Patent ID: 7782788

Claim:
A method of charging a subscriber for using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services provided by a mobile communications network, said method comprising the steps of: including in packet data protocol (PDP) activation or modification messages sent from a user equipment (UE) used by a subscriber to a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) of the network, a flag indicating whether the PDP context is to be used for signaling data or user data; and, examining said flag within the network or at a node external to the network, and if the flag indicates that the PDP context is to be used for carrying signaling data, applying a first charging regime to the subscriber for establishing and using the context, and if the flag indicates that the PDP context is to be used for carrying user data, applying a different charging regime to the subscriber for establishing and/or using the context; wherein said flag is included in session/traffic control messages sent between network elements involved in charging to indicate whether the PDP context is to be used for signaling data or user data.