KR101087676B1 - Billing server for packet service providing system, method and packet service using small base station - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packet service providing system, method and packet charging service server using a small base station.

The present invention receives an account request message from a communication network, collects external content charging information, compares the originating service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information, and if the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information match, Packet using a small base station, characterized in that it comprises an integrated billing server for processing the usage fee as free or discount, and if the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information is inconsistent, processing fee of the packet service as general billing; Provide a service provision system.

According to the present invention, when the calling terminal and the called terminal are located within the coverage of the small base station applied to the field of the small base station service, the small base station because the charge for the packet service performed between the calling terminal and the called terminal is free or discounted There is an effect that can be expected to increase the number of users using.

Small base station, femtocell, packet service, free, discount, coverage

Description

Charging Server of Packet Service, System and Method for Providing Packet Service using Small Size Base Station}

The present invention relates to a packet service providing system, method and packet charging service server using a small base station. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system, a method and a billing server for freely processing or discounting a packet service usage fee between a calling terminal and a called terminal located within the coverage of a small base station.

As the use of mobile communication services is becoming more common, each mobile service provider is making great efforts to improve call quality of mobile communication services, such as installing a repeater in a shaded area.

In recent years, by replacing femtocell, a small base station equipment with its own capacity, in the home or office instead of the indoor repeater that was in charge of radio relay, it is possible to improve the coverage of mobile communication service and expand the bandwidth. It is attracting attention as a wired / wireless integrated service method.

The small base station is connected to the existing mobile communication network through the Internet line to form the coverage of the small indoor base station itself, which is expected to improve service quality by eliminating shadow areas and to implement various additional services in the base station area. Doing.

Additional services that can be provided by using a small indoor base station include voice calls between the called party and the called party located within the coverage of the small indoor base station, such as a regional-based virtual private network service that conventionally provides free or discounted calls between the caller and the called party located in a specific area. , Multimedia Messaging System (MMS), Short Message Service (SMS), and other services that can provide free or discounted packet data transmission, etc. are expected, but until now no specific service plan has been established. Since it is a state, a service plan for this situation is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to meet the above-described needs, an object of the present invention is to provide a system, a method and a billing server for freely processing or discounting a packet service usage fee between a calling terminal and a called terminal located within the coverage of a small base station.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a packet service between the calling terminal and the called terminal, in the system providing the packet service between the calling terminal and the called terminal, to form its own coverage (Coverage) If the calling terminal is located in the coverage, relays an originating packet session setting of the calling terminal, and if the calling terminal and the called terminal are located in the coverage, sets the calling party session and the called terminal. A small base station for relaying side packet session establishment; Connected with the small base station via an internet line, establishes the originating packet session with the calling terminal, establishes the calling party packet session with the called terminal, and performs intranet charging information when the packet service is performed; A communication network for transmitting an account request message including outgoing service area identification information and incoming service area identification information; A session establishment server relaying the packet service; And receiving the account request message from the communication network, collecting external content charging information, comparing the originating service region identification information with the terminating service region identification information to match the originating service region identification information with the terminating service region identification information. And an integrated billing server for processing the fee of the packet service as free or discount, and processing the fee as general billing if the outbound service area identification information and the destination service area identification information do not match. Provided is a packet service providing system using a small base station.

In addition, according to another object of the present invention, the server billing the fee for the packet service between the calling terminal and the called terminal, a communication interface capable of transmitting and receiving data with a communication network or an external device, the in-network charging information from the communication network A communication unit for receiving an account request message including an outgoing service area identification information and an incoming service area identification information, and transmitting an account response message, which is a response message to the account request message, to the communication network; A memory unit configured to store a small base station ID database in which a plurality of small base station ID information is databased; An account processor which generates the account response message and transmits the account response message to the communication unit; At least one of the originating terminal and the called terminal collects the external content charging information, which is the charging information for the content transmitted and received from an external packet data network, and a packet service including one or more of the intra-network charging information and the external content charging information. A billing information generation unit for generating billing information; Comparing the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information, if the outgoing service area identification information and the inbound service area identification information match, set the charging method information of the packet service to free or discount, and the outgoing service. A billing method setting unit for setting the billing method information to general billing if the area identification information and the incoming service area identification information do not match; And if the billing method information is set to free or discount, charge the fee to one or more of the calling terminal and the called terminal if the billing method information is set to free or discount, and if the billing method information is set to general billing, the fee is used. It provides a billing server for a packet service using a small base station, characterized in that it comprises a billing unit for processing the charge to one or more of the originating terminal and the called terminal by processing as a general billing.

According to another object of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a packet service between a calling terminal and a called terminal, the method comprising: (a) requesting a calling packet session at a calling terminal and establishing the calling packet session at a communication network; (b) the originating terminal and the called terminal performing packet service through a session establishment server; (c) transmitting, in the communication network, an account request message including intra-network charging information, outgoing service region identification information, and incoming service region identification information to the integrated billing server; (d) comparing the originating service region identification information with the incoming service region identification information at the integrated billing server; (e) if the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information in step (d) coincide, freeing or discounting the use fee of the packet service in the integrated billing server; And (f) in step (d), if the outgoing service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information do not match, processing the fee as a general billing. Provide a method.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the calling terminal and the called terminal are located in the coverage of the small base station, the charge for the packet service performed between the calling terminal and the called terminal is free or discounted. Therefore, an increase in the number of users using the small base station can be expected, and the lock-in effect of the subscriber can be expected through the provision of a new additional service using the small base station.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First of all, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals have the same reference numerals as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the calling terminal 112, the called terminal 114, the small base station 120, the communication network 130, the session establishment server 140 and the integrated billing server 150.

The calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are terminals that subscribe to a small base station service according to an embodiment of the present invention, and include a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, and a global system (GSM). for Mobile (W-CDMA) phone, Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) phone, CDMA-2000 phone, Mobile Broadband System (MBS) phone, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone, and WiBro phone.

In the present invention, the small base station service is a charge for using the packet service between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 when the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are located within the coverage of the small base station 120. Free or discounted service. Here, the packet service is a service for transmitting and receiving packet data between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, and includes an instant messenger service.

In the present invention, the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 execute a packet service application, which is an application for using a packet service, to use a packet service including an instant messenger service. In the present invention, when the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are located within the coverage of the small base station 120, which will be described later, the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 free or discount a fee for using the packet service. Will receive.

The small base station 120 is connected to the communication network 130 through an internet line to form a coverage of the small base station 120 itself.

In the present invention, when the power source is connected, the small base station 120 transmits when the calling terminal 112 is located within the coverage of the small base station 120 or when the calling terminal 112 enters the coverage of the small base station 120. The terminal 112 receives the connection request message transmitted for the location registration and transmits it to the communication network 130, and sends an originating path activation request message (for example, an Activate PDP Context Request message) from the calling terminal 112. Receives and transmits to the communication network 130, and receives the originating path activation response message (for example, Activate PDP Context Response message) from the communication network 130 and transmits to the calling terminal (112).

On the other hand, when the terminating terminal 114 is located within the coverage of the small base station 120, the small base station 120 receives the connection request message transmitted from the terminating terminal 114 and transmits to the communication network 130, the receiving terminal ( The receiving party path activation request message may be received from 114 and transmitted to the communication network 130, and the receiving party path activation response message may be received from the communication network 130 and transmitted to the called terminal 114. However, when the called terminal 114 is not located within the coverage of the small base station 120 and is located within the coverage of another small base station 120 (not shown), the location registration and the called path activation process of the called terminal 114 as described above. Do not do it.

In other words, if both the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are located within the coverage of the small base station 120 in the embodiment of the present invention, the small base station 120 may be connected to the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. Although location registration and packet session setup of the originating terminal 112 and the terminating terminal 114 are relayed, only the originating terminal 112 is located within the coverage of the small base station 120 and the terminating terminal 114 is another small base station (not shown). If it is located within the coverage of, the location registration of the calling terminal and the packet session setting of the calling terminal 112 are relayed only, and the location registration of the called terminal 114 and the packet session setting of the called terminal 114 are not relayed.

The communication network 130 enables the packet service between the originating terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 through data transmission and reception with the session establishment server 140 and data transmission and reception with the integrated billing server 150.

Communication network 130 in the present invention is a communication system for transmitting and receiving data in a packet (Packet) method, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Wireless Broadband Internet (Wibro), IP multimedia Sub-system (Inter Protocol Multimedia Subsystem) and any one of the next generation communication network to be implemented. Here, IP Multimedia Subsystem is a technology for providing new services in the All-IP based next generation communication environment, and it is a practical wired / wireless network that connects various communication services regardless of platform by establishing a mobile communication network and a wired network based on IP. It is an integrated convergence system.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the communication network 130 may include a base station controller, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), and a home location register. In the present embodiment, for convenience of description, the configuration of the communication network 130 is limited to WCDMA based, but in the case of actually applying the present invention, the communication network 130 is not limited thereto. Depending on the system, it may be replaced by other components that perform similar functions as the WCDMA based components.

For example, the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), which will be described later, may be replaced by an Access Control Router (ACR) in a WiBro system, and may be replaced by a Call Session Control Function (CSCF) in an IP multimedia subsystem.

The base station controller performs a function for radio resource management of the communication network 130 and a management function for the conventional base station transmitter and the small base station 120.

In the present invention, the base station controller transmits the connection request message to the SGSN through the small base station 120 from the originating terminal 112, that is, the originating service area at the time of location registration of the originating terminal 112 located within the coverage of the small base station 120. When an initial originating terminal registration message, which is an initial terminal registration message (eg, Initial UE message) including identification information, is sent to SGSN, and when the called terminal 114 sends a connection request message to SGSN, that is, called terminal 114. The initial destination terminal registration message, which is an initial terminal registration message including the destination service area identification information, is transmitted to SGSN at the time of registration of the location. Here, the source service area identification information includes service area identification information (SAI) of the source terminal 112 including cell ID identification information, small base station ID information, and base station control unit ID information where the source terminal 112 is located. Service area identification information, and the service area identification information is service area identification information of the destination terminal 114 including the cell ID information, the small base station ID information, and the base station control unit ID information where the destination terminal 114 is located.

SGSN is a node in charge of data packet transmission with mobile terminal in service area. It has functions such as packet routing and transmission, mobility management, logical link management, authentication and charging, and location register of packet switching support node. And store the user's location information (cell, visitor location register, etc.), user profile (International Mobile Station Identification Number: IMSI), etc., registered in the SGSN.

In the present invention, the SGSN receives and stores the small base station service subscriber information from the home location register, and receives the initial originating terminal registration message from the base station controller or the initial terminating terminal registration message, the originating service included in the initial originating terminal registration message. Stores at least one of the area identification information and the destination service area identification information included in the initial destination terminal registration message and updates the location information of the calling terminal 112 stored in the home location register or updates the location information of the destination terminal 114. .

In addition, the SGSN transmits the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information to the GGSN through a procedure for establishing a packet session between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. Here, the called service area identification information includes cell ID information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information in which the called terminal 114 is located.

Detailed description thereof is as follows.

When the SGSN receives an originating path activation request message (eg, an Activate PDP Context Request message) from the originating terminal 112, the SGSN sends an originating service area to an originating path setting request message (eg, a Create PDP Context Request message). When sending to the GGSN including identification information and receiving an originating routing response message (eg, a Create PDP Context Response message) from the GGSN, an originating route activation response message (eg, an Activate PDP Context Response message) Send to the calling terminal 112 to establish a calling party packet session to the calling terminal 112.

On the other hand, when the terminating terminal 114 receives a packet service connection request message from the session establishment server 140, which will be described later, the SGSN receives the terminating side path activation request message from the terminating terminal 112, and the terminating side path setting request message Including the called service area identification information to the GGSN and receiving the called party's path setting response message from the GGSN, the called party's path activation response message is sent to the called terminal 114 to the called terminal 114. Set up a session. Here, the calling route establishment response message and the calling route activation response message include an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the calling terminal 112 assigned by the GGSN, and the called routing establishment response message and the calling route activation response message include: The IP address of the called terminal 114 assigned by the GGSN is included. In addition, the packet service connection request message is a message in the form of a Short Message Service (SMS) requesting the destination terminal 114 to execute a SIP registration and packet service application and responding to an invitation message.

The GGSN is a node in charge of the connection function between the communication network 130 and the external packet data network. The GGSN converts the protocol of the packet data received from the SGSN and transmits the protocol to the external packet data network.

In the present invention, the GGSN receives the calling route establishment request message from the SGSN, stores the calling service area identification information included in the calling route establishment request message, and transmits the routing establishment response message to the SGSN.

In addition, when the terminating terminal 114 receives the packet service connection request message from the session establishment server 140 to be described later, the GGSN receives the terminating path setting request message from the SGSN and includes the terminating service included in the terminating path setting request message. It stores the area identification information and sends a routing response message to SGSN.

On the other hand, when the packet service between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 is performed, the GGSN charges information (CDR: Call Detail Record) for in-network resources used between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. ) Sends an accounting request message (eg, an Accounting Request message) including intra-network billing information, outgoing service area identification information, and incoming service area identification information to the integrated billing server 150 and sends a response thereto to the integrated billing server 150. From).

The home location register receives the location information of the mobile communication terminal including the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 from the visitor location register (not shown) and performs functions such as registration recognition, registration deletion, and update. In addition, the home location register stores profile information of the mobile communication terminal which is waiting for a call.

In the present invention, the home location register receives and stores small base station service subscriber information from a client database server (CDS) (not shown), transmits a subscriber information insertion message including the small base station subscriber information to the SGSN, and the calling terminal 112. Perform location registration or perform location registration of the terminating terminal 114. Here, the home location register may transmit a subscriber information insertion message to the SGSN after performing location registration of the calling terminal 112 or the called terminal 114 by the SGSN.

As described above, when the communication network 130 receives the connection request message transmitted from the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, the communication network 130 updates the location information of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, and the calling terminal 112. When the caller receives the caller's path activation request message from the caller, the caller establishes the caller's packet session by sending the caller's route activation response message to the caller terminal 112, and the called terminal 114 establishes a packet service connection from the session establishment server 140. After receiving the request message, when receiving the called party path activation request message from the called terminal 114, the called party packet activation is established by sending the called party path activation response message to the called terminal 114.

In addition, when the packet service between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 is performed, the communication network 130 integrates an account request message including intra-network charging information, outgoing service region identification information, and incoming service region identification information. 150 and receives a response from the integrated billing server 150.

Session establishment server 140 (e.g., a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server) uses the SIP protocol with one or more participants to create, modify, and terminate a session (i.e. instant messaging). The packet service between the destination terminals 114 is relayed. Detailed description thereof will be made in steps S315 to S330 and S345 to S370 of FIGS. 2 and 3.

The integrated billing server 150 performs a function of charging a fee for the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. Here, the integrated billing server 150 includes an AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) server 152, a content billing server 154, and a billing server 156.

The AAA server 152 is a server that provides authentication, authorization and fee calculation functions in the user's computer resource access processing and service provision. When the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 perform packet service, the calling terminal ( Receives an account request message from the network 130 including in-network charging information, outgoing service region identification information, and incoming service region identification information, which is billing information on the network resource used between the 112 and the destination terminal 114, and a response message thereto. An accounting response message (eg, an accounting response message) is transmitted to the communication network 130.

The AAA server 152 transmits in-network charging information, originating service region identification information, and incoming service region identification information included in the account request message to the content charging server 154.

The content charging server 154 stores a small base station ID database in which a plurality of small base station ID information is database, and the calling terminal 112 and the calling terminal 114 are using the packet service while the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are using the packet service. One or more of the destination terminals 114 collect the external content charging information, which is the charging information for the content transmitted and received from the external packet data network.

The content billing server 154 receives in-network billing information, outgoing service area identification information, and incoming service area identification information from the AAA server 152, and packet service billing information including one or more of external content billing information and in-network billing information. Create Here, the packet service charging information includes at least one of the external content charging information and the intranet charging information, so that the originating terminal 112 and the terminating terminal 114 do not transmit or receive content from the external packet data network. Because it may.

The content charging server 154 compares the originating service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information received from the AAA server 152 with the small base station ID database, so that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database identifies the originating service area. Confirm that the information is included in the incoming call area identification information. If at least one of the outgoing service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information includes the conventional base station ID information rather than the small base station ID information, the content charging server 154 sets the charging method information to general charging, The packet service charging information and the charging method information are transmitted to the charging server 156.

In the present invention, the charging method information is information that the charging method of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 is set to free or discount or set to general charging. For example, if the charging method information is "no-charging flag", if the charging method is free or discount, "no charging flag" is set to "1". If the charging method is general charging, the "no charging flag" is " 0 "may be set.

The content charging server 154 compares the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information so that the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information match, i.e., the small size of the same destination terminal 114 and the outgoing terminal 112 is the same. When located within the coverage of the base station 120, the charging method information of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 is set to free or discount, and then set to the packet service charging information and free or discount. The charging method information is transmitted to the charging server 156.

On the other hand, the content billing server 154 is the case that the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information is inconsistent, that is, if the destination terminal 114 and the originating terminal 112 is not located within the coverage of the same small base station 120 Sets the charging method information of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 to the general charging and transmits the packet service charging information and the charging method information set to the general charging to the charging server 156. .

In the present invention, the content charging server 154 receives the calling terminal information and the called terminal information from the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, or receives the calling terminal information and called terminal information from the communication network 130 to charge server 156, and the charging server 156 may check the calling terminal information and the called terminal information to impose a charge on the packet service to one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. have. Here, the terminal information includes any one of a Mobile Identification Number (MIN), an International Mobile Station Identity (IMSI), a Mobile Directory Number (MDN), and a Mobile Station International ISDN Number (MSISDN).

The billing server 156 receives the packet service billing information and the billing method information from the content billing server 154, and performs the call between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 if the billing method information is set to free or discounted. Free or discounted charge of the packet service to be charged to one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, and if the billing method information is set to the general billing, the billing of the packet service is processed by the general billing It is imposed on one or more of the terminal 112 and the terminating terminal 114. Here, the charging server 156 calculates the charge of the packet service using the packet service charging information.

As described above, the integrated billing server 150 stores a small base station ID database, receives an account request message including in-network billing information, outgoing service area identification information, and incoming service area identification information from the communication network 130, and charges external content. Collect information.

When the integrated billing server 150 confirms that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database is included in the outgoing service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information, the integrated billing server 150 compares the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information. If the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information match, the service charge of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 is treated as free or discounted, so that the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are handled. Imposed on one or more of).

On the other hand, the integrated billing server 150, if the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information is inconsistent, outgoing by processing the charge of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 as general billing It is imposed on one or more of the terminal 112 and the terminating terminal 114.

Here, the integrated billing server 150 may receive the calling terminal information and the called terminal information from the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 or from the communication network 130.

In FIG. 1, the integrated billing server 150 is limited to the AAA server 152, the content billing server 154, and the billing server 156. However, when the present invention is actually applied, the present invention is not limited thereto. By applying the configuration of the AAA server 152 and the configuration of the billing server 156 to the content billing server 154, the configuration of the integrated billing server 150 may be implemented by the content billing server 154 alone.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a content charging server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Content charging server 154 according to an embodiment of the present invention is the communication unit 210, memory unit 220, account processing unit 230, billing information generation unit 240, billing method setting unit 250 and billing unit ( 260).

The communication unit 210 is a communication interface capable of transmitting and receiving data with the communication network 130 or an external device.

In the present invention, the communication unit 210 receives an account request message including in-network billing information, outgoing service area identification information, and incoming service area identification information from the communication network 130, and an account response message generated by the account processing unit 230 to be described later. To the communication network 130.

The memory unit 220 stores a small base station ID database in which the driving program of the content charging server 154 and a plurality of small base station ID information are databased.

When the account processor 230 receives the account request message from the communicator 210, the account processor 230 generates an account response message, which is a response message thereof, and transmits the generated account response message to the communicator 210.

The charging information generating unit 240 is a content that one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 transmit and receive from the external packet data network while the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 are using the packet service. Collects external content charging information, which is charging information for, and generates packet service charging information including one or more of in-network charging information and external content charging information included in the account request message.

The billing method setting unit 250 compares the outgoing service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information included in the account request message with the small base station ID database, so that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database includes the outgoing service area identification information and Confirm that the incoming service area identification information is included. If at least one of the outgoing service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information includes the conventional base station ID information rather than the small base station ID information, the charging method setting unit 250 sets the charging method information to general charging.

In addition, the billing method setting unit 250 compares the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information and sets the billing method information of the packet service to free or discount if the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information match. If the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information do not match, the charging method information is set to general charging.

The billing unit 260 generates the packet service billing information in the billing information generation unit 240 and sets the billing method information in the billing method setting unit 250, and checks the billing method information so that the billing method information is free or discounted. If it is set to, the charge of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 is free or discounted and charged to at least one of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, and the charging method information is If it is set to general charging, the charge of the packet service is treated as general charging and charged to one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. Here, it is preferable that the charging unit 260 calculates the charge of the packet service using the packet service charging information.

In the present invention, the communication unit 210 may receive and transmit the calling terminal information and the called terminal information to the charging unit 260, the charging unit 260 checks the calling terminal information and the called terminal information to use the packet service fee May be imposed on one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114.

3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating a packet service providing process using a small base station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Prior to describing the packet service providing process using the small base station according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 have completed the location registration in the communication network 130.

When the calling terminal 112 located within the coverage of the small base station 120 transmits the calling path activation request message to the communication network 130 through the small base station 120 and requests the establishment of the calling packet session, the communication network 130. Sends an originating path activation response message to the originating terminal 112, thereby establishing an originating packet session (S305, S310).

After the step S310, the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 perform the following steps S315 to S370 to perform packet service through the session establishment server 140.

The calling terminal 112 transmits the calling SIP registration message to the session establishing server 140 and executes a packet service application. Then, the calling terminal 112 transmits the called terminal information and session description protocol (SDP) to the session establishing server 140. Invite message including the transmits (S315, S320, S325).

The session establishment server 140 transmits the packet service connection request message in the form of a short message to the destination terminal 114 through an SMS center (not shown) (S330). Here, the packet service connection request message is a message requesting the destination terminal 114 to execute a SIP registration and packet service application and to respond to an invitation message.

The called terminal 114 transmits the called party path activation request message to the communication network 130 to request the establishment of the called party packet session, and the communication network 130 sends the called party path activation response message to the called terminal 114. In step S335 and S340, the destination packet session is established.

The called terminal 114 transmits the called SIP registration message to the session establishment server 140 and executes a packet service application, and then responds to the invitation message received from the session establishment server 140 (200 OK). Respond by forwarding the message (S345, S350, S355, S360).

The session establishment server 140 receiving the response message from the called terminal 114 transmits it to the calling terminal 112, and the calling terminal 112 transmits the message through the Real-time Transport Protocol / RTP Control Protocol (RTP / RTCP). Packet service with the destination terminal 114 is performed (S365 and S370).

The communication network 130 integrates an account request message including intranet charging information, outgoing service region identification information, and incoming service region identification information, which is billing information on in-network resources used between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. It transmits to the billing server 150, and receives an account response message that is a response from the integrated billing server 150 (S375, S380).

The integrated billing server 150 receiving the account request message from the communication network 130 compares the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information (S385). Here, the integrated billing server 150 indicates that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database is included in the outgoing service area identification information and the incoming service area identification information before comparing the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information. Check it.

The integrated billing server 150 processes the usage fee of the packet service for free or a discount depending on whether the originating service area identification information and the destination service area identification information match each other, and transmits the fee to one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114. Charge or the charge of the packet service is treated as a general charge and charged to one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 (S390).

In other words, when the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information match, the integrated billing server 150 processes the usage fee of the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 as free or discount. If a charge is imposed on at least one of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114, and the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information are inconsistent, the packet service performed between the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 may be used. The charge is treated as a general charge and charged to one or more of the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114.

Here, the integrated billing server 150 may receive the calling terminal information and the called terminal information from the calling terminal 112 and the called terminal 114 or from the communication network 130.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention is applied to the field of small base station services, and when the calling terminal and the called terminal are located within the coverage of the small base station, the fee for the packet service performed between the calling terminal and the called terminal is free or discounted. As a result, the number of users using the small base station can be expected to increase, and a new lock-in effect of the subscriber can be expected by providing a new additional service using the small base station.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a content charging server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating a packet service providing process using a small base station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

112: calling terminal 114: called terminal

120: small base station 130: communication network

140: session establishment server 150: integrated billing server

152: AAA Server 154: Content Billing Server

156: billing server 210: communication unit

220: memory unit 230: account processing unit

240: billing information generation unit 250: billing method setting unit

260: billing

Claims (14)

A server that charges a fee for a packet service between a calling terminal and a called terminal, A communication interface capable of transmitting and receiving data with a communication network or an external device, the account request message including in-network billing information, originating service area identification information, and incoming service area identification information is received from the communication network, and a response message to the account request message is received. A communication unit for transmitting an account response message to the communication network; A memory unit for storing a small base station ID database in which a plurality of small base station ID information is databased; An account processor which generates the account response message and transmits the account response message to the communication unit; At least one of the originating terminal and the called terminal collects the external content charging information, which is the charging information for the content transmitted and received from an external packet data network, and a packet service including one or more of the intra-network charging information and the external content charging information. A billing information generation unit for generating billing information; Comparing the outgoing service area identification information with the incoming service area identification information, if the outgoing service area identification information and the inbound service area identification information match, set the charging method information of the packet service to free or discount, and the outgoing service. A billing method setting unit for setting the billing method information to general billing if the area identification information and the incoming service area identification information do not match; And If the billing method information is set to free or discount, the fee is charged free or discounted, and charged to one or more of the calling terminal and the called terminal. If the billing method information is set to general billing, the fee is used. The billing unit, which charges at least one of the calling terminal and the called terminal by processing as general charging Billing server of a packet service using a small base station comprising a. The method of claim 1, The originating service region identification information includes cell ID (identification) information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information in which the originating terminal is located, and the terminating service region identification information is a cell ID information in which the called terminal is located. And a small base station ID information and a base station control unit ID information. The method of claim 1, And the charging method setting unit confirms that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database is included in the originating service region identification information and the called service region identification information. In the system for providing a packet service between the calling terminal and the called terminal, It forms its own coverage (Coverage), if the originating terminal is located in the coverage relays the originating packet session setting of the originating terminal, if the originating terminal and the called terminal is located within the coverage A small base station for relaying packet session establishment and called party packet session establishment of the called terminal; Connected with the small base station through an internet line, establishes the originating packet session with the originating terminal, establishes the calling party packet session with the called terminal, and when the packet service is performed, in-network charging information, originating service area; A communication network for transmitting an accounting request message including identification information and incoming service area identification information; A session establishment server relaying the packet service; And Receiving the account request message from the communication network, collecting external content charging information, comparing the originating service region identification information with the terminating service region identification information and matching the originating service region identification information with the terminating service region identification information. Integrated billing server to process the use charge of the packet service free or discount, and if the outgoing service area identification information and the destination service area identification information is inconsistent Packet service providing system using a small base station comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein The originating service region identification information includes cell ID (identification) information, small base station ID information, and base station controller ID information in which the originating terminal is located, and the terminating service region identification information is a cell ID information in which the called terminal is located. And a small base station ID information and a base station control unit ID information. The method of claim 4, wherein And the communication network establishes the called party packet session after receiving the packet service connection request message transmitted from the session establishment server at the called terminal. The method of claim 4, wherein The integrated charging server stores the small base station ID database, and checks that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database is included in the originating service area identification information and the called service area identification information. Packet service providing system using the above. The method of claim 4, wherein The communication network may include any one of a code division multiple access (CDMA), a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), a wireless broadband internet (Wibro), and an inter protocol multimedia subsystem (IP protocol subsystem). Packet service providing system using a base station. The method of claim 4, wherein the communication network Connected to the small base station via the Internet line, and transmits an initial originating terminal registration message including the originating service region identification information at the time of registering the originating terminal, and provides the terminating service region identification information at the time of registering the terminating terminal. A base station controller for transmitting an initial destination terminal registration message including; Receive one or more of the initial originating terminal registration message and the initial terminating terminal registration message, store one or more of the originating service region identification information and the terminating service region identification information, and to establish the originating packet session; Receiving an originating path activation message from an originating terminal, transmitting an originating path establishment request message including originating service area identification information, and receiving a called party path activation message from the called terminal to establish the called party packet session. A Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) for transmitting a called party routing request message including called service area identification information; And Receiving the calling party path setting request message and the called party path setting request message to store the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information, and if the packet service is performed, the accounting request message to the integrated billing server GPRS Support Node (GGSN) to send to Packet service providing system using a small base station comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein the integrated billing server is An AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) server for receiving the accounting request message and transmitting the intra-network billing information, the originating service region identification information, and the incoming service region identification information; Receive the in-network charging information, the outgoing service region identification information and the incoming service region identification information from the AAA server, collect the external content charging information, and include one or more of the in-network charging information and the external content charging information. Generate packet service charging information, compare the calling service region identification information with the called service region identification information, and if the calling service region identification information and the called service region identification information match, the charging method information of the packet service is free or A content billing server configured to set a discount and set the billing method information to general billing if the originating service area identification information and the destination service area identification information do not match, and then transmit the packet service billing information and the billing method information; And Receiving the packet service billing information and the billing method information, and if the billing method information is set to free or discounted, charge the fee to one or more of the calling terminal and the called terminal by free or discounting the bill; If the billing method information is set to the general billing billing server to process the charge as a general billing to charge to one or more of the calling terminal and the called terminal Packet service providing system using a small base station comprising a. 11. The method of claim 10, And the content charging server transmits the calling terminal information and the called terminal information to the charging server. In the method for providing a packet service between the calling terminal and the called terminal, (a) requesting an originating packet session at an originating terminal and establishing the originating packet session in a communication network; (b) the originating terminal and the called terminal performing packet service through a session establishment server; (c) transmitting an account request message including in-network charging information, outgoing service region identification information, and incoming service region identification information to an integrated billing server in the communication network; (d) comparing the originating service region identification information with the incoming service region identification information at the integrated billing server; (e) if the calling service area identification information and the called service area identification information in step (d) coincide, freeing or discounting the use fee of the packet service in the integrated billing server; And (f) if the originating service area identification information and the called service area identification information do not match in step (d), processing the fee as general billing; Packet service providing method using a small base station comprising a. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein step (b) (b1) transmitting, at the originating terminal, a calling session session initiation protocol (SIP) registration message to the session establishment server, and transmitting an invitation message including called terminal information to the session establishment server; (b2) transmitting, by the session establishment server, a packet service connection request message to the called terminal; (b3) requesting a called party packet session at the called terminal and establishing the called party packet session at the communication network; (b4) transmitting, at the called terminal, a called SIP registration message to the session establishment server, and transmitting a response message to the invitation message to the session establishment server; (b5) allowing the session establishment server to transmit the response message to the originating terminal to perform the packet service; Packet service providing method using a small base station comprising a. The method of claim 12, wherein, prior to step (d), (d-1) checking, by the integrated charging server, that the small base station ID included in the small base station ID database is included in the originating service area identification information and the called service area identification information; Packet service providing method using a small base station, characterized in that it further comprises.

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