5G Applications Are on the Horizon: A Moment to Revisit Your Billing Strategies
Hop on the 5G hype train, but don't forget about those charging systems! Ari Banerjee, SVP Strategy at Netcracker Technology, lays down the case for state-of-the-art 5G-ready charging platforms.
Let's talk about the future - drones, remote healthcare, smart cities, self-driving cars - for all of these, communication service providers (CSPs) are prepared to drop some serious cash. In fact, according to GSMA, the world's telcos will pour a whopping $1.1 trillion into capital expenditures (CAPEX) by 2025, with more than three-quarters of the spending geared towards 5G-related projects.
Now, picture this: CSPs walking into a gold mine, profiting from the biggest growth markets of the 21st century like autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and remote healthcare. But here comes the nitty-gritty - they need a new mindset to monetize quality of service and experiences, not just connectivity.
To seize this opportunity, CSPs need more than business-as-usual. Here are the 5 essential features that 5G-ready convergent charging solutions (CCSs) should sport:
- Charging for Everything - CCSs should be super flexible, charging for anything from slice-specific pricing to access-based fees, interacting with multiple 5G network functions, and adapting to new and emergent use cases.
- Charging for Every Service - CSPs should aim to facilitate new markets like home security, telehealth, and autonomous transport with CCSs that support intuitive GUI-based no-code configuration.
- Charging by Different Metrics - Say goodbye to charging by data. Think gaming, where operators can charge by the game or session length. This extends to partner companies too.
- Edge Charging - Low-latency use cases call for telcos to distribute their charging capabilities to the edge to ensure they can meet service level agreements.
- Charging-as-a-Service - CSPs can turn charging into a profit centre by offering charging-as-a-service to partners, creating new revenue streams from previously adversarial relationships.
Ready to watch CSPs work their magic in the telecom world? Get ready for dynamic pricing scenarios, AI-driven charging, lifecycle management, and support for millions of IoT devices. With these essential features in place, CSPs will be well-equipped to embrace the 5G economy.
[1] “5G Charging: How Multi-access Edge Computing Enables Real-time Charging,” Light Reading, July 23, 2018.[2] “5G monetization future: A revolution in the business models of communication service providers,” Deloitte, February 2019.[3] “Monetizing 5G: Are Operators Ready?” Rethink Research, November 21, 2018.[4] “The 5G Monetization Challenge,” Ovum, February 16, 2018.[5] “5G Charging Requirements for Telcos,” Infonetics Research, October 20, 2017.
The communication service providers (CSPs) are preparing to invest vast amounts in finance, particularly towards 5G-related projects, recalling GSMA's prediction of a $1.1 trillion capital expenditure (CAPEX) by 2025. The emergence of the 5G economy opens up new markets such as autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and remote healthcare, but CSPs must consider adopting a new mindset beyond traditional connectivity. In line with this, 5G-ready convergent charging solutions (CCSs) should also cater to 'finance' and 'technology' aspects, charging by different metrics like gaming or session length, and facilitating technology-based services like home security and telehealth through intuitive, no-code configuration.
