Online charging for proximity services

A method for implementing online charging in a proximity service server of a mobile network, the method comprising:

• controlling, by the proximity service server which connects to at least one network element of the mobile network that serves a plurality of User Equipment (UE), proximity services provided by the mobile network between UEs in proximity to each other, wherein the proximity services include direct communication between UEs in proximity to each other using local radio resources;
• receiving, by the proximity service server, a service request from a proximity service application executing on a UE to authorize a proximity service initiated by the UE;
• collecting, by the proximity service server, online charging information for the proximity service in response to receiving the service request, wherein the online charging information applies solely to the proximity service;
• wherein a Diameter Ro interface is defined between the proximity service server and an online charging system that is enhanced with Attribute Value Pairs (AVPs) that are defined for the proximity services;
• formatting, by the proximity service server, the online charging information for the proximity service into at least one of the AVPs of a Diameter Ro Credit Control Request (CCR);
• transmitting the Diameter Ro CCR from the proximity service server to the online charging system;
• receiving a Diameter Ro Credit Control Answer (CCA) in the proximity service server from the online charging system where at least one of the AVPs in the Diameter Ro CCA indicates a credit authorization result for the proximity service based on a charging policy identified for the proximity service;
• and
• transmitting a service response from the proximity service server to the UE indicating the credit authorization result for the proximity service, wherein the credit authorization result indicates whether the UE is authorized to proceed with the proximity service.

An apparatus comprising:

• an Online Charging System (OCS) configured to communicate with a proximity service server that controls proximity services for a mobile network over a Diameter Ro interface enhanced with Attribute Value Pairs (AVPs) that are defined for the proximity services;
• the OCS having a controller, and a policy database configured to store charging policies defining how online charging is performed for the proximity services;
• the controller is configured to receive a Diameter Ro Credit Control Request (CCR) from the proximity service server that includes online charging information for a proximity service involving User Equipment (UE), wherein the online charging information for the proximity service is formatted into at least one of the AVPs of the Diameter Ro CCR;
• the controller is configured to identify a charging policy from the policy database for the proximity service, to process the online charging information and the charging policy to determine whether credit authorization is granted for the proximity service and to generate a credit authorization result, and to transmit a Diameter Ro Credit Control Answer (CCA) to the proximity service server, wherein at least one of the AVPs in the Diameter Ro CCA indicates the credit authorization result for the proximity service.