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EP-4736479-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVISIONING AND CHARGING FOR ENTERPRISE PLAN IN COMMUNICATION NETWORK

EP4736479A1EP 4736479 A1EP4736479 A1EP 4736479A1EP-4736479-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system (100) and a method for provisioning and charging enterprise plan in a communication network. The present disclosure supports integration of a charging function (Charging Function-Lite (CHF-L)) (112) with a Business Telephony Application Server (BTAS) (102) over custom Ro (Diameter) interface. The present disclosure supports integration of the charging function (112) with a provisioning system i.e., Fulfilment Management System (FMS) (106) for provisioning of service (Application Programming Interface (API) key) wise counter threshold. The charging function (112) checks the number of calls per API key (individual service per specific customer) and ensures that service usage is as per agreed service level agreements by comparing the number of calls with provisioned API key-wise counter thresholds.

Inventors

  • BHATNAGAR, AAYUSH
  • MALHOTRA, Deeksha
  • EARKARA, Nitya
  • Shetty, Mukta
  • Pareek, Puneet
  • Joshi, Yugandhara
  • Jha, Alok
  • KUMAR, SANJEEV
  • Khamesra, Apoorva
  • GUPTA, ADITYA
  • SAGAR, Gautam

Assignees

  • Jio Platforms Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240620

Claims (16)

  1. 1. A system (100) for provisioning and charging for an enterprise plan in a communication network, the system (100) comprising: a charging function (1 12) configured to integrate with a business telephony application server (BTAS) (102), and a provisioning system (106), the charging function (112, 212) comprising: a memory (204); and one or more processors (202) configured to execute instructions comprising: receiving a credit control request (CCR) request from the BTAS (102), wherein the CCR request includes a service-specific- type attribute-value-pair (A VP) value and an Application Programming Interface (API) key; responsive to the receiving the CCR request, fetching a current counter value corresponding to the received API Key from the provisioning system (106), and comparing the fetched current counter value with a provisioned value to determine an availability of service based on the comparison; responsive to the determined availability of service, assigning an available service corresponding to the CCR request, and updating the current counter value corresponding to the API Key.
  2. 2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, the charging function (112) is configured to send a successful response to the BTAS (102) on assigning the available service corresponding to the received CCR request.
  3. 3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, the charging function (112.) is configured to send a fail response back to the BTAS (102), if the charging function fails to find the API Key, or the current counter value corresponding to the service crosses the provisioned value, or validity of user’s plan has expired, or the plan is not active.
  4. 4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, the charging function (1 12) ss configured to establish a connection with a Session Data Layer (SDL) for storing and retrieving data from a plurality of network functions (NFs) across the communication network.
  5. 5. The system (100), as claimed in claim 1, the charging function (112), is configured to communicate with a Fault, Configuration, Accounting and Performance (FCAP) manager (502) to perform network management system/element management system-related functions.
  6. 6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging function ( 112) includes a performance management module, a configuration management module, a fault management module, a session management module, a high availability module, a diameter stack management module, a provisioning module, an overload management module, a charging data record (CDR) management module, and a replication module.
  7. 7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging function (112) is configured to generate a charging data record (CDR) for each received CCR request and store information corresponding to each CCR request along with the API key.
  8. 8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging function (1 12) is configured to employ a cluster having a plurality of charging nodes, wherein the plurality of charging nodes is configured to operate at least in one of an active mode, a standby mode, a spare mode.
  9. 9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging function (112) is connected with the BTAS (102) over Diameter Ro interfaces.
  10. 10. A method (800) for provisioning and charging for an enterprise plan in a communication network, the method (800) comprising: receiving (802), by a charging function (1 12), a credit control request (CCR) request from a business telephony application server (BTAS) (102), wherein the CCR request includes a service-specific-type attribute- value-pair (A VP) value and an Application Programming Interface (API) key; fetching (804), by the charging function (1 12), a current counter value corresponding to the received API Key from a provisioning system (106), and comparing the fetched current counter value with a provisioned value to determine availability of service based on the comparison; responsive to the determined availability of service, assigning (806), by the charging function (112), an available service corresponding to the CCR request; and updating (818), by the charging function (112), the current counter value corresponding to the API Key.
  11. 11. The method (800) as claimed in claim 10, further comprising sending a successful response to the BTAS (102) on assigning the available service corresponding to the received CCR request.
  12. 12. The method (800) as claimed in claim 10, further comprising sending a fail response back to the BTAS (102), if the charging function (112) fails to find the API Key, or the current counter value corresponding to the service crosses the provisioned value, or validity of user’s plan has expired, or the plan is not active.
  13. 13. The method (800) as claimed in claim 10, further comprising establishing a connection with a Session Data Layer (SDL) for storing and retrieving data from a plurality of network functions (NFs) across the communication network.
  14. 14. The method (800) as claimed in claim 10, further comprising communicating with a Fault, Configuration, Accounting and Performance (FCAP) manager to perform network management system/element management system -related functions.
  15. 15. The method (800) as claimed in claim 10, further comprising generating a charging data record (CDR) for each received CCR request and store information corresponding to each CCR request along with the API key.
  16. 16. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer- readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a credit control request (CCR) request from a business telephony application server (BTAS), wherein the CCR request includes a service-specific -type attribute-value-pair (A VP) value and an Application Programming Interface (API) key; retch a current counter value corresponding to the received API Key from a provisioning system, and comparing the fetched current counter value with a provisioned value to determine availability of service based on the comparison; responsive to the determined availability of service, assign an available service corresponding to the CCR request; and update the current counter value corresponding to the API Key.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVISIONING AND CHARGING FOR ENTERPRISE PLAN IN COMMUNICATION NETWORK RESERVATION OF RIGHTS [0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to intellectual property rights such as, but are not limited to, copyright, design, trademark, integrated circuit (IC) layout design, and/or trade dress protection, belonging to Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) or its affiliates (herein after referred as owner). The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. All rights to such intellectual property are fully reserved by the owner. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates to a field of a communication network, and specifically to a system and a method for provisioning and charging for enterprise plan in a communication network. DEFINITION [0003] As used in the present disclosure, the following terms are generally intended to have the meaning as set forth below, except to the extent that the context in which they are used to indicate otherwise. [0004] The term “Attribute Value Pair (A VP)” used hereinafter in the specification indicates a format used to represent information in various domains. The Attribute Value Pair operates on a concept of key-value pairs. The attribute serves as the key, while the value corresponds to the associated data. This structure enables efficient storage, retrieval, and processing of information. [0005] The term “Application Programming Interface (API) key” used hereinafter in the specification indicates a unique identifier used to authenticate and authorize access to a specific API (Application Programming Interface). APIs are sets of rules, protocols, and tools that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. [0006] The term “enterprise plan” used hereinafter in the specification in the specification indicates refers to a specialized service package designed specifically for businesses or organizations or individual consumers. These plans are tailored to meet the unique requirements and demands of enterprises, which often have larger-scale operations, higher data usage, and more complex communication needs compared to individual users. BACKGROUND [0007] The following description of related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section be used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure, and not as admissions of prior art. [0008] In a packet communication network, there are three parties involved: service users (such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP clients)), service providers (such as application servers), and an application broker that acts as a middleman (such as a SIP proxy). During a service link between a client (user equipment) and an application server, if the SIP proxy is not integrated and does not maintain state (that is, it is not a statefill SIP proxy), it cannot reliably provide a charging function for registered customers (users and service providers). [0009] In a 5G system, the Session Management Function (SMF) handles the task of session management. It works in conjunction with the Charging Function (CHF) to manage billing for subscriber accounts. During the management of a data connection, the SMF repeatedly communicates with the CHF to allocate data units for the connection and to keep track of the amount of data that has been used. CHF enables the account or subscription associated with the user equipment to be charged for the usage of the network resources. The CHF keeps track of the equipment’s usage, which makes it easier for both the user and the service provider to manage their respective responsibilities in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. [0010] In general, CHF is deployed to a network side to complete the billing function. The CHF includes Access Gateway Function (AGF), Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) and Charging gateway function (CGF). If the CHF is unavailable due to network issues or equipment malfunction, the SMF cannot reserve data units, leading to termination of the data connection and poor customer experience. To reduce hardware and operating costs in a large communication network, it is required for the CHF to work with multiple proxies simultaneously. However, it is a cumbersome task for the CHF to keep synchronization between multiple proxies of the communication network. [0011] There is a need for a system that can provision and charge enterprise plans in a communication network efficiently. OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE [0012] It is an object of the present disclosure to provid