As 3GPP LTE mobile broadband technology is getting matured, it makes possible for end user to conveniently access/download applications via mobile handset anytime, anywhere and in any way. More and more application providers dig out this business opportunity, attract huge mobile end users via providing a lot of fancy applications. However, with LTE mobile broadband deployment, most network operators are also worrying about only becoming as network “bit pipe” providers, and are facing challenges how to earn money from the application service.
The new emerging sponsored data connection business model occurs between network operator and third party application provider. In such new business model, the sponsored application service provider will own the users, who will pay, for the service in their use, the application store provider (such as Google, Apple AppStore, Yahoo, Facebook, . . . ), instead of paying directly, for the service in their use, the mobile operator. The sponsored application service provider will have further revenue sharing with the network providers to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of its application via mobile operator's broadband network.
Currently, mobile operators have the ability of 3GPP policy and charging control (PCC) and deep packet inspection (DPI) technology to assist operator in controlling and managing the network bandwidth to make full use of and monetize the resource in the their network. However, the current 3GPP architecture cannot well adapt for the new emerging sponsored business model between mobile operators and third party application store (AppStore) providers. The 3GPP PCC architecture only provides the solution for operator to control its own subscriber's data service connection, but does not propose how to have policy and charging control for the end user owned by the third party application providers, since the third party end user pays for the network connectivity which is separate from the subscriber's online charging in the PCC architecture.
Thus, in a sponsored application connection service model, there is short of a solution enabling the operator dynamically control/configure data connection of the sponsored application service during the existence of the connection, according to traffic flow of data connection of the service.