"The User Data Convergence concept supports a layered architecture, separating the data from the application logic in the 3GPP system, so that user data is stored in a logically unique repository allowing access from core and service layer entities, named application front-ends. Network elements and functionalities should be designed to access profile data remotely and without storing them permanently locally, i.e. the front-ends shall work in a user dataless configuration." TR 22.985 and TS 22.101 provide the requirements for User data convergence so that user data can be moved from where it originated, to a facility called User Data Repository (UDR) where it can be accessed, stored and managed in a common way. Convergence of user data unifies the user data access interface and its protocol. In addition, the logical centralization of user data implies the support of user data provisioning, that is, user data manipulation like creation, deletion, reading, modification and other operations. In order to accommodate multiple applications and services, existing and new ones, a framework for model handling and management of the UDC has been developed including:

• UDC information model infrastructure
• UDC information model handling
• Application management
• Consolidated data model management.

The present document specifies the framework for overall management of the User Data Convergence. In order to accommodate multiple applications and services, existing and new ones, the framework for model handling and management of the UDC as identified by TS 22.101 includes the following items:

• UDC information models:
  • UDC information model infrastructure containing the common baseline information model (CBIM), application information models (AIM), and the specialised information model (SIM). The CBIM is standardised in TS 32.182.
• UDC information model handling:
  • provide a template and guidelines explaining the design of application information models to be used together with the common baseline information model to create the specialized information model
  • describe the process to combine the common baseline information model with application information models in order to produce an operator-specific specialised information model
• Application management data:
  • access control data for an application to UDC: identification and authentication
  • assignment to an application data model, including linkage to the consolidated data model
  • subscription rights for specific events on specific data of specific users
• Consolidated data model management
  • lifecycle management of the consolidated data model in the UDR and in the provisioning entity.
  • activation/deactivation of application adaptation

The following documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of the present document.

• References are either specific (identified by date of publication, edition number, version number, etc.) or non-specific.
• For a specific reference, subsequent revisions do not apply.
• For a non-specific reference, the latest version applies. In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in the same Release as the present document.