Home Agent Session Duration Accounting for Prepaid MIP
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for prepaid packet data services struggle to accurately determine the duration of communication sessions, especially when sessions terminate due to various events, leading to inconsistencies in duration-based accounting.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to determine the end of a packet data communication session based on the last detected user activity, excluding network-initiated terminations, and measuring session duration from the establishment of the session to this last user activity, which includes packet data communications and signaling messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If session duration is measured from establishment to termination event, then accounting coverage is complete, but measurement precision deteriorates due to inconsistent termination event handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter used to define session end time based on the type of termination event. For user-initiated terminations, the end time is set to the termination event time. For network-initiated terminations, the end time is set to the last detected user activity time. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by providing precise measurement for different termination scenarios without requiring a single complex handling mechanism.
2Measurement precision
If network-initiated terminations are included in duration measurement, then accounting completeness is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to exclusion of inactive periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamic measurement based on the termination scenario. The system dynamically adjusts what constitutes 'user activity' and when the session ends. For network-initiated terminations, it dynamically excludes inactive periods by using the last detected user activity as the measurement endpoint rather than the network termination time. This dynamic approach maintains accounting accuracy while avoiding penalizing users for inactive periods.
3Measurement precision
If last detected user activity is used to define session end, then measurement precision is improved for prepaid accounting, but device complexity increases due to continuous monitoring requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by having the network infrastructure automatically detect and record user activity without requiring additional dedicated monitoring systems. The existing packet data communication infrastructure naturally captures user activity information, which is then used to determine session end times for prepaid accounting. This self-service approach improves measurement precision while avoiding the need for complex separate monitoring mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Duration based accounting for a packet data service, for example offered as a prepaid mobile IP (MIP) service through a public mobile wireless communication network, uses last detected user activity to determine the end of each session for accounting purposes. The accounting policy or algorithm defines user activity so as to include receipt of signaling related to the MIP session, such as signaling related to a termination by the user or the user's mobile station, in addition to packet data routed for the mobile station. If a session ends due to a network termination, e.g. binding expires or the network disconnects upon prepaid quota exhaustion, then the last user activity used for accounting purposes is the last data packet communication to/from the mobile station or the last received MIP session-related signaling message. For example, if MIP signaling terminates the session, then the session duration runs until receipt of that signaling.