Method and apparatus for optimizing delivery of network usage and billing data

An apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,
• the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,
• collect, from different network elements associated with a network of a provider, session records for specifying data about sessions conducted by network subscribers via the network and transport records for specifying data about the transport of data via the network during a correlation cycle;
• determine, based on correlation criteria, a minimal threshold of correlation between one of the session records and multiple transport records;
• generate, based on the minimal threshold of correlation, a charging data record based on a mapping of data associated with the one session record and the multiple transport records;
• and
• transmit the charging data record to a billing system of the provider prior to the collecting of all of the session records and transport records.