<s>
Policy	B-Protocol
and	I-Protocol
Charging	I-Protocol
Rules	I-Protocol
Function	I-Protocol
(	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
the	O
software	O
node	O
designated	O
in	O
real-time	O
to	O
determine	O
policy	O
rules	O
in	O
a	O
multimedia	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
policy	O
tool	O
,	O
the	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
plays	O
a	O
central	O
role	O
in	O
next-generation	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
earlier	O
policy	O
engines	O
that	O
were	O
added	O
onto	O
an	O
existing	O
network	O
to	O
enforce	O
policy	O
,	O
the	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
software	B-Architecture
component	I-Architecture
that	O
operates	O
at	O
the	O
network	O
core	O
and	O
accesses	O
subscriber	O
databases	O
and	O
other	O
specialized	O
functions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
charging	O
system	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
centralized	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
it	O
operates	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
has	O
an	O
increased	O
strategic	O
significance	O
and	O
broader	O
potential	O
role	O
than	O
traditional	O
policy	O
engines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
proliferation	O
of	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
products	O
since	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
architecture	O
that	O
aggregates	O
information	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
operational	O
support	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
sources	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
portals	O
)	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
,	O
supporting	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
rules	O
and	O
then	O
automatically	O
making	O
policy	O
decisions	O
for	O
each	O
subscriber	O
active	O
on	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCRF	B-Protocol
can	O
provide	O
a	O
network	O
agnostic	O
solution	O
(	O
wire	O
line	O
and	O
wireless	O
)	O
and	O
can	O
also	O
enable	O
multi-dimensional	O
approach	O
which	O
helps	O
in	O
creating	O
a	O
lucrative	O
and	O
innovative	O
platform	O
for	O
operators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCRF	B-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
integrated	O
with	O
different	O
platforms	O
like	O
billing	O
,	O
rating	O
,	O
charging	O
,	O
and	O
subscriber	O
database	O
or	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
deployed	O
as	O
a	O
standalone	O
entity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCRF	B-Protocol
plays	O
a	O
key	O
role	O
in	O
VoLTE	O
as	O
a	O
mediator	O
of	O
network	O
resources	O
for	O
the	O
IP	O
Multimedia	O
Systems	O
network	O
for	O
establishing	O
the	O
calls	O
and	O
allocating	O
the	O
requested	O
bandwidth	O
to	O
the	O
call	O
bearer	O
with	O
configured	O
attributes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operators	O
also	O
have	O
an	O
opportunity	O
to	O
use	O
PCRF	B-Protocol
for	O
prioritizing	O
the	O
calls	O
to	O
emergency	O
numbers	O
in	O
the	O
next-gen	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
