HP Helps Telecom Companies Transform Billing with Real-time Charging Solution

HP today highlighted five telecom operators that are transforming their traditional billing operations into real-time engines for growth with HP’s charging technology.

HP RealTime Charging enables precise, customer-centric pricing models that help telecom operators expand revenue with high-value services. The offering also helps operators create competitive differentiation and enhance the customer experience.

Telecom operators using HP RealTime Charging include: China Telecom, FASTWEB in Italy, Telcel in Mexico, VimpelCom in Russia, and Polkomtel in Poland.

With today’s Web 2.0 services, mobile consumers use their phones to do much more than make phone calls. For example, they are downloading music and video, sending messages, and buying products and services. Before consumers use these services, however, they need to know - on the spot - the price and their ability to purchase. By managing the entire charging and authorization function, HP RealTime Charging enables operators to provide that information instantly.

“As we deliver more services to our customers, we are looking for charging and billing flexibility to better meet their needs,” said Marek Jachmann, Mediation Manager, Polkomtel. “Online charging and IMS compliance have opened new challenges. Having a long-time relationship with HP will help us to successfully implement new models.”

With precise, real-time control over charging and billing, operators can enhance revenues with targeted, differentiated services, bundling and loyalty programs. They can move away from traditional flat-rate pricing to “a la carte” pricing.

Based on industry standards, HP RealTime Charging reflects the company’s 30 years of experience in telecom. It is a highly scalable solution that is designed for high-performance transaction processing. With a flexible, modular architecture, it can be integrated with legacy billing infrastructures as well as newer networks and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) environments.

“It’s critical for all CSPs to have a real-time charging environment to offer and support a wide range of prepaid and postpaid services,” said Larry Goldman, co-founder and senior analyst, OSS Observer. “Real-time charging is one of the most significant enablers of increased revenue. HP has a strong position via its HP Internet Usage Manager, its OpenCall software portfolio, and its global systems integration capability.”

A video interview in which Goldman discusses HP RealTime Charging is available at http://hp.telecomtv.com/cmetv/goldman.

The key components of the solution are HP products that have been tested and integrated, including HP Internet Usage Manager (IUM) and HP IUM Charging Manager; HP OpenCall Service Access Controller; HP OpenCall Media Platform; and technologies from industry partners.

“Real-time charging is the key that unlocks the revenue potential of a new generation services,” said Nigel Upton, general manager, Business Support Systems, Communications, Media and Entertainment, HP. “Operators with HP RealTime Charging can bring more services to market, faster and with less cost and risk.”

Leading operators tap HP for real-time charging

Operators around the world are deploying HP RealTime Charging to support wireless, wired and broadband services. The most recent are:

* China Telecom - Targeting the third-generation (3G) market, its Anhui Province subsidiary launched services to prepaid customers with rollouts reaching 6 million customers. HP implemented the first online charging system (OCS) that supports 3G real-time services with both pre-paid and post-paid capabilities. The OCS handles mobile, fixed and broadband services. Now, with HP RealTime Charging, Anhui Telecom can offer - and bill for - the real-time services that generate higher revenues.
* FASTWEB - Italy’s leading alternative operator with more than 1.3 million customers. With an all-IP broadband network, FASTWEB successfully provides telephony, Internet and TV services. To add wireless service as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, FASTWEB needed a single, flexible charging foundation for all of its offerings. HP RealTime Charging enables FASTWEB to enhance revenues with flexible, revenue-generating “quad-play” bundles. FASTWEB customers benefit with greater choice of services at attractive prices.
* Telcel - Mexico’s leading mobile operator, with more than 51 million customers. Telcel wanted to offer new data services to its customers. With HP Real-Time Charging, Telcel was able to extend the new services portfolio to its large base of pre-paid customers, who now have access to the new generation of data services.
* VimpelCom Group - a leading operator providing services in Russia, Ukraine and neighboring countries. In highly competitive, fast-growing markets, VimpelCom needed to attract new customers as well as retain the loyalty of existing ones. To succeed, VimpelCom offered innovative services to both pre- and post-paid customers. This approach required real-time charging to encourage customers to use the new services. HP RealTime Charging helped VimpelCom achieve this objective. The solution also provided the transaction performance and scalability that VimpelCom needed to accommodate rapid growth.
* Polkomtel - one of Poland’s first operators to deliver 3G services. To better serve its 14 million customers, Polkomtel is going to offer new services on an evolving IMS network. To encourage usage, Polkomtel turned to long-time collaborator HP for its charging solution. In Polkomtel’s environment, the HP solution is providing the standards-based foundation for new services and revenue growth.