WO2007112641A1 - A service type charging compensation system, method and network device - Google Patents

Abstract

A service type charging compensation system and method, the system comprises base station (2), access network element (5) and charging system (10); the access network element (5), used for setting the service type identification for the user data, then sending the user data to the base station (2), and transmitting the data flow quantity losing information (16) of the different services type to the charging system (10); the base station (2), used for, when the data were lost, registering the data flow quantity losing information (16) of the different services type according to the service type identification of the losing data flow quantity, and transmitting the data flow quantity losing information (16) of each service type registered to the access network element (5); the charging system (10), used for generating the compensation fee of the different services type according to the received data flow quantity losing information (16). The system and method of the present invention can calculate the compensation fee of each service type to guarantee the charging to be fair.

Description

 Service classification charging compensation system, method and network device

Technical field

 The invention relates to charging of a communication system, in particular to a service classification charging compensation system, method and network device. Background of the invention

 1 is a structural diagram of a conventional communication system including a user equipment, a radio access network, an access network element, a switching network element, an application server, a packet data network, and the like. The wireless access network is used to connect user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a wireless data card, etc., and each wireless access network may include a certain number of base stations and/or base station controllers.

 The access network element is used to connect to the wireless access network, perform mobility management on the user, and forward user data. For specific applications, the mobility management function and data forwarding function of the access NE can be implemented by two independent subnets.

 The switching network element is configured to connect to the access network element, and send user data from the access network element to the packet data network, and send user data from the packet data network to the access network element. The packet data network is an Internet (Internet) or an intranet (Intranet). In general, the user data is encapsulated and transmitted as a packet data packet.

 For specific applications, the access NE and the switching NE can be combined.

 An application server, configured to receive a service usage request of the user.

 Further, a charging system needs to be added for collecting charging information from the access network element and/or the switching network element to generate a user bill.

In general, the billing system charges fees according to the transmission traffic or usage time. Recently, a classified charging method based on service type and content has appeared. The classified charging method enables operators to flexibly collect fees according to service characteristics and meet different levels of consumption. The needs of the people. For example, charging for the MMS service, charging for the Internet over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and video on demand services, and charging for the web browsing service.

 To support the classified charging mode, a policy network element is required to be used to deliver an accounting policy to the access network element and/or the switching network element, and the charging policy includes classified filtering information.

 A charging service filter is configured on the access network element or the switching network element, and the charging service filter performs service filtering on the user data according to the classified filtering information configured by the self-configured network or the classified filtering information delivered by the policy network element. Then, the access network element or the switching network element reports the billing information such as the filtered traffic and the duration to the charging system, and the charging system processes the charging information to generate a user bill.

 The service filtering refers to operations such as parsing the source and destination IP addresses of the packet data packet, the source and destination port numbers, and the protocol type of the packet data packet. Among them, the protocol types include: File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Web Browser (World Wide Web, WWW), VOIP, Multimedia Message Service (MMS) Wait.

 In practical applications, data loss may occur when user data is sent from the base station to the user equipment. When the lost data traffic passes through the access network element or the switching network element, the charging information is extracted and reported to the charging system, that is, the user bill includes the cost of losing the data traffic. However, since the lost data traffic has not been successfully sent to the user equipment, the user should not pay for this, and this part of the cost is deducted. Summary of the invention

 Embodiments of the present invention provide a service classification charging compensation system, method, and network device. The main technical solutions are as follows:

A service classification charging compensation system, the system includes a base station, an access network element, and a charging System

 The access network element is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send the user data to the base station, and send data loss information of different service types to the charging system;

 The base station is configured to: when the data is lost, record the data loss information of the different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic, and send the recorded data traffic loss information of each service type to the access network element;

 The charging system is configured to generate compensation fees for different service types according to the received data loss information.

 A service classification charging compensation system, the system includes a base station, an access network element, a switching network element, and a charging system;

 The switching network element is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send the user data to the base station by using the access network element, and send data loss information of different service types to the charging system;

 The base station is configured to: when the data is lost, record the data loss information of the different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic, and send the recorded data traffic loss information of each service type to the switching network element;

 The charging system is configured to generate compensation fees for different service types according to the received data loss information. '

 A service classification charging compensation method is applied to a communication network including a user equipment, a base station, an access network element, and a charging system, and the method includes:

The access network element adds the service type identifier to the user data, and sends the user data carrying the service type identifier to the base station, where the base station sends the user data to the user equipment; when the base station detects the data loss, the base station according to the service Type identification, classification records data loss information of different service types, and records lost data traffic information Send to the access network element;

 The access network element generates charging information of different service types according to the data loss information, and reports the charging information to the charging system, and the charging system generates the compensation fee for the lost data traffic of different service types.

 A service classification charging compensation method is applied to a communication network including a user equipment, a base station, an access network element, a switching network element, and a charging system, and the method includes:

 The switching network element adds the service type identifier to the user data, and sends the user data carrying the service type identifier to the base station through the access network element, and the base station sends the user data to the user equipment;

 When the base station detects the data loss, the base station classifies the data traffic loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier, and sends the recorded data traffic loss information to the switching network element through the access network element;

 The switching network element generates charging information of different service types according to the data traffic loss information and reports the charging information to the charging system, and the charging system generates the compensation fee for the lost data traffic of different service types.

 A network device, including:

 The first unit is configured to record data traffic loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic when data loss occurs;

 The second unit is configured to send data loss information of each type of service recorded.

 A network device, including:

 The first unit is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send user data that carries the service type identifier;

The second unit is configured to receive data loss information of different service types and send out. It can be seen from the above technical solution that the service classification charging compensation in the embodiment of the present invention The system and method respectively record the data loss information of different service types, and calculate the compensation fee for each service type according to the data traffic loss information, so as to improve the accuracy of the billing and ensure the fairness of the billing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

 1 is a structural diagram of a communication network in the prior art;

 2 is a structural diagram of a service classification charging compensation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for service classification charging compensation in the system shown in FIG. 2;

 4 is a structural diagram of a service classification charging compensation system according to another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for service classification charging compensation in the system shown in FIG. Mode for carrying out the invention

 The contents of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

 In general, if data loss occurs, the communication network can compensate the user for the total lost data traffic and the flat rate. For example, suppose the lost data traffic of service 1 is F1, the lost data traffic of service 2 is F2, the lost data traffic of service 3 is F3, and the unified rate is R; then, the user's compensation fee is (F1+F2+F3) ) *R.

 However, the charging policies of different service types are different. For example, the web browsing service charges traffic charges, and the streaming media service usually charges according to the duration of use. Thus, the cost of the user's use of the web browsing service when the data is lost is different, and the cost of the user's use of the streaming service when the data is lost is different. Accordingly, the compensation fees for different types of services should also be different.

To this end, the embodiment of the present invention generates a compensation fee according to different service types, specifically: adding a service type identifier to user data sent to the base station, and when the base station detects data loss, recording data traffic according to the service type identifier. Lost information. After, base The station reports the information to the access network element or the switching network element, and then the access network element or the switching network element reports the data loss information to the charging system, and the charging system compensates the user for the fee. For example, suppose the lost data traffic of service 1 is F1, the rate of the service is R1; the lost data traffic of service 2 is F2, the rate of the service is R2; the lost data traffic of service 3 is F3, the fee of the service The rate is R3; then, the user's compensation fee is F1*R1+F2*R2+F3*R3.

 2 is a structural diagram of a service classification charging compensation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a radio access network, an access network element, a charging system, and the like, and the radio access network includes at least one base station.

 The access network element is provided with a service classification marking unit, and the service classification marking unit is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send the user data carrying the service type identifier to the base station.

 The base station is configured with a lost traffic statistics unit. After detecting the data loss, the lost traffic statistics unit records the data loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier, and sends the recorded data traffic loss information to the access network. yuan.

 The access network element is further provided with a lost information receiving unit and a charging unit. The lost information receiving unit is configured to receive data traffic loss information, and send the information to a charging unit; the charging unit generates charging information by using the received data traffic loss information, and sends the charging information to the charging system. Optionally, the charging unit may directly send the data loss information to the charging system.

 The billing system is provided with a fee compensation unit, and the fee compensation unit is configured to separately calculate compensation fees for different service types according to the billing information.

In the system shown in FIG. 2, the access network element is responsible for adding the service classification identifier, and reporting the data loss information of different service types received from the base station to the charging system, and the charging system performs cost compensation. Based on the system of FIG. 2, the service in one embodiment of the present invention The method of classified charging compensation is shown in Figure 3, including:

 Step 301: The user equipment sends a service usage request to the application server, and the service usage request is finally transmitted to the application server via the radio access network, the access network element, the switching network element, and the packet data network.

 Step 302: The application server notifies the policy network element to allow the user to use the service, and the policy network element sends the corresponding classification and filtering information to the access network element.

 Step 303: The application server sends a response to the user equipment, allowing the user to use the requested service.

 Step 304: When the user uses the service, the user data is sent to the access network element via the packet data network and the switching network element.

 Step 305: The service classification marking unit of the access network element analyzes the received user data according to the classification filtering information, obtains the service type of the user data, and adds the corresponding service type identifier to the user data.

 Step 306: The access network element sends the user data carrying the service type identifier to the base station in the wireless access network.

 Step 307: The base station sends the user data to the user equipment through the air interface. If a user drops the network, etc., the user data cannot be successfully sent to the user equipment, that is, data loss occurs. After detecting the data loss, the data transceiver unit of the base station notifies the lost traffic statistics unit of the base station.

 Step 308: The lost traffic statistics unit records the data loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier, and sends the recorded data traffic loss information to the access network element.

The data traffic loss information includes the number of lost bytes and the number of lost packets. Step 309: The lost information receiving unit of the access network element summarizes the data traffic loss information and sends it to the charging unit of the access network element. Step 310: The charging unit reports the charging information to the charging system, and the charging unit of the charging system receives the charging information, calculates the compensation fees for different service types according to the service rate, and deducts each type from the user bill. The compensation fee for the business type, the actual cost of the user is generated.

 4 is a structural diagram of a service classification charging compensation system according to another embodiment of the present invention, where the system includes a base station, an access network element, a switching network element, a charging system, and the like. among them,

 The switching network element is configured with a service classification marking unit, configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send the user data carrying the service type identifier to the base station through the access network element.

 The base station is configured with a lost traffic statistics unit. After the data loss is detected, the lost traffic statistics unit records the data loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier, and passes the recorded data traffic loss information through the access network element. Send to the switching network element.

 Both the access network element and the switching network element are provided with a lost information receiving unit. The lost information receiving unit of the access network element is configured to receive data loss information from the base station, and send the information to the lost information receiving unit of the switching network element; the lost information receiving unit of the switching network element is configured to receive The data traffic loss information transmitted by the lost information receiving unit of the incoming network element is sent to the charging unit of the switching network element, and then sent by the charging unit to the charging system.

 The billing system is provided with a fee compensation unit for receiving data traffic loss information transmitted by the billing unit, and separately calculating compensation fees for different service types.

In the system shown in FIG. 4, the switching network element is responsible for adding the service type identifier, and reporting the data traffic loss information to the charging system, and the charging system performs cost compensation. Based on the system of FIG. 4, a method for service classification charging compensation in another embodiment of the present invention is as shown in FIG. 5, including: Step 501: The user equipment sends a service usage request to the application server, where the service usage request is transmitted to the application server via the radio access network, the access network element, the switching network element, and the packet data network.

 Step 502: The application server notifies the policy network element to allow the user to use the service, and the policy network element sends the corresponding classification and filtering information to the switching network element.

 Step 503: The application server sends a response to the user equipment, allowing the user to use the requested service.

 Step 504: When the user uses the service, the user data is sent by the packet data network to the switching network element.

 Step 505: The service classification marking unit of the switching network element parses the received user data according to the classification filtering information, obtains the service type of the user data, and adds the corresponding service type identifier to the user data.

 Step 506: The switching network element sends the user data carrying the service type identifier to the access network element, and the access network element sends the user data to the base station.

 Step 507: The base station sends the user data to the user equipment through the air interface. If a user drops the network, etc., the user data cannot be successfully sent to the user equipment, that is, data loss occurs. When the data transceiving unit of the base station detects the data loss, it notifies the base station of the lost traffic statistics unit.

 Step 508: The lost traffic statistics unit records the data loss information according to the service type identifier, and sends the recorded data traffic loss information to the access network element.

 The data traffic loss information includes the number of lost bytes and the number of lost packets. Step 509: The access network element sends the data traffic loss information to the switching network element. During the specific execution, there are several cases in this step:

1) If the lost information receiving unit is set in both the access network element and the switching network element, the lost information receiving unit of the access network element receives the data loss information, and then sends the information A lost information receiving unit that is sent to the switching network element. The communication system has a plurality of access network elements and a plurality of switching network elements connected to each other. After the lost information receiving unit of the access network element receives the data loss information, the user data corresponding to the data loss information is obtained. The context determines whether the data traffic loss information should be sent to which switching network element. Here, the lost information receiving unit of the access network element functions as a signaling route.

 The lost information receiving unit of the switching network element aggregates the data traffic loss information and sends it to the charging unit of the switching network element. Generally, the lost information receiving unit of the switching network element receives the data traffic loss information, and after receiving a certain amount, it is sorted and then sent to the charging unit of the switching network element.

 2) If only the access network element is provided with the lost information receiving unit, the lost information receiving unit of the access network element receives the data loss information, and then sends the information to the charging unit of the switching network element.

 Step 510: The charging unit of the switching network element reports the charging information to the charging system, and the charging compensation unit of the charging system receives the charging information, and separately calculates the compensation fee for different service types according to the service rate, from the user bill. The compensation fee for each type of business is deducted one by one, and the actual cost of the user is generated.

 Through the above method, for the data traffic that the user does not actually receive, the data traffic loss information is separately recorded according to different service types, and the corresponding compensation fee is generated, so that the user is not unreasonably deducted, and the charging accuracy is improved. Guaranteed billing fairness. It can be seen that the charging compensation system and method of the embodiment of the present invention is simple to implement and consumes less resources.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network device, including: a first unit, configured to record data traffic loss information of different service types according to a service type identifier of a lost data traffic when data loss occurs; , used to issue data traffic loss information for each type of service recorded. In general, the first network device is a base station. The embodiment of the present invention further provides a second network device, including: a first unit, configured to set a service type identifier for user data, and send user data carrying a service type identifier; and a second unit, configured to receive different service types. Data traffic is lost and sent. The second unit of the second network device receives data loss information from the base station and sends the data loss information to the charging system. Further, the second network device further includes: a third unit, configured to generate charging information of the lost data traffic according to the data traffic loss information of different service types. Generally, the second network device may be an access network element or a switching network element.

 The above description is only for the embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

Claim  A service classification charging compensation system, characterized in that the system comprises a base station, an access network element and a charging system;  The access network element is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send the user data to the base station, and send data loss information of different service types to the charging system;  The base station is configured to: when the data is lost, record the data loss information of the different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic, and send the recorded data traffic loss information of each service type to the access network element;  The charging system is configured to generate compensation fees for different service types according to the received data loss information.  2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the access network element includes a service classification marking unit, configured to set a service type identifier for the user data.  The system according to claim 1, wherein the base station includes a lost traffic statistics unit, configured to record data traffic loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic.  The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the access network element comprises a lost information receiving unit and a charging unit;  a lost information receiving unit, configured to receive data traffic loss information transmitted by the base station, and send the data traffic loss information to the charging unit;  The charging unit is configured to generate charging information of the lost data traffic according to the data traffic loss information of different service types, and send the charging information to the charging system. The system according to claim 4, wherein the charging system includes a fee compensation unit, configured to calculate different service types according to the received charging information. Compensation fee.  A service classification charging compensation system, characterized in that the system comprises a base station, an access network element, a switching network element, and a charging system;  The switching network element is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send the user data to the base station by using the access network element, and send data loss information of different service types to the charging system;  The base station is configured to: when the data is lost, record the data loss information of the different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic, and send the recorded data traffic loss information of each service type to the switching network element;  The charging system is configured to generate compensation fees for different service types according to the received data loss information.  The system according to claim 6, wherein the switching network element includes a service classification marking unit, configured to set a service type identifier for the user data.  The system according to claim 6, wherein the base station includes a lost traffic statistics unit, configured to record data traffic loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic.  The system according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein the access network element comprises a first lost information receiving unit, and the switched network element comprises a second lost information receiving unit and a charging unit ;  a first lost information receiving unit, configured to receive data traffic loss information transmitted by the base station, and send the data traffic loss information to the second lost information receiving unit;  a second lost information receiving unit, configured to receive data loss information transmitted by the first lost information receiving unit, and send the information to the charging unit; The charging unit is configured to generate charging information of the lost data traffic according to the data traffic loss information of different service types, and send the charging information to the charging system. The system according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein the access network element comprises a loss information receiving unit, and the switching network element comprises a charging unit;  a lost information receiving unit, configured to receive data traffic loss information transmitted by the base station, and send the data traffic loss information to the charging unit;  The charging unit is configured to generate charging information of the lost data traffic according to the data traffic loss information of different service types, and send the charging information to the charging system.  The system according to any one of claims 6-8, wherein the charging system comprises a fee compensation unit, configured to calculate compensation fees for different service types based on the received charging information.  A service classification charging compensation method is applied to a communication network including a user equipment, a base station, an access network element, and a charging system, and the method includes:  The access network element adds the service type identifier to the user data, and sends the user data carrying the service type identifier to the base station, where the base station sends the user data to the user equipment; when the base station detects the data loss, the base station according to the service Type identifier, classifying and recording data traffic loss information of different service types, and transmitting the recorded data traffic loss information to the access network element;  The access network element generates charging information of different service types according to the data traffic loss information and reports the charging information to the charging system, and the charging system generates the compensation fee for the lost data traffic of different service types.  13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the data traffic loss information comprises a number of lost bytes and a number of lost packets.  A service classification charging compensation method, which is applied to a communication network including a user equipment, a base station, an access network element, a switching network element, and a charging system, wherein the method includes: The switching NE adds the service type identifier to the user data and carries the service type. The identified user data is sent to the base station by the access network element, and the base station sends the user data to the user equipment;  When the base station detects the data loss, the base station classifies the data traffic loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier, and sends the recorded data traffic loss information to the switching network element through the access network element;  The switching network element generates charging information of different service types according to the data traffic loss information and reports the charging information to the charging system, and the charging system generates the compensation fee for the lost data traffic of different service types.  15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the data traffic loss information comprises a number of lost bytes and a number of lost packets.  16. A network device, comprising:  The first unit is configured to record data traffic loss information of different service types according to the service type identifier of the lost data traffic when data loss occurs;  The second unit is used to send out the lost data traffic of each type of service recorded.  17. A network device, comprising:  The first unit is configured to set a service type identifier for the user data, and send user data that carries the service type identifier;  The second unit is configured to receive data loss information of different service types and send out. The network device according to claim 17, further comprising: a third unit, configured to generate charging information of lost data traffic according to data traffic loss information of different service types.  The network device according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the network device is an access network element or a switching network element.