Telecommunication management; Charging management; Voice Call Service (VCS) charging
The present document is part of a series of documents that specify charging functionality and charging management in GSM/UMTS networks. The GSM/UMTS core network charging architecture and principles are specified in TS 32.240 [1], which provides an umbrella for other charging management TSs that specify:
- the content of the Charging Data Records (CDRs) per domain / subsystem / service (offline charging);
- the content of real-time charging messages per domain / subsystem / service (online charging);
- the functionality of online and offline charging for those domains / subsystems / services;
- the interfaces that are used in the charging framework to transfer the charging information (i.e. CDRs or charging events).
The complete document structure for these TSs is defined in TS 32.240 [1].
The present document specifies the online charging description for Voice Call Service (VCS) charging from a Proxy Function, based on the functional description of the Voice Call Service charging in the EU Roaming Regulations III specifications [298, 299].
The concept of voice call is interpreted as any CS call, whatever the teleservice used (speech, 3.1 kHz audio, Fax, or CS data) except CS video telephony calls (BS 37, 64 kbit/s unrestricted digital info mode).
Voice over LTE is not included in this definition. This charging specification includes the online charging architecture and scenarios specific to VCS charging from a Proxy Function, as well as the mapping of the common 3GPP charging architecture specified in TS 32.240 [1] onto VCS. It further specifies the charging events for online charging. The present document is related to other 3GPP charging TSs as follows:
- The common 3GPP charging architecture is specified in TS 32.240 [1];
- The 3GPP Diameter application that is used for VCS online charging is specified in TS 32.299 [50].
Offline charging for the VCS is solely based on TS 32.250 [10] and is outside the scope of the present document.
All references, abbreviations, definitions, descriptions, principles and requirements, used in the present document, that are common across 3GPP TSs, are defined in TR 21.905 [100] "Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications".
Those that are common across charging management in GSM/UMTS domains, services or subsystems are provided in the umbrella document TS 32.240 [1] and are copied into clause 3 of the present document for ease of reading. Finally, those items that are specific to the present document are defined exclusively in the present document.