FUTURE OF

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With nontraditional players, such as Apple Inc. and Google Inc., encroaching on territory that was formerly the domain of mobile voice operators, the wireless landscape is changing drastically. A change of this magnitude mandates a reassessment of the customer care and billing requirements for handling the formerly futuristic scenarios that are quickly becoming a reality. This article will look at the influence that new devices, players and business models have on mobile operators and implications on BSS.

Data, Data, Data

Despite its welcomed relief as an alternative revenue source, the uptake of non-voice services causes a lot of disruption in terms of the customer care and billing environment. The typical legacy environment is not well equipped to support new rating, charging, customer management and content settlement schemes. Content, 3G, IMS, WiMAX and messaging services are all gaining traction – in some regions at a faster pace than in others – bringing billing and care requirements that must be addressed in the most cost efficient way possible. While changes to the customer care and billing infrastructure can be daunting, it is critical for operators to realize that an environment that can handle all the demands that non-voice services introduce can accelerate time to revenue. For example, an operator may not have the perfect offer or plan the first time they introduce a new service, but having the ability to trial and react quickly will result in a much more successful outcome. Increases in transaction volumes due to new service uptake require robust and scalable systems that can grow seamlessly to support the operator's business.

New Competitors are Changing the Game

Some of the new entrants are really changing the game for mobile service providers – especially in the way operators relate to their customers. More and more, service providers are looking to create a community, or social network, rather than just a subscriber base. And unlike in a traditional mobile voice world where end users have one phone number that identifies them, users today may have multiple identities even if they only have one device.  This trend represents a new challenge to manage, keep track of, understand, and offer personalized plans to these types of subscribers.

A BSS/OSS infrastructure that incorporates a unified data model within the customer care and billing environment is a critical capability to handle communities, networks, identities, balances, and relationships – particularly as more and more subscribers enter the worlds of Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0. An operator may be able to take a short-term systems approach to handle limited scenarios, such as a family of users – a small community of 3-5 people with different needs and some balance sharing. But to handle volume and complexity requires that all systems be synchronized around the same data model, enabling a complete view of the customer at any point and through any access channel.

New Devices and Business Models

The broad adoption of more sophisticated mobile devices has helped to drive the industry. Fortunately, standards that govern call and session data record content have provided a relatively smooth transition path when operators introduce new types of devices. However, there still are two main areas where new devices impact operators' customer care and billing capabilities.

The Screen

The market is clearly hungry for handsets, like the iPhone, with visually-based interfaces. These make mobile self-service especially attractive to end-users, an opportunity for operators to reduce costs and increase satisfaction. The exchange of multi-media between newer and older devices raises interesting questions. For example, a customer may send a photo, but the recipient's device cannot display it, so the recipient receives notification to view it on a website. Should the sender pay for an MMS or should the price take into consideration whether the recipient only got a notification? The question operators must ask in this case is what to charge to most accurately reflect the value as perceived by their customers. Over time, the market is bound to discover what works. But what will be critical is that service providers must build in flexibility to handle the scenarios and practices that will evolve.

Alternative Business Models

Use of mobile handsets as an advertising channel has had lots of attention of late. It remains to be seen which mobile advertising business model will work without alienating users. Regardless of the approach – including an advertising model that charges content providers instead of the subscriber or offers discounts to subscribers – operators will require a flexible billing system to make it work. Short time-to-market will be critical during the experimental phases until operators arrive at the most successful business model.

Reaching and Retaining Subscribers

Self-service as a way to retain subscribers has seen much success in the mobile space – and leveraging advanced self-service through the device will continue to deliver results. Wireless users appreciate the ability to accomplish simple account management, service/plan modification tasks or even group and community membership updates while out and about. Operators want to be responsive, but have found

that fielding calls through a traditional call center while a user is on the go and wants to make a change or query a balance, is both difficult and expensive. So, it is becoming even more important to have well-integrated self-service for handsets, as well as IVR-based self-service.

This capability is not just for consumers. A number of operators are successfully handling corporate and business accounts via self-service. For example, a large business or government customer may want to empower regional or divisional executives by enabling them to add the n th + 1 mobile phone on their account without having to spend time on the phone with a CSR or work through centralized corporate processes.  For high value business accounts, an operator who enables self-service and self sufficiency can substantially differentiate themselves.

Prepaid/Postpaid Convergent Billing Becoming a Reality

Around the globe, convergence continues to drive BSS/OSS investment – in the past, it was to consolidate the back office after acquisitions or to move to multi-service convergence capabilities to handle voice and data services with one billing system. The next evolutionary, and sometimes revolutionary, step is prepaid and postpaid convergence.  

The rationale for pre/post convergence has always included the goal of cost savings in consolidating product catalogs and customer management resources. But now, pre/post convergence is becoming a market expectation and a way for operators to provide consistency of services across the entire subscriber base. Operators around the world are seeing the value in transitioning a pure-play prepaid customer base into a pre/post converged base – since in most regions, a postpaid or converged subscriber delivers higher ARPU and is more loyal than a prepaid subscriber.

In some countries however, particularly the US , prepaid services have had slower uptake. In these areas, the addition of in-network rating and charging to a postpaid infrastructure has compelling benefits. Since operators are now offering bundles that include relatively expensive third party content, subscribers can now quickly rack up higher balances, thereby increasing an operator's liability. Real-time authorization and rating – regardless of the customer's ultimate payment type – can help operators to manage financial exposure associated with content costs, meet consumer expectations, and also enable billing as a strategic marketing tool through real-time notifications and promotions.

Future Ready

Comverse helps wireless operators around the globe accelerate revenue growth through increased market agility, allowing them to benefit from changing market dynamics. We have supported all aspects of convergence for 10 years; experience that enables us to both help our customers address industry changes and deliver solutions well-tuned to emerging needs. Adaptable systems that can be efficiently deployed to meet today's business needs and evolve – also efficiently – to meet future requirements are essential for an operator to benefit from market opportunities.

####

Copyright ©2008 Comverse, Inc. All rights reserved.

Comverse, its logo and its spark design are registered trademarks of Comverse Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States .

Google is a trademark of Google Inc.

About Comverse

Comverse is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling network-based multimedia enhanced communication and billing services. The company's Total Communication SM portfolio includes a rich range of Messaging, Billing, Content, Converged IP Communications and Handset Software solutions. Over 500 communication and content service providers in more than 130 countries use Comverse products to generate revenues, strengthen customer loyalty and improve operational efficiency.

For more information on our products and services, visit our website at:
www.comverse.com or contact us at: www.comverse.com

Subsribe Free Newsletter for the latest in Billing OSS Industry. Latest trends and reports from world over: www.BillingOss.com