Page 389 - 5G Basics - Core Network Aspects

Core network aspects 1

recommended to take the quality of each link into account, such as bandwidth capacity, unit bit cost, bit error
rate, etc.

In MC-Streaming, MSCC-FE and MSCD-FE can optionally generate flow charging records, since all streaming
content would go through them. Charging information can also be generated by underlying network
elements. But some charging conflicts may appear, or some charging information might be omitted, which
may lead to a charging error. Hence, it is recommended that the service, instead of the underlying network
elements, is responsible for flow charging.

11.2.3 Content based charging
For content charging, it is fulfilled based on streaming content to be accessed. Each piece of content has a
price. When ordered, a subscriber will be charged accordingly. This policy is more suitable to VoD (video on
demand) related service types, since subscribers focus more on the content itself than on the bandwidth or
duration to be used during content transmission. This strategy is simple and easy to be implemented. It can
optionally be fulfilled by MC-Streaming itself, more specifically, by the MC-Streaming application control
functional entity (MSAC-FE) or MC-Streaming content control functional entity (MSCC-FE).
11.2.4 Monthly rental based charging

Monthly rental charging is a policy wherein a subscriber pays for a certain amount of fees each month for
subscribing to the streaming service, no matter how long he or she uses and how much amount of content
that he or she accesses. The monthly price is usually a little higher than other charging policies, because of
no restriction of service usage. For MC-Streaming, a tremendous amount of network resources may be
occupied for content transmission. It is important to design a good policy to balance network costs and
operators' benefits, if this kind of charging policy is to be deployed.

11.2.5 Hybrid charging
A single charging policy may not be able to adapt to different deployment of streaming service, since there
are different scenarios and application types for the service. Different charging policies can optionally be
selected. A variety of policies can optionally be provided to support flexible charging and meet different
subscribers' requirements.

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