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US-12621391-B2 - Alternative charging handling based on QoS utilizing a policy control function to enforce policy and charging control rules

US12621391B2US 12621391 B2US12621391 B2US 12621391B2US-12621391-B2

Abstract

A method is performed by a first node, such as a PCF node, of a telecommunication network is provided. The method includes providing an alternative charging profile and an alternative QoS profile to a second node, such as a SMF node, as part of a policy and charging, PCC, rule. The method also includes requesting the second node to apply charging from the PCC rule according to the alternative charging profile based on a QoS degradation. A method performed by a second node also is provided.

Inventors

  • Susana Fernandez Alonso
  • FUENCISLA GARCIA AZORERO

Assignees

  • TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20210318
Priority Date
20200408

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method by a Policy Control Function (PCF) of enabling a Session Management Function (SMF) in a telecommunication network to enforce a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule, in relation to a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session between a User Device and the telecommunication network by providing, by said PCF, in said telecommunication network, Quality-of-Service (QoS) parameters to said SMF for use in said PCC rule, said method comprising: receiving, by said PCF, service information comprising service QoS requirements and alternative QoS requirements; mapping, by said PCF, said received service information into QoS parameters and related charging parameters, wherein said QoS and related charging parameters at least comprise: a QoS profile and a charging profile bound to said QoS profile; and an alternative QoS profile and an alternative charging profile bound to said alternative QoS profile, wherein said alternative QoS profile and said alternative charging profile is to be used in case of QoS degradation; providing, by said PCF, to said SMF, said mapped QoS parameters and related charging parameters for enforcing said PCC rule in relation to said PDU session between said User Device and said telecommunication network; receiving, by said PCF, from said SMF, a notification that QoS targets are not guaranteed, wherein the notification indicates said alternative QoS profile that is guaranteed and said alternative charging profile that is being applied; and notifying, by said PCF to an Application Function (AF), that the QoS targets cannot be guaranteed and indicating, to the AF, alternative service requirements being applied; wherein said mapping and providing is performed at, or as part of, establishment of the PDU session with the QoS profile, and wherein the notification is received from the SMF during the PDU session based on a Radio Access Network (RAN) part of said telecommunication network detecting QoS degradation that comprises the QoS targets associated with the QoS profile no longer being guaranteed such that the QoS profile can no longer be fulfilled.
  2. 2 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said mapping comprises: determining said charging profile for said QoS profile, and determining said alternative charging profile for said alternative QoS profile.
  3. 3 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said providing further comprises providing, by said PCF, to said SMF, a subscription to a QoS notification control (QNC) report for applying charging according to the alternative charging profile or the charging profile.
  4. 4 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the alternative charging profile comprises an alternative rating group and at least one set of alternative charging parameters, wherein the at least one set comprises one or more of a charging key, a service identifier, a sponsor identifier, an application service provider identifier, a measurement method, and a service identifier level reporting.
  5. 5 . The method in accordance with claim 3 , wherein the QNC report comprises a first parameter identifier for a parameter from an alternative QoS set of parameters that the telecommunication network can guarantee and a second parameter identifier for a parameter from an alternative charging parameter set that the SMF is enforcing or an indication of a QoS recovery.
  6. 6 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the PCC rule comprises a reference to a charging data policy decision type for the alternative charging profile and the charging profile, respectively.
  7. 7 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a first indication from the SMF that the alternative QoS profile and the alternative charging profile are being enforced by the SMF for said protocol data unit (PDU) session; and notifying a third node that the alternative QoS profile are being enforced by the SMF for the PDU session.
  8. 8 . A method in accordance with claim 7 , further comprising: receiving a second indication that the QoS profile and the charging profile are being enforced by the SMF for the PDU session; and notifying the third node that the QoS profile is being enforced by the SMF for the PDU session.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the QoS profile, the charging profile bound to said QoS profile, the alternative QoS profile, and the alternative charging profile bound to said alternative QoS profile are included in the same PCC rule at establishment of the PDU session, such that the alternative QoS profile and the alternative charging profile are applied during the PDU session when the QoS profile can no longer be fulfilled, without modifying the PCC rule during the PDU session.
  10. 10 . The SMF in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry further causes the SMF to, responsive to receiving from the RAN a first notification of the QoS degradation, enforcing the alternative charging profile from the PCC rule corresponding to the alternative QoS profile for charging related to the PDU session.
  11. 11 . The SMF in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry further causes the SMF to notify the PCF of the alternative charging profile being enforced for a corresponding alternative QoS profile, wherein the notifying includes notifying the PCT of: an alternative QoS profile identifier that applies for the PCC rule; and/or an alternative charging profile identifier.
  12. 12 . The SMF in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processing circuitry further causes the SMF to: receive, from the RAN, a second notification that the QoS degradation is recovered to the QoS profile corresponding to the charging profile; responsive to receiving the second notification, enforce the charging profile from the PCC rule; and notify the PCF of the charging profile being enforced for the corresponding QoS profile from the PCC rule.
  13. 13 . A method of enforcing, by a Session Management Function (SMF) in a telecommunication network, a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule, in relation to a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session between a User Device and the telecommunication network, wherein the method comprises: receiving, by said SMF, from a Policy Control Function (PCF) in said telecommunication network, Quality-of-Service (QoS) parameters and related charging parameters for enforcing said PCC rule in relation to said PDU session between said User Device and said telecommunication network, wherein said QoS parameters and related charging parameters comprise: a QoS profile and a charging profile bound to said QoS profile, and an alternative QoS profile and an alternative charging profile bound to said alternative QoS profile, wherein said alternative QoS profile and said alternative charging profile is to be used in case of QoS degradation; receiving, by said SMF, from a Radio Access Network (RAN), part of said telecommunication network, a notification that QoS targets are not guaranteed but QoS targets of said alternative QoS profile can be used; enforcing, by said SMF, said alternative QoS profile and said alternative charging profile in case of QoS degradation; and providing, by said SMF, to said PCF, a notification that QoS targets are not guaranteed, wherein the notification indicates said alternative QoS profile that is guaranteed and said alternative charging profile that is being applied; wherein the QoS parameters and related charging parameters are received at, or as part of, establishment of the PDU session with the QoS profile, and wherein the notification is provided to said PCF during the PDU session based on said RAN part of said telecommunication network detecting QoS degradation that comprises the QoS targets associated with the QoS profile no longer being guaranteed such that the QoS profile can no longer be fulfilled.
  14. 14 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising, responsive to receiving from the RAN a first notification of the QoS degradation, enforcing the alternative charging profile from the PCC rule corresponding to the alternative QoS profile for charging related to the PDU session.
  15. 15 . The method in accordance with claim 14 , wherein enforcing the alternative charging profile from the PCC rule corresponding to the alternative QoS profile for charging related to the PDU session comprises informing a charging node regarding charging for data of the PDU session using the alternative charging profile.
  16. 16 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising notifying the PCF of the alternative charging profile being enforced for a corresponding alternative QoS profile, wherein the notifying includes notifying the PCT of: an alternative QoS profile identifier that applies for the PCC rule; and/or an alternative charging profile identifier.
  17. 17 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein said receiving further comprises receiving a subscription to a QoS notification control (QNC) report for applying charging according to the alternative charging profile or the charging profile.
  18. 18 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising: receiving, from the RAN, a second notification that the QoS degradation is recovered to the QoS profile corresponding to the charging profile; responsive to receiving the second notification, enforcing the charging profile from the PCC rule; and notifying the PCF of the charging profile being enforced for the corresponding QoS profile from the PCC rule.
  19. 19 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the alternative charging profile comprises an alternative rating group and at least one set of alternative charging parameters, wherein the at least one set comprises one or more of a charging key, a service identifier, a sponsor identifier, an application service provider identifier, a measurement method, and a service identifier level reporting.
  20. 20 . The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the PCC rule comprises a reference to a charging data policy decision type for the alternative charging profile and the charging profile, respectively.

Description

The present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly to communication methods and related devices and nodes supporting wireless communications. BACKGROUND 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture that allows handling Policy and Charging Control in the network. This architecture is defined in 3GPP TS 23.503 (5th Generation (5G)) or 3GPP TS 23.203 (Evolved Packet Core (EPS)). For ease of discussion, the description herein is based on 5th Generation Core (5GC) architecture. Other architectures may be used, including without limitation, EPC. A Policy Control Function (PCF) encompasses policy control decision and flow based charging control functionalities. The PCF provides network control regarding the service data flow detection, gating, quality of service (QoS) and flow based charging (except credit management) towards the Session Management Function (SMF). The PCF receives session and media related information from the Application Function (AF) and informs AF of traffic plane events. The PCF provisions PCC Rules to the SMF via a N7 reference point. The N7 reference point is defined for the interactions between PCF and SMF in the reference point representation. (See e.g., 3GPP TS 23.503 Rel. 16, p. 21). The PCF informs the SMF through the use of PCC rules on the treatment of each service data flow that is under PCC control, in accordance with the PCF policy decision(s). The SMF/User Plane Function (UPF) encompasses service data flow detection (based on the filters definitions included in the PCC rules), as well as online and offline charging interactions (not described here) and policy enforcement. An Application Function (AF) is an element offering applications in which service is delivered in a different layer (i.e. transport layer) from the one the service has been requested (i.e. signaling layer), the control of flow resources according to what has been negotiated. The AF shall communicate with the PCF to transfer dynamic session information (i.e. description of the media to be delivered in the transport layer). This communication is performed using the Rx interface or N5 interface. The N5 reference point is defined for the interactions between PCF and AF in the reference point representation. (See 3GPP TS 23.503 Rel. 16, p. 21). A Charging Function (CHF) is responsible for converged online charging and offline charging functionalities. It provides quota, re-authorization triggers, rating conditions and is notified about usage reports from the SMF. SUMMARY Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a method by a first node of a telecommunication network. In some of said embodiments the first node is a PCF, a second node is a SMF, and a third node is an AF. The method includes providing an alternative charging profile and an alternative QoS profile to a second node, such as a SMF node, as part of a policy and charging, PCC, rule. The method also includes requesting the second node to apply charging from the PCC rule according to the alternative charging profile based on a QoS degradation. In some of said embodiments, the method further includes mapping a service quality of service, QoS, requirement to a QoS profile and an alternative service QoS requirement to the alternative QoS profile, respectively, in the PCC rule for a protocol data unit, PDU, session between a communication device and a server rendering a service to the communication device. Additionally, the method includes determining a charging profile that corresponds to the QoS profile and an alternative charging profile that corresponds to the alternative QoS profile, respectively, for the PDU session. In some embodiments, the method performed by a first node, such as a PCF node, further includes monitoring at least one of a first parameter identifier and a second parameter identifier. In some embodiments, the method performed by the first node further includes receiving a first indication from the second node, such as an SMF node, that the alternative QoS profile and the alternative charging profile are being enforced by the second node for a protocol data unit, PDU, session; and notifying a third node, such as an AF node, that the alternative QoS profile by the second node for the PDU session. In some of said embodiments, the method performed by the first node further includes receiving a second indication that the QoS profile and the charging profile are being enforced by a second node, such as a SMF node, for the PDU session. The method further includes notifying the third node, such as an AF node, that the QoS profile are being enforced by the second node for the PDU session. Some other related embodiments are directed to a method by a second node of a telecommunication network. In some of said embodiments a first node is a PCF, the second node is a SMF, and a third node is an AF. The method includes receiving from a first node, such as a