Charging Filtering Function for 5G CDR Bandwidth Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rapid growth of network traffic in 5G cellular networks overwhelms existing north-bound charging systems due to the large volume of charging data records (CDRs) generated, leading to bandwidth overload and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A Charging Filtering Function (CFF) is introduced to manage rules that control the provision of CDRs to billing systems, filtering out unnecessary traffic by identifying and applying usage type, rate-limit type, and custom rules based on user equipment identification, location, and other criteria, thereby reducing the load on billing systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all charging data records are provided to billing systems, then complete billing information is available, but bandwidth overload and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary charging data records from the data stream before transmission to billing systems. The CFF identifies and filters out redundant CDRs based on filtering rules, extracting only the essential billing information that needs to be transmitted, thereby reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining billing completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different filtering criteria and rules to different types of charging data records. Instead of uniformly processing all CDRs, the system applies localized filtering quality control based on the specific characteristics and requirements of different data records, optimizing bandwidth usage while ensuring necessary billing information is preserved.
2Loss of energy
If filtering rules are applied to reduce CDR volume, then bandwidth requirements are reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Charging Filtering Function as an intermediary component between the charging system and billing systems. This mediator applies filtering rules to reduce CDR volume before transmission, managing bandwidth consumption while centralizing the complexity in a dedicated filtering layer that simplifies the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the charging data processing system into distinct functional components: the CFF for filtering, the charging system for CDR generation, and billing systems for processing. This segmentation allows the filtering functionality to be independently managed and optimized, reducing the complexity burden on individual components.
3Measurement precision
If CDR transmission frequency is increased, then billing accuracy is improved, but operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial filtering action by selectively transmitting only necessary CDRs rather than all generated records. The filtering rules determine which CDRs require transmission for billing accuracy, avoiding excessive transmission of redundant data, thereby reducing operational costs while maintaining required billing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
In one example, a charging filtering function may obtain a request for one or more rules that control whether or when one or more charging data records associated with a user equipment are to be provided to one or more billing systems. The request includes an identification of the user equipment. Based on the identification of the user equipment, the charging filtering function may identify the one or more rules. The charging filtering function may provide the one or more rules to control whether or when the one or more charging data records associated with the user equipment are to be provided to the one or more billing systems.