Roaming Charging System Using Blockchain for Fee Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current roaming charging methods fail to ensure accuracy in roaming fee calculation for home carriers due to potential tampering of service statistics and lack of verification mechanisms, leading to unreliable fee settlements between home and visited carriers.
Innovation Solution
A roaming charging system utilizing a blockchain network to store and verify roaming service statistics and account balances, employing digital signatures to generate abstracts and ensure data integrity, allowing home carriers to accurately verify and obtain roaming fees.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional visited charging based on visited routing is used, then roaming service can be provided, but the home carrier cannot verify the accuracy of roaming fee and service volume information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain network as an intermediary between the home carrier and visited carrier. The blockchain stores service volume information and charging data in a distributed, immutable ledger, enabling the home carrier to verify roaming fee accuracy without direct trust in the visited carrier's database. This intermediary mechanism resolves the verification reliability issue while maintaining system architecture clarity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the service volume information and charging data on the blockchain network. Instead of relying on the original data stored in the visited carrier's database (which can be tampered with), the system copies this data to the blockchain where it becomes immutable and verifiable by the home carrier, ensuring data integrity without requiring complex verification systems.
2Measurement precision
If service statistics are stored in the visited carrier's database, then roaming service can be tracked, but the data may be tampered with and accuracy cannot be guaranteed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potential harm of data tampering into a benefit by using blockchain's immutable nature. The service volume information, which could be tampered with in traditional databases, is instead recorded on the blockchain where any tampering attempt would be immediately detectable and preventable. This transforms the vulnerability into a security feature, ensuring measurement precision while protecting against data tampering.
3Reliability
If blockchain technology is introduced to verify roaming fee accuracy, then data tampering can be prevented, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the blockchain network serve multiple functions: storing service volume information, recording charging data, enabling verification by home carriers, and preventing data tampering. By making the blockchain multi-functional, the system avoids adding separate complex verification mechanisms for each function, thereby reducing overall system complexity while improving reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
This application discloses a roaming charging method and apparatus. A blockchain network stores information related to roaming fee settlement, to reduce a possibility that the information related to roaming fee settlement is tampered with. In addition, a digital signature algorithm is used to sign roaming service statistics to generate an abstract, to further prevent the roaming service statistics from being tampered with. In this way, when a home carrier verifies a roaming account balance by using the roaming service statistics and a roaming charging rule, accuracy of a verification result can be ensured, and the home carrier can obtain an accurate roaming fee of a user.