Charging method and apparatus for proximity-based service

A charging method for Proximity-based Service (ProSe), wherein the charging method is used in a first user equipment (UE) of a wireless communication system, comprising:

• establishing a ProSe service with a second UE;
• generating charging information for the ProSe service according to collected transmission information, wherein the ProSe service is between the first UE and a second UE in proximity and comprises ProSe discovery, ProSe communication or both, and wherein the transmission information comprises at least one of:
• radio resources dedicated for the ProSe service, allocated to the first UE by the a base station of the wireless communication system;
• traffic volume report corresponding to uplink or downlink data volume, transmitted to the base station;
• and
• a time-elapsed duration for the ProSe service;
• and
• transmitting the charging information for the ProSe service to the base station or a core network entity of the wireless communication system.

A charging method for proximity-based Service (ProSe), wherein the charging method is used in a mobility management entity (MME) of a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

• allocating an evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identity (ID) dedicated for a ProSe service established by a first user equipment (UE) for communicating with a second UE and/or indicating charging characteristics associated with the ProSe service between the first UE and the second UE in a Create Session Request message which is to be transmitted to a packet data network gateway (PGW) through a serving gateway (SGW), when a dedicated EPS bearer is activated for the ProSe service or when a dedicated PDN connection is created for the ProSe service;
• receiving a Create Session Response message including a charging ID from the PGW through the SGW;
• and
• transmitting at least one of the dedicated EPS bearer ID, the associated charging characteristics, and a charging ID to at least one evolved Node B (eNB) serving the first UE and the second UE.

A communications device for Proximity-based Service (ProSe) in a wireless communication system, comprising:

• a control circuit;
• a processor installed in the control circuit;
• a memory installed in the control circuit and operatively coupled to the processor;
• wherein the processor is configured to execute a program code stored in the memory to process the following:
• establishing a ProSe service with another communication device in the wireless communication system, wherein the ProSe service comprises ProSe discovery, ProSe communication or both, and;
• generating charging information for the ProSe service according to collected transmission information, wherein the transmission information comprises at least one of:
• radio resources dedicated for the ProSe service, allocated to the communication device by a base station of the wireless communication system;
• traffic volume report transmitted to the base station;
• and
• a time-elapsed duration for the ProSe service with the another communication device;
• and
• transmitting the charging information for the ProSe service to the base station or a core network entity of the wireless communication system.

A charging method for Proximity-based Service (ProSe), wherein the charging method is used in a core network entity of a wireless communication system, comprising:

• generating charging information for a ProSe service according to collected transmission information, wherein the ProSe service is between a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in proximity and comprises ProSe discovery, ProSe communication or both, and
• wherein the collected transmission information comprises at least one of:
• at least one traffic volume report corresponding to uplink or downlink data volume, transmitted from the first UE and/or the second UE,
• a time-elapsed duration for the ProSe service;
• and
• the number of times for which the authorization for the ProSe service is accepted by the core network entity.