TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The non- limiting and example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a technical field of communication system, and specifically to methods, apparatuses and computer program products for controlling resource usage in a communication system.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This section introduces aspects that may facilitate better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

[0003] Data usage monitoring and notification service is very popular in the third generation (3G) and the fourth generation (4G) communication networks. Such service can monitor usage of user's monthly data allowance, and prevent a cell phone from "bill shock," thereby improving user experience.

[0004] Currently, most of the data usage monitoring and notification services are based on end user's call detail record (CDR), and cannot provide real-time monitoring and notification.

[0005] In addition, a subscription plan, which may include subscribed data volume and/or total online time, may be shared by a plurality of members of a family account or an enterprise account. The plurality of members may be distributed in a data network around a city or a country. How to perform data usage monitoring and notification in an efficient way for such a scenario is still an open problem.

SUMMARY

[0006] To solve at least part of the above technical problems, methods, apparatuses and computer program products have been provided in the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that though some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to a 3G/4G communication network, embodiments are not limited thereto, but could be more widely applied to any communication network/system where similar problems exist. For example, embodiments may also apply to a 5G communication system or any other communication system to be developed in the future.

[0007] Various embodiments of the present disclosure mainly aim at providing methods, apparatuses and computer program products for controlling resource usage in a communication network. Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be understood from the following description of various embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method at a group controlling node in a communication system. The communication system includes a subscriber group associated with the group controlling node and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan. The communication system further includes a first subscriber controlling node associated with the plurality of subscribers. The method comprises: in response to detecting an event triggering a usage notification for the subscriber group, sending a message for the subscriber group to the first subscriber controlling node; and receiving, from the first subscriber controlling node, a first acknowledgement for the message. The message indicates at least one of: an updated quality of service (QoS) parameter for the subscriber group, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group.

[0009] In an embodiment, the event triggering usage notification for the subscriber group may include at least one of: usage of the allocated allowance for the subscriber group exceeding a threshold, and the subscriber plan being changed. In another embodiment, the allocated allowance may include a quota of data volume, and/or, a validity time.

[0010] In some embodiments, the update QoS parameter may include one of: a QoS level, an allowed data rate, an index of a parameter set selected from a plurality of predefined parameter sets, and a notification of a termination of a data service.

[0011] In an embodiment, the group controlling node may detect the event triggering the usage notification by: receiving a subscriber specific usage update message from the first subscriber controlling node, and detecting the event based on the received subscriber specific usage update message.

[0012] In till another embodiment, the subscriber group may include a further plurality of subscribers sharing the subscription plan and associated with a second subscriber controlling node, and the method may further comprise: in response to detecting an event triggering usage notification for the subscriber group, sending the message for the subscriber group to the second subscriber controlling node; and receiving, from the second subscriber controlling node, a second acknowledgement for the message.

[0013] In a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method implemented at a subscriber controlling node in a communication system. The communication system includes a subscriber group associated with a group controlling node, and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan and associated with the subscriber controlling node. The method comprises: receiving a message for the subscriber group from the group controlling node, the message indicating at least one of: an updated QoS parameter, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group; and sending an acknowledgement for the message to the group controlling node.

[0014] In an embodiment, the subscriber controlling node may receive the message in response to sending a subscriber specific usage update message to the group controlling node, and the subscriber specific usage update message indicates a usage exceeding a threshold.

[0015] In another embodiment, in response to receiving the message, the subscriber controlling node may send information obtained based on the received message to the plurality of subscribers, and/or, a database accessible to the plurality of subscribers. In a further embodiment, the subscriber controlling node may send the information via a Public Data Network Gateway (PGW). In still another embodiment, the subscriber controlling node may send the information to the PGW by sending a Re- Authentication Request (RAR) message including the information to the PGW.

[0016] In a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus implemented in/as a group controlling node in a communication network, or a part thereof. The communication system includes a subscriber group associated with the group controlling node, and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan. The communication system further includes a subscriber controlling node associated with the plurality of subscribers. The apparatus includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit is configured to send a message for the subscriber group to the subscriber controlling node in response to detecting an event triggering a usage notification for the subscriber group. The message indicates at least one of: an updated QoS parameter for the subscriber group, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group. The receiving unit is configured to receive a first acknowledgement for the message from the first subscriber controlling node.

[0017] In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus implemented in/as a subscriber controlling node in a communication network, or a part thereof. The communication system includes a subscriber group associated with a group controlling node, and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan and associated with the subscriber controlling node. The apparatus includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit is configured to receive a message for the subscriber group from the group controlling node, and the message indicates at least one of: an updated QoS parameter, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group. The transmitting unit is configured to send an acknowledgement for the message to the group controlling node.

[0018] In a fifth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor whereby the apparatus is operative to perform any of the method described in the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0019] In a sixth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor whereby the apparatus is operative to perform any of the method described in the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0020] In a seventh aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product, comprising instructions which, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0021] In an eighth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product, comprising instructions which, when executed on one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out a method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0022] In a ninth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having a computer program product embodied thereon. The computer program product includes instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method according the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0023] In a tenth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having a computer program product embodied thereon. The computer program product includes instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method according the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0024] According to various aspects and embodiments as mentioned above, data usage can be monitored and notified to users in an efficient way with reduced network resource consumption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The above and other aspects, features, and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate like or equivalent elements. The drawings are illustrated for facilitating better understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure and not necessarily drawn to scale, in which:

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0027] FIG. 2 shows an example for relationship between member accounts and a group account in an allowance sharing scheme;

[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates some functionalities involved in an allowance sharing scheme;

[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of method in a group controlling node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of method in a subscriber controlling node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 6 illustrates a procedure for controlling QoS of a subscriber group;

[0032] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus implemented as/in a grouping controlling node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus implemented as/in a subscriber controlling node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and [0034] FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that may be embodied as/in a group controlling node or a subscriber controlling node.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Hereinafter, the principle and spirit of the present disclosure will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. It should be understood that all these embodiments are given merely for one skilled in the art to better understand and further practice the present disclosure, but not for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used with another embodiment to yield still a further embodiment. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification.

[0036] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0037] It shall be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0038] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be liming of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and/or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/ or combinations thereof.

[0039] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0040] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), CDMA2000, Time Division- Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA) and so on. Furthermore, communications between network devices in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable communication protocols, such as the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0041] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives a service therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a gateway (GW), a router, a charging controlling node, a server, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

[0042] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that may be capable of communications. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may be referred to as user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop -mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0043] As yet another example, in an Internet of Things (IOT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another terminal device and/or network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, for example refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include one or more terminal devices 111-113 and one or more network devices (also referred to as network nodes), for example group controlling nodes 101-104, subscriber controlling node 105-108, a router or an index server 121, a PDN GW (PGW) 131, and a notification server 141. The group controlling node may also be referred to as a group server hereafter. Likewise, a subscriber controlling node may be referred to as a subscriber server hereafter.

[0045] One of the terminal devices 111-113 is associated with a subscriber controlling node (e.g., one of subscriber controlling nodes 105-108), which may be, for example, a line online charge system (OCS) node, and is responsible for controlling data usage of the terminal device. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, the subscriber controlling nodes 105-108 may be any suitable network node with similar function, for example, in some embodiments, the subscriber controlling nodes 105-108 may be referred to as line-Mobile Agent Servers (MASs).

[0046] A plurality of terminal devices 111-113 may belong to a subscription group 100, and sharing a same subscription plan, for example sharing a total data volume allowance and/or a total online time allowance. The subscription group (for example, identified by a group account, or group ID) 100 may be associated with one of the group controlling nodes 101-104 which may be, for example, a group OCS node, and is responsible for controlling data usage of the subscription group 100. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, the group controlling nodes 101-104 may be any suitable network node with similar function, for example, in some embodiments, the group controlling nodes 101-104 may be referred to as group MASs.

[0047] The plurality of terminal devices 1 11-113 belonging to same subscription group 100 may be associated with same or different subscriber controlling node. For example, the terminal devices 111 and 112 may be associated with the subscriber controlling node 105, while the terminal device 113 may be associated with the subscriber controlling node 107.

[0048] In an embodiment, one of the terminal devices 111-113 may communicate with a corresponding subscriber controlling node (e.g., subscriber controlling node 105) via the PGW 131. In addition, one of the group controlling nodes 101-104 may communicate with a subscriber controlling node via the router 121. In another embodiment, both the group controlling node and the subscriber controlling node may communicate with the notification server 141.

[0049] It should be appreciated that FIG. 1 is just presented as a non-limiting example. That is to say, in some embodiments, the communication network 100 may include more or less or different network devices. For instance, some network device shown in FIG. 1 may be omitted. Furthermore, functions of a plurality of network devices may be implemented in a single network device or at a single site. For example, functions of a group controlling node and a subscriber controlling node may be implemented in a single network device. The group controlling nodes 101-104 and the subscriber controlling nodes 105-108 may be used for provide efficient data usage monitoring and notifying.

[0050] Though data usage monitoring and notifying services are available currently for monitoring and controlling usage of a user's data allowance, most of these services are based on end user's CDR, and cannot provide real-time monitor and notification which is necessary for a terminal device to avoid "bill shock" and for an operator to avoid revenue leakage.

[0051] With a 3 GPP Gy interface, a real-time data control and reporting system applicable to both pre -Paid and post-Paid subscribers can be developed, for monitoring usage allowance limitation for a group account or an individual account, and/or for optimizing and adjusting a quota size.

[0052] For a shared subscription plan (e.g., a data price plan), an end user is a member of a group account. These end users may be distributed across the whole network, associated with different servers or controlling nodes. A group member is unaware of data usage information of other members, and hence a centralized group server for managing the group account is required. The group server may accumulate data usage, adjust a quota size allocated to a group member, avoid exceeding a limit of usage, and achieve an accurate alert notification.

[0053] A spending limit counter may be utilized to count/control the usage. For a group account, several sharable counters may be subscribed. For a member account, there may be one or more shared counters used for counting. FIG. 2 shows an example for relationship between member accounts 111-113 and a group account 110 in an allowance sharing scheme.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 2, a group account 110 is associated with three subscriber accounts 111-113. In the group account 110, three counters 201-203 are subscribed. The three counters may be used, for example, for counting local traffic (e.g., up to 5G bytes), intra-national traffic (e.g., up to 10G bytes), and inter-national traffic (e.g., up to 20G bytes), respectively. In another embodiment, the three counters may be used for different traffic types, for example for 3G network traffic, 4G Time Division Duplex (TDD) network traffic and 4G Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) network traffic, respectively. The three counters 201-203 may be implemented, for example, in the group controlling node 101 shown in FIG. 1. The counter 201 is shared by subscribers 111 and 112, the counter 202 is shared by subscribers 111 - 113 and the counter 203 is shared by subscribers 112 and 113.

[0055] A subscription plan and limitation of usage allowance of a shared group account may be managed by one or more group controlling nodes (may also referred to as group server hereafter). When a member of the shared group account is using a data service, a PGW (e.g., the PGW 131 in FIG. 1) or a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) will continuously report data usage, for example, via a Diameter message (e.g., CCRi/CCRu/CCRt ), to the group controlling node, e.g., the group controlling node 101 in FIG. 1. [0056] Upon receiving, from a PGW or the PCEF, usage report for the member, the group controlling node lOlwill accumulate it into a total data usage counter (e.g., the counter 201 in FIG. 2). Then the group controlling node 101 determines a data usage level, and allocates subsequent quota size for the member according to the determination.

[0057] In an embodiment, when the total data usage reaches a key point predefined in the subscription plan (or data price plan), the group controlling node 101 will notify the end user. Especially, when the total data usage reaches an allowance limitation, the group controlling node 101 will notify the end user and at the same time intervene or terminate the member's data service. The group controlling node 101 may notify the end user using a broadcast mechanism, that is, the group controlling node 101 may send the message to every member of the group. Information like termination of current session, change of quota size, etc. may be included in the message.

[0058] An allowance sharing scheme may include some functionalities shown in FIG. 3. In Fig. 3, a plurality of counters 310 may be defined for a group account (e.g., group 300). The counters 310 are sharable by the members (e.g., members 301-303) of the group, and may be data volume based and/or cost based. A multi-tiers usage control function 320 enables to provide multi-tiers usage control with multiple usage blocks. In each usage block, usage control parameters, such as Max Quota Size, Validity Time, etc., are defined for controlling a member's consumption of the shared resources. When a usage block is changed due to a usage report, all the members will be notified.

[0059] A bill cycle management function 330 enables the group and the members to do the Bill Cycle Reset (BCR) separately based on the shared counters' BCR date and the Group Account Home Zone.

[0060] A QoS Control function 340 in FIG. 3 enables the group 300 to control a member's QoS level based on an accumulated usage of a QoS counter. The Group 300 may adjust all the members' QoS level by broadcasting a new QoS level to all the members.

[0061] A notification function 350 is configured to alert the group account in order to avoid a bill shock. For example, when usage of a counter reaches a pre-defined threshold, the notifications will be sent out by the notification function 350. In an embodiment with a hard stop type mechanism, when a usage limit is reached, a first alert notification will be sent out, and the notification will be broadcasted to the members to terminate ongoing calls. In another embodiment, when X% of the usage limit is reached, a second alert notification will be sent out. Note that the value of X% may be pre-defined or configurable.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 3, members 301-303 associated with the group account 300 may send usage report to a group server and the group server (including the functions 310-350) may broadcast information to all the members.

[0063] In the following, some examples functions that may be implemented at a group controlling node side will be described, however, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0064] In an embodiment, whenever a usage update request message is received from a member, the group controlling node will update a corresponding counter based on the usage indicated in the request message. The group controlling node compares a value of the corresponding counter with a pre-defined notification threshold, a switchover point, a QoS threshold etc. to determine its operation. For example, the group controlling node may determine, based on the comparison, whether to trigger a notification, change a usage block, and/or change a QoS level.

[0065] In another embodiment, the group controlling node may include one or more hard- stop counters. Hard stop means related service will be terminated in current bill cycle. In this embodiment, after the usage allowance being reached, the group controlling node will broadcast to all the members, thus all the members (may also referred to as "lines" hereafter) can stop using the shared counters.

[0066] In still another embodiment, multiple usage blocks may be used to implement a Multi-Tiers Usage Control function, for example, the multi-tiers usage control function 320 shown in FIG. 3. In each Usage Block, one or more session control parameters (such as Maximum/Minimum Quota, Validity Time, Volume Quota Threshold, Quota Holding Time, etc.) may be defined for controlling usage of allowance by the members.

[0067] As discussed above, an important function in an allowance sharing scheme is to broadcast information to all lines in some cases. For example, after a cumulative usage of all lines is up to 6G bytes, all lines may need to be switched to a QoS level supporting only low speed communication. Then the change of the QoS needs to be notified to all the members. In another example, after the cumulative usage of all lines is up to 10G bytes, data usage for all lines may need to be turned off. In this case, the termination of the data service needs to be broadcasted to all members. In still another embodiment, a gas gauge notification may need to be sent to all the members when the group usage exceeds, for example, 90%.

[0068] Existing allowance sharing scheme is applicable for allowance sharing within a family or a small business. It has been realized by inventors of the present disclosure that for a large enterprise where up to 10K lines are associated with a single group account, or a M2M enterprise where up to 1M members (such as water meters or UPS delivery devices) may be associated with one group account, broadcasting information to all lines is a big challenge, especially when the lines are associated with a plurality of different subscriber controlling nodes (e.g., MASs or other hardware). The broadcasting in this case may cause huge amount of transactions between the group and the line, for example, it may trigger RAR from line to PGW, then huge amount of update from line to group. That is, broadcast to all members in one group is inefficient if the number of members is large.

[0069] To solve at least part of the above problems, methods and apparatuses have been proposed in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the group controlling node broadcasts a message to subscriber controlling node(s) only, rather than broadcasting the message to all the members, for enterprise data share. In this way, signaling overhead and network resource consumption may be reduced. In an embodiment, if end users/subscribers have on-going calls, then those members/users/subscribers will be informed or notified of the message by the subscriber controlling node. Note that the informing/notifying may be implemented in an active informing mode or a passive query mode. For example, for the passive query mode, terminal devices with an on-going call may check new broadcast information once a while.

[0070] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method 400 implemented at a group controlling node in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system includes a subscriber group associated with the group controlling node, and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan. The communication system further includes a first subscriber controlling node associated with the plurality of subscribers. For instance, the communication system may be the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1, the group controlling node may be any of the group controlling nodes 101-104, and the first subscriber controlling node may be one of the subscriber controlling node 105-108. The subscriber group may include the subscribers 111-113 shown in in FIG. 1, and possibly other subscribers not shown. For ease of discussion, the method 400 will be described below with reference to the group controlling node 101, and the scenario illustrated in FIG. 1. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto and may be applied more widely in other scenarios where a subscriber group may include more subscribers.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 4, at block 410, in response to detecting an event triggering a usage notification for the subscriber group, the group controlling node 101 sends a message for the subscriber group to the first subscriber controlling node 105. The message may indicate at least one of: an updated QoS parameter for the subscriber group, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group.

[0072] Since at block 410 the group controlling node only sends the message to first subscriber controlling node 105, rather than all the members (e.g., subscriber 111 and 112 associated with the subscriber controlling node 105), signaling overhead and network resource consumption may be reduced.

[0073] In an embodiment, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group may indicate that data limit of the allocated allowance has been reached. In another embodiment, the information on usage may indicate that usage of the allocated allowance has exceeded a predefined threshold.

[0074] Alternatively or in addition, the updated QoS parameter that may be included in the message may include, for example but not limited to, at least one of: QoS level, an allowed data rate, an index of a parameter set selected from a plurality of predefined parameter sets, and a notification of termination of a data service.

[0075] In an embodiment, the group controlling node 101 may receive a subscriber specific usage update message from the first subscriber controlling node 105, and detect the triggering event based on the received subscriber specific usage update message. For example, the group controlling node 101 may receive usage update message for the subscriber 112 from the first subscriber controlling node 105. The event triggering usage notification may include, for example but not limited to: usage of the allocated allowance for the subscriber group exceeding a threshold, and/or, the subscriber plan being changed. In an embodiment, the usage update message from the first subscriber controlling node 105 to the group controlling node 101 may indicate usage of an allocated allowance, and group controlling node 101 may determine that a triggering event is detected if the indicted usage exceeds a predefined threshold. [0076] Embodiments are not limited to any specific type of allocated allowance. For illustration rather than limitation, in an embodiment, the allocated allowance for the subscriber group may include a quota of data volume, and/or a validity time.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 4, at block 420, the group controlling node 101 receives a first acknowledgement for the message from the first subscriber controlling node 105.

[0078] Note that the subscriber group associated with the group controlling node 101 may include a further plurality of subscribers sharing the subscription plan and associated with a second subscriber controlling node 107 separated from the first subscriber controlling node 105. In this scenario, the method 400 may further include blocks 430 and 440. At block 430, in response to detecting the event triggering usage notification for the subscriber group, the group controlling node 101 sends the message for the subscriber group also to the second subscriber controlling node 107; and at block 440, the group controlling node 101 receives a second acknowledgement for the message from the second subscriber controlling node 107.

[0079] Reference is now made to FIG. 5 which shows a flowchart of a method 500 implemented at a subscriber controlling node in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system includes a subscriber group associated with a group controlling node, and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan and associated with the subscriber controlling node. For instance, the communication system may be the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1, the group controlling node may be any of the group controlling nodes 101-104, and the subscriber controlling node may be one of the subscriber controlling node 105-108. The subscriber group may include the subscribers 111-113 shown in in FIG. 1, and possibly other subscribers not shown. For ease of discussion, the method 500 will be described below with reference to the subscriber controlling node 105, and the scenario illustrated in FIG. 1. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto and may be applied more widely in other scenarios where a subscriber group may include more subscribers.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 5, at block 510, the subscriber controlling node 105 receives a message for the subscriber group from the group controlling node 101. The message may indicate at least one of: an updated QoS parameter, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group. [0081] In an embodiment, at block 510, the subscriber controlling node 105 may receive the message in response to sending a subscriber specific usage update message to the group controlling node 101 at block 501 , and the subscriber specific usage update message indicates a usage exceeding a threshold. That is, the message received from the group controlling node 101 may be triggered by a usage update message from the subscriber controlling node 105 to the group controlling node 101. For example, at block 501, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send a usage update message for the subscriber 112 to the group controlling node 101. The usage update message may indicate, for example, that usage of the allocated allowance (such as a quota of data volume and/or a validity time) by the subscriber 112 exceeds a threshold of 60%.

[0082] For illustration rather than limitation, the update QoS parameter that may be included in the received message may include one or more of a QoS level, an allowed data rate, an index of a parameter set from a plurality of predefined parameter sets, and a notification of a termination of a data service.

[0083] At block 520, the subscriber controlling node 105 sends an acknowledgement for the message to the group controlling node 101.

[0084] In some embodiments, in response to receiving the message at block 510, at block 530, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send information obtained based on the received message to the plurality of subscribers. Alternatively or in addition, in another embodiment, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send the information to a database accessible to the plurality of subscribers. The information obtained based on the received message may include, for example but not limited to, an updated QoS parameter, and/or, an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and/or, an allocated quota for a specific subscriber, etc.

[0085] Embodiments are not limited to any specific way for sending the information to the plurality of subscribers or the database. For example, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send the information to the plurality of subscribers in any suitable way that is available in an existing communication network.

[0086] Optionally, at block 530, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send information to the plurality of subscribers via a PGW or a PCEF. For example, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send a Re -Authentication Request (RAR) message including the information to the PGW. It can be appreciated that, in another embodiment, other or more network devices may be involved in the sending at block 530, and/or, a different signaling may be used for carrying the information.

[0087] In some embodiments, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send the information only to subscribers having on-going calls. That is, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send the information to a subscriber of the plurality of subscribers, if the subscriber has an on-going call.

[0088] With method 500, the group controlling node 101 only needs to send the message for the subscriber group to the subscriber controlling node(s), rather than all the members included in the subscriber group. Therefore signaling between the grouping controlling node and the subscriber controlling node can be reduced, and correspondingly network resource consumption can be reduced.

[0089] Now referring to FIG. 6 which shows a procedure 600 for controlling QoS of a subscriber group based on a usage update message from a member. In the following, for illustration purpose, the example procedure will be described with reference to the scenario of FIG. 1 and PGW 131, the subscriber controlling nodes 105 and 107, the group controlling node 101 and a notification server 141. However, it should be appreciated that in another embodiment, more or less or different network devices may be involved in the procedure depending on deployment of the communication system.

[0090] In this example, it is assumed that subscribers A (e.g., subscriber 111 or 112 in FIG. 1, denoted as sub-A) has ongoing calls on the subscriber controlling node 105, and subscriber B (e.g., subscriber 113 in FIG. 1 , denoted as sub-B) has an ongoing call on the subscriber controlling node 106.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 6, the subscriber A starts a new session. The subscriber A is provisioned on the subscriber controlling node 105, and therefore the PGW 131 sends (601) a credit control request-initial (CCR-I) message to the subscriber controlling node 105 which may be a line MAS. The CCR-I message may include some Attribute value pairs (AVPs), such as {Base AVPs, Event-Timestamp, Subscription-ID (MSISDN), Multiple-Services-Indicator, Multiple-Services-Credit-Control (Requested-Service-Unit, Rating Group Service-Information (PS -Information (3GPP-Charging-Id, 3GPP-P, 3GPP-User-Location-Info, 3GPP-RAT-Type))} .

[0092] Then the subscriber controlling node 105 provides (602) a quota with a credit control answer-initial (CCA-I) message. The CCA-I message may include the some AVPs, such as {Base AVPs, Multiple-Services-Credit-Control (Granted-Service-Unit (CC-Total-Octets), Rating-Group, Validity-Time, Result-Code, Volume-Quota-Threshold, 3GPP-Quota-Holding-Time), Credit-Control-Failure -Handling} .

[0093] The subscriber controlling node 105 knows, for example from subscriber profile configuration, that the subscriber A belongs to the subscriber group associated with the group controlling node 101. So the subscriber controlling node 105 sends (603) a Usage Update message to the group controlling node 101 and the Usage Update message indicates a quota given to the subscriber A. The Usage Update message is an internally defined message, and it may include some information related to the subscriber A, for example but not limited to: a MSISDN, a Group ID, a Counter ID(s), a Used Value(s), an assigned Quota(s) and Quota Allocation Time-stamp(s) associated with Used Value(s), a request timestamp (The timestamp when the Usage Update is sent) and a retry flag.

[0094] In response to receiving the usage update message from the subscriber controlling node 105, the group controlling node 101 sends (604) an acknowledgement (Ack) indicating that it has received the usage update message. The Ack message may include information like Group ID, Member ID/MSISDN, Counter ID(s), and/or Block ID.

[0095] The subscriber B which also belongs to the subscriber group continues with existing session and the PGW 131 sends (605) a CCR-update (CCR-U) message to the subscriber controlling node 107, since previous quota was consumed by the subscriber B. The CCR-U message is similar to the CCR-I message described above. Likewise, the subscriber controlling node 107 provides (606) a quota to subscriber B via a CCA-update (CCA-U) message. The CCA-U message is similar to the CCA-I message described above.

[0096] The subscriber controlling node 107 sends (607) a Usage Update message for the subscriber B to the group controlling node 101. The grouping controlling node 101 detects that QoS of the subscriber group need to be changed upon finding that the usage reported by the subscriber controlling node 107 for the subscriber B exceeds a threshold, and sends (608) an Ack message indicating the need for changing QoS for the subscriber B to the subscriber controlling node 107. The Ack message may include, for example, information like group ID, Member ID/MSISDN, Counter ID(s), an indication for Qos threshold being reached, a Block ID, and the like.

[0097] Optionally, if line level (or subscriber level) QoS change notification is enabled, the subscriber controlling node 106 may send (609) a QoS change notification for the subscriber B to the notification server 141. Alternatively or in addition, if account level (or group level) QoS change notification is enabled, the group controlling node 101 may send (610) a QoS change notification for the group to the Notification Server 141.

[0098] In order to broadcast the QoS change information and session control parameters to all subscribers of the Group, the group controlling node 101 sends (611, 612) a Session Parameter Update message to the subscriber controlling nodes 105 and 107 respectively, rather than to all the subscribers. The Session Parameter Update message may include, for example but not limited to, information like: Group ID, Counter ID(s), an indication for reaching a Qos threshold, and a Block ID. Then the subscriber controlling node 105 sends (613) an Ack message to the group controlling node 101 and inform subscribers associated with it. Likewise, the subscriber controlling node 107 sends (614) an Ack message to the group controlling node 101 and inform subscribers associated with it.

[0099] The group controlling node 101 (which may be a group MAS) may also broadcast the QoS change for other line subscriber (620).

[00100] Upon receiving an indication of QoS level change from the group controlling node 101, the subscriber controlling node 105 may send (615) a Reauthorization Request (RAR) message to the PGW 131 for ongoing session of all subscribers associated with the subscriber controlling node 105 to apply the new QoS level to their data sessions. For example, for DIAMETER based data sessions, the RAR will be applied to force the Diameter Client to send a CCR-U. The PGW 131 sends (616) an Ack in a Reauthorization Answer (RAA) message.

[00101] Then procedures similar to 605-608 may occur among the PGW 131, the subscriber controlling node 105 and the group controlling node 101. For example, the PGW 131 sends (617) a CCR-U message in response to previous RAR to the subscriber controlling node 105. The subscriber controlling node 105 sends (618) a CCA-U message to the PGW 131 in the response to the CCR-U message. In an embodiment, the CCA-U message, the Final -Unit-Action filed may be set to be "Restrict-Access" to notify the Diameter Client to change the QoS level. Further, a Filter-ID AVP may be included to populate the information related with the new QoS level.

[00102] The subscriber controlling node 105 sends (619) a Usage Update message for the subscriber A to the group controlling node 101, and the group controlling node 101 sends (620) a positive Ack to subscriber controlling node 105.

[00103] Note that procedures 615-620 may repeat for subscriber B and any other subscribers included in the same subscriber group. [00104] In the example procedures shown in FIG. 6, when a triggering event is detected, the group controlling node 101 only send (611, 612) a session parameter update message to subscriber controlling nodes, rather than broadcasting the information to all subscribers. In this way, signing overhead between the group controlling node and the subscriber control node is reduced. The session parameter update message may include group specific updated parameters.

[00105] In some embodiments, procedures other than 61 1-614 may be implemented by reusing signaling available in an existing communication system.

[00106] In the following, some examples for structures of the group controlling node and the subscriber controlling node will be provided.

[00107] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 700 in a wireless communication network, for example, the communication network 100 shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus 700 may be implemented as or in the group controlling node 101 (or 102-104) shown in FIG. 1. The communication system 100 includes a subscriber group associated with the group controlling node 101, and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan. The communication system 100 further includes a first subscriber controlling node 105 associated with the plurality of subscribers.

[00108] As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus 700 includes a transmitting unit 701 and a receiving unit 702. The transmitting unit 701 is configured to send a message for the subscriber group to the first subscriber controlling node 105, in response to detecting an event triggering a usage notification for the subscriber group. The message indicates at least one of: an updated QoS parameter for the subscriber group, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group. The receiving unit 702 is configured to receive a first acknowledgement for the message from the first subscriber controlling node.

[00109] In an embodiment, the subscriber group may include a further plurality of subscribers sharing the subscription plan and associated with a second subscriber controlling node 107, and the transmitting unit 701 may be further configured to send the message for the subscriber group to the second subscriber controlling node 107 in response to detecting the event triggering usage notification for the subscriber group; and the receiving unit 702 may be further configured to receive a second acknowledgement for the message from the second subscriber controlling node 107. [00110] In some embodiments, descriptions with respect to the message and the triggering event provided with reference to FIG. 4 and method 400 also apply here, and details will not be repeated.

[00111] In an embodiment, the apparatus 700 may include some of the functions 310-350 shown in FIG. 3. For example, the apparatus 700 may include one or more counter (like 211-213 shown in FIG. 2 or 310 shown in FIG.3) to facilitating detection of the event triggering usage notification. However, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The apparatus 700 may use any suitable mechanism to detect the event and trigger the transmitting unit 701 to send the message in response to the detection. For instance, the transmitting unit 701 may include a detection function for detecting the event.

[00112] FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 800 in a wireless communication network, for example, the communication network 100 shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus 800 may be implemented as or in the subscriber controlling node 105 (or 106-108) shown in FIG. 1. The communication system 100 includes a subscriber group associated with a group controlling node 101 (or, 102-104), and the subscriber group includes a plurality of subscribers sharing a subscription plan and associated with the subscriber controlling node 105 (or 106-108).

[00113] As shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus 800 includes a receiving unit 801 and a transmitting unit 802. The receiving unit 801 is configured to receive, from the group controlling node 101, a message for the subscriber group. The message indicates at least one of: an updated QoS parameter, information on usage of an allocated allowance for the subscriber group, and an update on the allocated allowance for the subscriber group. The transmitting unit 802 is configured to send an acknowledgement for the message to the group controlling node 101. In an embodiment, the transmitting unit 802 may be further configured to send information obtained based on the message to the plurality of subscribers, and/or a database accessible to the plurality of subscribers.

[00114] In some embodiments, descriptions with respect to the message and the triggering event provided with reference to FIG. 5 and method 500 also apply here, and details will not be repeated.

[00115] FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 910 that may be embodied in/as a network device, for example, the group controlling node 101-104, and/or the subscriber controlling node 105-108 shown in FIG. 1. [00116] The apparatus 910 may include one or more processors 911, such as a data processor (DP) and one or more memories (MEM) 912 coupled to the processor 911. The apparatus 910 may further include one or more transmitters (TX)/ receivers (RX) 913 coupled to the processor 911. The MEM 912 may be non-transitory machine readable storage medium and it may store a program or a computer program product (PROG) 914. The PROG 914 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 911, enable the apparatus 910 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example to perform the method 400 or 500. A combination of the one or more processors 911 and the one or more MEMs 912 may form processing means 915 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00117] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer program or computer program product executable by the processor 911, software, firmware, hardware or in a combination thereof.

[00118] The MEMs 912 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory terminal devices, magnetic memory terminal devices and systems, optical memory terminal devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples.

[00119] The processor 911 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors DSPs and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[00120] Although some of the above description is made in the context of a communication system shown in FIG. 1, it should not be construed as limiting the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The principle and concept of the present disclosure may be more generally applicable to other scenarios.

[00121] In addition, the present disclosure may also provide computer readable storage medium such as a memory containing the computer program or computer program product as mentioned above, which includes machine-readable media and machine -readable transmission media. The machine-readable media may also be called computer-readable media, and may include machine-readable storage media, for example, magnetic disks, magnetic tape, optical disks, phase change memory, or an electronic memory terminal device like a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory devices, CD-ROM, DVD, Blue-ray disc and the like. The machine-readable transmission media may also be called a carrier, and may include, for example, electrical, optical, radio, acoustical or other form of propagated signals - such as carrier waves, infrared signals, and the like.

[00122] The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means so that an apparatus implementing one or more functions of a corresponding apparatus described with an embodiment includes not only prior art means, but also means for implementing the one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described with the embodiment and it may include separate means for each separate function, or means that may be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware (one or more apparatuses), firmware (one or more apparatuses), software (one or more modules), or combinations thereof. For a firmware or software, implementation may be made through modules (for example, procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein.

[00123] Example embodiments herein have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods and apparatuses. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by various means including hardware, software, firmware, and a combination thereof. For example, in one embodiment, each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations can be implemented by computer program or computer program product which includes computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[00124] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

[00125] It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The above described embodiments are given for describing rather than limiting the disclosure, and it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as those skilled in the art readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. The protection scope of the disclosure is defined by the accompanying claims.