Overview
ISO/IEC 15049:1997 - "Information technology - Telecommunications and information exchange between systems - Private Integrated Services Network - Specification, functional model and information flows - Advice of charge supplementary services" - defines the Advice of Charge (AOC) supplementary services for Private Integrated Services Networks (PISN). It specifies stage 1 (service view) and stage 2 (functional model and information flows) descriptions for delivering charging information to a served user for calls that leave the PISN and enter another network.
Key AOC variants covered:
- AOC-S: charging information at call set‑up time (and updates if rates change)
- AOC-D: charging information during an active call
- AOC-E: charging information at call termination
The standard focuses on how charging information is structured, conveyed and managed within PISNs and defines interactions with other supplementary services and Additional Network Features (ANFs). It excludes charging for calls that do not leave the PISN, provision of charging info to the called user, and PISN accounting.
Key Topics and Requirements
- Service definitions (Stage 1): user-visible behaviors for AOC-S, AOC-D and AOC-E including provision/withdrawal, invocation, activation/deactivation and normal/exceptional procedures.
- Functional model (Stage 2): identification of functional entities (FEs), their roles and the information flows between them aligned with the basic call functional model (Call Control, Call Control Agent).
- Information structures: annexes A–C define structures, contents and application of charging information for AOC-S, AOC-D and AOC-E; Annex D provides charging assumptions for PISNs.
- Interactions: explicit interactions with supplementary services such as CLIP/COLP/CLIR, CNIP/CONP, Call Transfer, Call Diversion and other ANFs.
- Interworking: considerations for interworking with public ISDN and PSTN networks.
- Conformance: Stage 3 standards must specify signalling protocols and equipment behavior adequate to support the stage 1 and stage 2 aspects relevant to their interfaces/equipment.
Practical Applications and Users
- Telecom equipment manufacturers implementing PISN exchanges (PINX) and terminal equipment.
- Network operators deploying private branch networks that require customer-facing charging information.
- Standards writers and system integrators creating Stage 3 signalling protocols and equipment behaviour to ensure interoperability.
- Telecom architects designing interworking between PISN, public ISDN and PSTN for billing transparency.
Related Standards
- ISO/IEC 11574 (basic circuit-mode bearer services)
- ISO/IEC 11579-1 (PISN reference configuration)
- ISO/IEC 13865 (Call Transfer supplementary service)
- ISO/IEC 13872 (Call Diversion supplementary services)
- CCITT Recommendations I.130, I.210 and I.112 (service characterization, SDL, vocabulary)
Keywords: ISO/IEC 15049, Advice of Charge, AOC-S, AOC-D, AOC-E, PISN, Private Integrated Services Network, ISDN, supplementary services, charging information, telecommunication standards.