As wireless telecommunication networks have evolved and expanded, there has been an ever-increasing need to manage the ways in which users are charged for their wireless device usage. With the advent of smart mobile devices that are capable of putting a much bigger burden on the telecommunications network through data access and streaming, there is a need to provide management of network usage that can control access to the network in real-time, particularly with regard to data consumption. This includes everything from always-on internet access to streaming of videos and applications like games.
Users may pay for their access to wireless networks in both prepaid and post-paid billing systems. The wireless network includes several logical functions to handle these systems. The vast majority of subscribers use post-paid billing which is handled by an Offline Charging System (OFCS) that transfers charging information to a Billing Domain (BD) where it is processed. Prepaid billing is handled by an Online Charging System (OCS) which may also forward charging information to the BD is a similar way.
With the increasing usage of network resources, service providers (SP) are actively pushing tiered data consumption limits. A tiered plan allows mobile device users to get their data at one rate up to a given quota limit, and at a different rate with a second quota limit. In some alternate cases, the SP may degrade the Quality of Service (QoS) after the first quota limit and provide unlimited data consumption with the degraded QoS till the end of the billing cycle.
While the QoS gating upfront with an OCS is relatively straightforward, there are no easy alternatives for the post-paid subscribers, as OCS is not in the call-control or data delivery path for them. Additionally, even with OCS, while QoS gating can be effectively applied on individual subscribers and sessions, there is no concept of applying it on a group basis. Examples of the group-based QoS gating would include enterprise users on a business usage plan, and members of a family on a personal usage plan.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus for QoS and gating control with an offline charging system (OFCS). There is also a need to QoS and gating control as a function of quota consumption by a group of users.