JP2018042195A - Communication data amount management device, communication data amount management method, and communication data amount management program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain appropriate billing control of communication caused by redirect control in a communication service employing a pay-as-you-go model.SOLUTION: A communication data amount management device 30 includes: a control unit 31 for maintaining redirect control of communication data on the basis of contents of the communication data on communication between a terminal device 40 and a server device 41; and a calculation unit 32 for calculating an amount of communication data serving as a reference for a pay-as-you-go charge by replacing an actual amount of communication data with an amount obtained on the basis of a prescribed criterion regarding communication data to which the control unit 31 applied redirect control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing the amount of communication data that is a basis for pay-per-use when providing a communication service.

  In recent years, in mobile communication services and the like, a pay-per-use model that combines the amount of communication data that can be used by a user and a service usage fee has become mainstream. In such a pay-as-you-go model, it is indispensable to charge properly in order to maintain customer satisfaction, so there is an expectation for a technology that charges appropriately for the amount of communication data used by users. It is increasing.

  As a technique related to such a technique, Patent Document 1 discloses a billing that prevents billing related to data when the data addressed to the terminal device that has passed through the billing information generation device does not reach the terminal device. A system is disclosed. This system includes a base station device, a data relay device, and a billing information generation device. The base station device generates untransferable data information related to the data addressed to the terminal device that has been transferred through the billing information generating device and not transferred by the base station device. The data relay device generates untransferable data information related to the data addressed to the terminal device that has been transferred through the billing information generating device and not transferred by the data relay device. The billing information generating device generates billing information based on the data transferred by the billing information generating device. The billing system corrects the billing information based on the non-transferable data information.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a method for executing charging control for a sponsored data application based on the Policy and Charging Control architecture. In this method, a service access request by a user is received. In this method, a sponsored data application corresponding to a service access request is determined based on a predetermined policy rule. In this method, a credit control request is sent to the sponsored data billing device. The credit control request includes identification information of the sponsored data application. In this method, a credit control response returned from a sponsored data billing device is received. The credit control response includes charging control information associated with the service access request. In this method, the service access request is redirected to the network device associated with the sponsored data application based on the charging control information.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a method for calculating a communication cost when a service is used from a server of a service provider that provides a service. In this method, a communication log including communication fee information used by the user is associated with information indicating whether or not the user has used the service. In this method, the communication fee used for the service by the user is calculated using the communication log management table storing the associated communication log.

JP 2013-141083 Special table 2015-509334 gazette International Publication No.2015-111527

  In the pay-as-you-go model described above, the amount of communication data to be charged is accumulated according to a method determined by the communication service provider. In a general pay-as-you-go model, the amount of packet data that has passed through a communication network provided by a communication service provider is accumulated as a charge object.

  On the other hand, in the communication service business, redirection control for HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) communication may be performed for the purpose of guiding an advertisement or a user to a specific Web site. In this redirect control, for example, an access request to a target Web site of a user is transferred to another Web site under the control of the communication service provider's system or the like. Since communication by such redirection control is not a user request but communication caused by the convenience of the communication service provider side, it is appropriate to accumulate the amount of communication data by redirection control as an accounting target as it is. It cannot be said that billing control is performed. In other words, the amount of communication data generated by such redirection control is to be accumulated as a billing target based on a standard different from the amount of communication data generated by a user request. Patent Documents 1 to 3 do not mention this problem. The main object of the present invention is to provide a communication data amount management device and the like that solve this problem.

  A communication data amount management device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a control unit that performs redirection control on the communication data based on the content of communication data communicated between a terminal device and a server device, and the redirection control by the control unit. And calculating means for calculating the amount of communication data used as a basis for pay-per-use by replacing the actual amount of communication data with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard.

  In another aspect of achieving the above object, a communication data amount management method according to an aspect of the present invention is directed to an information processing device based on the content of communication data communicated between a terminal device and a server device. Redirect control is performed, and the amount of communication data used as a basis for pay-per-use is calculated by replacing the actual communication data amount with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard for the communication data subjected to the redirect control. .

  In a further aspect of achieving the above object, the communication data amount management program according to one aspect of the present invention performs redirection control on the communication data based on the content of communication data communicated between the terminal device and the server device. Communication data that becomes the basis for pay-per-use by replacing the actual communication data amount with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard for the control process to be performed and the communication data subjected to the redirect control by the control process And a calculation process for calculating an amount.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be realized by a computer-readable non-volatile recording medium in which the communication data amount management program (computer program) is stored.

  The present invention makes it possible to perform appropriate charging control for communication generated by redirection control in a communication service to which a pay-per-use charging model is applied.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile communication system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a table | surface which illustrates the content of the communication data amount used as the reference | standard of the metered amount charge calculated | required by the communication data amount management apparatus 10 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the communication data amount management apparatus 10 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication data amount management apparatus 30 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which can execute the communication data amount management apparatus which concerns on each embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the structure of a mobile communication system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The mobile communication system 1 according to the present embodiment is a communication system provided by, for example, a mobile communication operator or a virtual mobile communication operator MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). The mobile communication system 1 constructs, for example, an EPC (Evolved Packet Core) network that accommodates an LTE (Long Term Evolution) line network.

  The mobile communication system 1 according to the present embodiment is roughly classified into a communication data amount management device 10, a terminal device 20, a base station 21, an MME (Mobility Management Entity) 22, an S-GW (Serving Gateway) 23, and a P-GW. (Packet Data Network Gateway) 24 and server device 25 are included. The communication data amount management device 10 and the server device 25 are communicably connected via the Internet 26. In the configuration of the mobile communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, each component is provided one by one. However, the configuration may include a plurality of each component. The mobile communication system 1 includes a switch for transferring frame data and packet data, a device for performing user authentication (RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) server), and a network device (not shown) such as a firewall. But you can.

  The terminal device 20 is a mobile terminal device having a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal device. The terminal device 20 communicates with the server device 25 with the configuration shown in FIG. 1 in order to receive a service (for example, a website) provided by an application executed by the server device 25.

  The base station 21 has an admission control function when making a call from the terminal device 20, a function for calling a terminal when there is an incoming call (paging) function, a handover control function when the terminal device 20 moves between base stations, and the like. . Since these functions provided in the base station 21 are well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The MME 22, the S-GW 23, and the P-GW 24 are nodes (devices) that construct an EPC. The MME 22 has a mobility control function such as location registration, paging and handover for the terminal device 20, a function of establishing or deleting a route of packet data, and the like. The S-GW 23 has a function of relaying packet data transferred from the base station 21 or the P-GW 24 to the P-GW 24 or the base station 21, a function as an aggregation point of packet data at the time of handover, and the like. . The P-GW 24 has a function of connecting the terminal device 20 and a PDN (Packet Data Network), a function of giving an IP (Internet Protocol) address to the terminal device 20, and the like. Since the functions of the MME 22, the S-GW 23, and the P-GW 24 are defined by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The communication data amount management device 10 is a device that manages the amount of communication data by the terminal device 20 that serves as a basis for the metered billing in order to perform metered billing for the user who uses the terminal device 20. The communication data amount management apparatus 10 includes a PCEF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) 11, a PCRF (Policy and Charging Rule Function) 12, and an OCS (Online Charging System) 13. At least some of the functions of the PCEF 11, the PCRF 12, and the OCS 13 are defined by 3GPP as nodes that construct an EPC.

  The PCEF 11 has a function of controlling a transfer rate of packet data, a function of controlling a communication destination such as redirection, a function of identifying a communication protocol, a function of notifying the OCS 13 of a data transfer amount, and the like. The PCEF 11 realizes the above-described functions based on a PCC (Policy and Charging Control) rule notified from the PCRF 12. The PCRF 12 has a function of notifying the PCEF 11 of a PCC rule. The OCS 13 has a function of managing the data capacity (remaining capacity) that can be used by the user who uses the terminal device 20 or the amount of data used.

  The PCEF 11 and the PCRF 12 are connected by a Gx interface. The PCEF 11 and the OCS 13 are connected by a Gy interface. The Gx interface and the Gy interface use a protocol capable of session management such as the Diameter protocol. The PCEF 11 establishes a session with the PCRF 12 and the OCS 13 through the Gx and Gy interfaces when the communication data between the terminal device 20 and the server device 25 is received. After establishing a session with the PCRF 12 and the OCS 13, the PCEF 11 disconnects the session when communication data between the terminal device 20 and the server device 25 cannot be received over a predetermined period.

  The PCEF 11 includes a control unit 111 and a calculation unit 112. When the communication data between the terminal device 20 and the server device 25 is received, the control unit 111 determines whether the received communication data is a redirect control target based on the PCC rule notified from the PCRF 12. The PCC rule includes, for example, information indicating that communication data is redirected (transferred) to the second website when the access destination specified by the terminal device 20 is the first website. I will do it. Further, it is assumed that the first and second Web sites are executed by the server device 25 or another server device (not shown).

  When the received communication data is a redirect control target (for example, the access destination is the first website), the control unit 111 redirects the received communication data (for example, transfers to the second website). )I do.

  The calculation unit 112 has a function of identifying whether or not the communication between the terminal device 20 and the website is a flow that is redirect-controlled by the control unit 111. When the communication between the terminal device 20 and the website is not redirect-controlled flow, the calculation unit 112 measures the actual amount of communication data between the terminal device 20 and the website, and uses the measurement result as a metered amount. The OCS 13 is notified of the amount of communication data that is the basis for charging. When the communication between the terminal device 20 and the website is a flow under redirect control, the calculation unit 112 obtains the actual amount of communication data between the terminal device 20 and the website based on a predetermined criterion. The amount replaced is notified to the OCS 13 as the amount of communication data used as the basis for the pay-per-use.

  The table shown in FIG. 2 is a table for explaining an example of the content of the communication data amount, which is the basis for the pay-per-use charge, obtained by the calculation unit 112 according to the present embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the actual communication data amount between the terminal device 20 and the Web site is 100 M (mega) bytes.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the communication between the terminal device 20 and the website is communication based on a user request (that is, not communication based on redirect control), the calculation unit 112 calculates the actual communication data amount (that is, , 100 Mbytes) to the OCS 13. In this case, the OCS 13 consumes 100 Mbytes from the data capacity available to the user using the terminal device 20.

  When the communication between the terminal device 20 and the website is communication in which redirection control is performed by the control unit 111, the calculation unit 112 determines the communication obtained based on a predetermined criterion instead of the actual communication data amount. The data amount is notified to the OCS 13. For example, the calculation unit 112 notifies the OCS 13 of 0 bytes as the communication data amount when the communication data amount by the redirection control is not charged. In this case, the OCS 13 does not update the data capacity available to the user who uses the terminal device 20. When the calculation unit 112 performs control to increase the data capacity available to the user as a reward for the user viewing the advertisement by the redirect control, − (minus) 10 Mbytes is transferred to the OCS 13 as the communication data amount. Notice. In this case, the OCS 13 increases the data capacity available to the user using the terminal device 20 by 10 MB.

  When the communication between the terminal device 20 and the website is a communication based on a user request to the redirect destination website performed after the redirect control by the control unit 111, the calculation unit 112 calculates the actual communication data amount. (That is, 100 Mbytes) is notified to the OCS 13. In this case, the OCS 13 consumes 100 Mbytes from the data capacity available to the user using the terminal device 20.

  Next, the operation (processing) of the communication data amount management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The PCEF 11 receives communication data between the terminal device 20 and the server device 25 (step S101). The PCEF 11 establishes a session with the PCRF 12 and the OCS 13, and then obtains a PCC rule from the PCRF 12 (step S102). The control unit 111 in the PCEF 11 determines whether or not the received communication data is a redirect control target based on the PCC rule (step S103).

  When the received communication data is not the redirect control target (No in Step S104), the calculation unit 112 measures the actual communication data amount and notifies the OCS 13 of the measured value (Step S105). The OCS 13 updates the data capacity available to the user of the terminal device 20 (step S110), and the entire process ends.

  When the received communication data is subject to redirection control (Yes in step S104), the control unit 111 performs redirection control on the received communication data (step S106). The calculating unit 112 replaces the actual communication data amount of the communication data subjected to the redirect control with a predetermined value, and notifies the OCS 13 of the value (step S107).

  The PCEF 11 receives communication data based on a user request for the redirect destination (step S108). The calculation unit 112 measures the actual communication data amount of the communication data according to the user request, notifies the measured value to the OCS 13 (step S109), and the entire process proceeds to step S110.

  The communication data amount management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can perform appropriate charging control for communication generated by redirect control in a communication service to which a pay-per-use charging model is applied. The reason is that, when the communication data amount management device 10 performs redirection control on communication data communicated between the terminal device 20 and the server device 25, the actual communication data amount for the communication data is set to a predetermined standard. This is because the amount of communication data serving as a basis for the pay-as-you-go billing is calculated by replacing it with the amount obtained based on the above.

  Below, the effect implement | achieved by the communication data amount management apparatus 10 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated in detail.

  In the communication service business, there is a case where redirection control for HTTP communication is performed for the purpose of guiding an advertisement or a user to a specific Web site. In this redirect control, a request for access to a Web site intended by the user is transferred to another Web site under the control of the communication service provider's system or the like. Such communication by redirection control is not a user request but a communication generated by the convenience of the communication service provider. Therefore, in the communication service business using the pay-per-use model, there is a problem that it is inappropriate as the charge control if the data amount of communication by the redirect control is accumulated as the charge object as it is.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the communication data amount management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the control unit 111 in the PCEF 11 includes a terminal in order to be able to distinguish between communication by a user request and communication by direct control. Based on the content of communication data communicated between the device 20 and the server device 25, redirection control is performed on the communication data. Thereby, for example, when the redirect control is performed by an application executed in the terminal device 20 or the server device 25, the communication data amount management device 10 distinguishes between communication by a user request and communication by direct control. Can be difficult.

  Then, the calculation unit 112 in the PCEF 11 becomes a standard for metered charge by replacing the actual communication data amount with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard for the communication data subjected to the redirect control by the control unit 111. Calculate the amount of communication data. Thereby, the communication data amount management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can perform appropriate charging control for communication generated by the redirect control in the communication service to which the pay-per-use model is applied.

  Further, the communication data amount management device 10 according to the present embodiment replaces the communication data subjected to the redirect control with the pay-per-use model when the actual communication data amount is replaced with zero for the communication data subjected to the redirect control. Can be excluded from billing targets.

  Further, the communication data amount management device 10 according to the present embodiment allows the user to advertise with the redirect control when the actual communication data amount is replaced with a predetermined negative value for the communication data subjected to the redirect control. As a reward for seeing, the service that increases the data capacity available to the user can be provided.

  In addition, the calculation unit 112 according to the present embodiment may replace the actual communication data amount with respect to the communication data subjected to the redirect control by an amount obtained by multiplying the data amount by a coefficient, or by the redirect control. It may be replaced with an amount depending on a transfer destination to which communication data is transferred. Alternatively, the calculation unit 112 replaces the actual communication data amount with respect to the communication data subjected to the redirect control by an amount obtained using a calculation formula including a parameter variable whose value can be set from an external device. May be. The communication data amount management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment replaces the actual communication data amount with respect to the communication data subjected to the redirect control with the amount obtained based on the various criteria described above, thereby enabling flexible charging control. It can be performed.

  Further, the control unit 111 according to the present embodiment may limit the number of times redirection control is performed on communication data to a predetermined value or less. For example, as a reward for the user watching the advertisement through the redirect control described above, the data capacity available to the user is increased without an upper limit by misusing the service that increases the data capacity available to the user. There is a problem. Or, when the redirect control occurs frequently, there is a problem that customer satisfaction is lowered by being repeatedly guided to a website different from the website that the customer wants to access. The communication data amount management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can avoid the occurrence of such a problem by limiting the number of times of performing the redirection control. Further, the communication data amount management device 10 according to the present embodiment, for example, reduces the communication fee or increases the data capacity available to the user according to the upper limit number of redirect controls per day. It is possible to provide a service having a flexible rate plan.

  In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the communication data amount management device 10 is applied to the LTE network is shown. However, the circuit network to which the communication data amount management device 10 is applied is not limited to the LTE network. . The communication data amount management device 10 may be applied to, for example, an xGSN (serving / gateway General packet radio service Support Node) circuit network.

<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing the structure of the communication data amount management device 30 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The communication data amount management device 30 includes a control unit 31 and a calculation unit 32.

  The control unit 31 performs redirection control on the communication data based on the content of the communication data communicated between the terminal device 40 and the server device 41.

  The calculation unit 32 replaces the actual communication data amount with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard for the communication data subjected to the redirect control by the control unit 31, thereby reducing the communication data amount serving as the basis for the metered charge. calculate.

  The communication data amount management device 30 according to the present embodiment can perform appropriate charging control for communication generated by redirection control in a communication service to which a metered charging model is applied. The reason is that, when the communication data amount management device 30 performs redirection control on the communication data communicated between the terminal device 40 and the server device 41, the actual communication data amount for the communication data is determined based on a predetermined standard. This is because the amount of communication data serving as a basis for the pay-as-you-go billing is calculated by replacing it with the amount obtained based on the above.

<Hardware configuration example>
In each embodiment described above, each unit in the communication data amount management apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 can be realized by a dedicated HW (HardWare) (electronic circuit). 1 and 4, at least the following configuration can be regarded as a function (processing) unit (software module) of the software program.
Control units 111 and 31,
Calculation units 112 and 32.

  However, the division of each part shown in these drawings is a configuration for convenience of explanation, and various configurations can be assumed for mounting. An example of the hardware environment in this case will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of an information processing apparatus 900 (computer) that can execute the communication data amount management apparatus according to each embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a computer (information processing apparatus) capable of realizing the communication data amount management apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and hardware capable of realizing each function in the above-described embodiment. Represents the environment.

The information processing apparatus 900 illustrated in FIG. 5 includes the following as constituent elements.
CPU (Central_Processing_Unit) 901,
ROM (Read_Only_Memory) 902,
RAM (Random_Access_Memory) 903,
-Hard disk (storage device) 904,
A communication interface 905 with an external device,
・ Bus 906 (communication line),
A reader / writer 908 capable of reading and writing data stored in a recording medium 907 such as a CD-ROM (Compact_Disc_Read_Only_Memory)
An input / output interface 909;

  In other words, the information processing apparatus 900 including the above-described components is a general computer in which these configurations are connected via the bus 906. The information processing apparatus 900 may include a plurality of CPUs 901 or may include a CPU 901 configured by a multi-core.

  The present invention described by taking the above embodiment as an example supplies a computer program capable of realizing the following functions to the information processing apparatus 900 shown in FIG. The function is the above-described configuration in the block configuration diagram (FIGS. 1 and 4) referred to in the description of the embodiment, or the function of the flowchart (FIG. 3). The present invention is then achieved by reading the computer program to the CPU 901 of the hardware, interpreting it and executing it. The computer program supplied to the apparatus may be stored in a readable / writable volatile memory (RAM 903) or a nonvolatile storage device such as the ROM 902 or the hard disk 904.

  In the above case, a general procedure can be adopted as a method for supplying the computer program into the hardware. The procedure includes, for example, a method of installing in the apparatus via various recording media 907 such as a CD-ROM, a method of downloading from the outside via a communication line such as the Internet, and the like. In such a case, it can be understood that the present invention is configured by a code constituting the computer program or a recording medium 907 in which the code is stored.

  The present invention has been described above using the above-described embodiment as an exemplary example. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. That is, the present invention can apply various modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile communication system 10 Communication data amount management apparatus 11 PCEF
111 Control Unit 112 Calculation Unit 12 PCRF
13 OCS
20 Terminal equipment 21 Base station 22 MME
23 S-GW
24 P-GW
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 Communication data amount management apparatus 31 Control part 32 Calculation part 40 Terminal device 41 Server apparatus 900 Information processing apparatus 901 CPU
902 ROM
903 RAM
904 Hard disk (storage device)
905 Communication interface 906 Bus 907 Recording medium 908 Reader / writer 909 Input / output interface

Claims (10)

Control means for performing redirection control on the communication data based on the contents of the communication data communicated between the terminal device and the server device;
A calculation for calculating the communication data amount that is the basis for the metered charge by replacing the actual communication data amount with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard for the communication data subjected to the redirect control by the control means. Means,
A communication data amount management device comprising: The calculation means replaces the actual communication data amount with an amount indicating zero or a predetermined negative value,
The communication data amount management device according to claim 1. The calculation means replaces the actual communication data amount with an amount obtained by multiplying the actual communication data amount by a coefficient.
The communication data amount management device according to claim 1. The calculation means replaces the actual communication data amount with an amount depending on a transfer destination to which the communication data is transferred by the redirect control.
The communication data amount management device according to claim 1. The calculation means replaces the actual communication data amount with an amount obtained using a calculation formula including a parameter variable whose value can be set from an external device.
The communication data amount management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The control means limits the number of times the redirect control is performed on the communication data to a predetermined value or less.
The communication data amount management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The control means and the calculation means are included in a PCEF that is a node defined in 3GPP.
The communication data amount management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The control means performs redirection control on the communication data communicated by the terminal device connected to the LTE line network or the xGSN line network.
The communication data amount management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Depending on the information processing device,
Based on the content of communication data communicated between the terminal device and the server device, redirect control for the communication data,
With respect to the communication data subjected to the redirect control, an actual communication data amount is replaced with an amount obtained based on a predetermined standard, thereby calculating a communication data amount that is a basis for pay-per-use.
Communication data volume management method. Based on the content of communication data communicated between the terminal device and the server device, a control process for performing redirection control on the communication data;
A calculation for calculating the communication data amount that is the basis for the metered charge by replacing the actual communication data amount with the amount obtained based on a predetermined standard for the communication data subjected to the redirect control by the control process. Processing,
Communication data management program for causing a computer to execute the program.

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