NEC Corporation (NEC) has revealed that it provided a Charging Gateway Function (CGF) to NTT Docomo for processing of billing information.

NEC said the Charging Gateway Function began operating in December 2022 as a gateway-packaged product that connects Docomo’s existing standalone 5G mobile core network (SA 5GC), which was provided by NEC, to its business support system (BSS) for customer administration and billing.

By organizing the wide variety of billing information sent from 5GC and linking to the BSS, the CGF enables efficient billing processing, while supporting the rapid launch, provision and monetization of new services.

Service menus utilizing 5G are becoming more diverse, and the development of new services beyond packet communications, SMS and voice communications is expected to continue advancing in the future. For this reason, telecommunications carriers are demanding packaged products that can flexibly support new services.

In the BSS area, there is a demand to introduce Fit to Standard packaged products that can handle new services and are aligned with IT strategies. However, when using a packaged product for a gateway, it is necessary to develop connections for the parts of the system where information such as BSS is linked. Therefore, building a new gateway requires excellent packaged products and know-how in the development of connection systems.

“We are pleased to have worked with NEC as a partner in the introduction of standard products compatible with 5G SA. Docomo will continue to swiftly and flexibly provide customers with diversified services and billing systems for next-generation networks, including 5G,” said Shin Fujii, Senior Manager, NTT Docomo.

“Netcracker is working with Docomo, in partnership with NEC and DigitalRoute, to deliver a differentiated solution that will provide efficiencies in the billing process resulting in faster time to market and rapid monetization of new services,” said Bob Titus, CTO at Netcracker.