Charging data record


For mobile telecommunications, the Charging Data Record is, in 3GPP parlance, a formatted collection of information about a chargeable telecommunication event.
CDRs are used for user billing: a telecom provider transfers them from time to time in order to send bills to their users. CDRs are sent in GTP' messages, or saved in files and fetched with FTP protocol.
Information on chargeable events includes time of call set-up, duration of the call, amount of data transferred, etc. A separate CDR is generated for each party to be charged.
Entries on CDRs use a syntax. Usage units can be bits, seconds, or other units.

CDR type

CDRs can be classified basically on two parameters
  • The node at which they're generated: GGSN, SGSN, PGW, SGW, etc.
  • The kind of service or activity they're charging : MBMS, Mobility, Location request etc.
As per the specifications the records are classified as follows :
  • S-CDR
  • SGW-CDR
  • PGW-CDR
  • eG-CDR
  • M-CDR
  • S-SMO-CDR
  • LCS-MO-CDR
  • LCS-NI-CDR
  • S-MB-CDR
  • G-MB-CDR
  • MBMS-GW-CDR