Service usage records for mobile data communications

摘要

A method of creating service usage records summarising usage of mobile data communications services, comprises monitoring message packets traversing a signalling link between a serving support node and a gateway support node, these message packets including packets for tunnelling data being transported by a mobile data communications service. First information is extracted from the data tunnelling packets, relating to data being tunnelled by said packets, and second information is extracted, relating to implementation of the data tunnelling. The correlating said first and second information are correlated to generate a service usage record. A source of data packets can be characterised by examining a tunnel destination address in each monitored message packet, and characterising the message packet as mobile-originated if the tunnel destination address is a gateway support node and as mobile-terminated if the tunnel destination address is a serving support node.