scope:

Scope & Purpose

This document specifies requirements and architecture for the collection and management of usage data for applications across packet-based networks. One purpose of this specification is to interpret and enhance ITU-T Recommendation Y.2233 in the North American context. It will additionally address protocol requirements for various reference points within the charging architecture.

Usage data is fundamental to ensuring customer charging and billing settlements reasonably correlate to the resources consumed to provide telecommunications services. Enhancements and refinements of Y.2233 will support various billing applications normally encountered in the North American context such as found in various supplier-partner relationships, including the following: retail, wholesale, and intercarrier billing settlements. Although usage data can also support non-accounting operations such as traffic management, fraud management, and market analysis, these will not be addressed in detail in this document.

The requirement to account for network and or service usage in real-time carries with it an unspoken requirement: high-performance. In this case, high-performance means the efficient use of capabilities of both the network and the network elements, such that the timely availability of usage records is possible even in situations where both the network and network elements are stressed by a high volume of traffic. Attaining such efficiency requires delivery protocols that minimize the overhead involved with delivering event messages and CDRs, while still enabling the reliable transfer of messages.