As mobile operators offer advanced services, it is important to deploy solutions that allow them to realize the full profit potential of those services. Starent Networks is delivering an Enhanced Charging Service (ECS) that gives mobile operators the greatest flexibility and suite of capabilities to bill appropriately for services while offering subscribers a superior network experience.

Enhanced Charging Service
Starent Networks is working to provide ECS capabilities that make it simple for mobile operators to access new revenue streams in the mobile communications marketplace. ECS positions mobile operators to realize the full value of their network while offering a compelling range of services.

Click to enlarge.

The Starent Networks' ECS integrates the ST16 and ST40 multimedia core platforms with best-in-class, deep-packet inspection and intelligent content services applications enabler.

An additional benefit of the Starent Networks' ECS is its ability to perform advanced and intelligent packet flow control and routing, while at the same time, interacting with external rating and charging, as well as policy control subsystems over standard interfaces. The control of packet flows based on information derived from deep-packet inspection is an essential component for the deployment of IP commercial models, enabling lucrative delivery of advanced data services over a variety of wireless and wireline access networks.

Starent's ECS capabilities provide "user understanding" through in-depth examination of data packets. This unique understanding is the key to tiered and detailed billing schemes based on how mobile subscribers utilize their devices. Now mobile operators can meet the complex and processing-intensive accounting challenges required for next-generation network deployments. With ECS, mobile operators can bill according to the following criteria:

Time based — voice, chat sessions, video telephony, etc.
Volume based — packet amount, number of bytes, per destination, etc.
Content based — messaging, e-mail, application download, game session, etc.
Event based — quantity of file downloads or actual video streaming play time
Transaction type — pre-paid, reverse billing, browsing 'in-network' or 'out-of-network', etc.

Examples

Destination-based billing allows the platforms to maintain statistics for each mobile subscriber based on a set of destination servers.
Prepaid using RADIUS or DIAMETER quota control servers
Postpaid GTP G-CDRs and/or EDR/UDRs for post-processing
Reverse destination-based billing enables the mobile carrier to generate new revenue streams by billing advertisers, portals, or content providers when transactions from the mobile subscriber reach those particular sites.
Application-based billing allows the platforms to maintain statistics for a specified application or a group of applications.
Advice of charge "Top Up" capabilities — an additional benefit of the system is its ability to recognize when a pre-paid account is exhausted. The system notifies the subscriber that they need to add to their account and points them to a site that allows them to "Top Up" their account on-the-go.

Learn More

Intelligence at the Edge — Service Steering

As the complexity of service delivery increases, it becomes critical to implement network intelligence that can assess the requirements of a specific service, which may include special billing, compression, parental controls, etc. Once these requirements are understood, the intelligent network can then process and route/steer the traffic appropriately to provide the most efficient and profitable transaction.

Starent Networks has implemented this network intelligence, known as service steering, at the most appropriate point in the network — the edge of the packet core. By implementing service steering at the edge of the network, we can provide the following benefits:

Ability to manage tiered services for subscribers
Reduced latency
Reduced cabling
Less network complexity
Fewer nodes
Few points of failure
Reduced power requirements
More accurate billing
Bandwidth efficiency
Simplified management
Faster time-to-revenue
Increased profitability