Roaming SLA Validation via Service Performance Data Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) cannot be reliably verified for user terminals roaming in visited networks, leading to difficulties in taking technical measures such as data rate or data volume adjustments, affecting customer care and charging processes.
Innovation Solution
A method is provided to validate SLAs by obtaining and comparing Service Performance Data (SPD) collected by user terminals while roaming with subscription information in the home network, allowing for automated validation and notification of SLA violations, and enabling efficient collection and analysis of SPD for both circuit-switched and packet-switched services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If SLA validation is performed in visited networks for roaming users, then customer care responsiveness is improved, but system complexity and data management burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides SLA validation responsibilities between home network and visited network. The visited network collects SPD and performs local validation, while the home network manages subscription information and receives validation results. This segmentation allows customer care responsiveness to improve without overwhelming single system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Service Performance Data (SPD) acts as an intermediary carrier between the visited network and home network. The SPD contains measured data rates, data volumes, and quality indicators that enable validation without requiring direct complex system integration between networks
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive SPD collection is implemented for roaming users, then SLA validation accuracy is improved, but data transmission overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system collects only the essential SPD parameters needed for SLA validation (data rates, data volumes, quality indicators) rather than all possible network performance metrics. This partial action approach maintains validation accuracy while minimizing data transmission overhead and processing time
Solution Approach 2:
The visited network collects and prepares SPD during the roaming session before validation is needed. This preliminary data collection allows rapid validation when SLA checking is required, reducing the time penalty of data gathering
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for validating Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for roaming user terminals is presented. A method implementation of the technique performed in a home network of the roaming user terminal comprises obtaining Service level-related Performance Data (SPD) that have been collected by the user terminal while roaming in a visited network. Additionally, subscription information associated with the user terminal and indicative of an SLA is obtained. Next, the SLA is validated based on a comparison of the SPD, or data derived therefrom, with the subscription information.