Visited PCRF Policy Control for Roaming Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Local Break Out (LBO) roaming scenarios, the quality of service and charges provided by the home network operator are not competitive, limiting user experience as policy and charging control, and credit management are dominated by the home network, preventing full utilization of visited network capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method that allows the visited network to independently process subscription information, generate policy and charging control rules, and perform online charging for roaming users using the same user identification information, enabling users to subscribe to services from the visited network operator and allowing independent policy and charging control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If policy and charging control are dominated by the home network operator, then user subscription information can be centrally managed, but the visited network cannot provide competitive pricing and service quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the policy and charging control architecture into home network PCRF (H-PCRF) and visited network PCRF (V-PCRF) components. The V-PCRF is specifically introduced to handle local policy decisions and charging rules in the visited network, while the H-PCRF retains overall subscription management. This segmentation allows the visited network to provide competitive service quality independently without completely redesigning the centralized control architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The V-PCRF acts as an intermediary between the H-PCRF and the local network elements (PCEF, OCS). It receives policy decisions from H-PCRF, translates them into local charging rules, and enforces them in the visited network. This intermediary role enables the visited network to provide competitive pricing and service quality while maintaining the centralized subscription management of the home network.
2Ease of operation
If the visited network processes subscription information independently, then competitive pricing and charging can be implemented, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by enabling the V-PCRF to independently process subscription information and generate local charging rules tailored to the visited network's pricing strategies. The V-PCRF can apply different charging rules for different services, users, or time periods based on local market conditions, while still relying on the H-PCRF for core subscription data. This localized processing provides pricing flexibility without requiring complete independence of the visited network system.
3Productivity
If home network PCRF makes all policy decisions, then consistent policy enforcement is achieved, but visited network capabilities are underutilized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic policy decision-making where the V-PCRF can independently generate charging rules based on real-time local network conditions, service requirements, and user contexts. The system dynamically adjusts between centralized (H-PCRF) and localized (V-PCRF) policy enforcement based on the specific service and network state. This dynamic approach maximizes network efficiency by utilizing visited network capabilities while maintaining policy consistency where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The V-PCRF performs preliminary action by pre-processing subscription information from H-PCRF and preparing local charging rules before actual service delivery. It anticipates local network requirements and pre-configures charging policies, reducing the need for real-time policy decisions and improving overall network efficiency. This preliminary local processing utilizes visited network capabilities without losing important local information.
Data Source
AI summary
A subscription information processing method, a policy and charging control method, an online charging method, a visited network, a V-PCRF and a V-OCS, wherein, the subscription information processing method comprises: a visited network receiving visited network subscription information and account information of a roaming user, the visited network subscription information and the account information and home network subscription information and account information of the roaming user using the same user identification information; the visited network storing the visited network subscription information and the account information of the roaming user.