Content for TS 32.296 Word version: 17.0.0

3.1 Definitions 3.2 Symbols 3.3 Abbreviations
...

1 Scope p. 7

The present document is part of a series of Technical Specifications (TSs) that specify charging functionality and charging management in 3GPP networks. The GSM/UMTS core network charging architecture and principles are specified in TS 32.240, which provides an umbrella for other charging management documents that specify:

the content of the CDRs per domain and subsystem (offline charging);
the content of real-time charging messages per domain / subsystem (online charging);
the functionality of online and offline charging for those domains and subsystems;
the interfaces that are used in the charging framework to transfer the charging information (i.e. CDRs or charging events).

The complete document structure of the charging management TSs is defined in TS 32.240.

The present document covers all internal aspects of the Online Charging System (OCS). The document contains the architecture and functions of the OCS logical components and thereby derives the functionality of the OCS interfaces. A detailed specification of interfaces between the logical OCS components is also included. The functionality of the OCS, as described in the present document, applies to all charging domains (bearer, session and service).

The interfaces connecting to the OCS (e.g. Ro, CAP) are out of the scope of the present document.

All terms, definitions and abbreviations used in the present document, that are common across 3GPP TSs, are defined in TR 21.905. Those that are common across charging management in 3GPP domains, services, or subsystems are provided in the umbrella document TS 32.240. Finally, those items that are specific to the present document are defined exclusively in the present document.

Furthermore, requirements that govern the charging work are specified in TS 22.115.

2 References p. 8

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.

[1]

TS 32.240: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Charging Architecture and Principles".

[2] - [10] Void.

[11]

TS 32.251: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Packet Switched (PS) domain charging".

[12] - [19] Void

[20]

TS 32.260: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) charging".

[21] - [29] Void.

[30]

TS 32.270: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) charging".

[31]

TS 32.271: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Location Services (LCS) charging".

[32]

TS 32.272: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Push-to-talk over Cellular (PoC) charging".

[33]

TS 32.273: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS) charging".

[34]

TS 32.274: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Short Message Service (SMS) charging".

[35]

TS 32.275: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; MultiMedia Telephony (MMTel) charging".

[36]

TS 32.276: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Voice Call Service Charging".

[37]

TS 32.277: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Proximity-based Services (ProSe) Charging".

[38] - [39] Void.

[40]

TS 32.280: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Advice of Charge (AoC) service ".

[41] - [49]

Void.

[50]

TS 32.299: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Diameter charging application".

[51] Void.

[52]

TS 32.297: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Charging Data Records (CDR) file format and transfer".

[53] - [99] Void.

[100]

TR 21.905: "Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications".

[101]

TS 22.115: "Service aspects; Charging and billing".

[102] - [200] Void.

[201]

TS 22.024: "Description of Charge Advice Information (CAI)".

[202]

TS 23.078: "Customised Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) Phase 4; Stage 2".

[203]

TS 23.003: "Numbering, addressing and identification".

[204]

TS 29.002: "Mobile Application Part (MAP) specification".

[205]

TS 29.230: "Diameter applications; 3GPP specific codes and identifiers".

[206]

TS 23.203: "Policy and charging control architecture".

[207]

TS 29.219: "Policy and charging control: Spending limit reporting over Sy reference point ".

[208]

TS 29.213: "Policy and charging control signalling flows and Quality of Service (QoS) parameter mapping".

[209] - [400] Void.

[401]

RFC 6733 (2012): "Diameter Base Protocol".

[402]

RFC 4006 (2005): "Diameter Credit-Control Application".

3 Definitions, symbols and abbreviations p. 9

3.1 Definitions p. 9

For the purposes of the present document, the terms and definitions given in TR 21.905, TS 32.240 and the following apply:

account:

structure residing in the OCS for holding dynamic subscription data with monetary equivalence. Accounts may have balances/counters of currency or a unit type. An account can have one or more users associated with it. Examples of account type could include individual, family, corporate, etc. As opposed to bank accounts, transaction history is not necessarily kept in the OCS account data structure.

account balance:

represents the current numerical value from which service delivery decisions can be determined.

chargeable event:

activity utilizing telecommunications network resources and related services for:

user to user communication (e.g. a single call, a data communication session or a short message); or
user to network communication (e.g. service profile administration); or
inter-network communication (e.g. transferring calls, signalling, or short messages); or
mobility (e.g. roaming or inter-system handover); and
that the network operator may want to charge for.

As a minimum, a chargeable event characterises the resource / service usage and indicates the identity of the involved end user(s).

charging:

a function within the telecommunications network and the associated OCS/BD components whereby information related to a chargeable event is collected, formatted, transferred and evaluated in order to make it possible to determine usage for which the charged party may be billed (offline charging) or the subscribers account balance may be debited (online charging).

counter:

aggregation of units of service usage or monetary units, which may be in relation to subscriber contractual terms (e.g. number of used SMS per day or number of free minutes per month). These form the basis for any type of loyalty program like discounts or bonus.

domain:

part of a communication network that provides services using a certain technology

offline charging:

charging mechanism where charging information does not affect, in real-time, the service rendered

online charging:

charging mechanism where charging information can affect, in real-time, the service rendered and therefore a direct interaction of the charging mechanism with session/service control is required

subscriber:

a subscriber is an entity (associated with one or more users) that is engaged in a subscription with a service provider. The subscriber is allowed to subscribe and unsubscribe services, to register a user or a list of users authorised to enjoy these services, and also to set the limits relative to the use that associated users make of these services.

subscription:

a subscription describes the commercial relationship between the subscriber and the service provider.

tariff:

set of parameters defining the network utilization charges for the use of a particular bearer / session / service.

3.2 Symbols p. 10

For the purposes of the present document, the following symbols apply:

Offline Charging Reference Point towards the operator's post-processing system

Reference point for CDR transfer between a CDF and the CGF

Online Charging Reference Point towards the ABMF

Online Charging Reference Point towards the RF

Online Charging Reference Point towards the online charging functions (EBCF, SBCF)

Online Charging Reference Point towards an external account recharging server

Reference point for policy enforcement between OCF and the PCRF

3.3 Abbreviations p. 10

For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply:

APN

Access Point Name

AoC

Advice of Charge

CAMEL

Customised Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic

CAP

CAMEL Application Part

CCA

Credit Control Answer

CCR

Credit Control Request

CDF

Charging Data Function

CDR

Charging Data Record

CGF

Charging Gateway Function

Circuit Switched

CSCF

Call Session Control Function

EBCF

Event Based Charging Function

ECUR

Event Charging with Unit Reservation

EPS

Evolved Packet System

E-UTRAN

Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

FBC

Flow Based Charging

GMLC

Gateway Mobile Location Center

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol

IEC

Immediate Event Charging

IMS

IP Multimedia core network Subsystem

IMSI

International Mobile Subscriber Identity

Internet Protocol

ISC

IMS Service Control

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network

LCS

LoCation Services

MAP

Mobile Application Part

MBMS

Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service

MMS

Multimedia Messaging Service

MMTel

Multimedia Telephony

MSC

Mobile Services Switching Centre

MSISDN

Mobile Station ISDN number

MVNO

Mobile Virtual Network Operator

OCF

Online Charging Function

OCS

Online Charging System

PCC

Policy and Charging Control

PCEF

Policy and Charging Enforcement Function

PCRF

Policy and Charging Rules Function

PoC

Push-to-talk over Cellular

ProSe

Proximity-based Services

PRQ

PriceRequest

PRS

PriceResponse

Packet-Switched

P-GW

PDN Gateway

QoS

Quality of Service

Rating Function

SBCF

Session Based Charging Function

SGSN

Serving GPRS Support Node

SIP

Session Initiation Protocol

SMS

Short Message Service

SUQ

ServiceUsageRequest

SUS

ServiceUsageResponse

TDF

Traffic Detection Function

TRQ

TariffRequest

TRS

TariffResponse

URL

Uniform Resource Locator

VCS

Voice Call Service