there is no identifier that matches the acquired identifier among the stored identifiers. In this case, the billing control unit 12 stores the acquired identifier (S05).

[0049] Furthermore, the upstream SMS received by the transmitting unit 11 is transmitted from the transmitting unit 11 to the corporate terminal 200 (S06). A response transmitted from the corporate terminal 200 in response to the transmission of the upstream SMS is received by the transmitting unit 11 (S07). When the response is received, the response is transmitted from the transmitting unit 11 to the vMPN 20 (S08). In this example, the response does not reach the vMPN 20, and the forwarding unit 21 does not receive the response in the vMPN 20.

[0050] In the upstream SMS GW 10, when the transmitting unit 11 receives a response from the corporate terminal 200, the accounting control unit 12 performs processing related to accounting for the transmission of the upstream SMS (S09). Specifically, information required for accounting for the transmission of the upstream SMS is transmitted from the accounting control unit 12 to the accounting processing node 40. The accounting processing node 40 receives the information and generates information for charging the company related to the corporate terminal 200, which is the destination of the upstream SMS.

[0051] In the vMPN 20, no response is received from the transmission of the upstream SMS, and the lapse of the response timeout time is detected by the forwarding unit 21. This detection triggers the transmission of an upstream SMS from the forwarding unit 21 to the GW 10 for upstream SMS again (S11).

[0052] In the upstream SMS GW10, the transmitter 11 receives the upstream SMS transmitted from the vMPN 20 (S11). Next, the billing control unit 12 acquires an identifier from the received upstream SMS, and compares the acquired identifier with the identifier stored at that time (S12). Since the above SMS is related to retransmission, there is an identifier that matches the acquired identifier among the stored identifiers. In this case, the billing control unit 12 prohibits the transmitter 11 from transmitting the upstream SMS related to the acquired identifier to the corporate terminal 200. In addition, the billing control unit 12 does not perform processing related to billing related to the transmission of the upstream SMS. That is, the billing control unit 12 performs control to prohibit multiple transmission and multiple billing (S13). The above is an example of processing executed by the billing control system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0053] In this embodiment, the GW 10 for upstream SMS controls billing based on the identifier assigned to the upstream SMS by the vMPN 20, so billing can be performed according to whether the upstream SMS has been resent. Therefore, this embodiment can prevent inappropriate multiple billing for the transmission of upstream SMS.

[0054] Also, the identifier stored as in this embodiment may be compared with an identifier assigned to a new upstream SMS, and control related to billing for message transmission may be performed based on the comparison result. With this configuration, inappropriate multiple billing for upstream SMS transmission can be reliably and appropriately prevented. Furthermore, the time for storing the identifier may be longer than the time interval (response timeout time) for message retransmission by vMPN 20. With this configuration, inappropriate multiple billing for upstream SMS transmission can be appropriately prevented by taking into account the time interval for message retransmission by vMPN 20. However, control related to billing based on the identifier does not necessarily have to be performed as described above, and may be performed in a manner other than the above as long as inappropriate multiple billing is prevented.

[0055] In this embodiment, the identifier given to the upstream SMS is the combination of the TP-MR and the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 100. However, the identifier does not necessarily have to have this configuration, and may be any identifier that can be used to identify whether the upstream SMS is a resent one or not.

[0056] In addition, in this embodiment, the first device and the second device are respectively the GW 10 and the vMPN 20 for upstream SMS. However, the first device and the second device do not necessarily have to be these devices, and may be devices (nodes) other than these devices as long as the framework is met. In addition, the destination of the upstream SMS does not necessarily have to be the corporate terminal 200, and may be any terminal that transmits the upstream SMS by communication other than mobile communication.

[0057] The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device that is physically or logically combined, or may be realized by using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0058] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocation, mapping, assignment, etc. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the function of transmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. In either case, as described above, there is no particular limitation on the method of realization.

[0059] For example, the upstream SMS GW10 and vMPN20 in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the method of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the upstream SMS GW10 and vMPN20 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-mentioned upstream SMS GW10 and vMPN20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc. In addition, the nodes that configure the mobile communication network N1 including the vIWG30 and the billing processing node 40, as well as the mobile communication terminal 100 and the enterprise terminal 200 may also have the hardware configuration described here.

[0060] In the following description, the term "apparatus" may be replaced with a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the upstream SMS GW 10 and the vMPN 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

[0061] Each function of the upstream SMS GW10 and vMPN20 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as a processor 1001 and a memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communications by a communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the memory 1002 and the storage 1003.

[0062] The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured with a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, each function of the above-mentioned upstream SMS GW 10 and vMPN 20 may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0063] Moreover, the processor 1001 reads out a program (program code), a software module, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to the read out programs. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above-mentioned embodiment is used. For example, each function of the upstream SMS GW 10 and the vMPN 20 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the above-mentioned various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunication line.

[0064] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be configured by at least one of, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store a program (program code), a software module, etc. that can be executed to perform a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0065] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, and the like. Storage 1003 may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The storage medium provided in GW 10 for upstream SMS and vMPN 20 may be, for example, a database including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003, a server, or other appropriate medium.

[0066] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to realize at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For example, each function of the above-mentioned upstream SMS GW10 and vMPN20 may be realized by the communication device 1004.

[0067] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0068] In addition, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0069] Furthermore, the upstream SMS GW 10 and the vMPN 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc., and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0070] The notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. In addition, the RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0071] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other suitable systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. In addition, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G, etc.) may be applied.

[0072] The order of the steps, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0073] Information, etc. may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer). Information may be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0074] The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0075] The determination may be based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0076] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched according to execution. In addition, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the specific information).

[0077] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0078] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0079] Additionally, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired and / or wireless technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave, etc.), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0080] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0081] In addition, the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Also, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0082] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0083] In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be represented using absolute values, may be represented using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be represented using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0084] The names used for the above-mentioned parameters are not limiting in any way. Moreover, the formulas using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any way.

[0085] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)", "user terminal", "User Equipment (UE)", "terminal", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0086] A mobile station (mobile communications terminal) may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communications device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0087] A mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. The mobile station may be a device mounted on a moving object, the moving object itself, etc. The moving object may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned moving object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). The mobile station may also include a device that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0088] Furthermore, terms such as "upstream" and "downstream" may be replaced with terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (e.g., "side"). For example, terms such as an upstream channel and a downstream channel may be replaced with a side channel.

[0089] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc., to be a "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering some action to be a "judgment" or "decision." In addition, "judgment" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0090] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0091] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0092] Any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0093] When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Further, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0094] In this disclosure, where articles have been added due to translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0095] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different." [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1...charging control system, 10...upstream SMS GW, 11...transmitting unit, 12...charging control unit, 20...vMPN, 21...transferring unit, 22...identifier assignment unit, 30...vIWG, 40...charging processing node, 100...mobile communications terminal, 200...corporate terminal, N1...mobile communications network, N2...external network, 1001...processor, 1002...memory, 1003...storage, 1004...communication device, 1005...input device, 1006...output device, 1007...bus.

Claims

1. A billing control system including a first device and a second device included in a mobile communication network that transmits an SMS message to a predetermined terminal by communication other than mobile communication, The first device comprises: A sending unit that sends a message to a predetermined terminal; a billing control unit that controls billing for the message transmission by the transmission unit, The second device comprises: a transfer unit that transfers a message addressed to a predetermined terminal to the first device; an identifier assigning unit that assigns an identifier to the message transferred by the transfer unit, the identifier being usable for identifying whether the message is a resent message; The accounting control unit performs control to prevent multiple accounting for the transmission of one message based on the identifier assigned to the message.

2. The charging control system of claim 1, wherein the charging control unit stores the identifier assigned to a message addressed to a specified terminal for a specified period of time, compares the identifier assigned to a new message addressed to the specified terminal with the stored identifier, and controls charging for the sending of messages based on the comparison result.

3. 3. The charging control system according to claim 2, wherein the charging control unit stores the identifier for a period longer than a time interval between retransmission of a message by the second device.

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