We discuss the following topics in this blog:
- Transitioning Away from Legacy Billing Systems
- How Can CSPs Integrate a Digital Billing Platform?
- Benefits of an Agile Billing System
In addition to these topics, we shall also be answering the following FAQs:
- What is WiFi?
- What is an Optical Fibre Cable?
Contents
How to Transition Away from Legacy Billing Systems?
Legacy revenue and billing networks have been hitting communication service providers (CSPs) the most in maintenance and various challenges in services, network, value chain, and emerging business models. CSPs must look to deploy a new generation billing platform that will bring in digital-based transactions for business and customer, leading to a better return on investment (RoI) for both business and customers.
Extending these points, billing in the new generation platform will be generated in real-time and with well-designed policy control capabilities to oversee and monetize opportunities that IP networks offer like convergent charging (includes choice, data content, or event-based transactions) enable automated rates and charging mechanisms.
How Can CSPs Integrate a Digital Billing Platform?
A comprehensive digital billing platform will enable automated management of payment options, effective subscription management plans, revenue management, dynamic pricing, and end subscribers will get a range of flexible billing options to choose from for their most favored subscriptions.
A typical billing process will oversee all types of charges applied on the products/services used by customers, including initiation, installation, termination, refund charges, payments made by customers, and bill discounts being offered.
Revenue management will encompass solutions that fetch billing for roaming management partnerships. CSPs will see better revenue management by charging their customers for voice, SMS, data, surge, or congestion charging when demand for digital services is high and charge on network infrastructure.
CSPs undertaking this digital billing and revenue management transformation from legacy billing will see considerable savings in capital expenditure. CSPs can replace, on-board, integrate their billing systems with an existing service provider technology ecosystem supported with digital services; this way, there are no upfront costs. Besides, as the billing is on a cloud-based next-generation billing platform, there is no need for extensive infrastructure for hosting and no service disruption. The digital billing platform will oversee a need-based usage billing based on customer usage scenarios and billed accordingly.
Benefits of an Agile Billing System
These platforms also help understand the customer’s needs to offer personalized service, promotions, and discounts tailor-made to suit their needs. This way, a DSP gains customer loyalty while also grabbing the attention of distracted customers in a crowded market.
Furthermore, such platforms also play an essential role in the way DSPs introduce new products and services and give the flexibility to flawlessly on-board hundreds of services each day. These future-ready cloud-based platforms are designed with architectural principles that can embrace new business models and help DSPs to think beyond the risk factors.
That’s not the end of it!! The growth of any organization depends on the analysis of the business. The billing and revenue management platforms intelligently monitor every aspect of the business and generate a detailed analysis of every module pointing out the trajectory of every product launch, the growth of existing products, and the impact of various impromptu changes made to the product offering during the process. It helps the DSPs identify their strengths, weaknesses, and loopholes in the system to make amends with proactive measures.
In this wave of digital reinvention, the next-gen platforms like billing and revenue management help a DSP stay profitable, competitive, and relevant to the customer while helping you digitally reinvent yourself at minimum cost and risk.
End Note
An overall billing and revenue management platform will allow organizations to navigate challenges and offer personalized pricing with uniqueness. The move to digital billing will see CSPs gain more momentum in revenues and competitiveness.
STL’s digital billing revenue management (dBRM) system is convergent powered and can handle next-generation data, video, and voice services over telecom networks of wireline and wireless networks, and aims to deliver complete billing solutions, which serves as a competitive business driver, and prevents revenue leakages that arise. STL’s dBRM is a powered pack and offers mediation and provisioning in real-time rating and provides convergent billing, invoicing, support partner management, and customer care support for the CSPs markets.
FAQs
What is WiFi?
Put simply, WiFi is a technology that uses radio waves to create a wireless network through which devices like mobile phones, computers, printers, etc., connect to the internet. A wireless router is needed to establish a WiFi hotspot that people in its vicinity may use to access internet services. You’re sure to have encountered such a WiFi hotspot in houses, offices, restaurants, etc.
To get a little more technical, WiFi works by enabling a Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN that allows devices connected to it to exchange signals with the internet via a router. The frequencies of these signals are either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bandwidths. These frequencies are much higher than those transmitted to or by radios, mobile phones, and televisions since WiFi signals need to carry significantly higher amounts of data. The networking standards are variants of 802.11, of which there are several (802.11a, 802.11b, 801.11g, etc.).
What is an Optical Fibre Cable?
An optical fibre cable is a cable type that has a few to hundreds of optical fibres bundled together within a protective plastic coating. They help carry digital data in the form of light pulses across large distances at faster speeds. For this, they need to be installed or deployed either underground or aerially. Standalone fibres cannot be buried or hanged so fibres are bunched together as cables for the transmission of data. This is done to protect the fibre from stress, moisture, temperature changes and other externalities.
There are three main components of a optical fibre cable, core (It carries the light and is made of pure silicon dioxide (SiO2) with dopants such as germania, phosphorous pentoxide, or alumina to raise the refractive index; Typical glass cores range from as small as 3.7um up to 200um), Cladding (Cladding surrounds the core and has a lower refractive index than the core, it is also made from the same material as the core; 1% refractive index difference is maintained between the core and cladding; Two commonly used diameters are 125µm and 140µm) and Coating (Protective layer that absorbs shocks, physical damage and moisture; The outside diameter of the coating is typically either 250µm or 500µm; Commonly used material for coatings are acrylate,Silicone, carbon, and polyimide).
An optical fibre cable is made up of the following components: Optical fibres – ranging from one to many. Buffer tubes (with different settings), for protection and cushioning of the fibre. Water protection in the tubes – wet or dry. A central strength member (CSM) is the backbone of all cables. Armoured tapes for stranding to bunch the buffer tubes and strength members together. Sheathing or final covering to provide further protection.
The five main reasons that make this technology innovation disruptive are fast communication speed, infinite bandwidth & capacity, low interference, high tensile strength and secure communication. The major usescases of optical fibre cables include intenet connectivity, computer networking, surgery & dentistry, automotive industry, telephony, lighting & decorations, mechanical inspections, cable television, military applications and space.
