CAMEL

The CAMEL Application Part (CAP) is a signalling protocol used in

the Intelligent Network (IN) architecture. CAP is a
Remote Operations Service Element (ROSE) user protocol, and as
such is layered on top of the
Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) of the SS#7
protocol suite. CAP is based on a subset of the ETSI Core and
allows for the implementation of carrier-grade, value added services
such as unified messaging, prepaid, fraud control and Freephone in
both the GSM voice and GPRS data networks. CAMEL is a means
of adding intelligent applications to mobile (rather than fixed)
networks. It builds upon established practices in the fixed line
telephony business that are generally classed under the heading of
(Intelligent Network Application Part) or INAP CS-2 protocol.[1]
• CAMEL (Customized Application for the Mobile network
Enhanced Logic) is a standard for Intelligent Networks for
mobile communications networks. It is currently
deployed in all regions of the world, enabling mobile
network operators to offer fast and efficient services to
their subscribers.
• For operators that consider prepay a must-have, CAMEL
(Customized Application for Mobile Enhanced network
Logic) is becoming the prime method for putting the
intelligence into intelligent networks.
Protocol specification
The CAMEL Application Part (CAP) portable software provides mechanisms
to support operator services beyond the standard GSM services for
subscribers roaming within or outside the Home PLMN (HPLMN). The CAP
product extends the IN framework to GSM/3G networks for implementing IN-
based services within GSM/3G networks.
CAMEL is used when the subscriber is roaming between networks, allowing
the home network to monitor and control calls made by the subscriber.
CAMEL provides services such as prepaid roaming services, fraud control,
special numbers (e.g., 123 for voicemail that works everywhere) and closed
user groups (e.g., office extension numbers that work everywhere).
As with CAMEL, CAP has been defined in 4 phases, each of which has an
accompanying specification that builds upon the previous phase. Each CAP
phase provides the message set and procedures needed to support the
corresponding CAMEL phase requirements, as defined in 3GPP TS 22.078
(service aspects) and 3GPP TS 23.078 (technical realization).
The definition of the protocol may be considered to be split into 3 sections:
the definition of the Single Association Control Function (SACF)/Multiple
Association Control Function (MACF) rules for the protocol, defined within
the prose of the specification;
the definition of the operations transferred between entities, defined using
Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1);
the definition of the actions taken at each entity, defined by means of state
transition diagrams.
• Initially designed for circuit-switched calls, CAMEL (phases I and II)
triggered the intelligent network (IN) during a prepay call, so that
companies could swiftly assess and respond to subscribers' status
information regarding location, account balances and service
characteristics.
CAMEL phase III adds prepaid support for SMS and data services.
By supporting SMS, phase III allows GSM operators to offer real-
time charging for Mobile Originated Short Messages (MO-SMS)
without the need for proprietary devices. By enabling real-time
charging for data services, CAMEL III opens up options for prepay
billing, with parameters based on the location of the sender, the
destination of the message, as well as date and time.
Networking for IN services on multiple networks
• CAMEL Phase III (now a part of the 3GPP GSM
spec) will be germane to creating a foundation
for service differentiation by enabling roaming.
IN implementations, and subsequent roaming
capabilities in large multi-vendor networks were
difficult without CAMEL, because most vendors
had developed proprietary IN standards around
recommendations from CS1, the legacy
standard from ETSI.
• "Roaming is now being demanded by subscribers in
Europe, South America and even North America. By
giving end users access to operator-specific services
when roaming outside their home network, there will be a
perception of added value and an opportunity for carriers
to charge accordingly and differentiate themselves," says
Rogier Noldus, senior specialist, Intelligent Networks,
Ericsson. Because CS1 has been open to many
interpretations over the years, CAMEL is standardized to
a "bit level," so that comments, questions and
compatibility issues can be addressed in a standard
manner, Noldus contends.
• Where multiple interpretations of previous standards
inhibited intelligent networks, CAMEL will open the doors
to inter-vendor compatibility. Ericsson, Nokia, Alcatel and
Siemens work together regularly to improve CAMEL.
"We work like friends, rather than competitors in the
3GPP environment, which has become a great breeding
ground for building standards," says Noldus, claiming
that engineers working on CAMEL want to ensure the
industry gets the most out of GSM as a whole."

"Any time operators can increase traffic on their

networks, as well as the throughput and usage on those
networks, it is an attractive proposition,"
 CAMEL-Phase III
• With CAMEL - Phase III - real-time charging moves from circuit switched to wireless
with IN capabilities based on GPRS and UMTS. For operator that have implemented
prepaid GPRS services, CAMEL phase III provides a standard interface between
SMC and SCP within packet-based networks. Now, CAMEL enables the mobile
station to request data from the SGSN (a serving GPRS support node) and GGSN
(Gateway GPRS Support Node) so that the IN is involved during the data context
creation. The SGSN triggers the SCP, which checks the user's account as in the
circuit switched case. The SGSN updates the SCP in regular intervals with status
information (time, volume, position) about the PDP context. The SCP performs hot-
rating, decrements the account, and requests the SGSN to continue processing or to
release the PDP context. Depending on the number, the duration and the traffic of the
GPRS sessions, this can impose important performance requirements on the SGSN
and SCP.

CAMEL Phase IV (also known as "release 5" ) is slated for early 2005, is now being
finalized. It is based on IMT-2000, the ITU's framework for global wireless access that
links terrestrial and/or satellite networks.
 The Practical Side
• Like any standard, carriers and operators cannot look through
rose-tinted glasses: For CAMEL III to really "work," there have to
be many operators who implement it, as the whole point is to allow
roaming in other places, says Steve Menear, associate VP within
the IN division of Comverse.
Because it is relatively expensive to upgrade switches, many
carriers are "sitting on their hands" waiting for others to do it first.
"It will be the operators who need support for charging for short
messages and GPRS services that will be the first too implement
CAMEL III," says Menear. "It was the same with CAMEL II; though
it seemed obvious everyone should want it, it was a matter of the
biggest operators in Western Europe to go ahead before others
thought the value outweighed the cost." Because CAMEL does not
support all data services, the decision to implement CAMEL III or
IV will be a business decision. "Whether you spend the money to
upgrade switches to support roamers depends on your bu siness
plan," adds Menear.
• CAMEL is not a
• service, but a feature to create services.
• Participation:
 Value added services(VAS)
• A value-added service (VAS) is popular as a telecommunications industry
term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice
calls and fax transmissions but, it can be used in any service industry for the
services providers provide for no cost to promote their main service
business. In telecommunication industry on a conceptual level, value-added
services add value to the standard service offering, spurring the subscriber
to use their phone more and allowing the operator to drive up their ARPU.
For mobile phones, while technologies like SMS, MMS and GPRS are
usually considered value-added services, a distinction may also be made
between standard (peer-to-peer) content and premium-charged content.
• Value-added services are supplied either in-house by the
mobile network operator themselves or by a third-party value-added 
service provider (VASP), also known as a content provider (CP). VASPs
typically connect to the operator using protocols like
Short message peer-to-peer protocol (SMPP), connecting either directly to
the short message service centre (SMSC) or, increasingly, to a messaging
gateway that allows the operator to control and charge of the content better.
 Value-added Service 
Characteristics
• All VAS share the same characteristics:
• Not a form of basic service but rather adds value total service offering
• Stands alone in terms of profitability and/or stimulates incremental demand
for core service(s)
• Can sometimes stand alone operationally
• Does not cannibalize basic service unless clearly favorable
• Can be an add-on to basic service, and as such, may be sold at a premium
price
• May provide operational and/or administrative synergy between or among
other services – not merely for diversification
• Every VAS will demonstrate one or more of the above characteristics.
Furthermore, a value-added service will never stand in stark contrast to any
of the above characteristics.
• VAS also have a certain time dimension associated with them. Subjectively
speaking, a value-added service today becomes a basic service when it
becomes sufficiently common place and widely deployed to no longer
provide substantive differentiation on a relative basis.
 Relationship to other Services
• There are two types of VAS. The first service type are those value-
added services that stand alone from an operational perspective.
These types of services need not be coupled with other services,
but they can be. Many non-voice services fall into this category.
They are often provided as an optional service along with voice
services, but they could be offered and used by themselves without
the voice service. For example, SMS could be offered and used as
a service without voice calling.
• The second, and arguably more numerous and important type of
VAS, are those services that do not stand-alone. Instead, this
category adds value to existing services. While it seems implicit in
the definition of value-added, this is an important principle that
makes value-added services stand apart from other services.
Value-added Services Examples
• There are many services that could be considered "value-added". For discussion purposes, we
will a few of these services below.
Push-to-Talk
Push-to-Talk (PTT) is a VAS because it:
• Drives additional revenue to the wireless carrier, but doe not cannibalize existing revenues
• Provides differentiated service offerings
• May be packaged with various other VAS such as MIM to provide even greater value
• Call Management Services
• This type of service can not stand alone as a service. Instead, it adds value to a core service by
allowing the subscriber to manage incoming and/or outgoing calls. For example, value-added
service interactions occur when the subscriber receives a call. Many call management services
allow the subscriber to establish when, where, and under what circumstances they may be
reached by calling parties. This provides value to the core service - voice communications - by
way of increased control and flexibility.
• Depending on the specific commercial situation, this value-added service could be offered as
either a premium service (at a premium price) or be bundled with other the core service offering.
The benefit of bundling would be to provide a differentiated core service and/or to increase the
use of the core service.
 Location Sensitive Billing
• This is another example of a service that can not stand-alone. Instead, location
sensitive billing (LSB) adds value to the core service by location enabling the core
service. Location sensitive billing can be used in conjunction with post-paid, prepaid,
and/or VPN based mobile communications services to establish zones for which
differentiated billing treatment may be applied. For example, a "home zone", "work
zone", and "premium price zone" could be established to allow an operator to offer
differentiated service to its customers.
• This is viewed as a value-added service to both the customer and the mobile
operator. The customer benefits from LSB through his ability to use the mobile phone
at preferred rates based on location. The wireless carrier benefits from incremental
revenues derived from additional usage and from premium charge zones where there
is already high demand and perhaps overly taxed system capacity. While the issue of
potential cannibalization of existing service arises, customer behavior and studies
indicate a net benefit derived from overall increased usage and revenues.
• Taken together, call management services and LSB also depict characteristic number
six, operational synergy. Call management services add value in terms of providing
the user options depending on location. For example, the user may want to receive
certain calls at the home zone, but not at work, and perhaps receive only urgent calls
when traveling or on vacation. LSB provides the additional synergistic benefit of
location based billing when the user is in those various locations
 Mobile Data Services
• This is an example of a value-added service that does stand-alone. Mobile data
services are considered value-added because they depict many of the characteristics
discussed earlier.
• Does not cannibalize existing services
• Can be offered at a premium price
• Provides differentiation
• Can provide synergy with basic service
• Largely due to the current state of mobile communications evolution, many non-voice
services can be considered to be value-added. However, the extent to which
additional value-added services can be layered on top of mobile data services will
determine the limit of their value. For example, many non-voice services will have
even greater value through personalization. Two of the most significant ways to
personalize wireless services are through location enabling them and making them
personal profile driven.
• Mobile data services are utilized to obtain information, content, and to perform
transactions. All of these activities are more meaningful if they are tailored to the
individual. Location based services add value by way of putting the data into a
location context for the user. Personal profiles further enhance the value through
Personalization