Solution

3G billing made easy

3G billing made easy

3G networks bring clearer voice communications and support value-added services like Internet access, online games,
mobile TV, and navigation. Operators are working hard to keep up with the rapid development of 3G services and full
service operations. One basis for 3G success is to create a real-time, accurate, flexible and strong billing system.
By Ding Jianjun & Zhang En

3G billing requirements

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45 MAY 2009 . ISSUE 49

here have been two billing models.

One is used by mobile operators
and focuses on billing voice calls,
SMS and multimedia messaging
services; while the other is used by fixed
operators and focuses on billing landlines and
Personal Handy-phone System services. The
billing platforms are independent from each
other.
3G services, increasingly diversified and
personalized, are moving towards broadband
and fixed-mobile convergence. Existing
billing systems cannot handle the additional
requirements and become the bottleneck.
Network convergence, especially the
deployment of the IP-based softswitch and
IMS networks, plus increasingly varied services
requires a more advanced billing system. The
operator needs a new billing system that can
support fast 3G market expansion, new rates,
new products, and marketing mix of multiple
services. That is where the convergent billing
system comes in handy, incorporating realtime and convergent capabilities.
Real-time: The traditional quasi-real-time
business and operation support system (BOSS)
cannot prevent mounting defaulting fees. This
increases the operational risks of operators and
subscribers do not have easy access to real-time
account information. The operators and their
partners cannot query and analyze the service
data in real time, so they are falling behind
in up-to-date market developments and slow
to respond to subscriber requirements. This
could adversely affect their market expansion
efforts and lower customer satisfaction.

Huawei Communicate

Convergence: The convergent billing

system has four outstanding features
including: 1) convergence of brand names
and payment modes; 2) convergence of
various services, products, and subscribers,
while enabling preferential tariffs; 3)
convergence of various billing modes;
4) convergence of prepaid and postpaid
plans.

OCS the optimum choice

The Online Charging System (OCS)
serves as a key part of the 3GPP network
architecture. Based on 3GPP and relevant
technical specifications, the OCS system
is a real-time and flexible billing system
that features high availability, stability
and scalability. The OCS system can fully
meet 3G service billing requirements. A
convergent OCS not only supports realtime billing and credit control, but also
enables full service operations.
The OCS is designed to separate call
control from billing control and separate
billing control from billing applications.
Logically, the OCS system consists of
functional modules such as the adaptation
layer, real-time billing engine, rating
policy, real-time transaction processing
and system management. This enables the
OCS system to adapt to complex networks
and converge networks, services and
subscribers.
The OCS adopts a mature in-memory
database to ensure the real-time
performance of various applications. The
service logic of the OCS system is built
on flexible billing engine scheduling. The
rating rules are based on the customized
policy library, helping operators deploy new
services rapidly. The OCS also provides
open API and open network access.
The core element of the OCS system
is the convergent billing engine (CBE)
which integrates service control point
(SCP), integrated service management
platform (ISMP), customer relationship
management (CRM), and Mediation as
part of an end-to-end convergent billing
solution. The open interfaces between
various products increase the solutions
flexibility. Operators can be provided with
a total solution or with different products

based on actual requirements. The latter

choice enables operators to use third-party
products to realize on-line billing and
matching individual requirements.
The OCS solution offers features
like: 1) full service operation capability,
including various value-added services,
voice, data, and short message services;
2) high flexibility, with a dynamic policy
library and flexible expansion; 3) real-time
operations, with a in-memory database
and highly efficient bus; 4) high scalability,
with distributed architecture and scalable
external interfaces; 5) high reliability, with
hot standby and switchover polices, which
is proven to be 99.999% reliable; 6) easy
maintenance, with graphical user interfaces
and a standard interface for the network
management system.
Huawei OCS solutions have been in
commercial use on a large scale around
t h e w o r l d . Op e r a t o r s l i k e Et i s a l a t ,
AIS, Mobile-8, and Novator have used
Huawei OCS solutions to rapidly deploy
services and take advantage of market
opportunities. Huawei OCS solutions
effectively reduce the cost of a prepaid
system based on traditional intelligent
network, largely improving the subscriber
experience while maximizing return on
investments.

China Telecom benefits

from OCS
China Telecom launched the mobile
service, e surfing with the number segment
189 in December 2008.
Mr. Shang Bing, Executive Director,
President and COO of China Telecom
said, This is a historic event for the
communications industry in China and
a milestone of full service operations for
China Telecom.
e surfing integrates mobile, fixed, and
broadband services to give subscribers an
all-in-one service geared to the Internet
with services like instant messaging, email,
broadband and roaming.
From the end of December 2008
through March 2009, China Telecom
launched the nation-wide sales promotion,
A Wing for Spring, which included a VIP

package, family package, campus package,

discount package and various special
services targeting different customer
groups.
OCS construction is underway at
China Telecom to support market strategy
and service promotion. So far, China
Telecom has set up the OCS system in
Yunnan and Guangdong provinces and
will do the same in other provinces,
setting the stage for large-scale delivery of
convergent services.
China Telecom Yunnan started OCS
construction with Huawei in mid-May
2008. The system became operational at
the end of September 2008, supporting
broadband data services. By the end of
November 2008, Huawei had connected
the OCS system with all other network
elements. The OCS is now able to provide
billing for millions of CDMA subscribers.
The Huawei OCS is highly regarded by
China Telecom Yunnan for its flawless
performance with no system failures,
interruptions or complaints in the first
month of operation.
The OCS system of China Telecom
Guangdong is another success story. In
September 2008, Huawei secured the bid,
and on December 1, the OCS system
successfully handled the existing 2.16
million CDMA subscribers.
In the future, the Huawei OCS system
will also offer billing capabilities to the
fixed and broadband subscribers of China
Telecom Guangdong and gradually
provide convergent billing capabilities.
China Telecom Guangdong was the
first commercial application for China
Telecom, using the OCS system to provide
billing for a large number of CDMA
subscribers.
With the CDMA network expansion
of China Telecom, the OCS will play a
key role as a core billing platform that
drives the full service operations. China
Telecom shows that setting up a real-time
and convergent billing system is the key to
profiting from the 3G trend. Innovative
service, products and marketing solutions
and support for full service operations are
the elements needed for ensuring added
revenues in the 3G era.
Editor: Xu Peng xupeng@huawei.com
MAY 2009 . ISSUE 49

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