US mobile player Dish Network turned to BSS provider Matrixx Software to supply a converged charging system as it continued to pitch dynamic pricing as a key differentiator for a forthcoming 5G service.

The cloud native set-up will continuously analyse network availability and adjust pricing based on demand.

Dish Network noted the converged charging system will play a “crucial role” in its service revenue model: CIO Atilla Tinic stated it will “help unlock the intrinsic value of our 5G network by scaling on demand and enabling dynamic pricing for network slices and other services”.

Executives at Dish Network have long talked about enabling a usage-based 5G pricing system. Chairman Charlie Ergen in April 2019 described the potential for an Uber-like access model with connectivity available for short stints and cost rising with demand.

And at MWC Los Angeles 2019, CTO Marc Price told Mobile World Live “you can stand up the most elegant and advanced function in a 5G network but if you can’t think of a way to monetise it then the initiative will be a failure”.

Dish Network previously contracted VMware, Mavenir, Altiostar and Fujitsu to provide key elements in its standalone 5G network.