PDF of this tutorialDefinition
In telephony, billing involves gathering data for customer use and the provision of features, calculating costs, and invoicing for payment.
Overview
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC's) deregulation of the telecommunications industry in 1996 has had, and will have, far-reaching effects for telecommunications service providers. Competition is leading to newer, more innovative services, which in turn puts more pressure on systems to provide and bill for these services.
Deregulation has also allowed companies to provide services beyond their standard line of business. Wireline, wireless, and long-distance companies are now permitted to provide the same services as their competitors and venture into other business areas. This freedom to market multiple services across multiple market segments will create business opportunities that are much more challenging to support and operate. Many of the current service-support systems, including billing systems, were designed for the regulated business environment and do not accommodate these expanded markets.
In order to be competitive, companies will need to improve the operational processes they use to provide these new services. The demand for new and more sophisticated products and services and the providers' time-to-market will drive this marketplace. More than ever, service providers will also need to focus their attention on understanding customers' needs and providing higher-quality services. A company's ability to represent and bill accurately for these newer and more complex services will become a bigger challenge over the next few years.
This tutorial provides an overview of how a basic billing system works, the challenge of changes in a deregulated environment, and the importance of an open architecture for a billing system.
