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The OSS also plays an essential part in creating an Integrated Provisioning Solution for every unique subscriber. The end user is not asked to make any additional handset and configuration changes once they accept user settings at the time of subscription. In this manner, the OSS functions as an Operating System of a PC that stores system requirements in its memory and accordingly retrieves them as and when the user logs on.
Take for example the case of a European operator who was keen to launch easy to access, cost effective services that would ensure rapid customer adoption. Nokia Siemens Networks provided an Integrated Provisioning Solution that worked in tandem with the OSS/BSS to provide a single interface for support and service activation using a self-service model. The solution also ensured each user's handset automatically received the right settings for their chosen services. Not only did the automation result in significant OPEX savings for the operator, but customers took to the new services rapidly resulting in a more satisfying end-user experience and an overall improved customer loyalty.
Who owns the customer relationship?
One of the eternal questions about multiple service providers, as in the case of the Web 2.0 phenomenon, is who finally controls the customer? This in turn demands the question of where the customer pays their bill- to the service provider on the Internet that has created the service or to the operator. As operators increasingly embrace Web 2.0 and design a mix of services that are self-owned, co-branded, or third party, they will see the rationale of controlling billing at all times. Under no circumstance should the operator lose this key relationship with the customer. In fact, when deployed as an effective customer profiling tool, OSS/BSS will help the operator retain and grow a profitable customer relationship.
Take for example a co-branded scenario between a community portal owner such as Facebook and the mobile operator; the advertisements that appear on the service can be further personalized through information brought up by the OSS/BSS. Thus, a mobile subscriber who is a regular Facebook user and is using their mobile connection to access the site while vacationing in London, can be targeted with advertisements about a sale at Harrods or the tour route of the London Bus. It is only the mobile operator that can provide location context to complete the customer profile – a key selling point that needs to be adequately leveraged in relationships with external service providers.
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In fact, it is the OSS that helps the operator fashion an efficient Data Security policy for subscribers, guaranteeing the same levels of protection that a subscriber is conditioned to getting while surfing the Internet on their PC at home and work. |
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Of course, billing challenges are still very complex on the mobile network. In the case of co-branded partners, more often than not, the service provider and the operator enter into a Service Level Agreement and decide on revenue sharing. While this arrangement is simple enough in a post-paid billing scenario, what happens with a pre-paid billing customer? It is the BSS, containing each subscriber's billing information that will help to keep a track of transactions conducted online and immediately debit the customer account rather than wait till the end of the month as in a typical billing cycle.
With the OSS/BSS privy to usage patterns, the operator can accurately profile the customer and arrive at those services that are their favorites. The operator is thus in a position to charge subscribers a regular premium for access to that particular service on a monthly basis.
The true test of a successful Web 2.0 compliant mobile operator is when subscribers are recognized as belonging to the same community, sharing the same ideas and even applicable to special billing rates. To reach this utopian state, subscriber management will become increasingly important and will need to be flexible enough to allow operators various permutations and combinations. Once again, the BSS will be tasked to converge pre- and post- billing subscribers to create a single glance view of the community as a whole.
A case in point is an Asian operator who is gearing up to meet the challenges of the Web 2.0 world by deploying the Nokia Siemens Networks charging solution to provide a platform to achieving sustained growth and new revenue streams while ensuring quality customer experience.
Operators may still be in the early phase of exploring the Web 2.0. However, once they realize that the OSS/BSS is their true arsenal against the rapidly growing Internet players, it is not long before they spearhead the next spurt of community building opportunities in the mobile space, providing the right service mix to subscribers and effectively capturing new revenue streams.
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