Charging in IP multimedia networks
Abstract
IMS charging can be performed at various planes of
the IMS architecture. Different charging schemes may be utilized.
The optimal charging scheme would be service dependent, but
may also be influenced by user expectations. The 3GPP has
standardized charging mechanisms, protocols and interfaces for
IMS charging control; online and offline charging have been
standardized. However, the design and development of charging
systems is operator dependent. This paper presents an IMS
charging prototype developed and implemented in C, in line with
Open IMS research. The testbed supports flow level, subsystem
level and content level charging for IPTV and VoIP. The testbed
supports online and offline charging; it has been tested with the
UCT IMS client and the Fokus Open IMS system. Testbed proof
of concept and performance results are presented.