Tag: convergent charging system

Maximize 5G Potential for Your Business with a Real Time Charging System

Although the launch of 5G is a great initiative in the race to match wired broadband speeds, its value for a telecom operator hinges upon several factors. Faster data connection may seem like a real boon for the subscribers, however, it does not automatically translates into profits for telcos. A lot was expected by telcos after the launch of 4G, which supplanted the erstwhile 3G connection. But instead of bringing in new revenue streams, it dug a hole in their pockets as subscribers were lured away by OTT (over the top) platforms like Netflix, Facetime and Skype. Hence, it is imperative for a telecom operator to be proactive in his strategy while tackling 5G. One way of ensuring that you maximize the advantages offered by 5G is by investing in a real time charging system that monetizes all your offerings.

6 Important Features of OCS

OCS (Online Charging System) is a real time charging system that is designed to match the current requirements of telecom billing. It is 3GPP release 11 compliant and works a lot better than the charging systems employed in traditional billing solutions, which lack the desired scalability and flexibility. Some key features of an online charging system and traditional charging systems are listed below:

1. Session based and event based charging for different telecom offerings like voice calls and SMS.

2. Identification of subscriber and service before offering access to a service.

3. Monitoring and tracking service usage and also maintaining records in the database.

4. Updating subscriber balance.

5. Management of important features like blacklisting, prepaid lifecycle, live balance etc.

6. Calculating charges as per CDRs (Call Data Records) and recording them in the system database

Things to Consider before Investing in a Real Time Charging System for 5G

Although OCS has immense benefits and can be a worthy upgrade for your older charging systems, there are certain things that you need to be mindful of before investing in a real time charging system.

1.Past and future compatibility — To ensure that OCS works with legacy and future applications, you should invest in a robust and backward compatible real time charging system. A good upgrade option is an OCS that can be integrated with older IN (intelligent network) along with next-gen IP, 5G, FTTH/HFC, wireless and wire line networks.

2. Postpaid/prepaid convergence — An OCS should allow for complete postpaid/prepaid convergence, so you can offer composite VAS (Value Added Services) along with video and voice services quickly.

3. Convergence between service and network — With so many different data speeds provided by different connectivity platforms e.g. CDMA 2.5G, LTE, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, 3G, IMS, 5G, broadband, it is important that an OCS should show true convergence in rating a variety of applications with different bandwidth requirements.

4. Intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) — To make operations simple, the OCS should have an easy to operate GUI that lets telcos customize their 5G offerings quickly and as per requirement.

5. Support vendor partnerships — A real time charging systemshould allow for the management of different vendor partnerships e.g. partnerships with MVNOs, MVNEs, OTT etc.

Employ a Convergent Charging Solution and Improve Transparency in Billing

Frequent changes in the requirements of subscribers have placed tremendous pressure on the shoulders of telecom operators to come up with exciting offers. The pressure is so intense that telcos with traditional telecom billing software are finding it hard to survive in this intense competition. The main reason for this is the lack of flexibility in their billing solutions that prevents them from launching new bundles of services and innovative plans on time. Hence, they end up losing out to competition in the race to evoke a positive reaction from the market. This leads to a financial loss, which could have been easily avoided if a capable online charging system was employed in the first place.

Why Invest in a Modern Online Charging System?

Most traditional charging systems in the past were incapable of charging users’ transactions in real time. Although the IN system used for prepaid services worked in real-time, it was incapable of offering flexible services and bundles. However, nowadays, there is an option to move to convergent billing solutions that have an online charging system at their heart. The many benefits of investing in an online charging system are:

1. Ability to deliver digitized services –

Digital transformation is beckoning the telecom industry. However, traditional billing systems that employ old charging systems cannot deliver these services as per expectation because they do not support virtualization and cloud deployment. But when you select a software solution like Telgoo5, you not only get the benefit of digitization but are also able to deliver exciting bundles and offers to your subscribers.

2. Customer authentication and management of features –

An OCS allows for customer, subscriber and service identification before providing access to a service. It also helps a telco manage auxiliary subscriber services like live balance, prepaid life-cycle and blacklist option.

3. Tracking services and calculating CDRs –

An OCS captures CDRs (call data record) in real-time. It also loads the result to the billing system database for rating and bill generation. An OCS also has the feature of tracking services and keeping them for records. All these features make an OCS a must-have for any telecom operator trying to boost his overall billing operation and attract new customers.

With an OCS as part of their telecom billing system, telcos not only get to enjoy the benefits of real time charging, they are also able to ensure that credit limits are implemented and resources are authorized on the basis of transactions made by the customers.

How to Make a Seamless Transition to a Modern OCS?

Most telcos are aware of the advantages offered by a new-age OCS; however, they do not make a switch to a new system as they are worried about its compatibility with their equipment and applications. Although there concerns are justifiable, there are some online charging systems in market that are actually backward compatible like the one offered by Vcare – Telgoo5. With such an OCS as part of your operation, you can digitalize your workflow, shift your business to the cloud and enjoy flexibility in telecom billing.