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What is a PCRF?
A policy engine, also known as a Policy Charging and Rules Function (PCRF), is, at its most basic level, a server that deploys a set of operator-created business rules. These rules define how broadband network resources should be allocated to subscribers and applications and under what conditions. The PCRF is a policy decision point that is centrally located in the network. From here it communicates with access edge devices (or policy enforcement points), applications and Operational Support Systems/Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS) platforms to manage subscriber and network information according to the established rules. The PCRF does not operate in the data plane. It is solely a control plane function.

The PCRF resides in a central location on the network where it manages the execution of business policies across edge devices, applications and OSS/BSS systems.

Challenges Facing Broadband Networks

In legacy data environments, operators used provisioning systems, such as Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA), to configure static profiles. These profiles were applied only once, namely, when the user established a data session. This sufficed when a one-size-fits-all, flat-rate model ruled. However, as demand for personalized services continues to grow, broadband providers must be able to differentiate based on service level, subscriber tier, roaming and location status, network condition, and application. Furthermore, they must be able to make these distinctions both at session startup and during the middle of a session. In order to economically scale their operations, increase revenues and retain customers, providers need a centralized policy control solution for managing the increasing sophistication of broadband applications.

Along with the challenges involved with offering differentiated services comes the issue of managing associated bandwidth consumption. The basic economics of network cost versus subscriber value that have driven broadband deployment are under pressure as bandwidth growth (itself pushed by the increasing use of rich media applications and devices during peak hours) threatens to tilt against providers.

Large increases in bandwidth demand are pressuring broadband providers to manage services by time of day, location, subscriber, usage and application.*

This matter has become especially pressing in light of the rapid increase in the use of video and mobile devices. Smartphones, for example, are expected to reach 38% penetration by 2014, and consume, in some cases, as much as 50 times more bandwidth than voice-centric handsets.** Without intelligent solutions in place for managing exponential increases in bandwidth consumption, consumers are likely to become frustrated with degraded service, especially during peak usage hours.

The Need for a Policy Solution

Many broadband providers have responded to the above challenges with fragmented approaches. In such cases, the tasks associated with managing service and resource allocation are spread across the network with no central control. In addition, a variety of devices and applications handle different policy functions, such as quality of service (QoS) and bandwidth management. However, this “silo-style” approach makes deploying critical policy features expensive and hard to control — policy tasks are duplicated, management is time consuming, and applications and devices are burdened with unnecessary additional processing.

The old response of expanding bandwidth capacity to handle increased traffic is neither economically feasible nor technologically flexible within this new environment. Neither are standard consumption-based billing plans, which do not directly address unevenness in network utilization or customer desire for personalized service. Managing network congestion, for example, involves not simply responding to it but preventing it. It demands a targeted policy approach for identifying areas of peak usage, monitoring bandwidth consumption of high-end users in those areas, and making modest reductions in the resources available to them. The result is balanced network performance without penalizing some of a provider’s best potential customers.

Real-Time Policy and Customer Satisfaction

Real-time policy solutions, such as Camiant’s PCRF, the Multimedia Policy Engine (MPE), help increase customer satisfaction by allowing providers to set policies that prioritize resources according to specific user entitlements and application requirements.

The MPE is a highly sophisticated PCRF that replaces static policy approaches with a cost-effective, dynamic system for policy deployment. Its standards-based design fully leverages the capabilities of existing resources. Its technology-aware platform interoperates with more than 35 leading access gateway devices and applications, including IMS and non-IMS 3rd party applications. In addition, the MPE’s scalable rules engine enables economical expansion of network resources and opens new opportunities for boosting revenues through popular broadband services.