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EP-4740506-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTING AN ONLINE CHARGING SYSTEM (OCS)

EP4740506A1EP 4740506 A1EP4740506 A1EP 4740506A1EP-4740506-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system (108) and a method (500) for selecting an Online charging System (OCS) (228) in a network (106). The method (500) includes steps of, identifying a user's home domain at an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem Media Gateway (IPSMGW) (222) in a received Short Message Service (SMS). The method (400) further includes steps of, populating utilizing the IPSMGW (222) a request message with the identified user's home domain. The method (400) further includes steps of, transmitting utilizing the IPSMGW (222), the request message to the OCS (228) via a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) (226), thereby routing the request to the OCS (228). The invention ensures accurate charging of user by seamlessly routing the request to the appropriate OCS, simplifying the charging process and reducing the manual intervention.

Inventors

  • BHATNAGAR, AAYUSH
  • SHARMA, Smridhi
  • MISHRA, SOMYA
  • SINHA, ANURAG
  • Hingu, Ketan
  • Kadam, Pradnya
  • Deb, Joy
  • AGRAWAL, VIKASH
  • YADAV, DINESH
  • ELANGOVAN, Elanchezhiyan
  • ALAVOJU, Vamshi Krishna

Assignees

  • Jio Platforms Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240704

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A method (500) for selecting an Online Charging System (OCS), the method (500) comprises the steps of: identifying, by one or more processors (202), a user's home domain at an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem Media Gateway (IPSMGW) (222) in a received Short message service (SMS); populating, by the one or more processors (202), utilizing the IPSMGW (222), a request message with the identified user's home domain; and transmitting, by the one or more processors (202), utilizing the IPSMGW (222), the request message to the OCS via a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) (226), thereby routing the request to the OCS (228).
  2. 2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (202), identifies the user's home domain based on: receiving, the SMS from a user; transmitting, the received SMS to a Serving Call Session Control Function (SCSCF) (224); determining, utilizing the SCSCF (224), the user's home IPSMGW(222) based on the user's assigned home circle; transmitting, the SMS to the IPSMGW (222) via the (Session Initiation Protocol) SIP message; and identifying, the user's home domain at the IPSMGW (222).
  3. 3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (202) utilizing the SCSCF (224) facilitates at least one of, a call session control and routing within the telecom network (106).
  4. 4. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the OCS (228) is a real-time charging and billing system within the telecom network (106), wherein the OCS (228) calculates charges for various services, including at least one of, SMS messages.
  5. 5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (202), enables the IPSMGW (222) to connect with the OCS (228) over an interface based on at least one of, a diameter protocol.
  6. 6. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (202) integrates the IPSMGW (222) with the SCSCF (224) over an IP Service Control (ISC) interface.
  7. 7. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user's home domain is identified at the IPSMGW (222) based on the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) which is received in the header of the SIP message in response to transmitting the SMS to the IPSMGW (222) via the SIP message.
  8. 8. The method (500) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the one or more processors (202) extracts the IMSI at the IPSMGW (222) from the header of the SIP message.
  9. 9. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request message includes a destination -realm Attribute Value Pair (A VP) which contains the realm of an operator domain, wherein the destination realm AVP is addressed with a domain address of a corresponding public Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).
  10. 10. A system (108) for selecting an Online Charging System (OCS), the system (108) comprising: an identification unit (206), configured to, identify, a user's home domain at an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem Media Gateway (IPSMGW) (222) in a received Short message service (SMS); a populating unit (208), configured to, populate, utilizing the IPSMGW (222), a request message with the identified user's home domain; and a transceiver (210), configured to, transmit, utilizing the IPSMGW (222), the request message to the OCS (228) via a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) (226), thereby routing the request to the OCS (228).
  11. 11. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the identification unit (206) identifies the user's home domain based on: receiving, the SMS from a user; transmitting, the received SMS to a Serving Call Session Control Function (SCSCF) (224); determining, utilizing the SCSCF (224), the user's home IPSMGW (222) based on the user's assigned home circle; transmitting, the SMS to the IPSMGW (222) via the (Session Initiation Protocol) SIP message; and identifying, the user’s home domain at the IPSMGW (222).
  12. 12. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein a managing unit (212) of the system (108) utilizes the SCSCF (224) to facilitate at least one of, a call session control and routing within the telecom network (106).
  13. 13. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the OCS (228) is a real-time charging and billing system within the telecom network (106), wherein the OCS (228) calculates charges for various services, including at least one of, SMS messages.
  14. 14. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein a connection establishing unit (216) of the system (108) enables the IPSMGW (222) to connect with the OCS (228) over an interface based on at least one of, a diameter protocol.
  15. 15. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein an integration unit (218) of the system (108) integrates the IPSMGW (222) with the SCSCF (224) over an IP Service Control (ISC) interface.
  16. 16. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the user's home domain is identified at the IPSMGW (222) based on the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) which is received in the header of the SIP message in response to transmitting the SMS to the IPSMGW (222) via the SIP message.
  17. 17. The system (108) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the identification unit (206) extracts the IMSI at the IPSMGW (222) from the header of the SIP message.
  18. 18. The system (108) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the request message includes a destination -realm Attribute Value Pair (A VP) which contains the realm of an operator domain, wherein the destination realm AVP is addressed with a domain address of a corresponding public Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).
  19. 19. A User Equipment (UE) (102), comprising: one or more primary processors (302) communicatively coupled to one or more processors (202), the one or more primary processors (302) coupled with a memory (304), wherein said memory (304) stores instructions which when executed by the one or more primary processors (302) causes the UE (102) to: transmit, the SMS by the user via a user interface (306) to the one or more processors (202) in order to avail one or more services; and wherein the one or more processors (202) is configured to perform the steps as claimed in claim 1.
  20. 20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer- readable instructions that, when executed by a processor (202), causes the processor (202) to: identify, a user's home domain at an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem Media Gateway (IPSMGW) (222) in a received Short message service (SMS); populate, utilizing the IPSMGW (222), a request message with the identified user's home domain; and transmit, utilizing the IPSMGW (222), the request message (CCR) to the OCS (228) via a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) (226), thereby routing the request to the OCS (228).

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTING AN ONLINE CHARGING SYSTEM (OCS) FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to the field of wireless communication systems, more particularly relates to a method and system for selecting an Online Charging System (OCS). BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Generally, telecom networks are geographically divided into multiple circles or zones to manage and segregate the services provided to users. These circles are assigned to both the users and the network entities that deliver the services. For example, when a user registers in the Mumbai circle, the user's home circle becomes Mumbai, and the network entities associated with Mumbai, such as the Mumbai SCSCF (Serving Call Session Control Function), Mumbai IPSMGW (IP Multimedia Subsystem Media Gateway), and Mumbai OCS (Online Charging System), handle the user's services. [0003] Conventionally, when a user sends an SMS, the message request is first routed to the SCSCF, which serves as the central control point for call sessions in the telecom network. The SCSCF performs essential functions such as session control, signaling message handling, and routing. Upon receiving the SMS message, the SCSCF determines the user's home IPSMGW based on the assigned home circle. [0004] The IPSMGW, functioning as an application server, is responsible for providing SMS -related services and charging the user's account. It serves as a media gateway in the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture and facilitates the conversion and routing of multimedia traffic between different network types. In the context of the SMS service, the IPSMGW processes the SMS request received from the SCSCF and is required to charge the user's account accurately. [0005] To charge the user's account for the SMS service, the SCSCF provides the OCS address in the P-charging-function header of the message request using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) protocol. The OCS plays a critical role in real-time charging and billing within the telecom network. It monitors and controls the usage of network resources by subscribers and calculates charges for various services. The IPSMGW, utilizing the OCS address provided by the SCSCF, sends a charging request to the corresponding OCS. [0006] In the existing technique of selecting the appropriate OCS, the IPSMGW needs to maintain a comprehensive database of all the OCS servers deployed in the network. This manual maintenance of the OCS server data is inefficient, especially considering the frequent changes that occur when users switch circles or when new OCS servers are added or removed from the network. Furthermore, updating a user's OCS address in their profile requires manual intervention, leading to additional inefficiencies. [0007] Therefore, there is a need for an efficient and simplified solution to select the appropriate OCS in a telecom network based on the user's home circle. Such a solution would eliminate the need for the IPSMGW to maintain a large and constantly changing database of OCS servers. Additionally, the solution should seamlessly adapt to changes in the number or location of OCS servers deployed in the network, ensuring accurate charging of user accounts while reducing manual intervention and database maintenance overhead. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for selecting an Online Charging System (OCS). [0009] In one aspect of the present invention, a method for selecting an OCS in a network is disclosed. The method includes the step of identifying a user's home domain at an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem Media Gateway (IPSMGW) in a received Short Message Service (SMS). The method further includes the step of populating utilizing the IPSMGW, a request message with the identified user's home domain. The method further includes the step of transmitting utilizing the IPSMGW, the request message to the OCS via a Diameter Routing Agent (DRA), thereby routing the request to the OCS. [0010] In one embodiment, the user's home domain is identified based on the steps of, receiving the SMS from a user, transmitting, the received SMS to a Serving Call Session Control Function (SCSCF), determining utilizing the SCSCF, the user's home IPSMGW based on the user's assigned home circle, transmitting the SMS to the IPSMGW via the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message and identifying, the user's home domain at the IPSMGW. [0011] In another embodiment, the one or more processors utilizing the SCSCF facilitates at least one of, a call session control and routing within the telecom network. [0012] In yet another embodiment, the OCS is a real-time charging and billing system within the telecom network, wherein the one or more processors utilizing the OCS calculates charges for various services, including at least one of, SMS messages. [0013] In yet another embodiment, the one or more processors, enables the IPSMGW to connect