Method, system and associated device for performing billing for mobile local area network services - Patents.com

Abstract

A method for performing charging processing for a mobile local area network service is disclosed. The method includes: a charging trigger device sends local area network charging information to a charging processing device, where the local area network charging information is charging information related to a mobile local area network service, and the mobile local area network service is a service in which a telecommunication carrier provides intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway managed by the charging trigger device. The charging processing device receives the local area network charging information, performs charging processing on the local area network charging information, and then sends a charging processing result of the local area network charging information to the charging trigger device. In this method, a sophisticated charging process can be performed for the mobile local area network service, which helps to improve the accuracy of charging and flexibly support multiple charging requirements.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a method, system, and associated device for performing billing for mobile local area network services. [Background technology]

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110058017.2, filed with the China State Intellectual Property Office on January 15, 2021, entitled “Method for performing charging processing on mobile local area network service, system, and related device,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0003] A traditional local area network (LAN) is a communication network formed by interconnecting multiple user devices and servers within a specific geographical area. It can implement functions such as file management and data sharing among multiple user devices, and has the advantages of high data transmission efficiency and low bit error rate. However, its geographical coverage is narrow, for example, it only covers the premises of one company, and user devices of the traditional local area network cannot move.

[0004] Although wireless local area networks (WLANs) offer a significant improvement in terms of user device mobility compared to traditional local area networks, they have a small geographic coverage area, e.g., only one workplace or one floor can be covered, due to limitations in the transmission power and networking scale of wireless access devices (e.g., wireless routers).

[0005] A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can implement interconnection between different network components and resources, and can create a tunnel for users using the infrastructure of the Internet (inetrnet) or another public Internet network, and can cover a large area, such as an entire administrative district or even an entire country, and can provide the same security and functionality as a private network. However, it is a connection technology built on a public communication infrastructure. In this connection technology, operators have weak control over network resources, and it is difficult to guarantee the Quality of Service (QoS) of communication between user devices, making it increasingly difficult to meet market requirements.

[0006] Recently emerged mobile local area networks, such as the local area network (5th Generation local area network, 5G LAN) of the fifth generation communication system, rely on the data exchange or routing forwarding capability of the core network devices of the telecommunication carriers, and can provide internet protocol (IP) or non-IP (such as Ethernet) communication to any two or more user devices in a group of user devices to implement point-to-point or point-to-multipoint data transmission between the user devices. Such communication services can cover a wide geographical range, such as an entire administrative district or even an entire country. Therefore, the mobile local area network is applicable to scenarios such as corporate offices, factory manufacturing, Internet of Vehicles, power system maintenance, and home communication. For example, hundreds of industrial control devices in multinational factories in different administrative districts, cities, or countries can form an "industrial control device group", and the industrial control devices in this group transmit Ethernet data packets to each other. In another example, thousands of office devices (such as mobile phones, computers, laptop computers, etc.) in different offices of a large company may form an "office device group", and the office devices in this group may send IP data packets to each other. In these scenarios, operators have management and control capabilities over user plane data gateways, and can better guarantee the QoS of data transmission between user devices. Therefore, the overall performance is better than that of traditional LANs, WLANs, and VPNs.

[0007] However, existing charging processing devices, such as a Charging Function (CHF) device defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard specification, can only independently perform charging processing for traditional communication services of one user device. Therefore, how to perform charging processing for communication services between member user devices in a mobile local area network is an urgent technical problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a method for performing charging processing for mobile local area network services so as to solve problems such as inaccurate charging and inability to flexibly support multiple charging requirements, which are caused by charging processing performed for mobile local area network services using traditional charging processing methods.

[0009] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for performing charging processing for a mobile local area network service, which is applied to a charging trigger device, the charging trigger device communicates with a charging processing device, the charging trigger device manages at least one user plane data gateway, and the mobile local area network service is a service for providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, the method includes: Sending a charging request message to a charging processing device, where the charging request message includes local area network charging information obtained by a charging trigger device, and the local area network charging information is charging information related to a mobile local area network service; receiving a charging response message from the charging processing device, where the charging response message includes a charging processing result, and the charging processing result is a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the local area network charging information; Includes.

[0010] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, the charging processing result includes a result of charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the member data connection session, where the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user device in a mobile local area network group that uses a mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0011] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, and the first service indication information indicates that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0012] In a possible solution, the charging information of a member data connection session includes a group identifier, which is an identifier of a mobile local area network group.

[0013] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes first charging data, the first charging data including a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result includes a result of a charging process performed by the charging processing device on the first charging data.

[0014] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes an intra-group forwarding method corresponding to the first charging data, and the intra-group forwarding method is any one of local switching forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding.

[0015] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes an intra-group communication mode of the member user device, where the intra-group communication mode is any one of unicast, multicast or broadcast.

[0016] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to create a charging resource for the member data connection session, the charging processing result includes an identifier of the charging resource created by the charging processing device for the member data connection session.

[0017] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to update the charging resources of the member data connection session, the charging processing result includes the result of updating the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0018] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to delete the charging resources of the member data connection session, the charging processing result includes the result of deleting the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0019] According to the charging processing method of the first aspect, the charging trigger device can collect and report charging information related to each member data connection session in a mobile local area network group, so that the charging processing device can better measure the contribution of the carrier's network to the intra-group communication. A sophisticated charging process can be performed for the mobile local area network service, which helps to improve the accuracy of charging and flexibly support multiple charging requirements. For example, charging can be performed based on end-to-end usage.

[0020] In a possible solution, when the charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways and the local area network charging information includes charging information of an inter-data gateway tunnel, the charging processing result includes a result of charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel, where the inter-data gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel includes information about the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0021] In a possible solution, the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes second service indication information, which indicates that the inter-data gateway tunnel is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0022] In a possible solution, the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel further includes a group identifier, which is an identifier of a mobile local area network group.

[0023] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes second charging data, the second charging data including a usage amount transmitted through the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel, and the charging processing result includes a result of charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the second charging data.

[0024] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to create a charging resource for the inter-data gateway tunnel, the charging processing result includes an identifier of the charging resource created by the charging processing device for the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0025] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to update the charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, the charging processing result includes the result of updating the charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0026] In a possible solution, when the charging request message requests the charging processing device to delete the charging resource of the inter-data gateway tunnel, the charging processing result includes the result of deleting the charging resource of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0027] According to the charging processing method of the first aspect, the charging trigger device can further collect and report charging information of data gateway tunnels related to intra-group communication in a mobile local area network group, so that the charging processing device can more comprehensively measure the contribution of the carrier's network to the intra-group communication (the contribution of the data gateway tunnels is supplemented). More sophisticated charging processing is performed for the mobile local area network service, which can help improve the accuracy of charging and also support more charging requirements. For example, charging can be performed based on the usage of network resources (e.g., data gateway tunnels).

[0028] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for performing charging processing for a mobile local area network service, which is applied to a charging processing device, the charging processing device communicates with a charging trigger device, and the mobile local area network service is a service that provides intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group, the method comprising: receiving a charging request message from a charging trigger device, where the charging request message includes local area network charging information obtained by the charging trigger device, and the local area network charging information is charging information related to a mobile local area network service; Sending a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the charging response message includes a charging processing result, and the charging processing result is a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the local area network charging information; Includes.

[0029] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, before sending the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the method further includes: performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, where the charging processing result includes a result of performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, and the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user device in a mobile local area network group that uses a mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0030] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session includes determining, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0031] In a possible solution, performing charging processing on charging information of the member data connection session further includes performing authentication on whether the member user device can use the mobile local area network service based on the first service indication information, where the charging processing result includes a result of the authentication.

[0032] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the member data connection session includes a group identifier, the group identifier is an identifier of a mobile local area network group, and performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session includes: determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; recording the group identifier in a charging data record for the member data connection session; Using the group identifier as an association identifier to associate the usage of the members and obtain the usage of the mobile local area network group by accumulation; or Querying an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing a charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier. Contains one of the following:

[0033] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the member data connection session includes first charging data, and the first charging data includes a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, performing a charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session includes performing a charging process on the first charging data, and wherein the charging process result includes a result of performing the charging process on the first charging data.

[0034] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the member data connection session further includes an intra-group forwarding scheme corresponding to the first charging data, and the intra-group forwarding scheme is any one of local switching forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding, performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session further includes determining a charging rate for the first charging data based on the intra-group forwarding scheme, or recording the first charging data and the intra-group forwarding scheme corresponding to the first charging data in a charging data record of the member data connection session.

[0035] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes an intra-group communication mode of the member user device, and if the intra-group communication mode is any one of unicast, multicast, or broadcast, performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session further includes determining a charging rate for the first charging data based on the intra-group communication mode or recording the intra-group communication mode in a charging data record of the member data connection session.

[0036] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to create a charging resource for the member data connection session, performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session includes creating a charging resource for the member data connection session, where the charging processing result includes an identifier of the charging resource.

[0037] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to update charging resources of the member data connection session, performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session includes updating the charging resources of the member data connection session, where the charging processing result includes a result of updating the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0038] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the member data connection session, performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session includes deleting the charging resources of the member data connection session, where the charging processing result includes a result of deleting the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0039] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a data-to-gateway tunnel, before sending the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the method further includes performing charging processing on the charging information of the data-to-gateway tunnel, where the charging processing result includes a result of performing charging processing on the charging information of the data-to-gateway tunnel, the data-to-gateway tunnel being a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data-to-gateway tunnel includes information about the data-to-gateway tunnel.

[0040] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes second service indication information, performing charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel determines, based on the second service indication information, that the inter-data gateway tunnel is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0041] In a possible solution, the charging information of the inter-gateway tunnel further includes a group identifier, and when the group identifier is an identifier of a mobile local area network group, performing charging processing on the charging information of the inter-gateway tunnel includes: determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; recording the group identifier in the billing data record for the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel; or Inquiring an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing a charging process on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier. Contains one of the following:

[0042] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the member data connection session further includes second charging data, and the second charging data includes usage transmitted through the data gateway-to-data tunnel, performing charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway-to-data tunnel further includes performing charging processing on the second charging data, where the charging processing result includes a result of performing charging processing on the second charging data.

[0043] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to create a charging resource for the inter-data gateway tunnel, performing charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel includes creating a charging resource for the inter-data gateway tunnel, where the charging processing result includes an identifier of the charging resource.

[0044] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to update charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, performing charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel includes updating the charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, where the charging processing result includes a result of updating the charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0045] In a possible solution, if the charging request message requests the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, performing charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel includes deleting the charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, where the charging processing result includes a result of deleting the charging resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0046] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a charging processing system configured to perform charging processing for a mobile local area network service, the charging trigger device including a charging trigger device and a charging processing device, the charging trigger device communicates with the charging processing device, the charging trigger device manages at least one user plane data gateway, and the mobile local area network service is a service for providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway; The charging trigger device is configured to send a charging request message to the charging processing device, where the charging request message includes local area network charging information obtained by the charging trigger device, and the local area network charging information is charging information related to the mobile local area network service; The charging processing device is configured to receive a charging request message from the charging trigger device and send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the charging response message includes a charging processing result, and the charging processing result is a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the local area network charging information; The charging trigger device is further configured to receive a charging response message from the charging processing device.

[0047] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, the charging processing device is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, where the charging processing result includes a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the member data connection session, and the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user device in a mobile local area network group that uses a mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0048] In a possible solution, if the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, the charging processing device is further configured to determine, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0049] In a possible solution, the billing processing device is further configured to perform authentication on whether the member user device can use the mobile local area network service based on the first service indication information, and the billing processing result includes a result of the authentication.

[0050] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session includes a group identifier, and if the group identifier is an identifier of a mobile local area network group, the charging processing device: determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; recording the group identifier in a charging data record for the member data connection session; Using the group identifier as an association identifier to associate the usage of the members and obtain the usage of the mobile local area network group by accumulation; or Querying an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing a charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier. The method is further configured as follows.

[0051] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session includes first charging data and an intra-group forwarding method, the first charging data includes a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the intra-group forwarding method is any one of a local switching forwarding, a gateway tunnel forwarding, and a data network forwarding, the charging processing device: determining a charging rate for the first charging data based on an intra-group transfer method; or Record the first charging data and the intra-group transfer method corresponding to the first charging data in a charging data record of the member data connection session. The method is further configured as follows.

[0052] In a possible solution, when the charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways and the local area network charging information includes charging information of an inter-data gateway tunnel, the charging processing device is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel before sending the charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the charging processing result includes a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel, the inter-data gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel includes information about the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0053] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes second service indication information, the charging processing device is further configured to determine, based on the second service indication information, that the inter-data gateway tunnel is used to provide a mobile local area network service.

[0054] In a possible solution, the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes a group identifier, and if the group identifier is an identifier of a mobile local area network group, the charging processing device: determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; Record the group identifier in the billing data record for the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel, or Querying an external group identifier corresponding to a mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing charging processing on charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier. The method is further configured as follows.

[0055] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a charging trigger device configured to perform charging processing for a mobile local area network service, the charging trigger device communicates with a charging processing device, the charging trigger device manages at least one user plane data gateway, the mobile local area network service is a service providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, the charging trigger device includes an acquisition module, a transmission module, and a reception module; The acquisition module is configured to acquire local area network charging information, where the local area network charging information is charging information related to a mobile local area network service; The sending module is configured to send a charging request message to a charging processing device, where the charging request message includes local area network charging information; The receiving module is configured to receive a charging response message from the charging processing device, where the charging response message includes a charging processing result, and the charging processing result is a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the local area network charging information.

[0056] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, the charging processing result includes a result of charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the member data connection session, where the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user device in a mobile local area network group that uses a mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0057] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, and the first service indication information indicates that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0058] In a possible solution, the charging information of a member data connection session includes a group identifier, which is an identifier of a mobile local area network group.

[0059] In a possible solution, when the charging information of the member data connection session includes first charging data and an intra-group forwarding method, the first charging data includes a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the intra-group forwarding method is any one of local switching forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding.

[0060] In a possible solution, when the charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways and the local area network charging information includes charging information of an inter-data gateway tunnel, the charging processing result includes a result of charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel, where the inter-data gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel includes information about the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0061] In a possible solution, the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes second service indication information, which indicates that the inter-data gateway tunnel is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0062] In a possible solution, the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel further includes a group identifier, which is an identifier of a mobile local area network group.

[0063] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a charging processing device configured to perform charging processing for a mobile local area network service, the charging processing device communicates with a charging trigger device, the mobile local area network service is a service providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group, the charging processing device includes: a receiving module, a processing module, and a transmitting module; The receiving module is configured to receive a charging request message from the charging trigger device, where the charging request message includes local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to a mobile local area network service; The processing module is configured to perform a charging process on the local area network charging information to obtain a charging process result; The sending module is configured to send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the charging response message includes a charging processing result.

[0064] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, the processing module is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, where the charging processing result includes a result of the charging processing performed by the processing module on the charging information of the member data connection session, and the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user device in a mobile local area network group that uses a mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0065] In a possible solution, if the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0066] In a possible solution, the processing module is further configured to perform authentication on whether the member user device is able to use the mobile local area network service based on the first service indication information.

[0067] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session includes a group identifier, and if the group identifier is an identifier of a mobile local area network group, the processing module: determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; recording the group identifier in a charging data record for the member data connection session; Using the group identifier as an association identifier to associate the usage of the members and obtain the usage of the mobile local area network group by accumulation; or Querying an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing a charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier. The method is further configured as follows.

[0068] In a possible solution, the charging information of the member data connection session includes first charging data and an intra-group forwarding method, the first charging data includes a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the intra-group forwarding method is any one of a local switching forwarding, a gateway tunnel forwarding, and a data network forwarding, the processing module: determining a charging rate for the first charging data based on an intra-group transfer method; or Record the first charging data and the intra-group transfer method corresponding to the first charging data in a charging data record of the member data connection session. The method is further configured as follows.

[0069] In a possible solution, when the local area network charging information includes charging information of a data-to-gateway tunnel, before the sending module sends the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the processing module is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the data-to-gateway tunnel, where the data-to-gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data-to-gateway tunnel includes information about the data-to-gateway tunnel.

[0070] In a possible solution, if the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes second service indication information, the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the second service indication information, that the inter-data gateway tunnel is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

[0071] In a possible solution, the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel further includes a group identifier, and if the group identifier is an identifier of a mobile local area network group, the charging processing device: determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; Record the group identifier in the billing data record for the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel, or Querying an external group identifier corresponding to a mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing charging processing on charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier. The method is further configured as follows.

[0072] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a charging trigger device, including a processor and a memory.

[0073] The memory is configured to store program instructions.

[0074] The processor is configured to call and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, causing the charging trigger device to perform the charging processing method of any possible solution of the first aspect.

[0075] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a billing processing device including a processor and a memory.

[0076] The memory is configured to store program instructions.

[0077] The processor is configured to call and execute program instructions stored in the memory, causing the billing processing device to perform the billing processing method of any possible solution of the second aspect.

[0078] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium including instructions, which when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform a billing method corresponding to the first aspect, the second aspect, any possible solution of the first aspect, or any possible solution of the second aspect. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0079] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of an existing communication system. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a first communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an intra-group forwarding scheme according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a second communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] 4 is a flow chart of a first charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3C] 11 is a flow chart of a second billing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a third communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first intra-group forwarding scheme in a 5G local area network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 4C] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a second intra-group forwarding scheme in a 5G local area network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4D] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a third intra-group forwarding scheme in a 5G local area network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A] 11 is a flow chart of a third charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] 11 is a flow chart of a third charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 11 is a flow chart of a fourth charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7A] 1 is a schematic diagram of a first networking of multiple CHF devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7B] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a second networking of multiple CHF devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 2 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a charging trigger device and a charging processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 9] 2 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a charging processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 2 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a charging trigger device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0080] Hereinafter, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0081] In the description of the present disclosure, " / " indicates an "or" relationship between related objects unless otherwise specified. For example, A / B may indicate A or B. The term "and / or" in the present disclosure indicates a related relationship to describe related objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate the following three cases: a case where only A exists, a case where both A and B exist, and a case where only B exists, where A and B may be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more. Furthermore, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, terms such as first and second are used in the embodiments of the present disclosure to distinguish between the same items or similar items that basically provide the same function or purpose. Those skilled in the art may understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not indicate clear differences.

[0082] FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of an existing communication system. The communication system includes a user device 103, a wireless access device 104, a user plane data gateway 105, a data network 106, a charging trigger device 102, and a charging processing device 101. The user device 103 uses the user plane data gateway 105 to set up a data connection session 103P to communicate with a server or another communication device in the data network 106. The charging trigger device 102 is deployed together with the control plane data gateway, and collects usage (traffic or duration) information during the data connection session 103P of the user device 103, and sends the information to the charging processing device 101 so that the charging processing device 101 performs charging processing for the user device 103. In the charging processing method, the data connection sessions of all user devices are independent of each other, and the processes of creating charging resources and processing charging (including online charging and offline charging) are also independent of each other and do not interfere with each other.

[0083] However, when applied to a mobile local area network group, the charging method cannot meet the requirements of the diversified market. Below, the internal communication mechanism of a mobile local area network group is described with reference to Figures 2A and 2B, and the problems of the existing charging method are described. Furthermore, with reference to Figures 3A to 3C, how to perform charging for the internal communication of a mobile local area network group is described.

[0084] 2A is a structural diagram of a first communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system includes a control plane data gateway 202, user plane data gateways 203 to 205 managed by the control plane data gateway 202, access devices 206 to 209, and member user devices 210 to 213 of a mobile local area network group. In addition, the communication system further includes another device, such as an access management device. Details will not be described one by one.

[0085] To aid those skilled in the art in understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure, a brief description of the components and related concepts shown in FIG. 2A follows.

[0086] User device: A user device is a device of a terminal user. This device may have wireless communication capability and may be connected to a wireless access device (e.g., access device 206) via an air interface. This device may have wired communication capability and may be connected to a wired access device (e.g., access device 207) via a wired interface. In terms of product form, this device may be a smartphone, a laptop computer with wireless communication capability, a tablet computer, a wearable device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a desktop computer on a table, etc.

[0087] The user device may be user equipment (UE) as defined in 3GPP standard specifications, such as UE 410 to UE 413 in FIG. 4A.

[0088] It should be noted that "connected" or "connected" in the embodiments of the present disclosure includes direct connection or indirect connection, the latter referring to a connection via one or more intermediate network devices, and the details will not be repeated.

[0089] Data Network (DN): A data network is a network formed by using a data switch as a transfer point for data transmission, such as the Internet, and includes an application server (not shown in FIG. 2A). Generally, a data network name (DNN) is used as an identifier of a data network.

[0090] Mobile local area network: A mobile local area network is a virtual local area network implemented based on a mobile communication network (e.g., a 5G network), and mainly includes at least one user plane data gateway, such as the user plane data gateways 203 to 205 in FIG. 2A. Each user plane data gateway is connected to a control plane data gateway (e.g., the user plane data gateways 203 to 205 are connected to the control plane data gateway 202) and managed by the control plane data gateway. When a mobile local area network includes multiple user plane data gateways, different user plane data gateways are connected to each other (e.g., the user plane data gateway 203 is connected to the user plane data gateway 204, and the user plane data gateway 203 is connected to the user plane data gateway 205 via the data network 216) to provide services for communication between member user devices in a mobile local area network group. Multiple mobile local area network groups may share the same user plane data gateway.

[0091] It can be understood that the topological relationships between the user plane data gateways in Figure 2A are examples and not limitations. For example, the control plane data gateway may further trigger the establishment of an inter-data gateway tunnel between the user plane data gateway 204 and the user plane data gateway 205. This allows data packets sent from the user device 212 to the user device 213 to be sent directly from the user plane data gateway 204 to the user plane data gateway 205 without having to be detoured through the user plane data gateway 203.

[0092] It can be understood that in some application scenarios, some user devices in a mobile local area network may be wired communication devices, such as desktop computers.

[0093] The mobile local area network may be a 5G local area network (5G LAN-Virtual Network, 5G LAN VN) defined in the 3GPP standard specifications. The 5G local area network may provide point-to-point data transmission between UEs. Before data transmission is performed, an association needs to be established between the protocol data unit (PDU) sessions of the two UEs. The PDU sessions of all member UEs in the same 5G local area network group may be managed and controlled by the same session management function (SMF) device, or may be managed and controlled by multiple SMF devices. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the technical solution is described using an example in which the PDU sessions of all member UEs in the same 5G local area network group are managed and controlled by the same SMF device. In a scenario in which the PDU sessions of all member UEs are managed and controlled by multiple SMF devices, please refer to the embodiment of the present disclosure for the related operations of each SMF device. Data packet transmission between UEs is performed according to routing rules on a user plane function (UPF) device, and the routing rules are delivered from the SMF device to the UPF device.

[0094] Mobile local area network group: A mobile local area network group is a set of member user devices that can access a mobile local area network. Each member user device in the set may be connected to a user plane data gateway of a user plane data gateway using a respective access device. For example, a user device 210 is connected to a user plane data gateway 203 using an access device 206. Based on the data switching or routing forwarding service of the user plane data gateway, different member user devices can communicate with each other in an IP or non-IP manner, and different member user devices in the set may be distributed in different geographical regions.

[0095] Member user devices in a mobile local area network group can be added or removed. Not all member user devices in a mobile local area network group necessarily access a mobile local area network at the same time. Figure 2A shows an example of four member user devices accessing a mobile local area network. It can be understood that in practical application, member user devices in a mobile local area network group may access or leave a mobile local area network when necessary.

[0096] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile local area network group has two identifiers. One is an external group identifier, which is mainly used in the external system of a mobile network operator. The other is an internal group identifier, which is allocated by a unified data management (UDM) device and is mainly used in the internal system of a mobile network operator. The unified data management device establishes a mapping relationship between the external group identifier and the internal group identifier. Unless otherwise specified, the "group identifier" in the embodiment of the present disclosure refers to the internal group identifier of a mobile local area network group.

[0097] The mobile local area network group may be a 5G local area network group (5G LAN Group) defined in the 3GPP standard specifications.

[0098] Intra-group communication: Intra-group communication, also called "communication within a local area network" or "private communication", is communication between at least two member user devices within a mobile local area network group.

[0099] Mobile local area network service: A mobile local area network service is a service that provides intra-group communication to member user devices in a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway. The group identifier of the mobile local area network service is the identifier of the mobile local area network group. The 5G local area network type service (5G LAN-Type service) defined in the 3GPP standard specification is a mobile local area network service.

[0100] Usage: The usage is the amount of transmitted or consumed service units reported to a charging processing device for charging processing within a certain time range. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the usage information includes the amount and transmission direction of service units, etc., and the service unit may be traffic or time period, etc.

[0101] Uplink Traffic: Uplink traffic indicates the amount of bytes flowing from a member user device to a user plane data gateway within a particular time range.

[0102] Downlink Traffic: Downlink traffic indicates the quantity of bytes transmitted from a user plane data gateway to a member user device within a particular time range.

[0103] Intra-group communication mode: The intra-group communication mode is a data exchange mode between member user devices in a mobile local area network service. Specifically, there are three different intra-group communication modes:

[0104] (1) Unicast refers to communication between two member user devices and is also called "1:1 communication," "one-to-one communication," or "point-to-point communication."

[0105] (2) Multicast refers to communication between one member user device and multiple other member user devices, i.e., one member user device transmits data packets to multiple member user devices simultaneously. In the implementation, a user plane data gateway distributes the data packets transmitted by the member user device to multiple other member user devices. Multicast is also called "1:N communication", "one-to-many communication", or "point-to-multipoint communication", etc.

[0106] (3) Broadcast refers to communication between one member user device and all other member user devices accessing the mobile local area network, i.e., one member user device sends a data packet to all online member user devices in the mobile local area network group.

[0107] Control Plane Data Gateway: The control plane data gateway is configured to select a user plane data gateway for member user devices in a mobile local area network group to use mobile local area network services, manage data connection sessions of the member user devices, instruct the user plane data gateway to establish inter-user plane data gateway tunnels, and deliver data flow forwarding rules to the user plane data gateway.

[0108] The control plane data gateway may be a packet data network gateway for the control plane (PGW-C) defined in the 3GPP standard specifications, or may be a session management function (SMF) device (e.g., SMF device 402 shown in FIG. 4A).

[0109] It can be understood that in practical applications, a communication system may have multiple control plane data gateways, and each control plane data gateway may manage intra-group communications of multiple mobile local area networks.

[0110] Data connection session: A data connection session is an association between a user device and a user plane data gateway, and is used to provide a connection service for communication between the user device and an accessed network or between the user device and another user device. The creation process of a data connection session may be initiated by the user device, and the removal process of a data connection session may be initiated by the user device or another network device. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a data connection session may be simply referred to as a "data session" or a "session".

[0111] The data connection session may be an IP-connectivity access network (IP-CAN) session or a protocol data unit session (PDU session) defined in the 3GPP standard specifications (e.g., PDU session 410P in FIG. 4A), or may be another type of session, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0112] A data connection session in the embodiment of the present disclosure refers to a data connection session that requires billing, and does not include a free or billing-free data connection session.

[0113] Mobile local area network data connection session: A mobile local area network data connection session refers to a data connection session for intra-group communication within a mobile local area network group, such as 210P to 213P in Fig. 2B. For ease of explanation, the mobile local area network data connection session is simply referred to as an "intra-group session" in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0114] QoS Flow: A QoS flow indicates a transfer operation with the smallest granularity of QoS subdivision in a data connection session. In general, a QoS flow identifier (QFI) is used to identify a QoS flow.

[0115] User Plane Data Gateway: A user plane data gateway is a core network element that provides intra-group communication services to a mobile local area network group, and is configured to create intra-group sessions for member user devices in the mobile local area network group. For example, referring to FIG. 2B, under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the user plane data gateway 203 sets up intra-group sessions 210P and 211P for the user devices 210 and 211, respectively, the user plane data gateway 204 sets up an intra-group session 212P for the user device 212, and the user plane data gateway 205 sets up an intra-group session 213P for the user device 213. Based on this, to implement intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group, the user plane data gateway is further configured to forward data packets between different intra-group sessions (e.g., between the intra-group sessions 210P and 213P). For ease of description, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the manner in which the data packets of an intra-group session are transmitted from the user plane data gateway of the intra-group session to another intra-group session is referred to as the intra-group forwarding manner of the intra-group session. In particular, the user plane data gateway 203 is used as an example for further explanation, see Figure 2B.

[0116] The user plane data gateway may be a packet data network gateway for user plane (PGW-U) defined in the 3GPP standard specifications, or may be a PDU session anchor (PSA) User Plane Function (UPF) device (e.g., PSA UPF 403 to 405 in FIG. 4A ).

[0117] 2B is a schematic diagram of an intra-group forwarding scheme according to the present embodiment of the present disclosure. The intra-group forwarding scheme includes the following schemes:

[0118] (1) Forwarding via local data exchange service: Under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the user plane data gateway 203 provides a local data exchange service LS-210-211 to forward a data packet of the intra-group session 210P to the intra-group session 211P, or forward a data packet of the intra-group session 211P to the intra-group session 210P. Thus, the user device 210 can communicate with the user device 211. For ease of description, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the manner or means of forwarding a data packet through the local data exchange service of the user plane data gateway between two intra-group sessions belonging to the same user plane data gateway is referred to as forwarding via the local data exchange service, which is simply referred to as local switching forwarding.

[0119] (2) Forwarding via inter-data gateway tunnel: Under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the user plane data gateway 203 interacts with the user plane data gateway 204 to establish an inter-data gateway tunnel TN-203-204, so that the data packets of the intra-group session 210P are forwarded to the intra-group session 212P, or the data packets of the intra-group session 212P are forwarded to the intra-group session 210P. Thus, the user device 210 can communicate with the user device 212. For ease of description, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the manner or means of forwarding data packets between two intra-group sessions (or data packets within an intra-group session) belonging to two user plane data gateways respectively through the user plane data inter-gateway tunnel is referred to as forwarding via the inter-data gateway tunnel, which is simply referred to as gateway tunnel forwarding.

[0120] The inter-data gateway tunnel may be an N19 tunnel defined in the 3GPP standard specifications (eg, N19 tunnel N19-403 to N19-404 in FIG. 4A).

[0121] (3) Forwarding via a data network: Under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, a data packet of the intra-group session 210P is transmitted to the data network 216 and forwarded by the data network 216 to the intra-group session 213P, or a data packet of the intra-group session 213P is transmitted to the data network 216 and forwarded by the data network 216 to the intra-group session 210P. Thus, the user device 210 can communicate with the user device 213. For ease of explanation, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the manner or means of forwarding data packets over a session between two user plane data gateways is referred to as forwarding via a gateway / network interface, which is simply referred to as data network forwarding.

[0122] The interface between the user plane data gateway and the data network may be the N6 interface defined in the 3GPP standard specifications (N6 interfaces N6-403-DN and N6-405-DN in FIG. 4A).

[0123] In practical applications, a mobile local area network may have a larger or smaller number of user plane data gateways, and the specific number is related to the number of user devices, geographical locations, and user requirements of the mobile local area network group belonging to the prior art.

[0124] For example, a mobile local area network may include devices such as user plane data gateway 203, access devices 206 and 207, and user devices 210 and 211. This local area network has only one user plane data gateway and has a local data exchange service, but no data-gateway tunnels and no gateway / network interfaces.

[0125] In another example, a mobile local area network may include devices such as user plane data gateways 203 and 204, access devices 206 to 208, and user devices 210 to 212. The local area network has two user plane data gateways, a local data exchange service, and an inter-data gateway tunnel, but no gateway / network interface.

[0126] In yet another example, a mobile local area network may include devices such as user plane data gateway 203, user plane data gateway 205, access devices 206 and 207, access device 209, user devices 210 and 211, and user device 213. The local area network has two user plane data gateways, a local data exchange service, and a gateway / network interface, but no inter-data gateway tunnels.

[0127] Access Device: An access device can be a wireless access device or a wired access device. A wireless access device is typically an NG-RAN as defined in 3GPP standard specifications, including but not limited to evolved NodeB (eNB) and 5G base stations (gNodeB, gNB).

[0128] Hereinafter, the end-to-end transmission path of a data packet during intra-group communication as shown in Table 1 will be described using the user device 210 as an example.

[0129] [Table 1]

[0130] The meaning of the data in Table 1 is explained as follows.

[0131] Line 1: When user device 210 performs intra-group communication with user device 211, data packets are transmitted (unidirectionally or bidirectionally) between user device 210, data connection session 210P, local data exchange service LS-210-211 of user plane data gateway 203, data connection session 211P, and user device 211.

[0132] Line 2: When user device 210 performs intra-group communication with user device 212, data packets are transmitted (unidirectionally or bidirectionally) between user device 210, data connection session 210P, tunnel TN-203-204 between user plane data gateway 203 and user plane data gateway 204, data connection session 212P, and user device 212.

[0133] Line 3: When user device 210 performs intra-group communication with user device 213, data packets are transmitted (unidirectionally or bidirectionally) between user device 210, data connection session 210P, interface IF-203-DN between user plane data gateway 203 and the data network, interface IF-205-DN between the data network and user plane data gateway 205, data connection session 213P, and user device 213.

[0134] In conclusion, compared with the communication system shown in FIG. 1, the transmission of data packets in the communication system shown in FIG. 2A has at least the following characteristics:

[0135] (a) Data packets transmitted by different user devices are related, so their usages are also related. For example, when user device 210 performs intra-group communication with user device 211, the uplink data packets of the former end up becoming the downlink data packets of the latter, and the uplink usage of the former is equal to the downlink usage of the latter.

[0136] (b) The data packets of the user devices pass through more segments in the carrier's communication network. For example, when the user device 210 performs intra-group communication with the user device 212, the data packets transmitted between the two user devices not only pass through the data connection sessions 210P and 212P of the two user devices, but also pass through the inter-data gateway tunnel TN-202-2-4, which requires the carrier to input additional network resources.

[0137] (c) Data packets of user devices are forwarded more widely. For example, when the intra-group communication mode of the user device 210 is multicast or broadcast, the user plane data gateway 203 needs to forward the data packets sent by the user device 210 to multiple user devices, which also requires the operator to put in more network resources.

[0138] Therefore, if the billing method in the communication system shown in FIG. 1 is applied as is to the communication system shown in FIG. 2A, problems will arise in at least the following three aspects.

[0139] (1) In the charging processing method shown in FIG. 1, it is impossible to determine whether the usage of each member user device is used for intra-group communication, and therefore the corresponding charging rate cannot be applied, so that the identifier of the corresponding mobile local area network group cannot be obtained, and therefore the usage of different member user devices cannot be associated. In some charging requirement scenarios, this may lead to inaccurate charging. For example, when the charging requirement is charging by end-to-end transmission service, for the same usage, charging processing is performed once for one member user device (such as user device 210) and then charging processing is performed again for another member user device (such as user device 211) that performs intra-group communication with the user device, causing repeated charging. This is because the correlation between user devices cannot be determined.

[0140] (2) In the charging method shown in Fig. 1, charging can only be performed on the usage of the session part of each user device, and cannot be performed on the usage of the transmission part. In some charging requirement scenarios, this may also lead to inaccurate charging. For example, when charging is performed based on the network transmission service, there is no usage information of the transmission phase, so the charging result does not match the contribution made by the operator to guarantee the QoS of the intra-group communication, which is also expressed as inaccurate charging.

[0141] (3) In the charging processing method shown in FIG. 1, the charging rate is not determined based on the intra-group communication mode of each user device, which means that the rating is based on unicast charging by default.

[0142] Therefore, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, a charging trigger module and a charging processing module are added based on the communication system shown in Figure 2. The respective functions of the charging trigger module and the charging processing module are briefly described below.

[0143] The functions of the charging trigger module include, but are not limited to, reporting local area network charging information (e.g., information used to perform charging processing on intra-group communications within a mobile local area network group, such as usage information related to intra-group communications and quota application information related to intra-group communications) to the charging processing module, and managing intra-group communications based on the local area network charging processing result (e.g., the result of performing charging processing on the local area network charging information) returned from the charging processing module. These functions may be superimposed on a charging trigger function (CTF) defined in the 3GPP standard specifications, or may be a module or component such as a "mobile local area network charging trigger function" independent of the CTF.

[0144] The functions of the charging processing module include, but are not limited to, performing charging processing on the local area network charging information reported by the charging trigger module, performing operations such as debiting an account and generating a charging data record (CDR) based on the usage information related to the intra-group communication, granting a corresponding quota based on the quota application information related to the intra-group communication, and returning charging processing results such as indication information indicating successful usage processing, indication information indicating successful writing of the charging data record, and granted quota to the charging trigger module. These functions may be superimposed on the CHF defined in the 3GPP standard specification, or may be a module or component such as a "mobile local area network charging processing function" independent of the CHF. In addition, the charging processing module may further include a bill output function for outputting a bill for the mobile local area network group.

[0145] The deployment manner of the two modules is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the two modules may be deployed in the manner shown in FIG. 3A, or in another manner. For example, the functions included in the charging processing module are separately deployed on different physical devices. In a possible solution, the charging processing module may be deployed on an existing charging processing device that performs charging processing for one user device, or may be deployed on a device that is specifically configured to perform charging processing for a mobile local area network, such as a "mobile local area network charging processing device".

[0146] FIG. 3A is a structural diagram of a second communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This communication system is obtained based on the communication system shown in FIG. 2A, in which a charging trigger module is deployed on a control plane data gateway 202, and a charging processing device 201 including a charging processing module is added. This communication system includes a first charging processing system provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and is configured to perform charging processing for a mobile local area network service. The charging processing system includes a control plane data gateway 202 and a charging processing device 201. The control plane data gateway 202 provides charging information related to the mobile local area network service to the charging processing device 201, so that the charging processing device 201 performs charging processing for the mobile local area network service. It should be noted that both FIG. 2B and FIG. 3A are obtained based on FIG. 2A. To simplify the topology, in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the access device, the user device, and the data network, etc. are hidden (not removed).

[0147] For ease of description, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, a device including a charging trigger module, such as the control plane data gateway 202 in FIG. 3A and the SMF device 402 in FIG. 4A, is generally referred to as a "charging trigger device", and a device including a charging processing module, such as the charging processing device 201 in FIG. 3A and the CHF device 401 in FIG. 4A, is generally referred to as a "charging processing device". The number of charging trigger devices and the number of charging processing devices in the embodiment of the present disclosure are examples and are not limiting. In practical applications, one communication system may include multiple charging trigger devices and multiple charging processing devices.

[0148] The interaction procedure between the charging trigger device and the charging processing device will be further described below with reference to the specific content of the local area network charging information.

[0149] In a possible solution, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, where the member data connection session is a data connection session of a member user device, and the member user device is a user device in a mobile communication local area network group. The interaction procedure between the charging trigger device and the charging processing device is shown in Figure 3B.

[0150] 3B is a flow chart of a first charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging method is used to perform charging for mobile local area network services, and mainly includes the following steps:

[0151] Step 310: A charging trigger device obtains charging information of a member data connection session.

[0152] In detail, the charging trigger device constructs charging information of the member data connection session or obtains charging information of the member data connection session from the user plane data gateway when a charging report trigger condition is met, such as when a data connection session is created or a scheduled report time is reached. The charging information includes one or more of the following: (1) first billing data including a usage amount of a member data connection session and / or an application amount of a quota for the member data connection session; (2) first service indication information indicating that a data connection session of the member user device is used for intra-group communication; (3) a group identifier, which is an internal group identifier of a mobile local area network group corresponding to intra-group communication; (4) an intra-group transfer method that is an intra-group transfer method corresponding to the first charging data; and (5) Intra-group communication mode, i.e., intra-group communication mode of member user devices.

[0153] Optionally, the charging trigger device may also send a charging trigger condition to the user plane data gateway, so that the user plane data gateway can send information related to the usage of the member data connection session to the charging trigger device when the charging trigger condition is met.

[0154] Step 311: A charging trigger device sends a charging request message to a charging processing device, where the request message includes charging information of the member data connection session.

[0155] In particular, the charging trigger device constructs a charging request message, where the request message carries charging information of the member data connection session. In a scenario where the charging processing device provides a service-oriented interface, the request message may be a charging resource create request (ChargingRrsourceCreateRequest) message, a charging resource update request (ChargingRrsourceUpdateRequest) message, or a charging resource delete request (ChargingRrsourceDeleteRequest) message.

[0156] Step 312: The charging processing device performs charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session.

[0157] In detail, the charging processing device receives a charging request message in step 311, obtains charging information of the member data connection session by parsing the charging request message, and then performs one or more of the following operations:

[0158] (1) The charging processing device determines that the data connection session of the member user device is used for intra-group communication based on the first service indication information, and then performs access authentication for the member user device, specifically, authenticates whether the member user device can use a mobile local area network service, or determines whether the member user device is allowed to perform intra-group communication. Optionally, the charging processing device may determine a charging rate based on the first service indication information, and then apply the charging rate to the charging processing of the first charging data, including the charging processing device performing an account debit for the usage amount based on the charging rate, performing an account freeze based on the charging rate and the quota application amount, and writing the usage amount and the charging rate into the charging data record. Optionally, the charging processing device stores the first service indication information, for example, storing the first service indication information and an identifier of the data connection session of the member user device, or storing the first service indication information according to an identifier of the charging resource of the data connection session of the member user device.

[0159] (2) The charging processing device determines an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group of the member user device based on the group identifier, or records the group identifier in the charging data record of the member data connection session, or uses the group identifier as an association identifier to associate the usage of the member and obtain the usage of the mobile local area network group by accumulation, or queries (e.g., queries from the integrated data management device) an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performs charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier (e.g., the account is determined based on the external group identifier, or the charging data record is associated to associate the application layer charging information or customer information of the mobile local area network service. In another example, the external group identifier is recorded in the charging data record of the member data connection session). Optionally, the charging processing device stores the group identifier, for example, stores the group identifier according to the identifier of the member data connection session, or stores the group identifier according to the identifier of the charging resource of the member data connection session.

[0160] (3) The charging processing device performs charging processing on the first charging data based on the intra-group forwarding method. For example, the charging processing device applies the charging rate determined based on the intra-group forwarding method corresponding to the first charging data to the charging processing of the first charging data includes the charging processing device performing an account debit for the usage amount based on the charging rate and performing an account freeze based on the charging rate and the quota application amount. In another example, the charging processing device records the first charging data and the corresponding intra-group forwarding method in a charging data record of the member data connection session.

[0161] (4) The charging processing device performs charging processing on the first charging data based on the intra-group communication mode. For example, the charging processing device applies the charging rate determined based on the intra-group communication mode to the charging processing of the first charging data includes the charging processing device performing an account debit for the usage amount based on the charging rate and performing an account freeze based on the charging rate and the quota application amount. In another example, the charging processing device records the intra-group communication mode in a charging data record of the member data connection session.

[0162] The charging processing device generates a charging processing result of the member data connection session based on one or more of the above operations. For example, the charging processing result includes an authentication result (authentication success indication information or authentication failure indication information), an granted quota, a usage deduction result (deduction success indication information or deduction failure indication information), and a result of writing the charging data record (indicating information indicating that writing the charging data record is successful or indicating information indicating that writing the charging data record is unsuccessful).

[0163] Step 313: The charging processing device sends a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the response message includes a charging processing result of the member data connection session.

[0164] In particular, the charging processing device constructs a charging response message and sends the charging response message to the charging trigger device, which carries the charging processing result of the member data connection session, and the charging trigger device then receives the charging response message.

[0165] The charging trigger device and the charging processing device repeatedly execute the same process as steps 310 to 313 to continuously execute charging processing for the data connection session of the member user device, and execute charging processing for the data connection session of another member user device.

[0166] Step 349: The billing processing device performs billing processing for the mobile local area network group.

[0167] This step is optional. When the charging mode is offline charging, in the above process, the charging processing device stores charging data records of data connection sessions of different member user devices in different time periods, and the charging processing device associates the charging data records based on a group identifier to generate a charging data record of a mobile local area network group.

[0168] In detail, within a predetermined time period, the charging processing device obtains previously generated charging data records of data connection sessions of the mobile local area network member user devices, and performs an association operation on the charging data records of data connection sessions of different member user devices or the same user device to obtain a summarized charging data record of the mobile local area network. The association operation includes vertical association and horizontal association.

[0169] In a vertical association, the charging processing device associates charging information of data connection sessions of the same member user device at different times. Specifically, the identifier of the user device may be used as the association identifier.

[0170] In horizontal association, the charging processing device associates charging information of data connection sessions of different member user devices in the same mobile local area network group. Specifically, a group identifier may be used as an association identifier.

[0171] Optionally, the charging processing device may further trigger the user plane data gateway to control the QoS of the data connection session of each member user device based on the account debit result.

[0172] According to the charging method shown in Fig. 3B, the charging device can perform charging processing on the first charging data in the data connection session based on the related information of the mobile local area network, and can perform sophisticated charging processing on the mobile local area network service, thereby improving the accuracy of charging and flexibly meeting multiple charging requirements. For details, please refer to another embodiment of the present disclosure, such as the method corresponding to Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B.

[0173] In another possible solution, in addition to the charging information of the member data connection session, the local area network charging information further includes the charging information of the data gateway inter-gateway tunnel (TN-203-204). In this case, the interaction procedure between the charging trigger device and the charging processing device is shown in Figure 3C.

[0174] 3C is a flow chart of a second charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging method is used to perform charging for mobile local area network services, and mainly includes the following steps:

[0175] Step 350 to step 353: The charging trigger device and the charging processing device perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session. This process is similar to the process of step 310 to step 313, and the details are not described again. Based on the charging requirements, this process may not be performed in this method procedure.

[0176] Step 360: The charging trigger device obtains charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0177] In detail, the charging trigger device constructs charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel or obtains charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel from the user plane data gateway when a charging report trigger condition is met, such as when the inter-data gateway tunnel is created or when a scheduled report time is reached. The charging information includes one or more of the following: (1) second billing data including usage data transmitted through the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel; (2) tunnel information, i.e. information about the data gateway-to-gateway tunnel, e.g., the tunnel's identifier; (3) second service indication information indicating that the inter-gateway data tunnel is used for intra-group communication; (4) a group identifier, i.e., an internal group identifier of the mobile local area network group corresponding to intra-group communication; and (5) A transmission direction, that is, a direction in which a data packet corresponding to the second charging data is transmitted within the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel.

[0178] Optionally, the charging trigger device may also send a charging trigger condition to the user plane data gateway, so that the user plane data gateway can send charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel to the charging trigger device when the charging trigger condition is met.

[0179] Step 361: A charging trigger device sends a charging request message to a charging processing device, where the request message includes charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0180] In particular, the charging trigger device constructs a charging request message, where the request message carries charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel. In a scenario where the charging processing device provides a service-based interface, the request message can be a charging resource creation request message, a charging resource update request message, or a charging resource deletion request message.

[0181] Step 362: The billing processing device performs billing processing on the billing information of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0182] In detail, the charging processing device receives the charging request message in step 361, obtains charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel by parsing the charging request message, and then performs one or more of the following operations.

[0183] (1) The charging processing device determines, based on the tunnel information, that the charging request message includes charging information for a data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel (thereby distinguishing it from charging information for a member data connection session).

[0184] (2) The charging processing device determines, based on the second service indication information, that the data inter-gateway tunnel is used for the intra-group communication, determines a charging rate corresponding to the data inter-gateway tunnel, and then applies the charging rate to charging processing of the second charging data. Optionally, the charging processing device stores the second service indication information, for example, stores the second service indication information according to an identifier of the data inter-gateway tunnel, or stores the second service indication information according to an identifier of a charging resource of the data inter-gateway tunnel.

[0185] (3) The charging processing device determines an account corresponding to a mobile local area network group served by the inter-data gateway tunnel based on the group identifier, or the charging processing device records the group identifier in a charging data record of the inter-data gateway tunnel, or the charging processing device queries an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performs charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier (e.g., the external group identifier is recorded in the charging data record of the inter-data gateway tunnel). Optionally, the charging processing device stores the group identifier, for example, stores the group identifier according to an identifier of the inter-data gateway tunnel, or stores the group identifier according to an identifier of a charging resource of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0186] (4) The charging processing device performs charging processing on the second charging data based on the transmission direction, for example, in the account debit process, a charging rate corresponding to the transmission direction is used (it is assumed that the charging rate varies with the transmission direction), or the usage amount and the transmission direction are written into the charging data record, or a charging rate determined based on the usage amount and the transmission direction is written into the charging data record.

[0187] The charging processing device generates a charging processing result of the inter-data gateway tunnel based on one or more of the above operations, for example, the charging processing result includes an granted quota, an indication information indicating that the usage amount has been successfully debited, or an indication information indicating that the usage amount has been written to the charging data record.

[0188] Step 363: The charging processing device sends a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the response message includes the charging processing result of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0189] In particular, the charging processing device constructs a charging response message and sends the charging response message to the charging trigger device, which carries the charging processing result of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel, and the charging trigger device then receives the charging response message.

[0190] The charging trigger device and the charging processing device repeatedly execute the process from step 360 to step 363 to continuously execute charging processing for the inter-data gateway tunnel, and execute charging processing for another inter-data gateway tunnel in the mobile local area network.

[0191] Step 399: The billing processing device performs billing processing for the mobile local area network group.

[0192] This step is optional. When the charging mode is offline charging, in the above process, the charging processing device stores charging data records of the data connection sessions of different member user devices in different time periods and charging data records of the tunnels between different data gateways in different time periods, and the charging processing device associates the charging data records based on a group identifier to generate a charging data record of a mobile local area network group.

[0193] The charging processing device performs various association operations based on the group identifier, such as associating charging data records of inter-data gateway tunnels with the same group identifier.

[0194] For the operation of associating the charging data records of the data connection sessions of different member user devices, please refer to the relevant description in step 349, and the details will not be repeated here.

[0195] According to the charging method shown in Fig. 3C, the charging processing device can further perform charging processing on the second charging data of the inter-data gateway tunnel based on the related information of the mobile local area network, which can further improve the accuracy of charging and can implement charging based on the used network resources. For details, please refer to another embodiment of the present disclosure, such as the method steps corresponding to Fig. 6.

[0196] FIG. 4A is a structural diagram of a third communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system includes a CHF device 401, an SMF device 402, and a 5G local area network managed by the SMF device 402. The 5G local area network includes PSA UPF devices 403 to 405, wireless access devices 406a to 409a (not shown in FIG. 4A), and a 5G local area network group. The 5G local area network group includes UEs 410 to 413. The UEs 410 and 411 implement intra-group communication through a local switching forwarding service of the PSA UPF device 403, for details, please refer to the related description of FIG. 4B. The UEs 410 and 412 implement intra-group communication through an N19 tunnel N19-403-404 between the PSA UPF device 403 and the PSA UPF device 404, for details, please refer to the related description of FIG. 4C. The UE 410 and the UE 413 implement intra-group communication through the N6 interface N6-403-DN between the PSA UPF device 403 and the Data Network (DN) 416 and the N6 interface N6-405-DN between the DN 416 and the PSA UPF device 405, see the related description in FIG. 4D for details. The SMF device 402 includes a CTF (equivalent to a charging trigger module), which not only manages the 5G local area network, but also triggers the CHF device to perform charging processing on the charging information of the intra-group communication. Thus, the CHF device 401 is equivalent to the charging processing device described above, and the SMF device 402 is equivalent to the charging trigger device described above. Thus, the communication system includes a second charging processing system provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and is configured to perform charging processing on the 5G local area network service. The charging processing system includes the SMF device 402 and the CHF device 401.

[0197] In Figure 4A, the N4 session is a session between the SMF device and the PSA UPF device, and the SMF device manages the PDU session and the N19 tunnel through this session. For ease of distinction, in this embodiment of the present disclosure, the N4 session used to manage the PDU session is called the "common N4 session" and the N4 session used to manage the N19 tunnel is called the "tunnel N4 session."

[0198] The topology structure of the 5G local area network shown in Figure 4A is an example and is not limited. In practical applications, a 5G local area network may include more or fewer PSA UPF devices, may include more or fewer UEs, and may have various connection relationships between the PSA UPF devices. For example, the PSA UPF device 404 may alternatively be connected to the PSA UPF device 405 via an N19 tunnel. In some scenarios, the "UPF device" may also be referred to as a "UPF network element".

[0199] 4B is a schematic diagram of a first intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network according to this embodiment of the present disclosure. UE410 and UE411 both belong to PSA UPF device 403, and data packets are forwarded between the PDU session of UE410 and the PDU session of UE411 through the local data exchange service of PSA UPF device 403. Thus, the transmission path of data packets of intra-group communication between UE410 and UE411 is UE410⇔(R)AN406a⇔I-UPF device 406i⇔PSA UPF device 403⇔I-UPF device 407i⇔(R)AN407a⇔UE411.

[0200] 4C is a schematic diagram of a second intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network according to this embodiment of the present disclosure. UE 410 and UE 412 belong to PSA UPF device 403 and PSA UPF device 404, respectively, and data packets are forwarded between the PDU session of UE 410 and the PDU session of UE 412 through the N19 tunnel between PSA UPF device 403 and PSA UPF device 404. Thereby, the transmission path of the data packet of the intra-group communication between UE 410 and UE 412 is UE 410 ⇔ (R) AN 406a ⇔ I-UPF device 406i ⇔ PSA UPF device 403 ⇔ PSA UPF device 404 ⇔ I-UPF device 408i ⇔ (R) AN 408a ⇔ UE 412.

[0201] 4D is a schematic diagram of a third intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network according to this embodiment of the present disclosure. UE410 and UE413 belong to PSA UPF device 403 and PSA UPF device 405, respectively, and data packets are forwarded between the PDU session of UE410 and the PDU session of UE413 via DN416. Thus, the transmission path of data packets of intra-group communication between UE410 and UE413 is UE410⇔(R)AN406a⇔I-UPF device 406i⇔PSA UPF device 403⇔DN416⇔PSA UPF device 405⇔I-UPF device 409i⇔(R)AN409a⇔UE413.

[0202] 5A and 5B are flow charts of a third charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This charging method is used to perform charging for 5G local area network services. Unless otherwise specified, "SMF" refers to the SMF device 402 in FIG. 4A, "CHF" refers to the CHF device 401 in FIG. 4A, "5G local area network group" refers to the 5G local area network group in FIG. 4A, "UE" refers to the UE 410, "UPF" refers to the PSA UPF device 403, and "PDU session" refers to the PDU session 410P. This method procedure mainly includes the following steps:

[0203] Step 501: The SMF receives a PDU session setup request message sent from the UE and determines that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication in a 5G local area network group.

[0204] In detail, when a 5G local area network application on the UE runs and the UE needs to access the 5G local area network, the UE sends a first PDU session setup request message to an Access Management Function (AMF) device to request to create a PDU session. Then, the AMF device sends a second PDU session setup request message to the SMF based on the received first PDU session setup request message. Examples of the two request messages are as follows: 1stPDUSessionCreateRequest { / / PDU session setup request message sent from UE to AMF device “UEID”:“UE410” / / UEId51, identifier of UE410 “DNN”:“DNN415” / / Dnn51, the identifier of the data network corresponding to the 5G local area network “S-NSSAI”:“S-NSSAI415” / / S-nssai51, the identifier of the network slice corresponding to the 5G local area network } 2ndPDUSessionCreateRequest { / / PDU session setup request message sent from AMF device to SMF “UEID”:“UE410” / / UEId51 “SESID”:“SES410P” / / SesId51, Identifier of the PDU session “DNN”:“DNN415” / / Dnn51, the identifier of the data network corresponding to the 5G local area network “S-NSSAI”:“S-NSSAI415” / / S-nssai51, the identifier of the network slice corresponding to the 5G local area network }

[0205] "S-NSSAI" is Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information and carries an identifier of the network slice corresponding to the 5G local area network.

[0206] Optionally, the UE may read Dnn51 and S-nssai51 from locally stored configuration information about the 5G local area network to construct a first PDU session setup request message.

[0207] In detail, the SMF receives a second PDU session setup request message, obtains the UEID, Dnn51, and S-nssai51 by parsing, obtains subscription information of the UE from the integrated data management device by querying using the UEID, Dnn51, and S-nssai51 as query conditions, and further determines based on the subscription information that the PDU session being requested to be created is to be used for intra-group communication in the 5G local area network.

[0208] The process by which the SMF triggers the UPF to set up a PDU session is conventional and will not be described in detail again.

[0209] Step 502: The SMF sends a charging resource creation request message to the CHF, where the request message carries SesId51, UEId51, SrvInd51, and GrpId51.

[0210] In detail, the SMF constructs a charging resource creation request message (e.g., ChargingDataRequest[Create] or ChargingResourceCreateRequest) and sends the charging resource creation request message to the CHF to request the CHF to create a charging resource for the PDU session. The request message carries SesId51, UEId51, SrvInd51, and GrpId51, where SrvInd51 is a first service indication information generated by the SMF and indicates that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication, GrpId51 is an identifier allocated by the SMF to the 5G local area network group, and both SrvInd51 and GrpId51 are optional.

[0211] An example of the charging resource creation request message is as follows: ChargingResourceCreateRequest{ “UEID”:“UE410” / / UEId51, UE identifier “SESID”:“SES410P” / / SesId51, Identifier of the PDU session “SRVIND”: “For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd51, the first service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier }

[0212] The UEId51 is a 5G local area network group member identifier, and in particular may be a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI) or an international mobile subscriber identifier (subscription permanent identifier (SUPI)).

[0213] Step 503: The CHF creates a charging resource and stores the SrvInd51 and GrpId51.

[0214] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource creation request message, obtains SesId51, UEId51, SrvInd51 and GrpId51 through parsing, and further performs the following operations:

[0215] (1) Determine that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication based on SrvInd51. If the charging resource creation request message does not include SrvInd51, the CHF may inquire about the subscription information of the UE based on UEId51, determine that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication based on the subscription information, and generate indication information SrvInd51.

[0216] (2) Optionally, perform access authentication for the UE to determine that the UE is authorized to use the intra-group communication service provided by the 5G local area network. For example, the CHF may inquire subscription information of the UE based on the UEId51, and further determine whether the UE is authorized to use the intra-group communication service provided by the 5G local area network. In another example, the CHF may search for an account corresponding to the 5G local area network group based on the GrpId51, and then determine whether the UE is authorized to use the intra-group communication service provided by the 5G local area network based on the balance status of the account. If the charging resource creation request message does not include the GrpId51, the CHF may inquire subscription information of the UE based on the UEId51, and determine the identifier GrpId51 of the 5G local area network group based on the subscription information.

[0217] (3) Create a corresponding charging resource for the PDU session and assign the identifier ResId51 to the charging resource.

[0218] Optionally, the CHF further stores said received or determined SrvInd51 and GrpId51, for example, storing SrvInd51 according to GrpId51 and ResId51.

[0219] Step 504: The CHF sends a charging resource creation response message to the SMF, where the response message carries ResId51.

[0220] In particular, the CHF constructs a charging resource creation response message (e.g., ChargingDataResponse[Create] or ChargingResourceCreateResponse) and sends the charging resource creation response message to the SMF, where the response message carries ResId51.

[0221] An example of the charging resource creation response message is as follows: ChargingResourceCreateResponse{ “RESID”:“RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the charging resource for the PDU session }

[0222] In response, the SMF receives a charging resource creation response message and obtains ResId51 by parsing the response message. This allows the usage of the PDU session to be subsequently reported based on ResId51, and the SMF may also determine that the access authentication for the UE is successful based on the response message. That is, the CHF allows the UE to perform intra-group communication based on network devices in the 5G local area network, and then delivers charging rules to the UPF via a common N4 session (i.e., a PDU session-oriented N4 session different from the N19 tunnel-oriented N4 session). Here, the charging rules include a packet detection rule (PDR) and a usage reporting rule (URR). In a possible solution, the PDR and URR instruct the UPF to detect and report the usage of local forwarding, forwarding via the N6 interface, or forwarding via the N19 tunnel.

[0223] Step 505: The SMF determines the quota application amount RSU51, the intra-group transfer method Fwd51, and the intra-group communication mode Com51.

[0224] In detail, the SMF determines a quota application amount RSU51 (eg, 5M) based on local configuration information or a charging policy provided by a policy control device, and generates quota application information.

[0225] Optionally, the SMF further determines an intra-group forwarding method Fwd51 of the data packet corresponding to the quota application amount RSU51. Exemplary values ​​and corresponding meanings of the intra-group forwarding method Fwd51 are as follows: Local indicates local forwarding via the PSA UPF, N19 indicates forwarding via the PSA-UPF tunnel N19, and N6 indicates forwarding via the PSA UPF-DN interface N6.

[0226] Optionally, the SMF further determines an intra-group communication mode Com51 of the UE. Exemplary values ​​and corresponding meanings of the intra-group communication mode Com51 are as follows: "Unicast" indicates unicast, "Multicast" indicates multicast, and "Broadcast" indicates broadcast.

[0227] Step 506: The SMF sends a charging resource update request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId51, RSU51, SrvInd51, GrpId51, Fwd51, and Com51.

[0228] In detail, the SMF constructs a charging resource update request message (e.g., ChargingDataRequest[Update] or ChargingResourceUpdateRequest) based on the quota application amount RSU51 determined in step 505, and sends the charging resource update request message to the CHF to request the CHF to update the charging resource of the PDU session, where the request message includes ResId51, RSU51, Fwd51, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com51.

[0229] An example of the charging resource update request message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateRequest{ “RESID”:“RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the billing resource corresponding to the PDU session "RSU-INF" { / / Quota application information "RG":"RG51" / / RG51, the charging rate group identifier for the PDU session “RSU”:5 / / RSU51, indicating that the quota is 5 megabits (MB) “FWD”:“Local” / / Fwd51, indicates that the intra-group forwarding method is local forwarding via PSA UPF “OTHER”:“...” / / Other descriptive information for quota application } “SRVIND”: “For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd51, the first service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier “COMTYP”:“Multicast” / / Com51, communication mode within a group }

[0230] The parallel relationship between RSU51 and Fwd51 in the charging resource update request message is merely an example and is not limiting. In practical applications, other structure relationships may be used. For example, Fwd51 may be located outside the RSU-INF data structure and may be listed together with SrvInd51, etc.

[0231] Optionally, the charging resource update request message may not include SrvInd51 and GrpId51 to avoid redundant transmission of information if the CHF has already stored SrvInd51 and GrpId51 in step 503 .

[0232] Corresponding to step 505, in a possible technical solution, the charging resource update request message may not include Fwd51 and Com51.

[0233] Step 507: The CHF grants a quota GSU51 corresponding to the quota application amount RSU51.

[0234] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource update request message in step 506, obtains ResId51, RSU51, Fwd51, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com51 from the message by parsing, and then grants a quota GSU51 corresponding to the RSU51.

[0235] In detail, the CHF may perform a rating based on any one of Fwd51, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com51, or any combination thereof, and further grant a corresponding quota GSU51. The CHF may further determine an account corresponding to the 5G local area network group based on GrpId51, and use the account in the process of granting the corresponding quota GSU51 based on RSU51.

[0236] If the received charging resource update request message does not include SrvInd51 or GrpId51, the CHF may obtain the previously locally stored SrvInd51 or GrpId51 based on ResId51.

[0237] Step 508: The CHF sends a charging resource update response message to the SMF, where the response message includes ResId51 and GSU51.

[0238] In particular, the CHF constructs a charging resource update response message (e.g., ChargingDataResponse[Update] or ChargingResourceUpdateResponse) and sends the charging resource update response message to the SMF, where the charging resource update response message includes ResId51 and GSU51.

[0239] An example of the charging resource update response message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateResponse{ “RESID”: “RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the charging resource for the PDU session "GSU-INF" { / / Granted quota information "RG":"RG51" / / RG51, the charging rate group identifier for the PDU session “GSU”:“5M” / / GSU51, indicates that the granted quota amount is 5 megabits (MB). } }

[0240] In response, the SMF receives a charging resource update response message, obtains ResId51 and GSU51 by parsing the response message, and manages the usage of GSU51, i.e., manages the consumption of GSU51 by the PDU session. In a possible solution, the SMF sends GSU51 to the UPF, and the UPF manages the consumption of GSU51 by the PDU session.

[0241] It should be noted that if the charging mode of the PDU session is offline charging, the SMF and CHF do not perform the process from step 505 to step 508 (i.e., the process of applying for quota).

[0242] Step 509: The SMF determines the usage amount USU51, the intra-group forwarding method Fwd52, and the intra-group communication mode Com52.

[0243] In detail, the SMF obtains a usage amount USU 51, a corresponding intra-group forwarding method Fwd 52, and an intra-group communication mode Com 52. Fwd 52 may be the same as Fwd 51 or may be different, and Com 52 may be the same as Com 51 or may be different.

[0244] The SMF may obtain the usage USU 51 through a common N4 session. For example, the SMF generates a corresponding PDR and a corresponding URR based on a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule, and sends the PDR and the URR to the UPF through a common N4 session. The UPF reports the usage USU 51 corresponding to the URR through the common N4 session.

[0245] Step 510: The SMF sends a charging resource update request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId51, USU51, Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com52.

[0246] In particular, the SMF constructs a charging resource update request message based on the USU51, Fwd52, and Com52 determined in step 509, and sends the charging resource update request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId51, USU51, Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com52.

[0247] An example of the charging resource update request message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateRequest{ “RESID”:“RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the charging resource for the PDU session “USU-INF”{ / / Usage information "RG":"RG51" / / RG51, the charging rate group identifier for the PDU session "UL-USU":4 / / USU51, indicates uplink usage is 4 megabits (MB) “DL-USU”: 2 / / USU51, indicates that the downlink usage is 2 megabits (MB) “FWD”:“N19” / / Fwd52, indicates that the intra-group forwarding method is forwarding via PSA-UPF tunnel N19 “OTHER”:“...” / / Other descriptive information about usage } “SRVIND”: “For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd51, the first service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier “COMTYP”:“Multicast” / / Com52, intra-group communication mode }

[0248] The parallel relationship between USU51 and Fwd52 in the charging resource update request message is merely an example and is not limiting. In practical applications, other structure relationships may be used. For example, Fwd52 may be placed outside the USU-INF data structure and may be listed together with SrvInd51, etc.

[0249] Furthermore, if the CHF has already stored SrvInd51 and GrpId51 in step 503, the charging resource update request message may optionally not include SrvInd51 and GrpId51 to avoid redundant transmission of information.

[0250] In a possible technical solution, the charging resource update request message may not include Fwd52 and Com52.

[0251] In a possible technical solution, RG51 may be replaced by an identifier of a data connection service of a different granularity in the PDU session, for example an identifier of a QoS flow.

[0252] Step 511 : The CHF executes the billing process for the USU 51 .

[0253] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource update request message in step 510, obtains ResId51, USU51, Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com52 by parsing, and then performs charging processing for USU51.

[0254] In detail, the CHF may determine a charging rate based on any one or any combination of Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com52, and determine an account corresponding to the 5G local area network group based on GrpId51. If the charging mode is online charging, the CHF performs an account debit to the determined account based on the determined charging rate and USU51, and if the charging mode is offline charging, the CHF records any one or any combination of Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com52 and USU51 in the charging data record of the PDU session.

[0255] If the received charging resource update request message does not contain SrvInd51 or GrpId51, the CHF may obtain the previously locally stored SrvInd51 and GrpId51 based on ResId51.

[0256] Optionally, the CHF may obtain a total usage of the 5G local area network group by accumulating in this step or a subsequent step by using GrpId51 as an association identifier. The total usage may be used to control the QoS of intra-group communication in the 5G local area network group, for example, by performing QoS control on the PDU session. For example, if the values ​​of "GRPID" in multiple ChargingResourceUpdateRequests received by the CHF are all "GRP414", the CHF accumulates the usage in the PDU sessions in these ChargingResourceUpdateRequests to obtain the usage of the 5G local area network group.

[0257] Step 512: The CHF sends a charging resource update response message to the SMF, where the response message includes the ResId 51 and the charging processing result ChgRst 51.

[0258] In detail, the CHF constructs a charging resource update response message and sends the charging resource update response message to the SMF, where the charging resource update response message includes ResId51 and charging processing result ChgRst51. Exemplary values ​​of the charging resource update response message and corresponding meanings are as follows: SucInDeduction indicates that the account debit is successful, and SucInRecording indicates that the charging data record is written successfully.

[0259] An example of the charging resource update response message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateResponse{ “RESID”:“RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the charging resource for the PDU session “CHGRST”:“SucInDeduction”|“SucInRecording” / / ChgRst51 }

[0260] In response, the SMF receives a charging resource update response message, obtains the charging processing result by parsing the response message, and manages the PDU session based on the charging processing result, for example, continuing to allow the PDU session to pass for the continuation of the UE's intra-group communication service.

[0261] It can be understood that the process from step 505 to step 512 is repeatedly performed until it is determined that the PDU session is released, and step 513 is performed.

[0262] Step 513: The SMF decides to delete the charging resource, determines the usage amount USU52, and determines the intra-group transmission method Fwd53 and the intra-group communication mode Com53.

[0263] In detail, the SMF receives a PDU session release request message sent from a UE or another device (e.g., a PCF device), and determines based on the request message that the CHF needs to be triggered to delete previously created charging resources. Because there is an unreported usage, before the PDU session is released, the SMF obtains the usage amount USU52 (assuming the usage amount is 3M), the corresponding intra-group forwarding method Fwd53, and the intra-group communication mode Com53. Fwd53 may be the same as or different from Fwd51 or Fwd52, and Com53 may be the same as or different from Com52 or Com51. For the manner in which the SMF obtains USU52, please refer to the relevant description of step 510. Details will not be repeated here.

[0264] Step 514: The SMF sends a charging resource delete request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId51, USU52, Fwd53, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com53.

[0265] In detail, the SMF constructs a charging resource delete request message based on the USU52, Fwd53, and Com53 determined in step 513, and sends the charging resource delete request message to the CHF to request the CHF to delete the charging resources of the PDU session, where the request message includes ResId51, USU52, Fwd53, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com53.

[0266] An example of the charging resource deletion request message is as follows: ChargingResourceDeleteRequest{ “RESID”:“RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the charging resource for the PDU session “USU-INF”{ / / Usage information "RG":"RG51" / / RG51, the charging rate group identifier for the PDU session "USU":3 / / USU52, indicating 3 megabits (MB) of usage “FWD”:“N6” / / Fwd53, indicates forwarding via UPF-DN interface N6 “OTHER”:“...” / / Other descriptive information about usage } “SRVIND”: “For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd51, the first service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier “COMTYP”:“Unicast” / / Com53, intra-group communication mode }

[0267] Similarly, the billing resource deletion request message may not include SrvInd51 and GrpId51.

[0268] In a possible technical solution, the charging resource deletion request message may not include Fwd53 and Com53.

[0269] Step 515: The CHF performs billing processing on the USU 52 and deletes billing resources.

[0270] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource deletion request message in step 514, obtains ResId51, USU52, Fwd53, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com53 through parsing, and then performs charging processing for USU53. For details, please refer to the related description of step 511.

[0271] If the received charging resource delete request message does not include SrvInd51 or GrpId51, the CHF may obtain the previously locally stored SrvInd51 and GrpId51 based on ResId51.

[0272] After completing the charging process for USU52, the CHF deletes the previously created charging resource corresponding to ResId51 and reclaims the computing resources, such as memory resources or CPU resources, on the CHF occupied by the charging resource.

[0273] Step 516: The CHF sends a charging resource deletion response message to the SMF, where the response message includes ResId51, the charging processing result ChgRst52, and the charging resource deletion result DelRst51.

[0274] In detail, the CHF constructs a charging resource deletion response message and sends the charging resource deletion response message to the SMF, where the charging resource deletion response message includes ResId51, a charging processing result ChgRst52, and a resource deletion result DelRst51. The exemplary value and corresponding meaning of ChgRst52 are the same as those of ChgRst51, and the details are not repeated. The exemplary value and corresponding meaning of DelRst51 are as follows: "SucInDeleting" indicates that the charging resource corresponding to the PDU session has been successfully deleted.

[0275] An example of the charging resource deletion response message is as follows: ChargingResourceDeleteResponse{ “RESID”:“RES410P” / / ResId51, Identifier of the charging resource for the PDU session “CHGRST”:“SucInDeduction”|“SucInDeleting” / / ChgRst52 “DELRST”:“SucInDeleting” / / DelRst51 }

[0276] In response, the SMF receives the charging resource deletion response message, obtains ChgRst52 and DelRst51 by parsing, and accordingly manages the PDU session, for example by releasing the PDU session, to terminate the intra-group communication service of the UE.

[0277] In a possible solution, the SMF may determine the RSU51 and / or USU51 before step 502, so that the charging resource creation request message in step 502 carries the RSU51 and / or USU51. Thus, in step 504, the SMF obtains the GSU51 and / or ChgRst51 from the charging resource creation response message sent from the CHF.

[0278] The above steps 501 to 516 are a charging process for the intra-group communication of the UE 410. Optionally, this method procedure may further include a charging process for the intra-group communication of another UE in the 5G local area network group. An example is as follows:

[0279] Steps 521 to 536 correspond to the charging process of the UE 411 for intra-group communication.

[0280] Optionally, the SMF triggers the CHF to perform charging processing for the intra-group communication of the UE 411. For details, please refer to the process of steps 501 to 516.

[0281] Steps 541 to 556 correspond to the charging process of the UE 412 for intra-group communication.

[0282] Optionally, the SMF triggers the CHF to perform charging processing for the intra-group communication of the UE 412. For details, please refer to the process of steps 501 to 516.

[0283] Steps 561 to 570 correspond to the charging process of the UE 413 for intra-group communication.

[0284] Optionally, the SMF triggers the CHF to perform charging processing for the intra-group communication of the UE 413. For details, please refer to the process of steps 501 to 516.

[0285] It can be understood that the order of the charging processing process for intra-group communications of multiple UEs described above is not fixed and may differ from the order described above, and that the charging processing processes for intra-group communications of different UEs may be performed in parallel.

[0286] Step 599: The CHF performs billing processing for the 5G local area network group.

[0287] If the charging mode of the PDU session is offline charging, in the above process, the CHF stores the charging data records of the PDU sessions of different UEs in different time periods, and the CHF device associates the USUs in these charging data records according to GrpId51, and outputs the bill of the 5G local area network group. An example is as follows:

[0288] The situation for intra-group communication is assumed to be as follows.

[0289] (1) UE410 performs intra-group communication with UE411, UE412, and UE413 in a broadcast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (410P) are 5M, and the forwarding methods include local switching forwarding, forwarding via the N19 tunnel, and forwarding via the N6 interface.

[0290] (2) UE 411 performs intra-group communication with UE 410 and UE 412 in a multicast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (411P) are 3M, and the forwarding manner includes local switching forwarding or forwarding via an N19 tunnel.

[0291] (3) UE 412 performs intra-group communication with UE 411 in a unicast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (412P) are 2M, and the forwarding method includes forwarding via an N19 tunnel.

[0292] (4) UE 413 performs intra-group communication with UE 411 in a unicast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (413P) are 1M, and the transfer method includes transfer via the N6 interface.

[0293] The charging information written by the CHF to the charging data records for a particular period of time is shown in Table 2, and is associated with each other using a common group identifier "GRP414."

[0294] [Table 2]

[0295] "UL" denotes uplink, "DL" denotes downlink, "local" denotes locally switched forwarding, "N19" denotes forwarding via the N19 tunnel, and "N6" denotes forwarding via the N6 interface. It is assumed that the operator sets the local charging rate to R, the N6 charging rate to 2R, and the N19 charging rate to 3R.

[0296] If charging is performed based on end-to-end usage, CHF charges for the uplink usage, ie, for numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 in Table 2, and obtains the following charges: 5M*R+5M*3R+5M*2R+3M*R+3M*3R+2M*3R+1M*2R=50MR

[0297] When billing is performed based on the usage of the N19 tunnel, the CHF bills for the usage of the N19 tunnel, i.e., bills for the usage corresponding to the intra-group transfer method "N19" in Table 2, and obtains the following fees: 5M*3R*2+3M*3R*2+2M*3R*2=60MR

[0298] 6 is a flow chart of a fourth charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This charging method is used to perform charging for 5G local area network services. Unless otherwise specified, "SMF" refers to the SMF device 402 in FIG. 4A, "CHF" refers to the CHF device 401 in FIG. 4A, "5G local area network group" refers to the 5G local area network group in FIG. 4A, "UPF 403" refers to the PSA UPF device 403, and "UPF 404" refers to the PSA UPF device 404. This method procedure mainly includes the following steps:

[0299] Steps 601 to 676 correspond to the charging process of the PDU session from UE 410 to UE 413. These processes are similar to those of steps 501 to 576, and the details will not be repeated. According to charging requirements, this process may not be performed in this method procedure.

[0300] Step 681: The SMF establishes an N19 tunnel between the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404 and generates tunnel information TunInf61.

[0301] In detail, the SMF determines, based on the configuration information of the 5G local area network, that an N19 tunnel needs to be established between the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404 to support intra-group communication in the 5G local area network, and then sends instruction information for establishing the N19 tunnel to the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404 separately to trigger an interaction between the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404 and establish the N19 tunnel.

[0302] Furthermore, the SMF generates tunnel information TunInf 61, where this tunnel information includes at least the identifier TEId 61 allocated by the SMF to the N19 tunnel.

[0303] The following provides further explanation of SMF management and accounting information reporting for N19 tunnels.

[0304] In particular, it is assumed that when an SMF device manages two UPF devices (for 5G local area network communication), in other words, when a UPF device set in a 5G local area network includes two UPF devices, an N19 tunnel is established between the two UPF devices, and the SMF device requests the CHF to create a dedicated charging resource for the N19 tunnel. When generating charging information for the N19 tunnel, the SMF device may obtain charging information for the N19 tunnel from one of the two UPF devices, or may obtain charging information for the N19 tunnel separately from the two UPF devices and combine and de-duplicate the charging information for the N19 tunnel to obtain summarized charging information for the N19 tunnel.

[0305] In detail, when an SMF device manages three or more UPF devices (for 5G local area network communication), in other words, when a UPF device set in a 5G local area network includes three or more UPF devices, it is assumed that an N19 tunnel is established between any two UPF devices, in which case the same UPF may simultaneously establish N19 tunnels with multiple UPF devices, in other words, an SMF device may manage multiple N19 tunnels, and the SMF device may request the CHF to create corresponding charging resources for each N19 tunnel, or request the CHF to create a common charging resource for all N19 tunnels. The method of generating charging information for each N19 tunnel is the same as the method in the above paragraph, and the details will not be repeated.

[0306] It can be understood that in the scenario of creating a dedicated charging resource for an N19 tunnel, the method of creating a charging resource corresponding to a PDU session is the same as the method procedure corresponding to Figure 5A and Figure 5B. Optionally, after the charging resource corresponding to a PDU session is created, the PDR and URR (usage reporting rule) delivered from the SMF to the UPF device via the common N4 session only includes the charging rules of local switching forwarding and forwarding via the N6 interface, and does not include the charging rules of forwarding via the N19 tunnel. The PDR and URR delivered to the UPF device via the tunnel N4 session includes the charging rules of forwarding via the N19 tunnel.

[0307] Step 682: The SMF sends a charging resource creation request message to the CHF, where the request message carries TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0308] In detail, the SMF delivers a charging policy configured locally using a Forwarding Action Rule (FAR), a Packet Detection Rule (PDR), or a Policy Control Function (PCF) device. When it is determined that charging needs to be performed on the usage amount for forwarding through the N19 tunnel, a charging resource creation request message is constructed and the charging resource creation request message is sent to the CHF. Here, this request message includes TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51. SrvInd61 is a second service indication information, indicating that the N19 tunnel corresponding to TunInf61 is used for intra-group communication in the 5G local area network. GrpId51 is described in the method steps corresponding to Figures 5A and 5B, and will not be described in detail again. In a possible solution, this request message may not carry SrvInd61.

[0309] In particular, the SMF may send this request message to the CHF when it delivers an instruction to the UPF to establish an N19 tunnel or when the UPF returns an indication that the N19 tunnel has been successfully established.

[0310] An example of the charging resource creation request message is as follows: ChargingResourceCreateRequest{ "TUN-INF" { / / TunInf61, information about the N19 tunnel “TEID”:“TEID-404-404” / / TEId61, N19 tunnel identifier “OTHER”:“...” / / Other information about the N19 tunnel } “SRVIND”:“For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd61, second service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier }

[0311] Step 683: The CHF creates a charging resource and stores TunInf61, SrvInd51, and GrpId51.

[0312] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource creation request message, obtains TunInf 61, SrvInd 61 and GrpId 51 through parsing, and further performs the following operations:

[0313] (1) Based on SrvInd61, determine that the N19 tunnel corresponding to TunInf61 is used for intra-group communication in the 5G local area network. If the charging resource creation request message does not include SrvInd61, the CHF may generate indication information SrvInd61 by default assuming that the N19 tunnel is used for intra-group communication in the 5G local area network.

[0314] (2) Create a corresponding charging resource for the N19 tunnel and assign the charging resource an identifier ResId61.

[0315] Optionally, the CHF stores the TunInf61 and the GrpId51, and further stores the above-mentioned received or determined SrvInd61. For example, the CHF stores the TunInf61 according to the SrvInd61, the GrpId51, and the ResId61.

[0316] Optionally, after creating charging resources corresponding to the N19 tunnel, the SMF delivers PDRs and / or URRs to UPF devices (such as UPF device 403 and UPF device 404) at the two ends of the N19 tunnel to instruct the UPF to collect charging data within the N19 tunnel.

[0317] It should be noted that the charging resource created for the N19 tunnel is shared across multiple PDU sessions, and all usage transmitted over the N19 tunnel resulting from communication between different UEs is reported to the charging processing device through that charging resource, i.e., the usage is reported using a charging request message (e.g., a charging resource update request message or a charging resource delete request message) carrying a charging resource identifier.

[0318] Step 684: The CHF sends a charging resource creation response message to the SMF, where the response message carries the ResId 61.

[0319] In particular, the CHF constructs a charging resource creation response message and sends the charging resource creation response message to the SMF, where the response message carries ResId61.

[0320] An example of the charging resource creation response message is as follows: ChargingResourceCreateResponse{ “RESID”:“RES403-404” / / ResId61, Identifier of billing resource for N19 tunnel } Step 689: The SMF determines the usage amount USU61 and the transmission direction Dir61.

[0321] In detail, the SMF interacts separately with the UPF device 403 and / or the UPF device 404 via a tunnel N4 session (Group N4 of N19) to obtain from the UPF the usage USU 61 transmitted via the N19 tunnel.

[0322] In detail, for usage reported separately by UPF devices (such as UPF device 403) at the two ends of the N19 tunnel, if there is overlapping usage (i.e., the time period, identifiers of the UPF devices at the two ends, and number of service units are the same for the two usages), the SMF may combine and deduplicate the usages before reporting the usages to the CHF, or the SMF may report the usages, and then the CHF may combine and deduplicate the usages.

[0323] For example, the N19 tunnel is between UPF1 and UPF2, and the following two utilizations are assumed to be overlapping utilizations: USU-INF{ / / Usage information collected by UPF1 during123 / / Time period UPF 1 / / Identifier of the UPF at one end of the N19 tunnel UPF 2 / / Identifier of the UPF at the other end of the N19 tunnel 10 M / / Quantity of service units } USU-INF{ / / Usage information collected by UPF2 during123 / / Time period UPF 1 / / Identifier of the UPF at one end of the N19 tunnel UPF 2 / / Identifier of the UPF at the other end of the N19 tunnel 10 M / / Quantity of service units }

[0324] "Deduplicate" means that one of the two usage amounts is selected and the other is discarded.

[0325] Optionally, the SMF further determines a direction Dir61 in which the data packet corresponding to the USU61 is transmitted in the N19 tunnel. Exemplary values ​​of the direction Dir61 and the corresponding meanings are as follows: “403 to 404” indicates transmission from the UPF device 403 to the UPF device 404, and “404 to 403” indicates transmission from the UPF device 404 to the UPF device 403.

[0326] Step 690: The SMF sends a charging resource update request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId61, USU61, Dir61, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0327] In particular, the SMF constructs a charging resource update request message based on the USU61 and Dir61 determined in step 689, and sends the charging resource update request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId61, USU61, Dir61, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0328] An example of the charging resource update request message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateRequest{ “RESID”:“RES403-404” / / ResId61, Identifier of billing resource for N19 tunnel “USU-INF”{ / / Usage information “USU”:10 / / USU61, indicates usage is 10 megabits (MB) “DIR”:“403-404” / / Dir61 “OTHER”:“...” / / Other descriptive information about usage } "TUN-INF" { / / TunInf61, information about the N19 tunnel “TEID”:“TEID-404-404” / / TEId61, N19 tunnel identifier “OTHER”:“...” / / Other information about the N19 tunnel } “SRVIND”:“For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd61, second service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier }

[0329] The parallel relationship between USU61 and Dir61 in the charging resource update request message is merely an example and is not limiting. In practical applications, other structure relationships may be used. For example, Dir61 may be placed outside the USU-INF data structure and may be listed together with SrvInd61, etc.

[0330] Furthermore, if the CHF has stored TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51 in step 683, optionally the charging resource update request message may not include TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51 to avoid redundant transmission of information.

[0331] In a possible technical solution, the charging resource update request message may not include Dir61.

[0332] Step 691: The CHF executes the billing process for the USU 61.

[0333] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource update request message in step 690, obtains ResId61, USU61, Dir61, TunInf61, SrvInd61 and GrpId51 by parsing, and then performs charging processing for USU61.

[0334] In detail, the CHF may determine a charging rate based on any one of TunInf61, Dir61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51, or any combination thereof, and determine an account corresponding to the 5G local area network group based on GrpId51. If the charging mode is online charging, the CHF performs an account debit to the determined account based on the determined charging rate and USU61, and if the charging mode is offline charging, the CHF records any one of TunInf61, Dir61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51, or any combination thereof, and USU61 in a charging data record corresponding to the N19 tunnel.

[0335] If the received charging resource update request message does not contain TunInf61, SrvInd51, or GrpId51, the CHF may obtain the previously stored TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51 locally based on ResId61.

[0336] Optionally, the CHF may obtain a total usage amount of the 5G local area network group by accumulating in this step or a subsequent step by using GrpId51 as an association identifier. For example, it is assumed that the value of "GRPID" in multiple ChargingResourceUpdateRequests received by the CHF is "GRP414", and the CHF accumulates the usage amounts transmitted through the N19 tunnels in these ChargingResourceUpdateRequests to obtain the usage amount of the 5G local area network group.

[0337] Step 692: The CHF sends a charging resource update response message to the SMF, where the response message includes the ResId 61 and the charging processing result ChgRst 61.

[0338] In detail, the CHF constructs a charging resource update response message and sends the charging resource update response message to the SMF, where the charging resource update response message includes ResId 61 and a charging processing result ChgRst 61. Exemplary values ​​of the charging resource update response message and corresponding meanings are as follows: SucInDeduction indicates that the account debit is successful, and SucInRecording indicates that the charging data record is written successfully.

[0339] An example of the charging resource update response message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateResponse{ “RESID”:“RES403-404” / / ResId61, Identifier of billing resource for N19 tunnel “CHGRST”:“SucInDeduction”|“SucInRecording” / / ChgRst61 }

[0340] In response, the SMF receives the charging resource update response message, obtains the charging processing result by parsing, and manages the N19 tunnel accordingly, for example, removing or releasing the tunnel.

[0341] It can be appreciated that the above process from step 689 to step 692 may be performed repeatedly until it is determined that the N19 tunnel is to be removed or released and step 693 is performed.

[0342] Step 693: The SMF decides to delete the charging resource, determines the usage amount USU62, and determines the transmission direction Dir62.

[0343] In detail, the SMF decides to release the N19 tunnel based on the communication status between the member UEs of the 5G local area network group (e.g., the N19 tunnel has no traffic for T consecutive seconds), and accordingly decides to trigger the CHF to delete the charging resources previously created for the N19 tunnel. Since there is unreported usage, the SMF interacts with the UPF 403 and / or the UPF 404 to determine the usage USU62 transmitted through the N19 tunnel. Optionally, the SMF further determines the direction Dir62 in which the data packet corresponding to the USU62 is transmitted in the N19 tunnel.

[0344] Step 694: The SMF sends a charging resource delete request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId61, USU62, Dir62, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0345] In particular, the SMF constructs a charging resource delete request message based on the USU62 and Dir62 determined in step 693, and sends the charging resource delete request message to the CHF, where the request message includes ResId61, USU62, Dir62, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0346] An example of the charging resource deletion request message is as follows: ChargingResourceUpdateRequest{ “RESID”:“RES403-404” / / ResId61, Identifier of billing resource for N19 tunnel “USU-INF”{ / / Usage information “USU”:7 / / USU62, indicating 7 megabits (MB) of usage “DIR”:“404-403” / / Dir62 “OTHER”:“...” / / Other descriptive information about usage } "TUN-INF" { / / TunInf61, information about the N19 tunnel “TEID”:“TEID-404-404” / / TEId61, N19 tunnel identifier “OTHER”:“...” / / Other information about the N19 tunnel } “SRVIND”:“For 5G LAN group comm” / / SrvInd61, second service indication information “GRPID”:“GRP414” / / GrpId51, group identifier }

[0347] Similarly, a delete charging resource request message may not contain TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51.

[0348] In a possible technical solution, the charging resource deletion request message may not include Dir62.

[0349] Step 695: The CHF executes billing processing for the USU 62 and deletes the billing resources.

[0350] In detail, the CHF receives the charging resource deletion request message in step 694, obtains ResId 61, USU 62, Dir 62, TunInf 61 and GrpId 51 by parsing, and then performs charging processing for USU 62. For details, please refer to the related description of step 691.

[0351] If the received charging resource delete request message does not include TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51, the CHF may obtain the previously stored TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51 locally based on ResId61.

[0352] After completing the charging process for USU 62, the CHF deletes the previously created charging resource corresponding to ResId 61 and reclaims the computing resources, such as memory resources or CPU resources on the CHF, occupied by the charging resource.

[0353] Step 696: The CHF sends a charging resource deletion response message to the SMF, where the response message includes the ResId 61, the charging processing result ChgRst 62, and the charging resource deletion result DelRst 61.

[0354] In detail, the CHF constructs a charging resource deletion response message and sends the charging resource deletion response message to the SMF. The charging resource deletion response message includes ResId61, a charging processing result ChgRst62, and a resource deletion result DelRst61. The exemplary value of ChgRst62 and the corresponding meaning are the same as ChgRst61, and the details are not repeated. The exemplary value of DelRst62 and the corresponding meaning are as follows: "SucInDeleting" indicates that the charging resource corresponding to the N19 tunnel has been successfully deleted.

[0355] An example of the charging resource deletion response message is as follows: ChargingResourceDeleteResponse{ “RESID”:“RES403-404” / / ResId61, Identifier of billing resource for N19 tunnel “CHGRST”:“SucInDeduction”|“SucInDeleting” / / ChgRst62 “DELRST”:“SucInDeleting” / / DelRst61 }

[0356] In response, the SMF receives the charging resource deletion response message, obtains ChgRst62 and DelRst61 by parsing, and controls the N19 tunnel accordingly, for example by closing the N19 tunnel, to terminate the intra-group communication service of the UE.

[0357] In the method steps corresponding to FIG. 6, the CHF creates charging resource A for the PDU session and creates charging resource B for the N19 tunnel. Then, the SMF uses the identifier of charging resource A to report the usage of the PDU session, the usage of the transmission via the local switching service, and the usage of the transmission via the N6 interface, and uses the identifier of charging resource B to report the usage transmitted via the N19 tunnel. This can more comprehensively measure the contribution of the operator's communication network to the communication of the 5G local area network group, and can improve the charging accuracy.

[0358] In a possible solution, the CHF may separately create charging resource A for the PDU session, create charging resource B for the local switched service forwarding path of the UPF device, create charging resource C for the N6 interface forwarding path of the UPF device, and create charging resource D for the UPF device via the N19 tunnel. In this case, the SMF uses the identifier of charging resource A to report the usage of the PDU session, uses the identifier of charging resource B to report the usage of the local switched service forwarding path of the UPF device in the PDU session, uses the identifier of charging resource C to report the usage of the N6 interface forwarding path in the PDU session, and uses the identifier of charging resource D to report the usage of the N19 tunnel forwarding path in the PDU session. For details, please refer to the method steps corresponding to Figure 6. Details will not be repeated here.

[0359] It can be understood that the above “reporting usage using the identifier of charging resource X” means that the identifier of charging resource X, the usage to be reported, and related information about the usage are carried in a charging resource update request message or a charging resource delete request message.

[0360] In the above embodiments, it is assumed that charging information (usage information and / or quota application information) of all UEs in a 5G local area network is processed by the same CHF device.

[0361] In a possible solution, the charging information of all UEs in the 5G local area network is processed by different CHF devices (one advantage of this is to reduce the load on one CHF device and reduce the delay of intra-group communication). In this way, each CHF device only knows the charging information of some member UEs. To perform charging processing for the entire 5G local area network group, the method shown in Figure 7A may be used, or the method shown in Figure 7B may be used.

[0362] 7A is a schematic diagram of a first networking of multiple CHF devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this networking, the SMF device 402 is separately connected to the CHF device 401 and the CHF device 401a, and the CHF device 401 is connected to the CHF device 401a. The SMF devices report charging information of some UEs in a 5G local area network group to the CHF device 401 for processing, and report charging information of other UEs to the CHF device 401a for processing. To perform charging processing (e.g., outputting a bill) for the entire 5G local area network group, the CHF device 401 may send the charging information of the UEs received by the CHF device 401 to the CHF device 401a for combined processing, or the CHF device 401a may send the charging information of the UEs received by the CHF device 401a to the CHF device 401 for combined processing.

[0363] 7B is a schematic diagram of a second networking of multiple CHF devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The SMF device reports charging information of some UEs in a 5G local area network group to the CHF device 401 for processing, and reports charging information of other UEs to the CHF device 401a for processing. To perform charging processing for the entire 5G local area network group, the CHF device 401 and the CHF device 401a send the charging information of the UEs received by each separately to the CHF device 401b for joint processing.

[0364] The above combination process includes using the identifier of the 5G local area network group as an association identifier to perform summary statistics on different billing information having the same identifier of the 5G local area network group.

[0365] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a charging trigger device and a charging processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, all charging trigger devices (or SMF devices such as 402 in Figure 4A) and charging processing devices (or CHF devices such as 401 in Figure 4A) may be implemented using a general-purpose computer hardware structure shown in Figure 8, including a processor 801, a memory 802, a bus 803, an input device 804, an output device 805, and a network interface 806. The input device 804 and the output device 805 are optional.

[0366] In particular, the memory 802 may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, such as, for example, read-only memory and / or random access memory. The memory 802 may store an operating system, applications, other program modules, executable code, and program data.

[0367] The input device 804 may be configured to input information to enable a system administrator to operate and manage the charging trigger device and the charging processing device, for example, to configure charging parameters on the charging processing device, set a default usage acquisition scheme or a default quota application amount on the charging trigger device, etc. The input device 804 may be a keyboard or pointing device, such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad, microphone, joystick, gamepad, satellite television dish, scanner, or similar device, and may be connected to the processor 801 via the bus 803.

[0368] The output device 805 may be configured to output information to enable a system administrator to operate and manage the charging trigger device and the charging processing device, for example, displaying a charging policy on the charging processing device and displaying a default usage acquisition scheme or a default quota application amount on the charging trigger device. In addition to the monitor, the output device 805 may be another peripheral output device, such as a loudspeaker and / or a printing device, and may be connected to the processor 801 via the bus 803.

[0369] Both the charging trigger device and the charging processing device may be connected to a network, such as connected to the Internet, via a network interface 806. In a networked environment, the computer-executable instructions stored in the charging trigger device and the charging processing device may be stored in a remote storage device and are not limited to being stored locally.

[0370] When the processor 801 in the charging trigger device executes the executable code or application stored in the memory 802, the charging trigger device can execute the method steps corresponding to the charging trigger device (or SMF device) of all the above embodiments, such as steps 310, 311, 360, 361, 501, 502, 505, 681, and 682. For detailed execution process, please refer to the above embodiments. Here, the details will not be repeated.

[0371] When the processor 801 in the charging processing device executes the executable code or application stored in the memory 802, the charging processing device can execute the method steps corresponding to the charging processing device (or CHF device) of all the above embodiments, such as steps 312, 362, 503, 507, 683, 691, and 695. For detailed execution process, please refer to the above embodiments. Here, the details will not be repeated.

[0372] 9 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a charging processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging processing device is configured to communicate with a charging trigger device and perform charging processing for a mobile local area network service. Here, the mobile local area network service is a service in which a telecommunications carrier's network provides intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway managed by the charging trigger device. In detail, the charging processing device includes a receiving module 901, a processing module 903, and a sending module 902.

[0373] The receiving module 901 is configured to receive a charging request message from a charging trigger device, where the charging request message includes local area network charging information, and the local area network charging information is charging information related to a mobile local area network service. For detailed execution process, please refer to the description of the steps on the charging processing device (or CHF device) side of the above embodiment, such as steps 312, 362, 503, 507, 683, 691, and 695.

[0374] The processing module 903 is configured to perform charging processing on the received local area network charging information to obtain a charging processing result. For detailed execution process, please refer to the description of the steps on the charging processing device (or CHF device) side in the above embodiment, such as steps 312, 362, 503, 507, 683, 691, and 695.

[0375] The sending module 902 is configured to send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the charging response message includes the obtained charging processing result. For detailed execution process, please refer to the description of the steps on the charging processing device (or CHF device) side in the above embodiment, such as the description of the actions performed by the charging processing device (or CHF device) in steps 313, 363, 504, 508, 512, 516, and 684.

[0376] 10 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a charging trigger device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The charging trigger device is configured to communicate with a charging processing device and perform charging processing for a mobile local area network service. Here, the mobile local area network service is a service that a telecommunication carrier provides intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway managed by the charging trigger device. In detail, the charging trigger device includes an acquisition module 1003, a sending module 1001, and a receiving module 1002.

[0377] The acquiring module 1003 is configured to acquire local area network charging information, where the local area network charging information is charging information related to mobile local area network services. For detailed execution process, please refer to the description of the steps on the charging trigger device (or SMF device) side in the above embodiment, such as steps 310, 360, 361, 501, 505, 681, and 689.

[0378] The sending module 1001 is configured to send a charging request message to a charging processing device, where the charging request message includes the acquired local area network charging information. For detailed execution process, please refer to the description of the steps on the charging trigger device (or SMF device) side in the above embodiment, such as steps 310, 311, 360, 361, 501, 502, 505, 681 and 682.

[0379] The receiving module 1002 is configured to receive a charging response message from the charging processing device, where the charging response message includes a charging processing result, and the charging processing result is a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the local area network charging information. For detailed execution process, please refer to the description of the steps on the charging trigger device (or SMFF device) side in the above embodiment, such as the description of the actions performed by the charging trigger device (or SMF device) in steps 313, 363, 504, 508, 512, 516, and 684.

[0380] The charging processing device shown in FIG. 9 and the charging trigger device shown in FIG. 10 are each presented in the form of a functional module. The device may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor, and a memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or another device capable of providing the above functions. In a simple embodiment, a person skilled in the art may understand that these devices may alternatively be in the form shown in FIG. 8. For example, the receiving module 901, the transmitting module 1001, the transmitting module 902, and the receiving module 1002 may all be implemented using the processor 801 and the memory 802 of FIG. 8. For example, the function of the receiving module 901 receiving the charging request message and the function of the transmitting module 1001 transmitting the charging request message may both be implemented by the processor 801 executing the code stored in the memory 802.

[0381] Those skilled in the art may understand that in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. In order to clearly explain the interchangeability between hardware and software, the above generally describes the composition and steps of each example according to function. Whether these functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the individual application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the described functions for each individual application, but such implementation shall not be considered to be outside the scope of the present disclosure.

[0382] For ease and simplicity of description, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the detailed operation processes of the above systems, devices and units can be referred to the corresponding processes of the above method embodiments, and the details will not be described repeatedly here.

[0383] In some embodiments provided in the present disclosure, it can be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the division into units may be merely a division of logical functions, and may be another division in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not implemented. Furthermore, the shown or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units, or electrical connections, mechanical connections, or other forms of connections.

[0384] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separated, and the parts shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one location, or may be distributed over multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0385] Furthermore, the functional units in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, each of the units may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0386] When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the parts that contribute to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product includes some instructions that are stored in a storage medium and instruct a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The above storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0387] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Any variation or replacement that is easily apparent to a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure shall be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be determined by the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of billing, comprising: sending a charging request message by a charging trigger device to a charging processing device, the charging request message including local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to a mobile local area network service providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway, the local area network charging information including charging information and a group identifier of a member data connection session, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user device in the mobile local area network group that uses the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, the group identifier included in the charging information being used for associating with other charging information having the same group identifier; receiving, by the charging trigger device, a charging response message from the charging processing device, the charging response message including a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of a charging process performed on the local area network charging information, and the charging information including the group identifier in the charging request is associated with other charging information including the same group identifier; The method includes:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, the first service indication information indicating that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

3. The charging information of the member data connection session further includes first charging data, the first charging data including a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session; The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the billing processing result includes a result of a billing process performed on the first billing data.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the charging information for the member data connection session further includes an intra-group transport method corresponding to the first charging data.

5. A method of billing, comprising: receiving, by a charging processing device, a charging request message from a charging trigger device, the charging request message including local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to a mobile local area network service providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway, the local area network charging information including charging information and a group identifier of a member data connection session, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user device in the mobile local area network group that uses the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, the group identifier included in the charging information being used for associating with other charging information having the same group identifier; sending a charging response message by a charging processing device to a charging trigger device, the charging response message including a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of a charging process performed on the local area network charging information, and the charging information including the group identifier in the charging request is associated with other charging information including the same group identifier; The method includes:

6. The charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, and the step of performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes: The method of claim 5, comprising determining, by the charging processing device, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

7. The group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the step of performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device comprises: determining, by the billing processing device, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; recording, by the charging processing device, the group identifier in a charging data record for the member data connection session; using the group identifier as an association identifier to associate the usage amounts of the members by the billing processing device, and accumulating the usage amounts of the mobile local area network group; or querying, by the charging processing device, an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier; 7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, comprising any one of the following:

8. A method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the charging information of the member data connection session includes first charging data, the first charging data including a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, the step of performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes a step of performing charging processing on the first charging data by the charging processing device, and the charging processing result includes a result of performing charging processing on the first charging data.

9. The charging information of the member data connection session further includes an intra-group transmission method corresponding to the first charging data, and the step of performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes:

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining, by the charging processing device, a charging rate for the first charging data based on the intra-group forwarding scheme; or recording, by the charging processing device, the first charging data and an intra-group forwarding scheme corresponding to the first charging data in a charging data record for the member data connection session.

10. A charging trigger device including a processor and a memory, the memory is configured to store program instructions; The processor is configured to call and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, causing the charging trigger device to perform the method of charging processing according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

11. A billing processing device including a processor and a memory, the memory is configured to store program instructions; The processor is configured to call and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, causing the billing processing device to perform the billing processing method according to any one of claims 5 to 9.

12. A charging processing system comprising the charging trigger device according to claim 10 and the charging processing device according to claim 11.

13. A computer readable storage medium containing instructions which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the method of billing processing according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

14. A method of billing, comprising: sending a charging request message by a charging trigger device to a charging processing device, the charging request message including local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to a mobile local area network service providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway, the local area network charging information including charging information and a group identifier of a member data connection session, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user device in the mobile local area network group that uses the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, the group identifier included in the charging information being used for associating with other charging information having the same group identifier; receiving, by the charging processing device, the charging request message from the charging trigger device; sending, by the charging processing device, a charging response message to the charging trigger device, the charging response message including a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of a charging process performed on the local area network charging information, and the charging information including the group identifier in the charging request is associated with other charging information including the same group identifier; receiving, by the charging trigger device, the charging response message from the charging processing device; The method includes:

15. The charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, the first service indication information indicating that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group, and the step of performing the charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes: The method of claim 14, comprising determining, by the charging processing device, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication within the mobile local area network group.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the step of performing the charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes: determining, by the billing processing device, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier; recording, by the charging processing device, the group identifier in a charging data record for the member data connection session; using the group identifier as an association identifier to associate the usage amounts of the members by the billing processing device, and accumulating the usage amounts of the mobile local area network group; or querying, by the charging processing device, an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier; 16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, comprising any one of the following:

17. The charging information of the member data connection session further includes first charging data, the first charging data including a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session; 17. A method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the step of performing the charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes the step of performing charging processing on the first charging data by the charging processing device, and the charging processing result includes a result of performing the charging processing on the first charging data.

18. The charging information of the member data connection session further includes an intra-group transmission method corresponding to the first charging data, and the step of performing the charging process on the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device includes:

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: determining, by the charging processing device, a charging rate for the first charging data based on the intra-group forwarding scheme; or recording, by the charging processing device, the first charging data and an intra-group forwarding scheme corresponding to the first charging data in a charging data record for the member data connection session.

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