Network Monetization: BSS is a Critical Component

By Michael Khalilian

The NGN and IMS Forum recent Technical and Business Working Group have focused on monetization of NGN and IMS services. The following article from one of our executive members, Gabriel Matsliach, VP & General Manager, Comverse Billing & Active Customer Management (www.Comverse.com), is featured below.

Today operators are looking towards convergent infrastructure investments to enable a “next-generation” user experience — seamless access to advanced/converged services across multiple access points.

IMS already plays a key role in the rapid deployment of convergent offerings with a single common service and control layer. And on the horizon, Long-Term-Evolution (LTE (News - Alert)), the reference architecture from 3GPP, promises to support new high bandwidth services by providing greater bandwidth to end-users as well as more efficient management of data traffic and faster service provisioning for operators.

However, with all this focus on the network, operators must not forget about the back office implications of delivering and monetizing new advanced services. When charging for ‘next generation services’, operators will have to charge end-users for their communication and content through any means of access and payment type, moreover because the “next generation” user experience involves mixing communication and content sharing, bundling will play a pivotal role in operators’ strategies.

Beyond the Network
So while a fast, effective and up-to-date network certainly plays its part in providing the subscriber with a “next generation” experience, a single system that can intelligently accept an order for, provision, rate and charge all services, regardless of location, access point and payment type will be key. Critical BSS requirements include the following:

• Real Time Policy Management. Billing offers need to be tied to real time policy enforcement in the network.

• Real Time Charging Rules. To extract value from the network, the billing system needs to tell the network how to charge the customer’s service regardless of account type, payment type or device.

• Service(s) Provisioning. Service providers need a single provisioning point to ensure faster service roll out and bundling flexibility

• Real-time Unified View of the Customer. A real-time view of customers’ accounts (profile, usage, status) across all services will enable personalization and consistent customer management.

• Smart Charging. Flexible charging for any service or service combination, content and any payment type whether prepaid, postpaid or hybrid.

The Optimal Approach
It takes a converged approach to BSS to achieve the above requirements. Only BSS convergence provides a complete real-time view of the customer and a single provisioning starting point for all services. This unification starts with a data model built to support all aspects of convergence, with all relevant components — from call control, to customer management, through to financial management — built on a single architecture around that single data model. A converged BSS approach by definition cannot be created through a set of discrete parts — even if connected by a bus — it requires one unified whole. The unified whole must be supported by a single central product catalog and a unified operations and security approach across the entire architecture. In this way, operators can consistently and efficiently manage customers — from the network to the bank.

Moreover only BSS convergence effectively supports convergent business models — a natural expectation of next generation networks and convergent services — by streamlining business processes across sales, marketing, care and fulfillment and charging.

One Sure Way to Succeed
A converged BSS infrastructure spanning the network to the customer to the bank, delivered as a single system is an essential — and efficient — strategic weapon. This approach will enable operators to truly leverage and monetize their networks by delivering a myriad of benefits:

• Accurate and flexible rules-based charging — for any service type — to fully monetize services across all payment types.

• Ability to support seamless service or account changes for customers as needs evolve over time (e.g. convert prepaid to postpaid or add family members to an account).

• Bundling flexibility and faster time to market of new products and services via a single product catalog for all services, applications and product families.

• Targeted real-time promotions and marketing campaigns to: promote the uptake of new services and applications; increase usage; stimulate loyalty.

• Real-time financial management to reduce exposure both for the service provider and the subscriber.

In short, a unified and complete architecture helps operators remove complexity and increase agility, enabling the effective implementation and execution of convergent business models — required by next generation networks
and services.

Michael Khalilian is Chairman and President, NGN Forum™ & IMS Forum (News - Alert)® (www.NGNForum.org / www.IMSForum.org).

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