Composite Service Charging Control via Usage Report Modification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In telecommunications networks, the charging system evaluates composite services separately, leading to inflexible charging that does not account for the context or interactions between constituent services, resulting in uncontrolled billing for end users.
Innovation Solution
An interface node intercepts usage reports from service nodes and modifies charging indicators based on control information from a control node, generating a further usage report that instructs the charging system to perform charging according to the composite service context, allowing for flexible charging of composite services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the charging system evaluates usage information of each service separately, then the charging process is simple and independent, but the charging becomes inflexible and does not account for the context or interactions between constituent services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an interface node as an intermediary between service nodes and the charging system. This interface node intercepts usage reports from service nodes, modifies charging indicators based on control information, and generates further usage reports for the charging system. This mediator enables flexible charging of composite services by contextualizing usage information without requiring the charging system to directly process complex service compositions, thus resolving the contradiction between charging flexibility and processing complexity.
2Reliability
If separate service processing is used, then the charging system can handle services independently, but end users are exposed to uncontrolled separate charging by each constituent service
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the interface node receives control information indicating that a constituent service invocation is associated with a composite service invocation. Based on this feedback, the interface node modifies charging indicators in usage reports to ensure that the charging system applies appropriate charging policies for composite services. This feedback loop ensures reliable charging control while maintaining billing transparency for end users, as the charging system can now distinguish between standalone and composite service usage.
3Productivity
If the charging system processes each service independently, then the processing is straightforward, but the end user is billed for individual services rather than the composite service context
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the interface node intercept and modify usage reports before they reach the charging system. The interface node proactively changes service identifiers in charging indicators based on control information about composite service associations. This preliminary modification ensures that the charging system receives contextualized information without needing to perform complex analysis, thus maintaining processing efficiency while preserving service context information.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a
Figure 2b
AI summary
Common methods for charging for a composite service suffer from a lack of flexibility. Therefore a method for controlling a charging of a composite service in a telecommunications network is described. The composite service comprises an invocation of a constituent service. The telecommunications network comprises a control node (CN204) for controlling the composite service, a service node (SN202) for providing the constituent service, and a charging system (CS206) for performing the charging. The method comprises the steps of receiving from the service node (SN202) a first usage report comprising charging indicators related to the invocation of the constituent service, receiving from the control node (CN204) control information related to the composite service, the control information indicating that the invocation of the constituent service is associated to the invocation of the composite service, generating a further usage report by changing the charging indicators according to the control information, and sending the further usage report to the charging system (CS206) to instruct the charging system (CS206) to perform the charging according to the further usage report.