4 General description
32.1403GPPRelease 17Subscription Management (SuM) requirementsTelecommunication managementTS
4.1 Subscription Management (SuM) concept
The 3G environment requires more complex service delivery mechanisms than in 2G. The following drivers are leading to a need to standardize SuM Interfaces:
– Use of different vendor’s equipment for 2G/2.5G and 3G.
– The trend in 2/2.5G toward the support of Virtual Network Operators and Content Providers requiring standardized interfaces amongst them.
Service delivery and support across multiple vendors’ solutions and organizations is a feature of other industries, and the solutions are adopted are secure supply chain solutions based upon mainstream e-commerce principles, methods and technologies.
SuM is an area of service operation management that permits Service Providers and Operators to provision services for a specific customer service subscription.
Specific 3G areas that SuM requirements must address are:
– Subscription information is distributed across in a number of locations including the Home Network, the Visited Network, the User Equipment, Application VASP equipment (e.g. servers accessed by the subscriber for content and information based services).
– SuM will allow Service Providers and Operators to provision, control and monitor the subscription information.
– SuM is not simply an internal matter for a single operator but a capability that is achieved by linking together features across multiple Operators’ Operations Support Systems (OSSs).
– SuM will need to manage subscription information in e.g. the OSSs, HSS, UE, OSA, MMS and IMS subsystems.
The conceptual model for SuM is illustrated in figure 1.
Figure 1: High level view of Subscription Management (SuM)
SuM is concerned with provisioning the subscription profile throughout all the systems and trading partners needed to realize the customer service, SuM provides specifications that define the interfaces and the procedures that interconnect the three points of the SuM triangle: Customer Care Center, the User and the network (s) where the Subscription profile resides (such as HSS, USIM, etc.).
4.2 Partnership with Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM)
The Enhanced Telecom Operations Map as defined in ITU-T M.3050 [19] [20] provides a comprehensive framework for operating and running a network.
SuM, in particular the configuration of resources, aligns with subset of the eTOM model in the area of fulfilment.
Table 1: Relationship between SuM and the eTOM model ITU-T M3050.2 [20]
|
eTOM Fulfilment Processes |
eTOM level 2 process |
Applicable to SuM |
eTOM level 3 processes applicable to this SuM release |
|
CRM Fulfilment |
Order Handling |
No |
|
|
Marketing Fulfilment Response |
No |
||
|
Selling |
No |
||
|
SM&O |
Service Configuration and Activation |
Yes |
Implement, Configure & Activate Service |
|
RM&O |
Resource Provisioning |
Yes |
Configure & Activate Resource |
|
S/P Relationship Management |
S/P Requisition Management |
No |
4.3 SuM operations viewpoint
Figure 2 positions SuM from the viewpoint of operations management.
Figure 2: SuM context within operations management
SuM manages Subscriptions in the form of Subscription profile components. The subscription profile components may be distributed across Service Management &Operations (SM&O), Resource Management & Operations (RM&O) and Network domains in order to easily configure resources and support services at the Network Operations Management level.
There may also be mappings of subscription profile components between the SM&O, RM&O and Network domains. In particular, such mapping may exist between a model of services and service parameters in the SM&O layer and the model of service parameters in the SuM NRM. Similarly, such mapping may also exists for identifiers and the concepts of user and subscriber as found in the SuM NRM to/from other representations of these concepts in the SM&O layer. These mappings are outside the scope of the SuM NRM.
4.3.1 Functional overview
As the telecommunications now entering into the 3G, more powerful terminal and access technology allows the telecommunications networks to offer new wireless Multimedia and Internet services.
Accordingly, SuM is a telecommunications management framework that allows the Operators to leverage their network resources to:
– Validate (register, authenticate, and authorise.) a request for service from a user;
– Collect, store, update, and distribute the Service Profile information for the user;
– Select the trusted network resources to manage access, distribution, and control of the profile data information for the user; and
– Direct the network resources to promptly deliver the service requested to the user according to said profile information.
SuM fulfils the following essential 3G requirements:
– The "Device Diversity" allows access to telecommunications networks by a variety of UEs and devices that are available for the user at the time.
– The "Access Diversity" allows the telecommunications networks to offer a variety of access network options such as UTRAN, GERAN, WLAN, etc. to the user.
– The "Service Diversity" allows the Telecommunications networks to provide a variety of services delivered to the user from third party application Service Providers (VASP) or from other telecommunications networks (VPLMN).
4.4 Management of subscription profiles
Figure 2: Architecture for management of subscription profile components
4.4.1 Requirements for subscription profile component management
SuM does not extend to the management of services.
However it is necessary to provide network entities with the subscription profile components needed for service fulfilment:
1. Subscription profile management shall support the fulfilment of requests for service from users, application services, and user equipment.
2. Subscription profile management shall support requests for subscription creation, modification and deletion. These requests may originate from users, subscribers, Network Operators, and Service Providers.
3. The above requests may be associated with service entities such as the MMS, IMS etc.
4. It shall be possible to relate each request for service with the corresponding Service Profile (SProf) information
5. The subscription profile information shall be maintained in the HSS.
6. In order to fulfil services, subscription profile information shall be distributed among the various network entities.
7. A subscription profile log shall be created to track changes related to creation and modification of subscription profiles and subscription profile components.
8. A backup copy of the subscription profile shall be created.
9. Subscription profile information shall be secured by authorised access and control mechanisms.
4.4.2 Requirements for network and terminal provisioning
Figure 3: SuM network and service provisioning
The following steps define a logical sequence of events required for granting a request for service.
a) A request for service is issued by a user (via the UE).
b) Network receives the request for service and attempts to locate a subscriber ID.
c) Once a subscriber ID is identified, it is authenticated if there has not already been an initial authentication.
d) A request for service shall be denied if the subscriber cannot be identified and authenticated.
e) For those requests for service that are authenticated, the corresponding subscription profile components are obtained if they have not already been obtained at initial authorization.
f) The subscription profile component provides information on the services that are available to the subscriber and correlate the service request with a specific subscribed service.
The service is properly set up according to the profile (e.g. QoS, etc.) in order to prepare for the fulfilment and delivery of the service.
4.4.3 Profile management evolution
For SuM stage 2 or 3, SP can expand from the current definition of subscriber data (e.g. 3GPP TS 23.008 [7]) when appropriate.
Subscription profile supports:
– Preference management;
– Service customization;
– Terminal management;
– Information sharing;
– Access permission via a unique key identifier.
The profile data will be distributed (using the Service Profile download capability) to configure the necessary architectural entities (UE, Servers etc.).
Subscription profile data needs to be consistently managed across all the entities within the network that use the profile. The data may be controlled from a central point, or be distributed, hence the logical database depicted in figure 4.
The management capabilities relate to the definition, modification and synchronization of the data mainly in core network entities. This may extend to data needed in Terminal Devices, Network Elements, Core Network entities and Application Servers.
4.5 SuM: relationship to Network Entities and other subsystems
4.5.1 General
The SuM Feature provides management functions for subsystems, domains and components some of which are defined in the 3GPP Network Architecture 3GPP TS 23.002 [2]. However the Network Architecture does not address the Mobile Equipment or the Open Services Architecture nor non 3GPP defined subsystems. Figure 5 shows this relationship with these entities, many of which are closely related to the Home Subscriber Server (HSS).
Figure 4: Examples of SuM relationships with Network Architecture
Figure 5 is based upon entities identified in the 3GPP Network Architecture 3GPP TS 23.002 [2].
The Network Architecture identifies a number of entities that use subscription profile information for their operation.
The SuM feature provisions and audits the subscription profile information (either directly, or indirectly):
– Core Network entities:
1) Home Subscriber Server (HSS) including Home Location Register (HLR), Authentication Centre and HSS Logical functions;
2) Visitor Location Register (VLR);
3) Equipment Identity Register (EIR);
4) SMS.- GMSC;
5) SMS Interworking MSC.
Circuit Switched Domain:
1) MSC Server;
2) Gateway MSC (GMSC).
User Equipment/Mobile Station:
Specific entities of the Mobile System as:
1) IP Multimedia System (IMS);
2) CAMEL Entities;
3) Number Portability Database (NPDB);
4) Global Text Telephony (GTT) entities.
SuM also provides capabilities to support B2B trading interfaces to other trading partners: VASP, Virtual mobile Operators etc.
Figure 5 also implies a set of relationships from SuM to:
– User Equipment Management that is assumed to configure and provision all aspects of the User Equipment and Terminals, including the possibility of configuring UICC/USIM profile information, using MeXe where appropriate.
– Application Service provided by third parties including trusted third parties that may configure some USIM via network interfaces, for example banks and other financial institutions. These services may also be provided by the Network Operator performing the role of Application Service provider.
– Network Service provided by Network Operators (e.g. SMS, presence).