SharePricing and Billing 2G vs. 3G/4G - Generations Apart!
0G, 1G, 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G and now 3G and 4G —> nG.
Have you ever pondered upon what the future holds for mobile telecom companies? Do you know how the ‘services-of-the-future’ will be delivered over these new generation networks, which, for convenience and comprehension we have called nG? And how will mobile telecoms make money?
For end users, as a result of these phenomenal technology strides - streaming video, fast file downloads and uploads, and turbo-charged web browsing – are no longer just home, office or coffee shop benefits. They can enjoy a blazing fast wireless mobile broadband experience across the sites, whether they’re at a downtown saloon, or taking a break at a remote location, or sitting at their favorite eatery, or even on public transport.
In the formative years of 3G, several operators tried building their businesses around the technology advantage and superior voice quality of service, but failed when users couldn’t ‘make out’ the promised difference in call quality. But then, voice was never meant to be the kernel of 3G/4G. It is said that 4G technology will be able to send data at 1 Gbps in stationary and 100 Mbps in its mobile form – about 10-100 times faster than the current capacity. At 1 Gbps, a movie stored in a CD can be sent across in 6.4 seconds flat!
Now, service providers see a definite opportunity to differentiate their services based on wireless broadband and value-added data services. Promises are unlimited as new content, broadband and value-added services take the centre stage in the coming years with the roll-out of 3G / 4G, replacing the existing network technologies in the respective parts of the communications world. The higher bandwidth and faster data transfer rate is a good lure for users, especially the tech-hungry ones – more so, as the plummeting handset prices lower their entry costs. 3G/4G has truly widened the possibilities, introducing a whole gamut of services like mobile video conferencing, mobile TV, mobile video telephony, high-speed internet access, streaming video and music, movie downloads and multiplayer gaming. Thus, it is evident that ‘data’ – and not ‘voice’ – will be in focus, in the coming years with the roll-out of these technologies. Service providers are lured by the larger scope of the high-margin value-added services, and see this as a definite panacea for their eroding revenues, declining ARPU and increasing competitive pressures.
But, on the other hand, mobile telecoms are facing some pressing challenges – besides those posed by the network and infrastructure paradigm.
Have you ever wondered how the industry players will overcome the substantial pricing and billing challenges (that are, in fact, the most important to make money), and how these challenges could delay the success of these new service deliveries? Service providers will need to rethink on how to synchronize their siloed legacy infrastructure to enable them to roll out the high-margin value-added services. They will need to provision, monitor and bill for an intricate web of services, technologies and offerings.
Pricing and billing for these new wireless services demand sensitivity towards the type, context, time, size, volume and revenue involved in these content services – which implies the need for metered usage-based pricing. Moreover, the system needs to scale up to the increased transaction volume and size, complexities in collecting transactions from multiple devices/networks, and binding them to event records. 3G/4G calls for the management of complex partner relations and transparent revenue share computation, settlement and reconciliations as per agreed SLAs like QoS, availability, etc. Services like video telephony/conferencing that combine voice and data are likely to bring in a different level of challenges too.
Thus, technology evolutions – be it 3G, HSDPA, 4G, WiMax, LTE – are no doubt definite game changers; but the mantra for service providers is to be ready with the right pricing and billing systems to embrace the makeover and the make. Leading industry analysts concur on the fact that by 2010 – that is next year – the average 3G/4G subscribers will spend around $30 per month on 3G/4G data services. Mobile telecom companies, which have the right systems in place, will make the best of 2010 and the future.
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