JP2014160904A - Settlement system and settlement method - Google Patents

Abstract

Each telecommunications carrier acquires information necessary for settlement based on information that can be distributed within the current prescribed range.
In a settlement system, a SIP server 1 acquires a call arrival / departure number from a received call generation signal, and acquires information on a call carrier from a number resolution server 4 using the call arrival / departure number. Next, the SIP server 1 refers to the settlement information DB 2 using the arrival / departure number and the information on the departure / arrival company, and acquires a connection pattern corresponding to the information on the arrival / departure number and the arrival / departure company. Then, the SIP server 1 acquires information on a business operator who is involved in communication other than the departure and arrival business operators, a charge setting business operator, and a charging rate described in the acquired connection pattern. Then, the settlement / charging device 3 of each business operator involved in communication calculates the network usage fee and charges the network usage fee to the fee setting business operator. The charge setting business operator's checkout billing apparatus 3 calculates the communication fee and checks whether the network usage fee charged by the other business operator is the correct amount.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for distributing information necessary for paying a network usage fee between communication carriers interconnected by an IP (Internet Protocol) network.

  The domestic telephone network has been constructed by a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) composed of exchanges. In PSTN interconnection, for settlement between carriers and billing to users, payment is made between carriers and billed to users using ISUP (ISDN User Part), a PSTN call control protocol. Necessary information was distributed.

  In recent years, the domestic telephone network has shifted from PSTN to an IP network composed of IP devices such as servers and routers. This IP network is constructed based on IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) defined by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) which is an international standardization project. In IMS, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) plays a central role in realizing real-time communication (Non-Patent Document 1). The SIP generates, changes, and disconnects a session necessary for exchanging voice, video, and text messages. However, SIP has only a limited specification such as an ioi (inter operator identifier) parameter of a P-Charging-Vector header as a specification for identifying a communication carrier.

3GPP TS 24.229 “IP multimedia call control protocol based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Session Description Protocol (SDP)”

  For example, although it is possible to set information for identifying the communication carrier in the i-i of the P-Charging-Vector header, only up to two pieces of the identification information can be included. For this reason, a path constituted by a calling company that receives a call from a terminal on the calling side, a relaying company, and a called carrier that transmits a call to a terminal on the called side, that is, a network of three communication carriers is interconnected. There is a problem that information necessary for settlement between telecommunication carriers and billing to users can only be distributed up to the route. In other words, the current regulations and the current settlement system configuration have a problem that depending on the number of telecommunications carriers interconnected by the IP network, it is not possible to appropriately perform settlement between the telecommunications carriers and charge users. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a settlement system and a settlement method that enable each communication carrier to acquire information necessary for settlement based on information that can be distributed within the current prescribed range.

  The present invention is a settlement system provided in a network of a carrier that interconnects with an IP network, and includes a calling party's calling number, a called number indicating the destination of the call, and the call from the calling terminal. Information of the calling carrier indicating the network operator receiving the network, information of the called carrier indicating the network operator transmitting the call to the terminal on the called side, information of the network operator relating to the call route, A storage unit that stores a charging rate of the route and a connection pattern that associates a charge setting operator for determining the charging rate, and receives the calling party number and returns information on the calling party corresponding to the calling party number A number resolution server that receives the called number and returns information of the called business operator corresponding to the called number, obtains the calling number and the called number from the call, and obtains the obtained calling number Send to the number resolution server Information is acquired, the acquired called number is transmitted to the number resolution server to acquire the information on the called company, and the calling number, the called number, the information on the calling company, and the information on the called company are obtained. Is used to obtain a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the storage unit, a SIP server that stores the obtained connection pattern in a CDR (Call Data Record), and a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the CDR. And a settlement billing device that calculates a network usage fee for the call and transmits it to a billing billing device provided in the charge setting company.

  According to such a configuration, the SIP server refers to the number resolution server and the storage unit storing the connection pattern by using the calling / calling number (calling number and called number) acquired from the call, and calls the call. It is possible to acquire information on the network operators related to the route and the fee setting operator. Each company can calculate its own network usage fee and charge it to the charge setting company. In other words, the settlement system in the present embodiment can acquire information necessary for settlement by each business operator based on information (that is, the arrival / departure number) that the SIP server can circulate within the current prescribed range.

  Further, in the payment system of the present invention, the payment accounting apparatus provided in the charge setting business operator obtains a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the CDR, calculates a network usage fee of the call, and calculates itself. The network usage fee of another business operator is compared with the network usage fee received from the payment accounting device of the other business enterprise.

  According to such a configuration, the rate setting operator can calculate the network usage fee of the other operator by itself, so it is verified whether the network usage fee charged by the other operator is correct. can do.

  The invention relating to the settlement method has the same technical features as the settlement system described above, and has the same effect as the settlement system, and therefore will not be described.

  According to the present invention, each telecommunications carrier can acquire information necessary for settlement based on information that can be distributed within the current prescribed range.

It is a figure which shows an example of the form of the interconnection in this embodiment, and the structural example of a payment system. It is a figure which shows an example of settlement information DB, (a) represents the relationship between a call number and the connection pattern identifier corresponding to the call number, (b) represents the detailed content of the connection pattern. It is a figure which shows an example of the information which CDR memorize | stores. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing flow which memorize | stores the information regarding payment accounting to CDR. It is a figure which shows the example of a flow of the payment process in a payment system.

  A mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

  First, an example of the interconnect form 100 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows that an operator A, an operator B, an operator C, an operator D, and an operator E each establish an IP network as an operator (hereinafter also referred to as a telecommunications operator) interconnected by an IP network. It represents the state of being. When the user 30 uses the calling terminal 20 to make a call with the called terminal 21 as a destination, the route from the calling terminal 20 to the called terminal 21 is the carrier A, the carrier B, and the carrier. A case where the network is formed in the order of C, business operator D, and business operator E is shown.

  A settlement system 10 relating to settlement is constructed in each of the networks of the business operators A to E. The settlement systems 10 of the business operators A to E all have the same function. The codes “1a”, “1b”, “1c”, “1d”, and “1e” attached to the SIP server are used to distinguish the operators A to E. When each E is not distinguished, the code “1” is used. Similarly, the codes “2a” to “2e”, the codes “3a” to “3e”, the codes “4a” to “4e”, and the codes “5a” to “5e” are particularly distinguished from each other. If not, the symbols “2”, “3”, “4”, and “5” are used, respectively.

  The payment system 10 includes a SIP server 1, a payment information DB (database) 2, a payment accounting apparatus 3, a number resolution server 4, and a CDR 5.

  The SIP server 1 generates / changes / deletes information for generating a call (hereinafter referred to as call information) included in a call generation signal (call) (for example, an INVITE message), based on the arrival / departure number. A function for routing the call generation signal, a function for referring to the settlement information DB 2 using the arrival / departure number, etc., a function for obtaining information relating to the settlement charge corresponding to the communication of the arrival / departure number, and a function for storing the obtained information relating to the settlement charge in the CDR 5 Have The calling / called number represents a calling number indicating the telephone number of the calling terminal 20 and a called number indicating the telephone number of the called terminal 21. The information related to the settlement bill includes the network operator through which the call generation signal passes, the communication type (for example, communication method) of the calling terminal 20 and the called terminal 21, and the user 30 of the calling terminal 20. This is a connection pattern (details will be described later) in association with a charge setting business operator indicating a business operator who determines a billing rate to be charged.

The settlement information DB (storage unit) 2 stores the relationship between the arrival / departure number and the connection pattern corresponding to the arrival / departure number. Specifically, an example of the settlement information DB 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A shows information in which a calling pattern, a called number, and a connection pattern identifier for identifying a connection pattern are associated with each other. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the contents of the connection pattern include the connection pattern identifier, calling company, called company, calling party company, relay company, called company, This is information that associates the type of communication, the type of communication on the called side, the user billing company, the charge setting company, and the billing rate.
The information stored in the settlement information DB 2 is set so as to be the same among the operators A to E.

  Here, the calling carrier is a carrier that has received a call generation signal from the calling terminal 20, and the called carrier is a carrier that has transmitted a call generation signal to the called terminal 21. . The originating via operator is an operator that exists on the route between the originating operator and the relay operator, and the terminating via operator is the route between the called operator and the relay operator. It is a business that exists in. The type of communication on the calling side represents which communication method is used by the calling side terminal 20, and the type of communication on the called side represents which communication method is used by the called side terminal 21. For example, it represents the type of fixed communication, satellite communication, mobile communication, or the like. The user billing company is a company that charges the user 30 for a communication fee. The charge setting company is a company that determines a charging rate charged to the user 30. When the charge setting company is different from the user billing company, the user billing company collects a communication fee from the user 30 on behalf of the charge setting company. The billing rate represents a charge per unit time, and may be different or the same depending on the type of communication (fixed communication, mobile communication, satellite communication, etc.).

  The payment accounting apparatus 3 refers to the information stored in the CDR 5 to identify the charge setting business operator and the user billing business operator, to calculate the network usage fee and the communication fee, and to use the network for the fee setting business operator. It has a function to charge a fee. In addition, the settlement billing device 3 has a function of checking whether the network usage fee charged by the settlement billing device 3 of another business operator is an accurate amount. Function is used. The payment accounting apparatuses 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, and 3e are connected to be communicable with each other.

  The number resolution server 4 stores information relating to routing, and has a function of receiving a calling (called) number from the SIP server 1 and returning information on a business operator corresponding to the calling (called) number. The calling company number resolution server 4 receives the called number from the SIP server 1 and sends back information on the called company corresponding to the called number. The called company number resolution server 4 receives the calling party number from the SIP server 1 and returns information on the calling party corresponding to the called party number. In addition, the number resolution server 4 of the business other than the departure / reception company receives the arrival / departure number from the SIP server 1 and returns information on the origination company corresponding to the origination number and information on the arrival company corresponding to the arrival number. To do.

  The CDR 5 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The CDR 5 is a call arrival / departure number corresponding to the call arrival / departure number acquired from the call generation signal by the SIP server 1 or the call arrival / departure number acquired from the number resolution server 4. The information (connection pattern etc.) relating to the settlement billing corresponding to the arrival / departure numbers collected from is stored (see FIG. 3).

  Next, an example of a processing flow for storing information related to the settlement charge (connection pattern or the like) in the CDR 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 (see FIG. 1 as appropriate). In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the interconnection form 100 includes the operator A as the originating operator, the operator B as the originating via operator, the operator C as the relay operator, and the operator D as the terminating agent business. It is assumed that the operator and the operator E are the destination operators, the communication type on the calling side is fixed communication, and the communication type on the called side is satellite communication. The connection pattern of this interconnect form 100 is when the connection pattern identifier shown in FIG. 2B is “P1”.

First, steps S30a, S31a, S32a, S33a, and S34a performed by the business operator A's payment accounting apparatus 3a will be described.
In step S30a, the SIP server 1a receives the call generation signal (INVITE message) from the originating terminal 20, adds call information to the received call generation signal, creates a new call generation signal, and transmits the destination business. Route to party B's net.

In step S31a, the SIP server 1a stores the arrival / departure number in the CDR 5a.
In step S32a, the SIP server 1a uses the called number stored in the CDR 5a to make an inquiry to the number resolution server 4a to obtain information on the called company.

After the call establishment process and the call termination process, in step S33a, the SIP server 1a refers to the settlement information DB 2a using the arrival / departure number and the arrival / departure information after the call termination process, Get the corresponding connection pattern.
In step S34a, the SIP server 1a stores the acquired connection pattern in the CDR 5a in association with the arrival / departure number.

  Next, steps S30b, S31b, S32b, S33b, and S34b, which are performed by the settlement account 3b of the business operator B, will be described. Each of steps S31b, S33b, and S34b is the same as when SIP server 1a, settlement information DB 2a, and CDR 5a described in steps S31a, S33a, and S34a are replaced with SIP server 1b, settlement information DB 2b, and CDR 5b, respectively. Therefore, description is abbreviate | omitted and step S30b, S32b is demonstrated below.

In step S30b, the SIP server 1b receives a call generation signal (INVITE message) from the carrier A, adds call information to the received call generation signal, and creates a new call generation signal. Route to C's net.
In step S32b, the SIP server 1b uses the call arrival / departure number stored in the CDR 5b to inquire the number resolution server 4b to obtain information on the calling carrier.

  Next, steps S30c, S31c, S32c, S33c, and S34c performed by the settlement account 3c of the operator C will be described. Each of steps S31c, S33c, and S34c is the same as when SIP server 1a, settlement information DB 2a, and CDR 5a described in steps S31a, S33a, and S34a are replaced with SIP server 1c, settlement information DB 2c, and CDR 5c, respectively. Therefore, description is abbreviate | omitted and step S30c, S32c is demonstrated below.

In step S30c, the SIP server 1c receives a call generation signal (INVITE message) from the carrier B, adds call information to the received call generation signal, and creates a new call generation signal. Route to D's net.
In step S32c, the SIP server 1c uses the call arrival / departure number stored in the CDR 5c to make an inquiry to the number resolution server 4c to obtain information on the calling carrier.

  Next, steps S30d, S31d, S32d, S33d, and S34d performed by the settlement account 3d of the business operator D will be described. Steps S31d, S33d, and S34d are the same as when the SIP server 1a, the adjustment information DB 2a, and the CDR 5a described in steps S31a, S33a, and S34a are replaced with the SIP server 1d, the adjustment information DB 2d, and the CDR 5d, respectively. Therefore, description is abbreviate | omitted and step S30d and S32d are demonstrated below.

In step S30d, the SIP server 1d receives the call generation signal (INVITE message) from the operator C, adds call information to the received call generation signal, creates a new call generation signal, and transmits the destination operator. Route to E's net.
In step S32d, the SIP server 1d uses the departure / arrival number stored in the CDR 5d to make an inquiry to the number resolution server 4d to obtain information on the arrival / departure company.

  Next, steps S30e, S31e, S32e, S33e, and S34e performed by the settlement account 3e of the business operator E will be described. Steps S31e, S33e, and S34e are the same as when the SIP server 1a, the settlement information DB 2a, and the CDR 5a described in steps S31a, S33a, and S34a are replaced with the SIP server 1e, the settlement information DB 2e, and the CDR 5e, respectively. Therefore, description is abbreviate | omitted and step S30e, S32e is demonstrated below.

In step S30e, the SIP server 1e receives a call generation signal (INVITE message) from the operator D, adds call information to the received call generation signal, creates a new call generation signal, Route to terminal 21.
In step S32e, the SIP server 1e uses the calling number stored in the CDR 5e to make an inquiry to the number resolution server 4e to obtain information on the calling company.

  In this way, the connection pattern is stored in each CDR 5a to CDR 5e in association with the arrival / departure number.

Next, an outline of the settlement process in the settlement system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
The settlement billing device 3 of each of the businesses A to E refers to the billing billing information (connection pattern, etc.) stored in the CDR 5 so that the business C is a charge setting business and the business A is a user billing business. Get that. The payment accounting device 3 of the charge setting business operator (business operator C) calculates the communication fee of the user based on the charge rate and notifies the payment accounting device 3 of the user billing business operator (business operator A). Further, the user billing business operator (business operator A) 's payment accounting device 3 charges the user 30 with the communication fee received from the charge setting business operator (business operator C) payment accounting device 3. Of the business operators A to E through which the call generation signal has passed, the settlement charging devices 3 of the business operators A, B, D, and E other than the charge setting business operator (business operator C) The user C is charged for the network usage fee. On the other hand, the billing apparatus 3 of the charge setting business operator (business operator C) checks whether or not the charged network usage fee is the correct amount based on the connection pattern stored in the CDR 5.

  In addition, as another method of charging the network usage fee to the charge setting business operator's payment accounting apparatus 3, the business operator's payment accounting apparatus 3 that charges the adjacent business operator's payment accounting apparatus 3 is charged. 3 adds the amount charged by itself, and bills to the next billing device 3 of the adjacent business, and finally bills the billing device 3 of the billing business. Absent.

Here, the example of the flow of the adjustment process in the adjustment system 10 is demonstrated using FIG. 5 (refer FIG. 1 suitably).
In step S501, the billing apparatus 3 of each business operator A to E acquires a connection pattern (refer to FIG. 2 (b)) from the CDR 5 using the arrival / departure number and the information of the departure and arrival business operators, and sets a charge from the connection pattern. Acquire business operators and user billing business operators.

In step S502, the payment accounting device 3c of the charge setting business operator (business operator C) calculates the communication fee of the calling terminal 20 (user 30).
In step S503, the settlement billing apparatus 3c transmits the calculated communication fee to the settlement billing apparatus 3a of the user billing business operator (business operator A).

In step S504, the user billing business operator (business operator A) payment accounting apparatus 3a receives the communication fee from the charge setting business operator (business operator C) payment accounting apparatus 3c.
In step S505, the payment accounting apparatus 3a charges the received communication fee to the calling terminal 20 (user 30).

In step S506, the account settlement devices 3a, 3b, 3d, and 3e of the business operators A, B, D, and E other than the charge setting business operator (business operator C) calculate network usage fees.
In step S507, the account settlement apparatuses 3a, 3b, 3d, 3e charge (send) the calculated network usage fee to the account settlement apparatus 3c of the charge setting company (company C).
In step S508, the billing apparatus 3c of the charge setting business operator (business operator C) receives the bill for the network usage fee, and checks whether or not the billed network usage fee is the correct amount.

  As described above, in the settlement system 10 according to the present embodiment, first, the SIP server 1 obtains the arrival / departure number included in the call generation signal, and uses the arrival / departure number to inquire the number resolution server 4 to obtain information on the arrival / departure carrier. To get. Next, the SIP server 1 refers to the settlement information DB 2 (see FIG. 2) storing the connection pattern by using the arrival / departure number and the information of the departure / arrival carrier, and stores the arrival / departure number and the information of the departure / arrival carrier. Get the corresponding connection pattern. Then, the SIP server 1 uses the acquired connection pattern to obtain information on the operators (relay operators, calling side transit operators, called side transit operators) involved in communication in addition to the departure / arrival carriers, the charge setting operators, The user billing company and the billing rate are acquired. Therefore, each business operator can charge its network usage fee to the fee setting business operator. Moreover, the charge setting company can calculate the communication charge charged to the user. Then, the user billing company can receive the communication fee from the charge setting company and charge the user for the communication fee. Furthermore, the fee setting company can check whether or not the network usage fee charged by another company is the correct amount.

  That is, the settlement system 10 according to the present embodiment can acquire information necessary for settlement by each business operator based on information (that is, arrival / departure numbers) that the SIP server 1 can circulate within the current prescribed range.

  In this embodiment, the case where the communication path is configured by a network of five business operators has been described as an example. However, the number of business operators is not limited to 5, and may be 3 or more. Further, the charge setting company is not limited to the company C shown in FIG. 1 and may be another company. In addition, when the distance is included as an element for calculating the network usage fee, location information is required as a basis for calculating the distance from the incoming POI to the outgoing POI of the network, so the POI information and the regional information are settled. It may be included in the information related to billing.

  Further, in step S503 in FIG. 5, it has been described that the settlement accounting device 3c transmits the calculated communication fee to the settlement accounting device 3a of the user billing business operator (business operator A), but the SIP server 1c transmits the communication fee. It may be included in the call control signal and transmitted to the SIP server 1a of the user billing business operator (business operator A), and billed (transmitted) to the settlement billing device 3a via the SIP server 1a.

1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e SIP server 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e Settlement information DB (storage unit)
3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e Settlement billing device 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e Number resolution server 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e CDR
10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e Checkout system 20 Originating terminal 21 Terminating terminal 30 User 100 Form of interconnection

Claims (4)

A settlement system provided in a network of business operators interconnected by an IP (Internet Protocol) network,
Calling number of the calling terminal that makes a call, called number that indicates the destination of the call, information of the calling company that indicates the network operator that receives the call from the calling terminal, and transmission of the call to the called terminal Information on the network operator indicating the network operator to be connected, information on the network operator related to the call route, a charging rate of the route, and a connection pattern in association with a charge setting operator for determining the charging rate are stored. A storage unit,
A number resolution server that receives the calling number and returns the information of the calling carrier corresponding to the calling number, receives the called number and returns the information of the called carrier corresponding to the called number;
The calling number and the called number are acquired from the call, the acquired calling number is transmitted to the number resolution server to acquire information on the calling company, and the acquired called number is transmitted to the number resolution server. And obtains the connection pattern corresponding to the call from the storage unit using the calling number, the called number, the calling company information, and the called company information. A SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server that stores the acquired connection pattern in a CDR (Call Data Record);
A settlement system comprising: a settlement billing device that obtains a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the CDR, calculates a network usage fee for the call, and transmits the network usage fee to a settlement billing device included in the billing service provider. .   The billing apparatus provided by the charge setting company acquires a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the CDR, calculates a network usage fee of the call, and calculates a network usage fee of another operator calculated by itself, 2. The payment system according to claim 1, wherein a network usage fee received from the payment billing device of the other provider is collated. A checkout method for a checkout system provided in a network of business operators interconnected by an IP network,
The settlement system is
Calling number of a calling terminal that makes a call, called number that indicates a destination of the call, a calling company that indicates a network operator that receives the call from the calling terminal, and a network that transmits the call to a terminal on the called side A storage unit that stores a connection pattern that associates a destination operator indicating the operator, a network operator related to the call route, a charging rate and a fee setting operator that determines the charging rate;
A number resolution server that receives the calling number and returns the information of the calling carrier corresponding to the calling number, receives the called number and returns the information of the called carrier corresponding to the called number;
A SIP server and a billing device,
The SIP server obtains the calling party number and the called party number from the call, transmits the obtained calling party number to the number resolution server to obtain information on the calling company, and obtains the obtained called party number Acquires the information of the called company by transmitting to the number resolution server, and responds to the call from the storage unit using the calling number, the called number, the information of the calling company and the information of the called company A connection pattern to be acquired, and a process of storing the acquired connection pattern in the CDR is executed.
The settlement accounting apparatus acquires a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the CDR, calculates a network usage fee for the call, and executes a process of transmitting to the settlement accounting apparatus of the fee setting company. Settlement method.   The billing apparatus provided by the charge setting company acquires a connection pattern corresponding to the call from the CDR, calculates a network usage fee of the call, and calculates a network usage fee of another operator calculated by itself, 4. The settlement method according to claim 3, wherein a process of collating with a network usage fee received from the settlement billing device of the other business is executed.

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