Roaming Traffic Charging System for Alternative Provider Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current roaming charging solutions do not support the separation of mobile roaming contracts from national mobile services as required by new EU regulations, limiting consumer choice and competition in international roaming.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for performing roaming traffic charging that allows user equipment to roam with different alternative roaming providers, where the system receives and processes roaming traffic-related information to determine if it satisfies specific charging conditions, forwarding the request to an alternative roaming provider's OCS for charging if conditions are met, thereby enabling independent roaming service selection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If roaming traffic charging is performed through the home network operator's OCS, then the charging process is simple and direct, but the user cannot choose alternative roaming providers and cannot comply with the new EU regulation requiring separation of roaming contracts from national mobile services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the roaming charging process by introducing a roaming partner selection module that separates the charging request handling from the actual charging execution. The system divides the OCS functionality between home network operator's OCS and alternative roaming provider's OCS, allowing users to select different roaming providers while maintaining separate charging pathways. This segmentation enables multiple roaming providers to be supported without consolidating all charging logic in one place.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a roaming partner selection module as an intermediary between the user equipment and the charging systems. This module receives charging requests, determines the selected roaming partner based on user preferences and regulations, and routes requests to the appropriate OCS. The intermediary layer manages the complexity of multiple roaming providers without requiring changes to the underlying charging infrastructure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the roaming contract is separated from the home network operator contract as required by EU regulation, then users gain choice and competition, but the charging system becomes more complex requiring coordination with alternative roaming providers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the roaming service into independent components: home network operator's core network, alternative roaming provider's network, and a roaming partner selection module. This segmentation allows the roaming contract to be separated from the home network operator contract while maintaining manageable system architecture. Each component operates independently but coordinates through standardized interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The roaming partner selection module is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple roaming providers and different charging scenarios. It can route charging requests to different OCS instances based on user selection and regulatory requirements, providing a unified interface for diverse roaming arrangements without requiring separate systems for each provider.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple alternative roaming providers are supported, then user choice and market competition increase, but the charging request routing and coordination becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The roaming partner selection module serves as an intermediary that simplifies the management of multiple roaming providers. It maintains a registry of available roaming partners and automatically routes charging requests to the appropriate provider based on user selection and service type. This intermediary layer shields users and network operators from the complexity of managing multiple providers, presenting a unified selection interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the roaming partner selection module continuously monitors charging request outcomes and user selections. Based on this feedback, it optimizes routing decisions and provides real-time information to users about available roaming partners. The feedback loop enables dynamic adjustment of routing strategies while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An objective of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for performing roaming traffic charging for a user equipment; receiving a roaming traffic charging request about the user equipment, wherein the user equipment roams to a visited network, the roaming traffic charging request includes roaming traffic-related information of the user equipment; if the roaming traffic-related information satisfies a first charging condition, forwarding the roaming traffic charging request to an OCS of an alternative roaming provider corresponding to the user equipment so as to perform the roaming traffic charging for the user equipment, wherein the alternative roaming provider corresponds to a home network of the user equipment. Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides an innovative online charging solution to support an alternative roaming provider, which is based on the new EU roaming regulations and independent from H-MNO, for roaming tariff; enables operators to support new EU roaming regulations and fulfill most of EU Commission's expectations without causing a great impact to the core network.