Plans
A plan is a standardised set of rules that determines how much to charge for a subscription.
Plans include the following components:
- usage charges—specify how much to charge for different blocks of continuous use, for example, telephone flagfall and timed charges or mobile internet downloads. Usage charges also include plan-specific tariffs and policy configuration rules, for example, a rule that shapes a customer's usage if they exceed a download limit.
- recurring charges—specify a regular charge that is not based on usage, for example, an insurance surcharge.
- setup charges—specify an initial charge to apply a plan to a customer's service, for example, an ADSL connection fee. Some plans do not have a setup charge.
- settings—specify conditions that apply to the plan as a whole, for example, minimum usage charges and the value of included usage.
Plans can also contain special offers, for example, the first month of usage is free.
Plans are static. Once you set up a plan, its plan definition does not change until you change the configuration.
Plan schedules
A plan schedule lists the plan that a subscription uses at a particular point in time.
Each subscription has a plan schedule associated with it. The active plan in the plan schedule tells you how much to charge for the subscription, even if the subscription is free. The plan schedule lets you change the plan that a subscription uses now or in the future. Plans can be retroactively changed which may result in additional charges or credits.