Abstract
This report pinpoints what sectors of the market look most fruitful and which vendors players are making a difference.
The report puts several telecom industry trends into focus, finding more a few good reasons to believe that billing's on the rebound:
- Stocking the Data Services Candy Store -The explosion of dataservices in mobile markets is prompting telecoms to buy billing systems for their revenue-generating direct marketing skills, not just for their accounting dexterityThe report shows how certain vendors are leveraging merchandising and contextual advertising techniques toboost the bottom lines of their clients
- The Convergence of Postpaid and PrepaidThese used to be very different markets, but the growing use of "dual use" phones and the advantages of pricing from a single consolidated benefits are causing them to mergeDittberner's uses examples such as the Telkomsel case in Indonesia to show how telecoms are tackling the organizational and vendor-management problems that convergence brings
- Network Technology Uncertainty -Network equipment vendor mergers such as Nokia/Siemens and Alcatel/Lucent are rocking the telecom world, but what's the significance of these mega-mergers on billing? And how quickly will IMS, IP, and other next-gen technologies take hold? The report chimes in on these issues as it shows how one biller is pitching a rather interesting "network-future-proof" solution
- The Rise of Virtual Network OperatorsRobust billing andrealtime charging is a critical need for emerging MVNOs such as Mobile ESPN, Helio, and Disney MobileThe Report shows what kinds ofbilling solutions MVNOs are looking for, the prospects for growth of thevirtual operator market, and which kinds of billers should pursue it
- Billing as a Strategic Platform -A number of strategic issues surround the choice of a billing platformFor instance, how does a telecom make progress towards system consolidation, SOA, unified product catalogs, and integration with CRM? And is it best to buy a custom or product solution? Should a hosted service bureau be in your future? The report discusses the pros and cons of these critical questions
Dittberner's study not only sorts through the complex web of billing trends and players, but the intelligence can also help you avoid making bad decisions: investing in the wrong kind of billing solution, for example -or if you're a vendor -entering a market segment that's either too competitive or too specialized to attract sufficient customers.
The Report will help you discover:
- What are the most important market priorities?
- Which success strategies of other operators can you adopt at your own telecom organization?
- Which vendors have industry market share and are leading in specific niches?
- Which Billing/Charging players should you partner with?
- What emerging trends can your company capitalize on?
Table of Contents
A.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
B.DEFINITIONS OF MAJOR BILLING FUNCTIONS
- Pricing Management
- Customer Management
- Partner Management
- RatingService Authorization
- Discounting and Promotions
- Billing Cycle Management
- Financial Management
- Payments and Collections
- Revenue Assurance
C.BILLING MARKET DRIVERS
- The Strategic Importance of Billing
- Why Billing is on the Rebound
- System Consolidation
- Fixed Mobile convergence
- Wireless Subscriber Controls over Access & Budget
- Dual Use Handsets
- The Threat of Real-Time Market Share Grab
- Lower Cost of Ownership
- More Services, not Lowered Fees
D.REAL-TIME & CONVERGENT CHARGING
- Traditional Pre-Paid Platforms
- The Evolution of Prepaid and PostPaid Operators
- Why True Real-Time Capability is Vital
- The Convergence of Prepaid and Postpaid
- Hybrid Customers and Privacy of the Bill
E.THE MERCHANDISING & DIRECT MARKETING ROLE OF BILLING
- Thinking Like a Retailer: Amazon Style
- Friends, Family, Affinity Plans
- The Role of Subscriber Profile in Contextual Marketing
- One-Click Decisions in the Wireless Store
- Impulse Buying & Real-Time Offers
F.THE MOBILE VIRTUAL NETWORK OPERATOR OPPORTUNITY
- Capitalizing on Individual Customer Hot Buttons
- Content Takes the Lead
- Inside Mobile ESPN, the Sports MVNO
- Tapping New Markets that Large Telcos Can't Reach
- Wholesale Carrier Attitudes towards MVNOs
- How Fast and How Far Will it Grow?
- The Business MVNO
G.INTERCONNECT BILLING SYSTEMS
- Wholesale/Interconnect Billing Systems
- Architecture of a Wholesale Billing System
- Wholesale Billing Challenges
H.SERVICES BUNDLING
- A Consolidated Billing System for Bundling
- Why Bill Bundling is Attractive
- The Back-End Process of Bundling
- The Organizational Challenge of Bundled Billing
- Bundling for Large Corporate Customers
I.THE BILLING TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
- Making the Underlying Infrastructure Invisible
- Robust Product Catalog
- Single View of Post and Prepaid Accounts
- Pricing & Value Chain Management
- Value Driven Policies in Billing
- Advanced Platform for Service Creation
- How Network Evolution to IMS Will Affect Billing/Charging
- Portability of Platform Across Multiple Network Types
J.THE BILLING DELIVERY METHOD
- The Custom vsProduct Solution Debate
- Billing Service Bureaus & ASPs
- The Build vsBuy vs Outsource Decision
- Outsourcing to Service Bureaus
- MVNOs & Service Bureaus: Protecting the Brand
- Can Vendors Make Money Serving MVNOs?
K.SERVING THE TIER 3 CARRIER MARKET
- Why New Operators are Progressive in Billing
- Need for a Single Pre-Integrated Solution
- Serving the Engineering Needs of Small Telecoms
L.INDUSTRY MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
M.MARKET THREATS
N.MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
O.CARRIER RECOMMENDATIONS
P.VENDOR RECOMMENDATIONS
Q.MARKET SEGMENTATION & FORECAST ANALYSIS
- How Dittberner Develops its Market Segmentations
- Market Growth Forecast
- Overall Revenues
- Corporate Revenue, Telecom Industry Revenue, OSS/BSS RevenueBusiness type
- OEM software, Telecoms software, Consulting/SI services
- Channels of Distribution
- Direct, Indirect
- Service Provider Type
- Circuit wireline, Broadband, Wireless, Cable/DBS, Virtual Network Operator/Non-Facilities Operator, OtherSize of Carrier
- Tier 1 ($10 billrevenue), Tier 2 ($250 millto $10 bill.), Tier 3 ($250 million)
- Geographic Region
- North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, Latin America
- Software Delivery Method
- Software License, ProfServices, Service bureau/Hosted
- Revenue Management
- Billing, off-line/batch, Interconnect billing, Charging, on-line/realtime, Mediation
R.CASE STUDIES
- Telkomsel's Move to a Consolidated Prepaid & Post Paid System
- Vodafone Australia Convergent Billing
- BoostMobile Prepaid
- BT Billing Consolidation
- ALLTEL Billing Migration
- Virgin Mobile UK Product Catalog
S.VENDOR PROFILES & SWOT ANALYSIS
More than 2 dozens software vendors and network equipment providers have established themselves in the telecom billing and charging marketplace
In this section, Dittberner provides in-depth coverage on 26 of those companies, analyzing each of them in 5 to 7 page profiles delivering:
- Historical expertise and background
- Significant investors
- SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- Significant customers
- Major partnerships
- An explanation of key products
Dittberner's profiles deliver a highly compressed snapshot of vendors in a market place and each profile is organized in the same format so you know immediately where to go to find what you need
The profiles also include a "Dittberner analysis" section, a candid assessment of where the vendor stands against its competitors and the suitability of its products or services for the needs of the market
A detailed estimate of each vendor's 2005 billing/charging market numbers is alsosuppliedA list of vendors profiled follows:
A list of vendors profiled follows:
- Amdocs
- Argent Networks
- BCGI
- CBOSS
- Cerillion
- Comarch
- Comptel
- Convergys
- Comverse
- CSG Systems
- Formula Telecom Solutions
- HighDeal
- I-conX
- Intec Systems
- LHS
- ORGA
- Martin Group
- Metratech
- Portal Software (Oracle)
- Redknee
- Siemens Communications
- STROM Telecom
- Telcordia
- Subex Azure
- Ushacomm
- Visage Mobile
