Even though 5G mobile network has more to offer consumers and businesses, it is never going to replace 4G overnight. It takes some research and planning before you can finally make up your mind to deploy 5G applications. This is despite the fact that some new applications and services require 5G.
The good news is that most existing customers tend to roam between 5G and earlier networks almost roam between the networks without even noticing. This explains why the new 5G BSS architecture should work in a dual mode. By this we are simply implying to the fact that it should be capable of supporting the 4G and earlier architecture at the same time as the new 5G service-based` architecture.
If you’ve done your homework, you probably already know that the new architecture is mostly based on converged charging system. This is mostly the case when it comes to traditional prepaid business segment and supporting customers. For this reason, all transactions will be handled by converged charging system. Through this action, it can generate, at a minimum, the CDRs that the rest of the revenue management backend system yearns to see.
If you are still leveraging the Diameter-based protocols to 5G EPC mode, it is in your best interest to upgrade the OCS. You might be wondering why this is even important in this first place. Well, this allows the traditional Diameter features that enable charging for new network features such as quality-of-service (QoS) for network slices. It is then that you can benefit from the changing capabilities for the initial phase of 5G mobile network using the EPC architecture.
The Bottom Line
As mentioned earlier, there is no way you can make the shift from 4G to 5G mobile network overnight. After all, it takes some time before you finally get to put your house in order. No wonder you should be aware of the stepwise approach one has to follow before getting started. That way, you won’t deem the switch to 5G mobile network application in your business as an uphill task.