WO2015142229A1

WO2015142229A1 - Method and apparatus for control of communication services

Info

Publication number: WO2015142229A1
Application number: PCT/SE2014/050323
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Abrahamsson
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2014-03-18
Filing date: 2014-03-18
Publication date: 2015-09-24

Abstract

A method, control node and computer program product for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in the communication network. The method comprising a control node receiving a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming. The control node is determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber; and upon affirmative determination checking whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber. The control node is further, based on said check, sending a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and control node for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment.

BACKGROUND

Operators of communication networks face a challenge in how to secure mobile broadband revenues. The tremendous uptake in mobile broadband subscribers and data volume will require substantial investments in operators' telecom infrastructure. On the other hand, users will expect their operator to deliver the service experience they have paid for. Thus, operator revenues from mobile broadband rely on satisfied customers.

A small fraction of the users generates traffic exceeding those of normal users with

magnitude. In many networks, these heavy users are consuming a quite large part of the network resources today. Experience shows that heavy users normally constitutes of 5-10% of the total subscribers, but could consume 70-85% of the network resources. It has been shown that often the heavy users are the biggest consumers of the network resources also during busy hour. With policy control operators can distribute the traffic load more evenly, giving a defined

Quality of Service QoS, e.g. more bandwidth resources, for the normal users (the majority of the subscribers), particularly during the busy hour. Policy control also enables operators to push the heavy user traffic into the non-busy hours where number of normal users is lower. For some heavy user applications, time of day is not very critical since they click to download and leave the application running for hours or even days before completing a larger download. Policy control therefore helps controlling network capacity utilization by managing the traffic in a smarter way.

Today and in the future, operators are introducing new premium services, for example social media, TV, video streaming, VoIP, etc. To make sure that the subscribers get the best end user experience while consuming these premium services policy control is used to allocate more bandwidth for these applications when being accessed.

Operators use policy control to move away from a blanket, flat fee for everyone, to the right price for the right service at the right time ensuring users get the user experience paid for. This gives consumers the chance to choose a subscription that best meets their circumstances and decide how to act when the subscription doesn't meet their current, specific needs.

For operators, policy control makes it possible to get the most value from their bandwidth, by leveraging the right price for the right service at the right time.

In order to handle policy control and charging, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP has in TS 23.203 specified a policy and charging control PCC functionality encompassing the two main functions:

Flow Based Charging, including charging control and online credit control;

Policy control (e.g. gating control, QoS control, QoS signaling, etc.).

The PCC functionality is comprised by the functions of the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function PCEF, the Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function BBERF, the Policy and Charging Rules Function PCRF, the Application Function AF, the Online Charging System OCS, the Offline Charging System OFCS and the Subscription Profile Repository SPR or the User Data Repository UDR.

The PCC architecture extends the architecture of an IP Connectivity Access Network IP- CAN, e.g. General Packet Radio Services GPRS, where the PCEF is a functional entity in the gateway node implementing the IP access to the Packet Data Network PDN.

The PCRF is the part of the network architecture that aggregates information to and from the network supporting the creation of rules and then making policy decisions for subscribers active on the network. However, the 3 GPP PCC architecture does not provide for the OCS to enforce a QoS thereby addressing the need for a solution which ensures that a network traffic policy is applied to the users' traffic, with the policy depending on what service the customer has purchased thereby avoiding congestion in the network. An example is dividing the level of services into service package products such as "gold" (e.g. 3Mbps, 10Gb per month), "silver" (e.g. 512 kbps, 1Gb per month) and "bronze" subscriptions (e.g.. 128 kbps, 500Mb per month), where at a higher cost, faster service and greater available capacity is provided. Certain communication services may be offered to the subscribers of a given communication network according to "product offerings." For example, mobile broadband connectivity may be offered to individual subscribers of a cellular or other wireless or wired communication network in defined blocks of time, e.g., hourly. Additionally, or alternatively, the product offering may be based on discrete blocks of data transfer amounts. What is lacking is an efficient mechanism for roaming user's spending control of incurred costs for data transmission within a plan offer, and telecommunications operators charging for the same.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the invention to provide a method, control node and computer program product for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in the communication network,.

A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in the communication network, the method comprising a control node receiving a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming. The control node is determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber; and upon affirmative determination checking whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber. The control node is further, based on said check, sending a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set.

An advantage is that for example an OCS or PCRF may keep track of roaming status without one offer required to be configured for each and every roaming partner. Thereby, the setup will allocate fewer resources on the control node and put less requirements on surrounding systems. Thus, when control nodes such as OCS or PCFR is roaming-aware i.e. maintain the roaming status of a user, no notifications needs to be sent to an external system that filters the messages and keep track of the roaming status. A second aspect of the invention relates a control node for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network. The control node comprises a processor and a memory. The memory contains instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the control node to receive a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming and to determine an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber. Upon affirmative determination the instructions cause the control node to check whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber; and: based on said check send a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set. A third aspect relates to a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium and a computer program stored on the computer readable medium.

The computer program comprises computer readable code means, which when run in a computer being configured as a control node for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network, causes the computer to receiving a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming and to determine an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber. Upon affirmative determination the computer program further causes the computer to checking whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber; and: based on said check send a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a PCC architecture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a message sequence chart showing an IP-CAN session establishment procedure when the subscriber has not purchased any roaming data package and decides to use e.g. PAYGO, i.e. accepting to pay a running fee for any data transmission.

Figure 3 is a flow chart showing a possible embodiment wherein roaming position is stored before offer purchase or offer activation.

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing another possible embodiment wherein roaming position is stored after offer purchase or offer activation.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an exemplary computing environment for implementing a control node.

Figure 6 shows a computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium and a computer program stored on the computer readable medium

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the present solution. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a PCC architecture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

The PCC architecture allows a user equipment UE 105, subscribing to a Home Public Land Mobile Network H-PLMN 107 access to a Data Network PDN 109via an IP Connectivity Access Network IP CAN , e.g. via a Serving GPRS Support Node SGSN 110 of a GPRS network in a Visited PLMN V-PLMN 111.

The Rx reference point 112 connects the Application Function AF 115 and the Policy and Charging Rules Function PCRF 118. This reference point enables transport of application level session information from AF to PCRF The Gx reference point 120 connects the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function PCEF 122 of a gateway 125, e.g. a GPRS Gateway Support Node GGSN, and the PCRF and enables a PCRF to have dynamic control over the PCC behavior at a PCEF. The Gx reference point enables the signaling of PCC decisions, which governs the PCC behavior. The Gxx reference point 128 connects the Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function

BBERF 130 and the PCRF. The Gxx reference point enables a PCRF to have dynamic control over the BBERF behavior.

The Sp reference point 132 connects the Subscription Profile Repository SPR 135 and the PCRF. The Sp reference point allows the PCRF to request subscription information related to the IP CAN transport level policies from the SPR based on a subscriber ID, a Packet Data Network PDN identifier and possible further IP CAN session attributes.

The Gy reference point 137 connects the Online Charging System OCS 140 and the PCEF and allows online credit control for service data flow based charging.

The Gz reference point 142 connects the PCEF and the Offline Charging System OFCS 145 and enables transport of service data flow based offline charging information.

In order to provide policy information valid for a Gx session to PCRF 125 based on information available in OCS 140 (information like product offerings, time of day based tariff, usage, location etc.) an interface Sy 147 between PCRF and OCS is introduced.

The Sy interface may use existing Diameter base (RFC 3588) and Diameter Credit Control DCC commands (RFC 4006) such as Credit Control Request (CCR), Credit Control Answer (CCA), Re- Authorization Request (RAR) and Re- Authorization Answer (RAA).

Data used to determine policy is analyzed by the OCS both at requests received via Sy and Gy interface. Due to this policy data determination may be based on parameters available on both protocols. A Self Care node 150 may be connected to the OCS for self-care management of for example subscriber data. The Self Care node may be connected using the Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol 152. Control nodes such as the OCS and the PCRF can be co-located in an integrated OCS/PCRF. In the case when the control node involves an integrated OCS and PCRF, it is of benefit to track the SGSN address already at Gx policy request at PDP Establishment.

The SGSN-address (MNC) may be checked and stored by the OCS or the PCRF at Gy credit control requests or at Gx policy requests respectively. By storing this information the OCS or PCRF will be roaming aware and notification logic can resides inside or in conjunction with the OCS or PCRF.

Benefits with evaluating and maintaining the roaming status in OCS or PCRF are that the evaluation can be done in relations to: previous roaming status, the purchased offers and other subscriber attributes that are stored in OCS/PCRF. The operator will thereby have an overview of the subscriber and thereby being able to secure the end-user experience.

The PCEF may include the SGSN-address (e.g. Mobile Network Code MNC), both within a Gx policy request towards PCRF and in a Gy credit control request sent to OCS. The PCEF reports different SGSN-addresses for different roaming partners and thereby these represent the roaming status of the subscriber. The SGSN-address (MNC) is stored in OCS/PCRF and made available for evaluation at next/future requests.

Thus, the SGSN-address (MNC) received in a Gy credit control request, or in a Gx policy request, is stored and available for evaluation against future requests and subscriber attributes in OCS. It also possible to use the Rating-Group, which could represent a SGSN-address, received in a Gy credit control request may be stored and made available for evaluation against future received Rating-Groups and subscriber attributes in OCS.

The OCS may then use the Rating-Group and SGSN-address (MNC) together with a set of optional parameters to determine what purchased Offer (if any) to consume from. There can be different Offers for different roaming partners and there can be a common Offer which represents that Pay-As- You-Go (PAYGO) is accepted by the subscriber. If there is no matching/valid Offer to the received SGSN-address (MNC), then the Gy credit control is rejected, and optionally OCS notifies the subscriber about this e.g. by SMPP.

This notification can be used to trigger a dialogue with the subscriber, where he/she is given the option to buy an Offer for that roaming partner or switch on PAYGO. If he/she switches on PAYGO, it may be valid only for this roaming partner and optionally for a limited amount of time e.g. 24 hours. This brings awareness to the subscriber that he/she is currently using the often more expensive PAYGO option, The mechanism for notification can be more exact by knowing the previous and present roaming status, and thereby avoid flooding the subscriber with multiple messages.

The Policy Control Enforcement Function PCEF of the GGSN 125 receives a request for IP- CAN bearer establishment from an SGSN 110 in step 202 following which the GGSN(PCEF) accepts the request and assigns an IP address for the user.

The SGSN-address (MNC) is sent from the PCEF to the PCRF in the Gx policy request at PDP establishment and also at later stage from the PCEF to the OCS 140 in the Gy credit control request at first service usage. The PCEF determines that Policy and Charging Control PCC authorization is required and requests the authorization of allowed service(s) and PCC rules information from the PCRF 118 in step 205.

The SGSN-address may be stored in the OCS and/or the PCRF. In this example embodiment, the storage is done in the PCRF. The OCS and PCRF may also be centralized as an integrated node comprising both PCRF and OCS functionality.

In step 207 PCRF then makes the authorization and policy decision. In this example, no roaming Offer is available in the PCRF for the subscriber, so no valid policy rule returned in the Gx policy response, and similarly no granted quota is received from the OCS in case of a Gy request. At any of a Gx session (illustrated) or Gy session (not illustrated) the subscriber is notified via the Self-care System in steps 209-211-213 (e.g. by SMS or USSD) to buy a roaming data package or to use PAYGO. In step 213 the subscriber decides to activate PAYGO. In response, the self-care system provisions the PAYGO offer towards OCS/PCRF in step 215 for installing the PAYGO for the subscriber in the PCRF (or alternatively OCS). In step 218 the PCRF sends the decision(s), including a chosen IP-CAN bearer establishment mode, to the PCEF where after the GGSN(PCEF) enforces the decision.

In step 220, a new connection attempt is made by the subscriber. The same network as before is used, and the same SGSN-address (NMC) as in step 205 is included in the Gx policy request and in the Gy credit control request. The Policy Control Enforcement Function PCEF of the GGSN receives the request for IP-CAN bearer establishment from the SGSN which the GGSN accepts the request and assigns an IP address for the user.

The PCEF determines that Policy and Charging Control PCC authorization is required and requests the authorization of allowed service(s) and PCC rules information from the PCRF in step 222.

In step 225 the PCRF then makes the authorization and policy decision by comparing the received SGSN-address (MNC) with the previously stored SGSN. Since these are identical, i.e. relating to the same roaming network, the resulting offer is activated.

In step 228 the subscriber is notified that he/she is using PAYGO. In step 230 the PCRF sends the decision(s), including a chosen IP-CAN bearer establishment mode, to the PCEF where after the policy corresponding to the offer is installed at the PCEF and the GGSN(PCEF) enforces the decision.

If online charging is applicable, and at least one PCC rule was activated, the PCEF activates the online charging session, and provide relevant input information for the OCS decision in step 232 whereby the OCS process the received charging request in step 235 and provides the possible credit information to the PCEF in step 238.

If at least one PCC rule was successfully activated and if online charging is applicable, and credit was not denied by the OCS, the GGSN(PCEF) acknowledges the received IP-CAN bearer establishment request in step 240. In steps 242 the IP-CAN bearer signaling is initiated and the session establishment is

acknowledged in step 245.

As an alternative to storing and performing the check of previously stored SGSN address in the PCRF, the check may instead be performed by the OCS (illustrated with dotted lines in step 235). Thus, a policy decision will be made in a conventional manner in step 207. When the credit request is done over Gy in step 232, the OCS makes an authorization. Since no roaming Offer is available in the OCS for the subscriber, no granted quota is returned from the OCS in step 238. The subscriber is notified via the Self-care System (e.g. by SMS or USSD) to buy a roaming data package or to use PAYGO. Once the subscriber decides to activate PAYGO the self-care system provisions the PAYGO offer towards the OCS for installing the PAYGO for the subscriber in the OCS.

Thus, as has been shown, the roaming position can be captured and stored already at Gx policy request, or alternative later at Gy credit control request.

Step 250 shows a negative case in which a PDP establishment attempt is initiated from another network (e.g. as indicated by another SGSN-address) than the one previously stored. This might be an SGSN in another network roamed into, or an SGSN 108 of the HPLMN as shown in figure 1 Thus, provided that no roaming Offer is available in the OCS/PCRF for the subscriber, no valid policy rule returned in case of Gx policy request, and no granted quota in case of a Gy credit control request. At any of these two stages the subscriber is notified (e.g. by SMS or USSD) to buy a roaming data package or to use PAYGO, as described in step 205-215 above.

Thus, no valid policy is distributed from PCRF, and/or the OCS will reject credit control requests.

An advantage is that multiple notifications when attaching to same network without buying a valid offer can be avoided by comparing the stored SGSN-address (roaming status). It is also an advantage that notification logic for roaming scenarios may reside inside OCS/PCRF, such that no filtering/enrichments by external nodes needed. A further advantage is that different offers, depending on current and previous roaming status, can be proposed and be part of the notifications sent from OCS/PCRF.

Yet another advantage is that only one PAYGO Offer needs to be provisioned in the OCS or PCRF for all roaming PLMNs. As a further improvement - this roaming position may also be pushed to the

purchase/notification portal to improve the user experience by pushing valuable offers or PAYGO activation when policy or credits are missing. I.e. the roaming address is an important parameter in the logic of the customer dialog to offer a customized experience based on the location of the subscriber. The roaming position may be seen as a part of the dialogue status for the end-user communication. Depending on previous and current roaming status notifications may be executed differently e.g. at change between countries but still same operator group.

For example, the subscriber reaches a new country and attaches to roaming partner network. The roaming position is stored already at first connection attempt (using Gx or Gy) but the subscriber is denied service due to lacking valid offer for said roaming partner network. The subscriber is notified to activate PAYGO or other offer. The activated offer will thereby be locked to this specific operator/roaming position and checked at the following Gx/Gy attempt. In this example, the same offer may thus be applicable for several networks but needs to be accepted for each country/network.

The method for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network starts in step 310.

The control node receives a first control request for data transmission in step 315. The request comprises a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming.

The existence of a valid data transmission rule set, such as a valid offer, is checked in step 320. If such a valid rule set exists the control node determines an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber in step 325. An offer that is possible for the user to utilize under the given conditions, e.g. location or time of day - not necessarily activated - but available. Such a data transmission rule set may be determined for both charging (by an OCS) and for policy handling (by a PCRF). In case of charging, the rule set may include a product offer being used for determining a rate for a given service but may also include for example a defined data volume to be consumed within the limitations of the offer. In case of policy handling, the rule set may include a policy rule, or set of policy rules associated with the subscriber and which may be used for controlling the service usage by the user such as Quality of Service QoS or free charging.

Upon negative determination of an active rule set the control node stores the roaming network identifier for the subscriber in step 330. A control answer rejecting the request for data transmission is sent in step 335. The rejection message may constitute a Diameter message such as a Credit Control Answer Reject message for an OCS control node, or a corresponding Diameter message for a PCRF control node.

In step 340 the control nodes sends an initiating message for instantiating a data transmission rule set for the subscriber, such as a USSD message. The initiation may trigger a dialog or notify the subscriber or customer, using USSD. The customer may then select and purchase an offer or selecting a default offer such as PAYGO. The initiation message may also be included with the Diameter rejection message. As a result, the applicable offer is provisioned to the controller node, such as the OCS or PCRF. Upon affirmative determination in step 325 the control nodes checks in step 345 whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber. In alternative solutions only parts of a network identifier is stored and compared - such as the part of the MNC that identifies country and/or network. Based on said check resulting in that the network identifier is stored, the control node is applying the offer in step 355, for example for rating in case of an OCS or for determining policy in case of a PCRF.

A control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set is sent in step 360. A notification message may also be sent to the subscriber or to a a customer handling function in step 350, including at least a part of said roaming network identifier. The customer handling function may be integrated with a control node such as an OCS or a PCRF for USSD dialog handling.

Plural roaming network identifiers may be associated with one data transmission rule set. Thereby, one offer may be valid for several networks or countries, allowing for separate activation for each of these. As mentioned earlier, the control node may be anyone of an OCS or an integrated OCS-PCRF whereby the control request may be a Diameter Credit Control Request received over a Gy interface and the control answer may further be a Diameter Credit Control Answer send over the Gy interface. The control node may be anyone of a PCRF or an integrated OCS-PCRF whereby the control request may be a Diameter Policy Control Request at PDP establishment received over a Gx interface and the control answer may be a Diameter Policy Control answer sent over the Gx interface.

The roaming network identifier includes any one of an SGSN Address, a Rating Group or a PLMN Identity.

For example, before traveling a subscriber purchase a generic offer which is valid for an entire operator group. The offer will be limited to be used in the first country where it is activated. This is done by storing the roaming position at first successful Gx or Gy attempt.

The method for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network starts in step 410.

The control node receives a first control request for data transmission in step 415. The request comprises a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming.

The existence of a valid data transmission rule set, such as a valid offer, is checked in step 420. If such a valid rule set exists the control node determines an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber in step 425.

Upon negative determination of an active rule set the control node stores the roaming network identifier for the subscriber in step 430 and the rule set is also activated. The control node is applying the offer in step 432, for example for rating in case of an OCS or for determining policy in case of a PCRF. A control answer accept response for data transmission is sent in step 435. The accept message may constitute a Diameter message such as a Credit Control Answer message for an OCS control node, or a corresponding Diameter message for a PCRF control node.

Upon affirmative determination in step 425 the control nodes checks in step 445 whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber. In alternative solutions only parts of a network identifier is stored and compared - such as the part of the MNC that identifies country and/or network.

Based on said check resulting in that the network identifier is stored, the control node is applying the offer in step 448, for example for rating in case of an OCS or for determining policy in case of a PCRF.

A control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set is sent in step 460. The accept message may constitute a Diameter message such as a Credit Control Answer message for an OCS control node, or a corresponding Diameter message for a PCRF control node. A notification message may also be sent to a customer handling function including at least a part of said roaming network identifier. The customer handling function may be integrated with a control node such as an OCS or a PCRF for USSD dialog handling.

Based on said check resulting in that the network identifier is not stored, the control node is notifying the user about the rejection in step 450. A control answer rejecting the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set is sent in step 455. The reject message may constitute a Diameter message such as a Credit Control Answer message for an OCS control node, or a corresponding Diameter message for a PCRF control node.

Plural roaming network identifiers may be associated with one data transmission rule set. Thereby, one offer may be valid for several networks or countries, allowing for separate activation for each of these.

As mentioned earlier, the control node may be anyone of an OCS or an integrated OCS-PCRF whereby the control request may be a Diameter Credit Control Request received over a Gy interface and the control answer may further be a Diameter Credit Control Answer send over the Gy interface. The control node may be anyone of a PCRF or an integrated OCS-PCRF whereby the control request may be a Diameter Policy Control Request at PDP establishment received over a Gx interface and the control answer may be a Diameter Policy Control answer sent over the Gx interface. The roaming network identifier includes any one of an SGSN Address, a Rating Group or a PLMN Identity.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an exemplary computing environment for implementing a control node. Although as made clear above, the computing system environment 500 is only one example of a suitable computing environment for an involved system node such as the control node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the claimed subject matter. Further, the computing environment 500 is not intended to suggest any dependency or requirement relating to the claimed subject matter and any one or combination of components illustrated in the example operating environment 500.

The control node includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer 510. Components of computer 510 can include, but are not limited to, a processing unit 520, a system memory 530, and a system bus 521 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 520. The system bus 521 can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

Computer 510 can include a variety of transitory and non-transitory computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 510. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile as well as removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, program units or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CDROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computer 510.

Communication media can embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and can include any suitable information delivery media.

The system memory 530 can include computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 510, such as during start-up, can be stored in memory 530. Memory 530 can also contain data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 520. By way of non-limiting example, memory 530 can also include an operating system, application programs, other program modules, and program data.

The system memory 530 may contain instructions loaded in the memory and processable by the processing unit, or other circuitry, capable of adapting the computer for performing the steps of the control node according to the disclosed solution.

As an example, the instructions may be adapting the computer 510 into a control node for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network. The control node comprises a processor and a memory. The memory contains instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the control node to receive a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming and to determine an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber. Upon affirmative determination the instructions cause the control node to check whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber; and: based on said check send a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set.

The computer 510 can also include other removable/non-removable and volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, computer 510 can include a hard disk drive that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and/or an optical disk drive that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk, such as a CD-ROM or other optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM and the like. A hard disk drive can be connected to the system bus 521 through a non-removable memory interface such as an interface, and a magnetic disk drive or optical disk drive can be connected to the system bus 521 by a removable memory interface, such as an interface.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 510 through input devices such as a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, touch pad, and/or other pointing device. Other input devices can include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or similar devices. These and/or other input devices can be connected to the processing unit 520 through user input 540 and associated interface(s) that are coupled to the system bus 521, but can be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A graphics subsystem can also be connected to the system bus 521. In addition, a monitor or other type of display device can be connected to the system bus 521 through an interface, such as output interface 550, which can in turn communicate with video memory. In addition to a monitor, computers can also include other peripheral output devices, such as speakers and/or printing devices, which can also be connected through output interface 550. The computer 510 can operate in a networked or distributed environment using logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such as remote server 570, which can in turn have media capabilities different from device 510. The remote server 570 can be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and/or any other remote media consumption or transmission device, and can include any or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 510. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 5 include a network 571, such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), but can also include other networks/buses.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 510 is connected to the LAN 571 through a network interface or adapter 560. When used in a WAN networking

environment, the computer 510 can include a communications component, such as a modem, or other means for establishing communications over a WAN, such as the Internet. A communications component, such as a modem, which can be internal or external, can be connected to the system bus 521 through the user input interface at input 540 and/or other appropriate mechanism.

In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 510, or portions thereof, can be stored in a remote memory storage device. It should be noted that the network connections shown and described are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.

Additionally, it should be noted that as used in this application, terms such as "component," "display," "interface," and other similar terms are intended to refer to a computing device, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution as applied to a computing device. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program and a computing device. As an example, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be components. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computing device and/or distributed between two or more computing devices, and/or communicatively connected modules. Further, it should be noted that as used in this application, terms such as "system user," "user," and similar terms are intended to refer to the person operating the computing device referenced above. When an element is referred to as being "connected", "coupled", "responsive", or variants thereof to another element, it can be directly connected, coupled, or responsive to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected", "directly coupled", "directly responsive", or variants thereof to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, "coupled", "connected", "responsive", or variants thereof as used herein may include wirelessly coupled, connected, or responsive. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. The term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "comprises", "include", "including", "includes", "have", "has", "having", or variants thereof are open-ended, and include one or more stated features, integers, elements, steps, components or functions but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, elements, steps, components, functions or groups thereof. Furthermore, as used herein, the common abbreviation "e.g.", which derives from the Latin phrase "exempli gratia," may be used to introduce or specify a general example or examples of a previously mentioned item, and is not intended to be limiting of such item. The common abbreviation "i.e.", which derives from the Latin phrase "id est," may be used to specify a particular item from a more general recitation. It should also be noted that in some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the flowcharts. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Moreover, the functionality of a given block of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be separated into multiple blocks and/or the functionality of two or more blocks of the flowcharts and/or block diagrams may be at least partially integrated.

Finally, other blocks may be added/inserted between the blocks that are illustrated.

Moreover, although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of various exemplary combinations and subcombinations of embodiments and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

Many variations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present solution. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present solution.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in the communication network, the method comprising a control node performing the steps of:

receiving a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming;

- determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber; and upon affirmative determination:

(i) checking whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber; and: based on said check:

(ii) sending a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber includes: upon negative determination:

(i) storing the roaming network identifier for the subscriber

(ii) sending a control answer rejecting the request for data transmission; and

(iii) sending an initiating message for instantiating a data transmission rule set for the subscriber.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the step of sending further includes sending a notification message to a customer handling function including at least a part of said roaming network identifier.

4. A method according to any one of claims 2-3 wherein plural roaming network identifiers are associated with one data transmission rule set.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber includes; upon negative determination:

(i) activating the data transmission rule set;

(ii) storing the received roaming network identifier for the subscriber;

(iii) sending a control answer allowing the data transmission according to the activated data transmission rule set.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the control request is a Diameter Credit Control Request received over a Gy interface and the control answer is a Diameter Credit Control Answer send over the Gy interface.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the control node is anyone of an OCS or an integrated OCS-PCRF.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1-5 wherein the control request is a Diameter Policy Control Request at PDP establishment received over a Gx interface and the control answer is a Diameter Policy Control answer send over the Gx interface.

9. A method according to claim 8 wherein the control node is anyone of a PCRF or an integrated OCS-PCRF.

10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the roaming network identifier includes any one of an SGSN Address, a Rating Group or a PLMN Identity.

11. A control node for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network, the control node comprising:

a processor (520);

a memory (530) containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the control node to:

receive a first control request for data transmission comprising a first roaming network identifier indicating that the UE is roaming;

- determine an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber; and upon affirmative determination:

(i) check whether at least a part of the roaming network identifier is stored for the subscriber (120) as a result of a previous control request for the same subscriber; and: based on said check:

(ii) send a control answer allowing the data transmission within the determined data transmission rule set.

12. A control node according to claim 11 wherein the memory is further containing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the control node to, when determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber, upon negative determination:

(i) store the roaming network identifier for the subscriber

(ii) send a control answer rejecting the request for data transmission; and

(iii) send an initiating message for instantiating a data transmission rule set for the subscriber.

13. A control node according to claim 12 wherein the memory is further containing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the control node to, when sending, further sending a notification message to a customer handling function including at least a part of said roaming network identifier.

14. A control node according to any one of claims 12-13 wherein plural roaming network identifiers are associated with one data transmission rule set.

15. A control node according to claim 11 wherein the memory is further containing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the control node to, when determining an active data transmission rule set for the subscriber, upon negative determination:

(i) activate the data transmission rule set;

(ii) store the received roaming network identifier for the subscriber;

(iii) send a control answer allowing the data transmission according to the activated data transmission rule set.

16. A control node according to any one of claims 11-16 wherein the control request is a Diameter Credit Control Request received over a Gy interface and the control answer is a Diameter Credit Control Answer send over the Gy interface.

17. A control node according to claim 16 wherein the control node is anyone of an OCS or an integrated OCS-PCRF.

18. A control node according to any one of claims 11-15 wherein the control request is a Diameter Policy Control Request at PDP establishment received over a Gx interface and the control answer is a Diameter Policy Control answer send over the Gx interface.

19. A control node according to claim 18 wherein the control node is anyone of a PCRF or an integrated OCS-PCRF.

20. A control node according to any one of claims 11-19 wherein the roaming network identifier includes any one of an SGSN Address, a Rating Group or a PLMN Identity.

21. A computer program product (600), comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium (610) and a computer program (620) stored on the computer readable medium, the computer program comprising computer readable code means, which when run in a computer (510) being configured as a control node for control of communication services consumed by a subscriber using a user equipment, UE, in a communication network,, causes the computer to perform the following steps: