6 Transfer of Charging Information

22.1153GPPCharging and billingRelease 17Service aspectsTS

The efficient transfer of charging information between serving networks and from serving networks to home environments requires a standardised interface between these entities. It shall be possible to define different time intervals for the transfer of charging information between serving network and home environment (e.g. when a chargeable event occurs, when a chargeable event is initiated by the user, when a chargeable event terminates, at regular intervals during a chargeable event).

The format of the charging information exchanged (see 5.1) shall be standardised. It shall be possible for the relevant parties to agree minimum and maximum age of charging information transferred between themselves.

6.1 Integrity, Secrecy and Validation of Content and Receipt of Charging Information

The transmission mechanism for charging information collected in 5.1 above shall ensure its integrity and secrecy.

A mechanism to validate the source and integrity of the information shall be provided so that:

– the home environment shall be able to validate the source and integrity of the charging information supplied by the serving network;

– the serving network shall be able to validate the source and integrity of the charging information supplied by the user;

– the serving network shall have proof that services were provided to a specified user.