Service Policy Distribution for Network Billing Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing demand for digital networking services outpaces the capacity of communication networks, leading to degraded service experiences and increased costs for service providers, particularly due to high-bandwidth applications and the proliferation of connected devices, necessitating more efficient service management and billing solutions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that allows for flexible service plans and management of user network services by distributing service policy implementation and control from the core network to the end-user device, enabling refined billing and service monitoring, including traffic shaping, access control, and service monitoring policies, while maintaining user privacy and adhering to network neutrality requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network capacity is increased to meet growing digital networking demand, then service quality is improved, but network costs increase and profitability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments network services into different capacity tiers (guaranteed bit rate services and best effort services) with different billing models. This allows the network to serve diverse traffic types efficiently without uniformly increasing capacity for all traffic, thereby maintaining service quality for critical applications while avoiding unnecessary cost increases for non-critical traffic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces differentiated billing parameters (GBR charging vs. volume-based charging) and network capacity parameters (guaranteed bit rate allocations) to optimize resource utilization. By changing how network resources are allocated and billed, the system improves service quality for priority traffic without proportionally increasing overall network costs.
2Productivity
If bandwidth is increased to support high-bandwidth applications, then user service experience is improved, but service provider profits decrease due to increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic capacity allocation where network resources are flexibly assigned based on service type and user needs. Guaranteed bit rate services receive dedicated capacity when needed, while best effort services utilize available capacity dynamically. This dynamic approach ensures high service experience for bandwidth-intensive applications without permanently provisioning excess capacity that would increase costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the billing parameter structure to support differentiated service levels. By introducing GBR charging parameters alongside volume-based charging, the system enables profitable pricing for high-bandwidth applications while optimizing network resource utilization, thereby maintaining service provider profits even as user service experience improves.
3Ease of operation
If service monitoring and control is centralized in the core network, then policy implementation is simplified, but network complexity and deployment costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the service control function into two parts: policy definition remains centralized in the core network for simplicity, while policy execution is distributed to network edge devices (access network devices). This segmentation allows centralized policy management without requiring complex core network modifications, as the heavy lifting of policy execution occurs at the edge where it naturally belongs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where access network devices act as local policy enforcement points. These devices receive policy parameters from the core network and autonomously enforce them locally, serving as intermediaries between centralized policy definition and distributed service delivery. This reduces core network complexity while maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments are disclosed for a services policy communication system and method. In some embodiments, a communications device implements a service policy for assisting billing for the communications device use of a service on a network; and monitors use of the service based on the service policy, in which a local service usage is synchronized with a network based service usage.