iAX PCC Introduction

Network Integration

The Tango Policy and Charging Control (PCC) platform provides network operators with the capability of performing functions such as Quality of Service (QoS) control, charging control and gating of data flows on their network. The iAX PCC also supports location, time and APN based rules functions. Practical applications of the iAX PCC include fair-usage enforcement, bill-shock control, parental control, and QoS boost.

The core component of the Tango Policy and Charging Control (iAX PCC) platform is the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), which is used to provide PCC rules for a service flow such that policy enforcement and charging management can be performed. The PCC rules which are determined by the PCRF are enforced by a component called the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), which may reside within the PDN gateway or between the serving gateway and PDN gateway.

The PCRF combines the session information received from an Application Function (AF) and the input received from the PCEF, with user specific policies and data from the Tango Subscriber Policy and Charging Manager (SPCM) or a third party Subscription Profile Repository (SPR) to form session level policy decisions and provide those to the PCEF. The PCRF also forwards events between the PCEF and the AF.

Key Features

This section includes the features available in the Tango iAX PCC platform. Depending on the network, you may not have all of the features and specifications listed below.

The key features of the Tango iAX PCC are as follows:

  • Standards based PCRF for 3GPP, 3GPP2 and WiMax Forum networks

  • Standards based Policy and Charging Control (PCC)

  • Configurable rules engine for selecting PCC rules

  • Data plan categorisation

  • QoS control to dynamically allocate bandwidth per session and optionally per service/application

  • Session & subscriber awareness including location and network events

  • Integration with Application Function’s (AF) to control operator provided services

  • Service/application awareness

  • Usage monitoring control to track usage per subscriber and optionally per service

  • Implement Fair Usage Policies (FUP)

  • Bill-shock prevention, in particular to avoid roaming bill-shock

  • Compliant with EU Bill-shock regulations

  • Dynamically managed QoS

  • Diameter signalling to PCEF, BBERF and AF

  • Fully integrated SMS notifications

  • Web-based O&M for ease-of-use

  • Highly-available, scalable, carrier grade platform

  • Integrated USSD self-care solution

  • Subscriber provisioning API

  • Self-care API

  • Online charging interface for data-plan payments

  • GUI for subscriber and data-plan management, PCRF rules configuration, etc.

  • User Experience Management

  • LBO SMS Provisioning

  • Policy Promotion Service (PPS)

  • PCRF Hotswap to ensure high availability

Benefits of iAX PCC

The Tango iAX PCC provides a network PCRF which addresses the subscribers need for quality service & cost control and the operators need to dynamically manage their network resources to maximise revenue and differentiate themselves from competitor networks.

The following key benefits are provided by the iAX PCC:

Dynamic Network Resource Management

  • Protect network from over-use by a small number of heavy data users and provide better quality of experience to premium users

  • Restrict access for specific services, e.g. P2P at peak times, streaming at busy locations

  • Detect cell-congestion and apply policies to counter this

Dynamic Controls For Roamers

  • Bill-shock prevention

  • Restrict access for specific services

New Revenue Creation

  • Up-sell bandwidth for special events and services, i.e. “turbo-boost” or “bandwidth-on-demand”

  • Prepaid data plans for cost conscious subscribers

  • Simple to understand data subscriptions with Fair Usage Policy (FUP)

Personalization Of Data Services

  • Configurable smart usage limits

  • Restrict access by time and service

  • Parental control

  • Corporate data plan