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Operators are entering a 3G billing maze but with obstacles and barriers at every turn, how will they find the right way out?
To say that billing for 3G services is complicated is an understatement. Operators face numerous hurdles in their development of billing systems, and at the moment flexibility is fundamental. According to Geoff Butcher, chief executive officer, Protek, which develops integrated software solutions and services for next generation communication networks, "The main problem is that most operators don't know what services are going to work on 3G, and therefore it's hard to implement an effective billing system."
He continues: "Only a small percentage of the population, 2.5 per cent, is interested in new technology and advanced services for the sake of being `new'". To break into the mainstream market, services must be useful to customers and their lifestyle. It is therefore vital that billing systems are flexible enough to support the 3G services that will gradually evolve over time.
3G impact
The structure of 3G networks will be fundamentally different from existing architecture. According to Cerillion Technologies, which provides customer care and billing solutions to fixed, mobile, IP and convergent operators - in addition to expanding services - there are four new areas operators must tackle:
* always on - 3G uses packet-switched networks which means users will be 'always on'. New forms of advertising and sponsored services become possible and third parties may be prepared to pay operators for access to their subscribers;
* range of interfaces - users will be able to use different types of interfaces, and operators must consider this in order to effectively develop services;
* new partners - with the expansion of service possibilities it will be impossible for operators to produce every element of content in-house. Therefore operators will have a wider range of partners; and
* new network elements - these will generate different forms of data from different network points. Billing systems must also be able to rate and analyse this data in real-time. For example, for mobile transactions it will be vital to be able to check credit card limits instantly.
To create efficient 3G billing systems, operators must take all these factors into account - and this will not be...