This document defines the explicit scope boundaries of the M2M Billing Reference.
The term billing is used here in a technical and semantic sense. It describes the deterministic qualification of machine-generated usage for settlement — not a commercial, financial, or payment function.
This reference covers machine-to-machine usage qualification semantics, including:
- Definition and classification of machine-generated events
- Usage metering concepts for system-to-system interactions
- Attribution of measured usage to accountable machine or organizational entities
- Settlement qualification rules determining when usage is considered billable
- Separation between technical settlement logic and monetary execution
- Versioned semantics enabling reproducible interpretation across systems and time
This reference explicitly does not cover:
- Payment processing, clearing, or settlement execution
- Pricing models, tariffs, fees, or commercial agreements
- Invoicing, accounting systems, or ERP integration
- Taxation, fiscal reporting, or regulatory compliance guidance
- Cryptocurrencies, tokenomics, or on-chain payment mechanisms
- End-user billing, subscriptions, or customer relationship management
- Product implementations, platforms, services, or vendor solutions
-
Machine-to-Machine (M2M):
Autonomous or semi-autonomous system interactions without direct human initiation for each action. -
Billing (technical):
The logical determination that measurable usage qualifies for settlement. -
Settlement (logical):
The resolution of usage attribution and qualification, independent of pricing or payment execution.
This repository exists to provide semantic clarity and boundary definition.
It does not:
- recommend architectures,
- endorse standards or protocols,
- certify implementations,
- or define commercial practices.
Any change to scope must be documented through explicit versioning and reflected consistently across all repository files.