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SIPPINGD. York
Internet-DraftVoxeo
Intended status: InformationalFebruary 18, 2008
Expires: August 21, 2008 


P-Charge-Info - A Private Header (P-Header) Extension to the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
draft-york-sipping-p-charge-info-00

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Abstract

This document describes 'P-Charge-Info', a private Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header (P-header) used by a number of equipment vendors and carriers to convey simple billing information.



Table of Contents

1.  Overview
2.  Requirements Language
3.  The P-Charge-Info Header
    3.1.  Applicability Statement for the P-Charge-Info header
    3.2.  Usage of the P-Charge-Info header
        3.2.1.  Procedures at the UA
        3.2.2.  Procedures at the Proxy
    3.3.  Examples of Usage
4.  Formal Syntax
5.  IANA Considerations
6.  Security Considerations
§  Author's Address
§  Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements




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1.  Overview

In certain network configurations, it is desirable to decouple the Caller ID from the number used for billing purposes. This document describes the current usage of 'P-Charge-Info', a private SIP header, to provide simple billing information and requests the registration of this header with IANA as required by section 4.1 of RFC 3427.

In a typical configuration, "Caller ID" is derived from one of the following SIP headers:

This number is typically presented to the receiving UA where it is usually displayed for the end user. It is also typically used for billing purposes by the network entities involved in carrying the session.

However, in a distributed environment the "Caller ID" presented to the receiving UA may not reflect the actual reality of the underlying network in terms of costs incurred on the PSTN. This may result in excessive charging of one carrier by another based on the erroneous assumption that the call was originating from a different point on the PSTN.

There exists a need for a way to pass an additional billing identifier that can be used between network entities in order to correctly bill for services. At least one equipment provider, Sonus Networks, and several carriers have begun using the "P-Charge-Info" header as a simple mechanism to exchange this billing identifier.

It should be noted that the 3GPP has also recognized the need for such a billing identifier and in section 4.6 of RFC 3455 established a SIP P-Header, "P-Charging-Vector", to provide similar information. This header, though, is designed for use within 3GPP environments and includes more information than is required in many simpler environments.



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2.  Requirements Language

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.



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3.  The P-Charge-Info Header



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3.1.  Applicability Statement for the P-Charge-Info header

[Information to be completed.]



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3.2.  Usage of the P-Charge-Info header

The P-Charge-Info header is used to convey information related to billing record for a particular call. The P-Charge-Info header is typically inserted by the SIP proxy on the originating network.



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3.2.1.  Procedures at the UA

This document does not specify any procedure at the UA with regard to the P-Charge-Info header. UAs need not understand this header.



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3.2.2.  Procedures at the Proxy

[Information to be completed.]



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3.3.  Examples of Usage

[Information to be completed.]



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4.  Formal Syntax

The Private Header specified in this document is described in both prose and an augmented Backus-Naur Form (BNF) defined in RFC 2234. Further, several BNF definitions are inherited from SIP and are not repeated here. Implementors need to be familiar with the notation and contents of SIP [1] and RFC 2234 [3] to understand this document.

They syntax of the P-Charge-Info header is described as follows:

[Information to be completed.]



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5.  IANA Considerations

This document defines a private SIP extension header field (beginning with the prefixe "P-").

The extension is registered as a private extension field:

RFC Number: RFCXXXX [Note to IANA: Fill in with the RFC number of this specification.

Header Field Name: P-Charge-Info

Compact Form: none



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6.  Security Considerations

Given that the information contained in the P-Charge-Info header will be used for billing purposes the proxies that share this information MUST have a trust relationship.

If an untrusted entity were inserted between the trusted entities, it could potentially interfere with the billing records for the call. If the SIP connections are not made over a private WAN, a mechanism for securing the confidentiality and integrity of the SIP connection should be used to protect the information.



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Author's Address

  Dan York
  Voxeo Corporation
  Burlington, VT
  USA
Phone:  +1-407-455-5859
Email:  dyork@voxeo.com
URI:  http://www.voxeo.com/


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Full Copyright Statement

Intellectual Property