Service outsourcing and billing in inter-domain IMS scenarios

Abstract

Resource sharing in commercial mobile networks may present operators with options to cut costs and prevent network churn. In resource sharing, when the network experiences resource constraints, the operator can negotiate with other reachable networks to outsource the provision of network access services. The revenue earned from user payments will be shared by the home operator and the serving operator. Operators participating in service outsourcing are faced with financial challenges with regard to network revenue sharing. Moreover, an operator’s users are placed under service control of the visited operator, a situation that may impact customer experience. On the other hand, the visited operator allocates network resources to visiting users, thus there is a risk of service blockage for home users. In this paper we explore resource sharing in inter-domain frameworks, and investigate factors that influence revenue distribution amongst involved operators. We develop strategies for use by operators to maximize revenue from resource sharing. This work is done in the domain of IP Multimedia Subsystem communications.