Support for envelope reporting

A method for supporting envelope reporting in a radio communication network having a control plane (CP) function and a user plane (UP) function, the method being performed by the UP function and comprising:

• receiving a usage reporting rule (URR) transmitted by the CP function, the URR comprising a reporting trigger indicator for instructing the UP function to generate a usage report after detecting a closure of an envelope;
• after detecting the closure of the envelope, generating the usage report;
• and
• sending the usage report to the CP function, wherein
• the usage report comprises a usage report trigger indicator indicating that the closure of the envelope triggered the UP function to generate the usage report.

A control plane (CP) function for supporting envelope reporting, the CP function comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a computer program product storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the CP function to perform a process comprising:
• sending a usage reporting rule (URR) to a user plane (UP) function, wherein the URR sent to the UP function comprises a reporting trigger indicator for instructing the UP function to generate a usage report after detecting a closure of an envelope;
• receiving a usage report generated by the UP function after the closure of the envelope, wherein the received usage report comprises a usage report trigger indicator indicating that the closure of the envelope triggered the UP function to generate the usage report;
• and
• storing the envelope with a determined starting time and/or an ending time for offline or online charging.

A user plane (UP) function for supporting envelope reporting in a radio communication network having a control plane (CP) function separated from the UP function, the UP function comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a computer program product storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the UP function to perform a process that comprises:
• processing a usage reporting rule (URR) transmitted by the CP function, the URR comprising a reporting trigger indicator for instructing the UP function to generate a usage report after detecting a closure of an envelope;
• after detecting the closure of the envelope, generating the usage report;
• and
• sending the usage report to the CP function, wherein
• the usage report comprises a usage report trigger indicator indicating that the closure of the envelope triggered the UP function to generate the usage report.