Cost-efficient metering and accounting in 4G networks

The commercialisation of the Internet has been smoothly progressing. However, there is a lack of suitable mechanisms to provide scalable and efficient support for charging and billing. Such support is crucial for the overall success of a commercialised network. Though the demand for standardized and efficient solutions in support of reliable, open and flexible mobile services has increased, existing authentication, authorization and accounting mechanisms are not yet sufficiently ready to support these requirements. Moreover, the current transition from traditional circuit switched networks towards a packet based wireless IP network infrastructure, also in the wireless area, increases significantly the pressure to provide the missing mechanisms on IP layer. Although the basic mechanisms are available and widely understood, their efficient and scalable integration is still a mute point.