What the PCF does
The PCF provides policy decisions to other control-plane functions. These decisions can influence QoS, charging, session handling, access and application-related treatment.
How applications influence policy
An authorised Application Function can provide service information directly or through the NEF. Policy systems can then apply approved network behaviour to relevant traffic.
How it relates to slicing
Different slice services can use different policy sets even when some infrastructure is shared.
Standards note: this page is an explanatory summary. Precise procedures, services and information elements are defined in the applicable 3GPP specifications.