CAMBRIDGE, U.K.-Wireless operators have less than 24 months to define, design and implement new charging architectures for mobile data services, according to a new report from U.K.-based consulting firm Analysys.
Existing billing systems are not prepared to meet the requirements of data and multimedia services, Analysys said. Upgraded systems must allow flexibility in charging, offer consolidated views of customer profiles, enable billing services in near real-time and feature open interfaces that can handle fragmented customer bases.
“However, upgrading their existing systems for new services is a significant cost for operators-potentially greater than that of acquiring new customers-and therefore needs careful consideration,” said Pascal Coutier, author of the report.
Many vendors, including network equipment suppliers, IP platform providers, billing and mediation system suppliers and commerce/content management players, offer solutions. Analysys believes carriers require “a careful blending of solutions” from those vendors. “Most operators cannot justify economically and technically an entire redesign of their charging architectures,” said Coutier. “So the key is to get the best mix from the wide variety of competing approaches currently being talked about in the marketplace.”
