A holistic solution for charging, billing and accounting in 4G mobile systems

The introduction of open and more flexible business models in 4G mobile networks, as well as the integration of UMTS with WLAN increases the overall overhead and complexity for the dynamic management between heterogeneous networks. To cope with such complexity and enable the seamless provision of value added services the introduction of an integrated platform for at least charging accounting and billing is required. This paper proposes an holistic solution for all management aspects related to charging, billing and accounting in 4G systems. The main concept is the introduction of a platform to incorporate various charging functionalities. The proposed platform is suitable for any business model and is appropriate for the different levels of UMTS-WLAN interworking.