Indeed, a converged charging solution
provides much more than just a pricing
mechanism – it can offer:
• An end to end view of customer
interactions
• Simplified service adoption for end users
where they can have multiple pre- and
postpaid accounts and even try out a new
service prepaid before moving to postpaid
• Charging of all services either in real time
or in advance to cut revenue leakage
• Lower OPEX by:
– rapid assignment of pre- and postpaid
attributes
– easy definition of product parameters by
account, user and events
– rapid customisation of services
– integration with CRM, financial and other
systems.
Operators such as Telkomsel in Indonesia
are working with Nokia Siemens Networks
and its unified charging and billing solution
to realise these benefits. At Telkomsel,
converged charging of voice and data
services, both pre- and postpaid, allows
online credit limit supervision, advice of
charges and increasing price transparency
for users, while reducing the company’s
credit risk.
More than most other sectors, mobile
operators have a great opportunity to build
on success. Analyst Ovum, for example,
reports that Europe’s mobile telecoms
industry remains very strong, as mobile
services have now become ‘quasi-utilities’
that people can no longer do without,
while new revenues are generated from
‘hot’ non-voice services such as mobile
broadband. Those service providers that
go furthest towards unified charging and
billing stand to optimise these revenue
streams – and above all, stand out
from the competition in the eyes of
the customer.
Find out more at www.
nokiasiemensnetworks.com/ossbss
Case: Kate
Personal data: Kate is a personal user on a postpaid contract and
has recently upgraded her handset to access the Internet, email and
Facebook, and her provider offers fast 3G mobile access charged
by data volume. Cautious, Kate accepts a personal usage limit on
data traffic from her provider, and checks her usage online from time
to time, where information about her account is given in real time.
When one day she is notified that she has exceeded her data limit,
she decides the service is valuable enough to continue with extra
charges but the provider takes the initiative and offers a more suitable
complementary data package with a certain monthly volume. Kate
subscribes to the offer via self-care, guided by an interactive voice
response system, and benefits from the new offer immediately.
Case: Tom
Work and private: Tom works for an insurance company as a
salesperson, where business calls between 8 am and 6 pm and
below a cost limit are paid by his firm. Other services can be used but
have to be paid by the employee. Rather than carrying two phones,
Tom carries one handset where all calls are supported by unified
charging and billing for one MSISDN, but with separate accounts
for business and private use. For convenience, Tom has opted for
automated top-ups to his private account, and he checks usage on
both private and business accounts via the Internet or phone. At the
end of each month, he gets a bill with separate business and private
spending from the provider.
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