Rating Overview
MATRIXX Charging Application can perform both online and offline rating in support of next-generation networks and legacy systems. It can also handle hybrid sets of convergent, prepaid, and postpaid services, enabling service providers to have a diverse subscriber base.
MATRIXX Charging Application uses subscriber, device, pricing, and wallet information to associate events and sessions with the correct subscriber and to determine which rates to use and balances to update. In order for rating to occur, the subscriber and the subscriber's device must have an active status. If either is suspended or inactive, a rating denial message is returned to the network.
You can set up simple rates for subscriber usage, for example flat calling rates, or more complex pricing based on any field in a network message or any field in the subscriber, group, and device MDC (MATRIXX data container). For example, a data rate can be based on the content provider, the quality of service, or the subscriber's loyalty status. You can change the information that is captured in the network message or an MDC and introduce new attributes as frequently as needed, without having to update the core system or define custom code. This allows you to set up subscriber-specific pricing and create innovative service offerings. For example, you can give subscribers real-time incentives during service usage and charge them additional fees when they use more than a monthly grant. Or, you can have a gaming service that charges subscribers based on the number of times they play, the number of points they score, or the length of a gaming session. MATRIXX Charging Application determines which rates to use during rating based on the parameter values that are currently valid.
During rating, the MATRIXX in-memory databases are updated and an Event Detail Record (EDR) is logged. Each EDR is added to the MATRIXX Event File (MEF) and published to enterprise systems. Activities that do not result in updates to the database, for example, subscriber queries, do not generate EDRs.
Online Charging Scenarios
- Event-based charging:
- Event charging with unit reservation (ECUR) — Authorizes a request for usage that is performed in a single transaction. An INITIAL_REQUEST message reserves the units beforehand and a TERMINATE_REQUEST message marks the end of the usage, which is charged for afterward. The reservation of units occurs before service delivery and the balance debit operation is performed after the conclusion of service delivery.
- Immediate event charging (IEC) — Authorizes a request for usage that is performed in a single transaction, such as SMS and MMS events. This type of charging is used when it is certain that the requested service event will be successful. An initial event request message requests a direct debit to have the charges (not reservations) applied in full, before the service is delivered. The usage is not authorized unless the entire charge can be applied. The request indicates which service has been activated or how many units have been consumed. If the event fails, for example, due to a network outage, all or part of the amount charged for the usage event can be refunded. The credit control process for events is controlled by the corresponding CC-Request-Type EVENT_REQUEST that is sent with Credit-Control-Request (CCR) for a given event.
- Session charging with unit reservation (SCUR) — Authorizes a request for continuous usage, such as voice or data, with an INITIAL_REQUEST message to reserve units beforehand, a series of UPDATE_REQUEST messages during usage to reserve more units if necessary, and a TERMINATE_REQUEST message containing the last Used-Units. The termination message is used to clear any related reservations and charge for total usage.
Both ECUR and SCUR events are session-based and require multiple transactions between the network application and the MATRIXX Engine. ECUR begins with a request to reserve units before delivering services, followed by an additional request to report the actual used units to MATRIXX Charging Application upon service termination. With SCUR, it is also possible to include one or more intermediate request messages to the network application to report currently-used units, and to reserve more units if required. In both cases, the session state is maintained by MATRIXX Charging Application.
For ECUR and SCUR, units are reserved before service delivery and committed upon service completion. Units are reserved with INITIAL_REQUEST and committed with a TERMINATION_REQUEST. For SCUR, units can also be updated with UPDATE_REQUEST. For all three types of online charging, MATRIXX Charging Application complies with the Diameter Credit Control Application (DCCA) defined in RFC 4006.
For more information about the Diameter Credit-Control application, see Diameter Integration.
Offline Charging Scenarios
MATRIXX Charging Application can charge offline by reading charging data record (CDR) and saving the results to EDRs so the information can be imported into a third-party system for billing or analytical processing.
For more information about CDR processing, see the discussion about processing call detail records.
Rating and Unit Determination
Rating and unit determination are sub-functions for online charging that affect online charging principles. Both can be centralized, where they are performed by MATRIXX Charging Application, or decentralized, where they are performed by the Diameter client.
Unit determination is the calculation of the number of units that are determined before the start of service delivery. They include service units, data volume, and length of time. With centralized unit determination, MATRIXX Charging Application determines the number of units that a certain subscriber can consume based on a service identifier received from the network. With the decentralized unit determination, the Diameter client determines how many units are required to start service delivery and requests these units from MATRIXX Charging Application. After checking the subscriber's balance, MATRIXX Charging Application returns the number of granted units to the Diameter client, which is then responsible for delivering the service and limiting service delivery to the corresponding number of granted units.
Rating is the calculation of a price for the units. With centralized rating, MATRIXX Charging Application determines the price of the units. With decentralized Rating, the Diameter client determines the price of the units.