A server of a fifth generation (5G) network can provide substantially real-time charges for a UE during fallback to another network. A Telephony Application Server (TAS) in an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) can identify Evolved Packet System Fallback (EPSFB) and report the EPSFB to a charging system to cause the charging system to generate accurate charges for user equipment communicating over the 5G network and the other network. The TAS can comprise logic to identify a change in P-Access-Network-Information associated with each network, and generate a call detail records for billing, or real-time communication via an online charging and/or offline charging for the served UE. Information (a user profile, call detail records, instance of EPSFB, etc.) associated with the TAS can be used to make network improvements that decrease instances of EPSFB and increase an amount of new radio services available to UEs.

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies. In one example charging method, a gateway manages, by using customer as a granularity, charging information of a plurality of devices of a customer that are currently connected to the gateway, and establishes one customer-level charging session or customer level Charging Data Record (CDR) for each customer.

Techniques and architectures enable a wireless communications network to allow for dynamic changes or on-the-fly selections of Fair Usage thresholds or other thresholds and to allow for the Fair Usage thresholds to be associated with individual subscribers of the wireless communications network. Subscriber groups of relatively small granularity or individual subscribers may be assigned a profile that sets forth actions to be applied to subscribers in response to the subscribers reaching particular thresholds of data usage.

An AMF of a communications system responds to receipt of a network attach request message of a UE requesting attachment to a network of the communication system, by sending a charging data request message toward a CHF containing a notification for the CHF to keep a charging data resource to track charging for network resources used for communications associated with UE while attached to the network. The AMF receives a response message of the CHF containing a reference for the charging data resource associated with the UE while attached to the network. The AMF responds to receiving a PDU session establishment request message of the UE, by sending a PDU session establishment request message containing the reference for the charging data resource toward a SMF. Related SMF and CHF of the communications system are disclosed.

A method in a network node comprises: detecting a Quality of Service (QoS) Violated Event in respect of a particular QoS flow of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session; and sending a corresponding QoS violated event report to any one or more of: a Session Management Function (SMF) of the network; a Policy Control Function (PCF) of the network; an Application Function (AF) of the network; and a third party service provider.

A Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) can be aware of whether a UE connects through a cellular or WIFI connection through a gateway. Management messages can be modified to allow the PCEF volume based online charging functionality to remain in the core network (i.e. in the P-GW/PCEF). Session management messaging between the ISWN (ISW-GW) and the core network (P-GW/PCEF) may be modified so that the core network may be notified when the ISWN moves a bearer, or flow, from one RAT to another. Alternately, PCEF volume based online charging functionality can be added to the ISWN. The PCEF of the ISWN can be tasked with performing volume based online charging while the UE is in the ISWN.

Provided is a technology for executing a virtualized network function in a wireless communication system. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a server may obtain traffic processing information and mobile edge computing (MEC) service usage information regarding user equipments (UEs) that have accessed a plurality of base stations connected to the server, obtain, based on the traffic processing information and the MEC service usage information, information about traffic to occur due to UEs accessing the plurality of base stations and MEC services to be used by the UEs, and determine, based on the obtained information about the traffic and usage of the MEC services, at least one hardware component on which a software component virtualizing a network function in the server is to be executed.

A first network device may receive, from a second network device, a first policy control create request and may provide, to the second network device, a common policy control request trigger. The first network device may receive a second policy control create request associated with a user equipment (UE) and may cause a UE policy to be provided to the UE. The first network device may receive, from a third network device, a third policy control create request and may provide a network device policy to the third network device. The first network device may receive, from the second network device, a policy control update request based on the common policy control request trigger and may generate an updated UE policy or an updated network device policy based on the policy control update request.

In a wireless communication network, distributed ledger circuitry executes a contract from an origin block and transfers an instantiation request for a wireless network slice to network orchestration circuitry. The network orchestration circuitry instantiates the wireless network slice responsive to the instantiation request from the distributed ledger circuitry. The wireless network slice delivers a wireless network service to the UEs and transfers slice usage data to the distributed ledger circuitry. The distributed ledger circuitry executes the contract from middle blocks and a termination block to form a blockchain that stores the slice usage data for the wireless network slice. The distributed ledger circuitry transfers a termination request for the wireless network slice to the network orchestration circuitry responsive to the execution of the contract from the termination block. The network orchestration circuitry terminates the wireless network slice responsive to the termination request from the distributed ledger circuitry.

A charging processing method includes: A charging trigger device sends a charging request message to a charging processing device, where the charging request message includes redundant transmission information, that is, related information of redundant transmission used for a data connection service in a data connection session; and the charging processing device performs charging processing based on the redundant transmission information, including determining a redundant service charging processing mode, performing charging processing on a usage amount reported by the charging trigger device, sending usage amount processing indication information to the charging trigger device, or the like.