Communications service providers (CSPs) must re-evaluate their billing platforms and adjust their business models to capitalize on soaring data-traffic rates.
That’s according to a new survey from BSS/OSS software developer Telcordia. The New Jersey-based company said on Wednesday that carriers need to address data charging and bandwidth management now, as mobile Internet use becomes the norm – and an exponentially exploding one, at that.
Still, such a change is easier said than done. The global economic recession forced CSPs to spend 8 percent less last year on capex and network management systems in the United States alone, research firm Analysys Mason said this month. The decline was more than experts anticipated, said senior analyst Glen Ragoonanan. That indicates operators could need more time to recover and to find the money to update their infrastructure, as Telcordia recommends.
Yet, there may not be time. Analysys Mason said mobile data use jumped so much in 2009 that providers are feeling pressure to invest in mobile backhaul and transport capacity. Now, Telcordia says it’s equally as important to get back-office systems up to the same speed.
CSPs apparently agree with that point of view, and with the need to manage data traffic – especially since usage is increasing much faster than revenue, leading to problems with profitability and customer experience. To that end, 73 percent of respondents surveyed at the Mobile World Congress and CTIA trade shows said they expect to impose either network-enforced hard limits, tiered services or a combination of both.
In other words, Telcordia said, operators worldwide plan to control data traffic growth. To do that, Pat McCarthy, vice president of Telcordia’s service delivery unit, said carriers first need to look to billing and charging systems to manage network costs. And if existing software isn’t cutting muster, carriers probably should think about upgrading. Then, McCarthy said, providers should add innovative products for subscribers and over-the-top content third parties.
“All-you-can-eat data plans are not a sustainable business model, and policy-based bandwidth management and real-time charging provide CSPs and their subscribers with the necessary flexibility to try new services while keeping costs in line,” McCarthy said.
