Billing Q&A with Jim O'Neill

This month we introduce a new Question & Answer column in Billing World. In September, Telestrategies launched a new seminar, "Understanding Telecommunications Billing," led by Jim O'Neill. It was clear from the range of questions asked by delegates that many options and byways exist in Billing Systems. The seminar will be held bimonthly in various locations, and selected questions from each session will appear in Jim's column.

Q - What is "Provisioning"?

A - Essentially, provisioning is the process of activating a service. There are many forms of provisioning depending on the service. Ideally, provisioning occurs as a result of a successful service order, i.e., after essential subscriber information has been captured in billing, credit checks satisfied and so on. Ideally, provisioning is an automatic process, where the required information is electronically forwarded from the service order to network services.

The actions required by network services vary widely, depending on the service. Activating a new line for a cellular carrier can be almost instantaneous after transmitting line number, electronic serial number, preferred inter-exchange carrier code and authorized features to the switch. The process is typically more time consuming for a (C)LEC. Available cable facilities must be assigned, an installation visit may be required, the line has to be tested, directory notified, etc., before the service may be considered "provisioned."

Q - Please explain how billing systems detect missing call detail records.

A - Typically, billing systems provide daily reports that display call distribution in at least two views: day of the week, and time of day. Business days normally have a greater number of calls than weekends. Except for growth trends, holidays, special events or disasters, unusual weather, or other special factors in the coverage area, there should not be much variance in business day and weekend traffic. If a day has a significant drop that cannot be explained, the time-of-day report may pinpoint the problem.

Time-of-day reports may display call counts by quarter hour or half hour. Often displayed in graph form, the typical pattern is little or no traffic in the hours after midnight, then building in a predictable pattern through the business hours and into the evening before dropping off again. (In recent years, many carriers report new evening and night patterns as people access the Internet at all hours!)

Q - What causes rejected call detail records?

A - Switches flag call traffic as completed, busy, or no answer. Mobile calls may also be flagged as dropped if the call does not terminate normally. Busy calls may result because the called number is actually in use (identified with a normal busy signal) or there is no delivery path available in the network (identified with a fast busy). Each switch has unique codes to identify the types of calls it records. The billing system programs that read the call records have to recognize each call type and process each according to the business rules of the carrier. Busy and unanswered calls are not billed by land carriers or most mobile carriers. Some mobile carriers automatically credit a portion of a call that has a dropped indicator.

The call types have a secondary use as well. Carriers can use call type statistics to detect possible revenue losses. An abrupt change in the percentage of complete to incomplete calls may indicate a change in the network or in the billing system programs that is causing records to be identified incorrectly.

Q - Are Carrier Access Billing (CABS) charges passed on to the consumer?

A - As these are carrier-to-carrier charges, CABS charges are not usually separately identified on invoices, but are imbedded in monthly access charges.

Q - Can tax software be used for verification of invoices?

A - Tax reports could be used as a secondary verification of total charges. By taking the total revenues and calculating the percentage for each tax, you should see that amount in each of the taxes, assuming your billing system books each separately (and it should). If not, compute each tax separately and add them up to compare to whatever taxes you do summarize.

Q - How do carriers deal with billing disputes?

A - Oh, boy, a tough one! Some states require automatic credit in the case of extended service interruptions. If a subscriber is unhappy with a charge (say, for an extended long distance call), a carrier will often give some credit as long as the call is not fully disputed. In that case, they may search for other calls to the same destination before giving full credit. Some systems can track and the number of previous requests for call credits to help customer service make intelligent decisions.

It's a little easier with claims for dropped mobile calls. As noted above, these calls are uniquely flagged. Some carriers proactively credit them some portion of the call, especially if the next call is to the same destination. The bottom line is how happy you want your customer to be.

Q - If I go around my preferred long distance carrier by using one of these 10-10-xxx numbers, how do they know how to bill me?

A - Once these "bypass" service providers have obtained a primary interexchange code (PIC), they enter into agreements with LECs through the "Open Billing" process. When you place a call using 10-10-xxx, the call detail record is captured on their facilities, is rated (at their rates), and passed back to the LEC for billing. The LEC guides these calls or pre-formatted pages to your next bill by using your telephone number.

In addition to questions that appear from the "Understanding Telecommunications Billing" seminar, if you have any questions related to billing and would like to see them answered in Jim's column, please email Jim at oneill@billingworld.com or fax them to Billing World at 703.556.8445.