Wireline Communications Service Providers (CSPs) face many challenges, but there are opportunities too. Bundled and blended service propositions are becoming common, with triple-play and quad-play offerings revenue and customer-retention advantages for multi-service wireline operators. Bundled services provide the benefits of customer retention, as well as provide predictable revenue streams.
While VoIP was once feared to bring the end of the wireline operator business model, the introduction of bundled and blended services provides a strong counter-measure. Next-generation service platforms enable exciting new offers including VoIP, IPTV, related content services and fixed-mobile convergent services.
The traditional wireline communications environment is characterised by diversified competition, intense pressure on margins, and evolving technology requirements.
Diversified Competition
Traditional wireline communications providers face competitive pressure on various fronts. Wireless service providers pose the challenge of fixed-mobile substitution, but they are also now offering their own broadband packages. Cable companies have been providing bundled triple-play offerings for some time.
Wireline service providers now have to compete with next-generation service providers, which are threatening to replace traditional wireline services with new all IP-based alternatives.
In such an environment, Intec can help in the realisation of cost-effective and innovative bundled and blended service propositions, enhanced revenue assurance processes and optimum inter-operator business models.
Margin Management
Subscribers expect an expanding service offering, plus ever more bandwidth to provide multimedia services and content, such as digital music, video, games, P2P services and customised content. Subscribers expect a higher level of service experience, faster response times, minimal latency and a greater degree of customisation and self-management.
It’s a difficult balancing act: managing customer requirements and successful service provision against a back-drop of intense competition. Intec’s solutions help to manage customer expectations, bringing the flexibility to support the dynamic and innovative propositions that subscribers expect.
This is possible through integrated mediation and billing solutions, supporting blended service propositions that provide differentiation based on value, rather than just price. Equally important is the need to balance revenue assurance and revenue management requirements, for both profit maximisation and revenue transparency.
Technology Evolution
What constitutes a telecommunications business? What makes a telecommunications business distinct from a television or media business? There is a blurring of the traditional boundaries between service, access device and network, which creates new service opportunities. Wireline service providers now can offer truly converged broadband services in a cost-effective manner. But basic connectivity has become a commodity, and service providers must increasingly manage the role they wish to occupy in new value chains involving multiple partnerships, in order to create integrated communication services that meet the needs of targeted customer segments.
Intec’s solutions can help by supporting service combinations involving combinations of Voice, Data and Video services, extending to triple-play and quad-play services. Our convergent mediation, charging and billing solutions support seamless evolution between different technology generations and platforms, thus creating independence between the network technology layer and the service management environment.
Enterprise Services
Wireline operators have an advantage over wireless and cable service providers in certain segments. In addition to providing bundled services for the consumer segment, wireline providers can also provide comprehensive enterprise communications solutions, integrating Voice, Data and Video services, with additional value-added services.
Both the large corporate segment and the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment represent revenue opportunities -but to offer integrated communications service packages effectively requires the management of complex products, possibly multiple billing entities and the ability to manage multi-level customer hierarchies. To provide enterprise services effectively requires the ability to commit to clearly-defined service level agreements (SLA).
The opportunity within the enterprise market is clear, as are the challenges and the BSS support requirements specific to this segment. Intec supports specialist B2B service providers, as well as providing BSS for wireline CSPs who serve both the consumer and enterprise sectors. Intec's ability to deliver an integrated BSS environment represents real opportunities for cost-savings for the service provider.
Achieving High Performance
In this highly-competitive market, sustaining core revenues and managing margins requires wireline service providers to transform their business models. While the fundamental requirements remain - to retain subscribers, create new revenue streams, manage the lifetime value of existing customers and achieve operational efficiencies.
The additional challenge is to try and achieve this through a transformation of passive and out-dated back-office systems, originally designed for simple voice and data services, into a highly flexible and scalable architecture, that can deliver measurable strategic advantage. This means removing the complexities associated with revenue generation, improved financial transparency, efficient business process management and consistent service delivery.
Intec offers a broad suite of BSS products and productised solutions, addressing wireline service provider’s commercial and technical challenges. Intec’s solutions begin at the network edge, with comprehensive convergent mediation, service activation and real time charging and run through to critical subscriber level business support systems including customer care, charging and billing.
Intec’s comprehensive wholesale and settlement products encompass Interconnect billing, Content Partner Management, Trading & Routing and Contract Management. Intec products are uniquely positioned to help create, sell, deliver, bill, charge and support any service over any network and on any device. Our solutions already help hundreds of wireline service providers automate processes, converge multiple systems, enhance revenue and realise operational efficiency.
Intec’s product portfolio includes:
Singl.eView Customer Care, Charging and Billing
Total Service Mediation
Wholesale Business Management
