Allowances

Allowances inform the real-time network In the context of CMP, the infrastructure on which usage of registered customers will be measured – this could be a mobile phone network, broadband network or other non-telecommunications network. what to grant a subscription A billing entity that incurs a charge. Examples include a network attached device whose usage you want to measure and charge for, or a monthly software subscription in terms of voice, text, data or cash. The different types of allowance are:

• Voice
• Text
• Data
• Cash - Cash is special type of allowance used to top up a balance in the Online Charging System (OCS). This type of allowance can only be configured on a top up package.
• Rate - The rate plan that is to assigned to the subscription on connection and tariff change in the OCS.
• Balance - The money balance that is to be assigned to the subscription on connection in the OCS.

Allowances can be for a set amount of the above, for example 50 GB data, or unlimited, for example unlimited texts.

Allowances are used to provision propositions. They are linked to packages. The packages to which an allowance can link depends on the package classification. If an allowance is linked to a package, it must be unlinked before you can delete it.

For more information on packages and types of packages, see Packages.

Subscribers can:

• Transfer allowances

  Both recurring and non-recurring allowances can be transferred from one subscription to another, if the subscriptions are both connected. This can take place via a self-care app, for example, use RESTful web services Web services that are based on Representative State Transfer (REST) architecture principles, and are therefore designed to work best on the Internet, being lightweight, maintainable, and scalable. CMP provides RESTful web services to access much of CMP functionality.. The transferred allowances are visible for the donor and recipient in AgentView The graphical user interface of the CMP that is typically used by Customer Service Agents to access CMP customer and billing data. In versions prior to CMP 8.0, this was called the CMP GUI. in the Subscription Billing > Adjustments screen. There is no change to the expiry date of a transferred allowance. Unlimited allowances cannot be transferred.

• Transform allowances

  Available allowances can be converted to other types of allowance for the same subscription. For example, voice can be converted to data. The conversion calculation is stored in and performed by the online charging system (OCS). The donor and recipient allowances are adjusted by RESTful web services. The transformed allowances are displayed in AgentView in the Subscription Billing > Adjustments screen.

  Recurring and non-recurring allowances can be transformed. The subscription must be connected. Unlimited allowances cannot be transformed.

• Share allowances

  In Business Configuration A module in the CMP Administation console that provides for viewing and modification of business and user applicable system configuration., an allowance can be configured as Shareable. When this allowance is allocated to a bolt-on An addition to a subscriber's main plan or product; also sometimes called an add-on. package, the package becomes shareable because a package cannot contain a mix of allowance types. For more information, see Shared Packages.

When you configure an allowance, you:

• Provide a meaningful description, for example 100 Minutes Voice Weekly.

  CMP Converged Monetisation Platform. The MDS Global product that supports customer care and billing for digital service providers. auto-generates a unique code for the allowance.
  

• Specify the type of allowance - voice, data, text, rate or balance.
• Indicate the network for which the allowance is applicable.
• To match this allowance with an allowance configured in the OCS, select the appropriate allowance name from the OCS.
• Choose the Usage Class Group that defines the specific usage The consumption of services, for example a subscriber using call minutes. that contributes to the consumption of the allowance.
• Indicate the Billing Type - postpaid, prepaid or both.
• If the allowance has a set amount, set the amount, for example 100 minutes. Or indicate that the allowance is unlimited.
• If the allowance is recurring, set the frequency, for example once a month.
• Specify whether the allowance is pro-ratable, and can be provided and/or billed for proportionally if applied for only a portion of the regular time period.
• If the allowance is to be rolled over, provide the number of times it can be rolled over.
• Specify whether the allowance can be shared between subscribers.
• Provide a priority to indicate the order in which similar allowances should be consumed.

Allowances do not have an effective or expiry date that is configured in Business Configuration. However, recurring allowances can be expired in AgentView.

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