Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. Introduction

2. Where the Market Is Going

3. Available Platforms

4. Pros and Cons of Available Platforms

5. Call Flow and Call Scenarios for Prepaid Cards

6. Basic and Enhanced Features

7. Management Issues

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

Definition
A prepaid service, as the name implies, is a telecommunications service for which the customer has paid in advance.

Overview
Prepaid services, probably one of the fastest-growing segments in the telecommunications industry, are in demand for numerous reasons:

• serve as an alternative to traditional telephone calling cards
• act as budget control for business and/or personal use
• facilitate travel to foreign countries
• allow for prepaid wireless services
• useful for business promotions
• offer alternatives in areas where residential service is difficult to obtain
• helpful in emergency situations
• provide options for customers with bad credit ratings

This tutorial describes the needs fulfilled by prepaid service and addresses the network elements necessary to deploy the service.