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Middle East Report
this transition is gradual), demand for
“off-the-shelf” systems will rise, and the
need for customization between BSS sys-
tems and the network will ebb.
The Fall of the Mighty Prices
Currently, the large billing vendors’ main
advantage for operators is dependent on
the ability to integrate Business Support
Systems with network elements based on
a specific technology. The transition to IP
networks will eliminate this advantage.
Furthermore, as I mentioned, greenfield
operators will need mainly “off-the-shelf”
billing systems that can handle changes
more flexibly, and at lower cost (opera-
tors pay only for licenses). Therefore, one
issue that should bother the large billing
vendors, especially Amdocs, is whether
there will be a drop in prices through-
out the billing market, after major bill-
ing vendors start competing in tenders
issued by greenfield operators.
Another trend emerging in the bill-
ing market is integrating BSS systems to
provide bundles of services. Currently, in
most cases, subscribers are billed sepa-
rately for each service (cellular, wireline,
Internet), even if they receive all the ser-
vices from a single operator. The preva-
lent industry view is that a bundle of ser-
vices can prevent churn. Yet, if subscrib-
ers must deal with separate call centers
for each service, each time talking to dif-
ferent agents, then the situation is much
the same as if they received these services
from several operators. A unified BSS can
solve this problem. This means that com-
petition over the billing market will focus
to a great extent on the ability of Business
Support Systems to combine all services
the subscriber receives, from all types of
networks, into one identity.
Users will want to be able to choose dif-
ferent payment methods for each service.
Another prominent trend in the billing
market is a transition to converged post-
paid-prepaid billing systems. For exam-
ple, parents can decide that their child’s
phone line will be charged by postpaid for
all voice calls, and by prepaid for games
and music applications. In coming years,
converged billing systems are expected to
produce significant growth for the billing
market.
A rating engine for a converged billing
system must work in real time, because
of the prepaid element. Any delay in dis-
connecting a subscriber whose budget is
used up will cause losses to the operator.
A key element in converged billing
systems is an intelligent network (IN).
It provides real-time indications of ev-
ery activity occurring on the network.
The IN is installed above a switch, from
which it collects all data passing through,
transmitting it to the prepaid rating en-
gine. The moment a user initiates a
transaction, the IN activates a meter that
measures his budget. When the budget is
used up, the IN cuts him off.
Comverse has its own IN, which is
connected to its rating engine. Other
large billing vendors such as Amdocs
base their rating engines on software
that interfaces to the IN of communica-
tions equipment vendors. Since Com-
verse has its own IN, it interfaces more
effectively to its rating engine. Therefore,
Comverse’s prepaid system works in real
time, while Amdocs’ prepaid engine is ca-
pable of near real time, which is slower
than Comverse’s system.
All-in-One
One of the bottlenecks that slow rat-
ing engines down is the data collection
process. Billing systems need all the de-
tails of the users: their identification,
which services they are allowed to ac-
cess, their rates for each service, etc.
To prevent data collection bottlenecks,
there’s a need for databases that are part
of the network, and for BSS systems ca-
pable of managing in real time immense
amounts of data from many locations
(on the network), from many networks,
and from many types of services.
The existing databases, used in TDM
networks, can include a given number of
users, and are situated in a specific physi-
cal location. Every time the rating engine
needs data about a subscriber, the system
searches for the database in which his
details are stored, and then searches the
database for the relevant details.
The partitioning of the data (among
several databases) creates a bottleneck,
which hampers real time data collection
and management of subscribers’ data. For
example, when a user wants the “friends
and family” service, the system has to
obtain data situated in several partitions,
each of which includes the data for each
one of the “friends and family” group’s
members.
The transition to fixed mobile con-
vergence (FMC) further aggravates this
problem, because each user’s data will be
dispersed among several databases. The
billing system must obtain each user’s
data from all of the partitions, on all of
the networks, each of which is in a differ-
ent physical location.
The solution can be a single global da-
tabase of all subscribers. The Israeli com-
pany Xeround Systems has developed
technology enabling an operator to use a
single database, the processing power of
which grows linearly as the operator adds
subscribers to the network. Since this da-
tabase is pervasive, the user can connect
to the network from any location, with the
same number, and his data will be avail-
able to the billing system in real time.
Searches for data in this database are
conducted using routers. Xeround’s tech-
nology assigns the search index to the
user’s IP address, and the routers execute
the search in the database. The technol-
ogy is designed to solve the problem of
blocking that arises during a search. V
Hadass Geyfman, our Middle East Editor,
has over 13 years of experience as a telecom
and technology researcher and reporter. She
can reached at hgeyfman@vonmag.com.
InternationalFocus
Middle East Report
by Hadass Geyfman
Advanced billing solutions (and their rating engines) are emerg-
ing as the key to providing flexible service bundles.
Keep It Real-Time
InternationalFocus
The need for a magic ingredient–
one that prevents churn, helps operators
recruit new subscribers, allows sophisti-
cated bundles of services and makes the
new-generation networks an attractive
investment–is sending operators on a
quest for advanced billing solutions.
Rating engines are becoming the life-
blood of communications operators, and
an essential tool in the struggle for mar-
ket share. Without a sophisticated rating
engine, capable of working in real time,
or at least in near real time, operators will
be unable to provide bundles of services
in a speedy time-to-market.
With the transition to IP networks, op-
erators will need a sophisticated rating
engine enabling them to provide flexible
pricing models such as those used by air-
line companies.
Service tariffs will vary according to a
wide variety of parameters, such as the
capacity provided to the user, the type of
content, etc., similar to the models used
to determine airline ticket prices. The
rating engines will have to handle a broad
diversity of rates in real time.
Another challenge facing billing
systems for IP networks is flexibility.
Operators will want to add and remove in
real time new services that will be priced
according to models not known in ad-
vance. For example, during vacation sea-
son, applications suitable for vacations,
such as MMS (Multimedia Messaging
Service) that looks like a real postcard,
can be provided at attractive prices. An
operator who doesn’t add the service at
the start of the vacation season will miss
the window of opportunity.
These developments create a fertile
soil for technologies complementary to
Business Support Systems (BSS). As I
wrote in the April issue, the fact that bill-
ing giant Amdocs is based in Israel has
inspired Israeli companies to develop
technologies complementary to billing
systems and which collaborate with BSS.
One such company is Xeround, which
we’ll discuss below.
The Greenfield Opportunity
While most of these new technologies
target IP networks, the big billing ven-
dors for the foreseeable future will be
quite busy with the traditional operators.
As long as the trend towards mergers in
the communications market continues,
and as long as the merging operators are
busy integrating their infrastructures, the
transition to an all-IP infrastructure will
be too risky for them. The telecom in-
dustry prefers an evolutionary approach
rather than a revolutionary one.
In the coming years, telecommunica-
tions giants, especially the tier-0 players
(created by mergers among tier-1 opera-
tors), will need large billing systems ca-
pable of handling tens of millions of sub-
scribers; therefore, they’ll prefer the large
billing vendors.
Amdocs is currently working on major
billing projects for AT&T, Sprint-Nextel,
and Cingular. Following the acquisition
of BellSouth by AT&T, Amdocs’ project
at AT&T is expected to expand by about
15 to 20 million additional wireline sub-
scribers.
In Europe, the trend of mergers be-
tween operators is sprouting green shoots,
with Telefonica’s acquisition of O2. The
market’s three prominent billing players,
Amdocs, Convergys and Comverse, are
probably getting ready for the big battle
over the budgets of the European com-
munications giants-to-be.
The Russian communications market
also harbors a huge opportunity for large
billing vendors. The vast growth expected
in this market will provide fertile ground
for billing vendor activity, and competi-
tion over it is already in full swing. Since
the major billing vendors will be busy bat-
tling over the traditional communication
operators, they probably won’t focus on
the greenfield operator market any time
soon. This greenfield market, therefore,
constitutes an important opportunity for
small billing players providing “off-the-
shelf” billing systems. Nevertheless, as
more traditional communications opera-
tors switch to all-IP networks (although
4:16 pm, 3/31/06By Richard Grigonis at 7:28 pm, 3/31/06