Do you need a way to contain network costs as mobile data traffic increases - and data revenue streams grow at a slower rate? Would you like to quickly offer personalized services and other new applications to your mobile subscribers? Mobile operators who position their networks to support intelligent, granular service control will be able to rapidly deploy new services to monetize the mobile broadband tidal wave. These operators stand to win and retain loyal customers with a better end-user experience, while raising their profit margins.
Cisco offers an end-to-end Policy and Charging Control (PCC) solution that provides one of the lowest total costs of ownership (TCO) on the market today without trading performance for functionality. Based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project's (3GPP's) PCC standard (Rel-7 and Rel-8 compliant), the Cisco® PCC solution allows operators to achieve real-time control of their network resources, control subscriber access to services, and proactively optimize network capacity, while offering compelling new services and applications.
A TCO analysis conducted by Network Strategy Partners showed that with the integrated functionality on Cisco's ASR 5000 multimedia core platform (mobile gateway, deep packet inspection, inline services), operators can achieve operational savings of 30 to 40 percent over leading competitive offerings with multiple-box solutions. They can rapidly deploy a wide variety of standard services or new services to improve the quality of experience for their subscribers and generate additional revenue. Operators also have investment protection with a solution that supports both 2.5G and 3G applications today and requires only a software upgrade to support 4G.
Functions
The Cisco PCC solution supports three key capabilities: policy, enforcement, and charging.
Policy
Policy and Charging Rules Function
The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) houses the individual policies defining network, application, and subscriber conditions that must be met in order to successfully deliver a service or maintain the QoS of a given service. PCRF is standardized in 3GPP as part of the LTE solution.
Subscriber Profile Repository
The Subscriber Profile Repository (SPR) is a logical entity that may be a standalone database or integrated into an existing subscriber database such as a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). It includes information such as entitlements, rate plans, etc.
The PCRF and SPR functionality is provided through an ecosystem of partnerships.
Enforcement
Policy and Charging Enforcement Function
Enforcement is a critical component of a policy solution. The Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) is responsible for enforcing policies with respect to authentication of subscribers, authorization to access and services, and accounting and mobility. The PCEF functionality is embedded into Cisco's multimedia core platforms.
Charging
Online and Offline Charging
The Online Charging Subsystem (OCS) provides online (or real-time) credit control and quota management for subscriber data sessions. Quota management may include multiple data sessions whereby the balance manager component of the OCS keeps track of the subscriber's usage and remaining quota balance. Online credit control may be used to support policy enforcement for both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers.
The Offline Charging Subsystem (OFCS) receives charging data in the form of Charging Data Records (CDRs) and diameter accounting messages from network elements after the subscriber incurs network resource usage. The OFCS does not have an active, real-time role in the processing of charging policies.
OCS and OFCS functionality is provided through strategic partnerships.
Services
Cisco offers PCC services that are grouped into three main categories:
• Resource management
• Service personalization
• New revenue creation
Resource Management
Operators need to improve the quality of experience for their subscribers in order to improve customer satisfaction and reduce turnover. Resource management services help assure the proper allocation of network resources based on what the subscriber has purchased and what the network can deliver.
Key Capabilities
• Fair usage: Track, monitor, and enforce compliance with usage and allowance caps to help ensure fair usage for all users.
• Traffic optimization: Manage capacity-growth costs through network-based traffic optimization. Adjust allowance caps in real time based on application in use and network congestion levels; for example, P2P detection with QoS enforcement.
• Time-based differential charging: Help manage network congestion by potentially charging subscribers a higher rate during peak-hour network usage.
Figure 1. 3GPP Release 7 Architecture
Personalization Services
Cisco's personalization services help you meet the individual needs of your subscribers.
Key Capabilities
• Automated usage notifications: Prevent "bill shock" and reduce subscriber turnover by providing real-time notification when subscribers are nearing or reaching their limit and offer options to top-up or upgrade service. Subscribers will still maintain connectivity but the bandwidth level can be throttled down until top-up or upgrade occurs.
• Tiered services: Improve customer satisfaction by personalizing service packages to individual usage patterns. Up-sell new offers based on the subscriber's behavior and profile; for example, offer a time-based turbo service to a heavy video user.
• Parental control: Improve customer loyalty by offering parental control capabilities like blacklisting particular websites, controlling when children can use their phones (for example, no usage during school hours or late at night), and controlling usage levels.
• Roaming management: Protect subscribers from "roaming shock" by detecting when they are roaming outside their network and providing automated notifications alerting them of service rates in the particular roaming area. Also provide notification when they are nearing or reaching their limit. Provide options for top-up.
Figure 2. 3GPP Release 8 Architecture
New Revenue Creation
New revenue-creation services allow operators to take advantage of the increase in data traffic and better align revenue contributions with the expense of continually increasing the capacity and tools needed to manage the network.
Key Capabilities
• Turbo service: Provide subscribers with the option to dynamically upgrade QoS for a particular period of time or application. For example, subscribers who to watch a 30-minute podcast can upgrade their service for this duration.
• Location-based differential charging: Improve customer retention by offering lower service rates to subscribers who use mobile service rather than land lines when in the office or at home.
• On-net preferential charging: Offer lower or zero service rates to on-net applications or websites versus off net applications, improving customer traction with network-hosted applications.
Conclusion
With mobile broadband deployments, mobile operators recognize that bandwidth consumption is increasing much faster than revenue. The development and standardization of Policy and Charging Control solutions such as Cisco's help assure the proper allocation of network resources for the exact task based on what the subscriber has purchased and what the network can deliver.
