S-38.3310Tietoverkkotekniikan diplomityöseminaariLasse Rautopuro

Mobile Content Revenue Assurance

Supervisor: Heikki HämmäinenCompany: TeliaSonera Finland Oyj

Content

• Introduction Background…. 4 Research Question….. 5 Scope…. 6 Methodology…. 7

• Field work…. Data Record Traffic…. 9 Billable Data Records…. 10 Rated Data Records…. 11 Summary of the Expert Interviews…. 12 Revenue Leakage Survey Results from Other Operators.... 13

• Results and Conclusions…. Results…. 14 Generalizability.... 15 Suggestions for the Mobile Operator…. 16 Recommendations for Further Study…. 17

• Background• Research Question• Scope• Methodology

Introduction

Background

• The study was conducted between Fall 2007 and Spring 2009 as an employee of TSF

• Mobile content is a steadily growing business, which is expected to keep growing at a fair rate ~90MEUR per year, growth of 10% annually according to the

Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland• Mobile content also includes revenue sharing to the content

provider, which differentiates it from the traditional voice revenue chain

• Revenue assurance as a corporate level function has received a lot of attention in the recent years

• Prioritizing revenue leakage risk areas in the mobile content revenue chain was chosen to be the objective of the study

Research Question

• How should a mobile operator prioritize their revenue assurance activities related to mobile content? What is revenue assurance?

Definitions, scope

What is mobile content? Scope

How does the revenue chain of mobile content compare to voice and messaging?

For comparison purposes and assessing generalizability

What are the revenue leakage risk areas of the mobile content revenue chain at TSF?

Risk area definitions and priority

What conclusions and suggestions can be made on the revenue assurance approach to mobile content?

Scope• Mobile Content Scope

Two service provider products from TSF: WAP & Messaging Interface Mobile content services through WAP and messaging

Consumer segment Out of scope: Data transfer charges, service provider’s end

• Revenue Assurance Scope (from GRAPA) Discipline: Forensic Analysis (prestudy into the subject) Domains: Vertical and Horizontal shown below Level: Leakage Containment (identify and fix revenue leakage) Out of scope: Bad debt, Fraud

Methodology

• Structure Case study (single case, single unit of analysis) Eisenhardt’s (1989) eight step process for theory-building case

studies as a base• Data collection methods and sources of evidence

Open ended interviews Building the opportunity maps (from Mattison’s The Telco Revenue

Assurance Handbook, 2005) Expert interviews

Opinions on high risk areas in the revenue chains Documentation

Technical documentation about the systems in the scope Archival records

Customer service reclamations and feedback• Data Analysis

Comparisons between mobile content and voice revenue chains Revenue leakage survey results from a larger base of operators are

used to compare TSF's environment to other operators and to establish some idea of generalizability

• Opportunity maps• Expert interviews• Revenue leakage survey results

Field Work

Data Record Traffic

• Traffic buildup between the two revenue chains differs Steady traffic increase on the voice and messaging revenue chain

while mobile content is more erratic Preprocessor under relatively heavy load

Billable Data Records

• WAPGWs send a lot of unbillable traffic• The Content Gateway on the other hand sends a high ratio of billable data records• The preprocessor filters excess data records on the mobile content revenue chain,

while the 3G mediator and Prerater do similar tasks on the voice and messaging revenue chain

Rated Data Records

• Decentralized rating in the mobile content revenue chain Premium priced messages (from the CGW) are prerated at the service

provider WAP data records are rated at the mobile content rating and billing system

before central billing• All traffic from the voice and messaging revenue chain is rated at central billing

Summary of the Expert Interviews

• Six experts (three from each revenue chain) were interviewed for opinions on high risk areas of the revenue chains

• The results suggest emphasis on the data record filtering systems, but also on data record creating platforms and other mobile network elements

Interviewee Revenue Chain High Risk Area(s)1 Voice and Messaging Prerater2 Voice and Messaging Rating and platforms, that create data records3 Voice and Messaging Prerater and IN4 Mobile Content Preprocessor5 Mobile Content Network elements and platforms6 Mobile Content Platforms, that create data records and revenue sharing

Revenue Leakage Survey Results from Other Operators

• The root causes for revenue leakage were asked from a number of operators in a survey by the Philips Group in 2003 Source: Mattison’s The Telco Revenue Assurance Handbook, 2005

• The individual operator information was not available from the survey and the results were told to vary a lot between different operators and environments

• The results still place a heavy emphasis on the mobile network end of the revenue chain, especially data record creating and modifying systems

• Results• Comparisons• Generalizability• Suggestions for the mobile operator• Recommendations for further study

Results and Conclusions

Results

• Primary Risk Areas: Preprocessor, Prerater

• Secondary Risk Areas: Rating systems, data record generating platforms and the IN for operators

with a high prepaid subscriber base

Comparisons• Rating

The rating is based on data records from source platforms on both revenue chains

Decentralized rating for mobile content Campaigns and discounts are managed the operator's end for voice and

messaging and at the service provider's end for mobile content Rated events differ

• Billing Services from both revenue chains are billed at the central billing system Revenue sharing in mobile content Prepaid balance checks from the IN differ in nature and may result in bad

debts in several ways• Traffic

There is a single interface, through which the revenue chains interact with central billing

The traffic buildup from platforms to billing differs a lot Higher amounts of traffic on the voice and messaging revenue chain

• Data record management Both revenue chains contain systems, which filter traffic based on rulesets Data records are created in different platforms between the revenue chains The structure of data records differs

Generalizability

• Concentrating revenue assurance efforts on the mobile network end of the revenue chain will likely help all operators

• No conclusions can be made on whether having a separate rating and billing system for mobile content is a common practice between operators However, at least part of the traffic from mobile content platforms is likely to

be rated before entering the rating and billing systems of the operator• Even though rating was not seen as the most important function in the mobile

content side when considering revenue leakage, it is still one of the biggest risk areas if something goes wrong and the priority may vary depending on the environment of the operator in question

• The systems picked for primary risk areas of revenue leakage at TSF are specic to these two revenue chains. For other operators, an estimate of the priority for systems can be made based on the functions they perform. Any single system performing one or several of the following functions in the mobile content revenue chain is likely to be of high priority: Generating data records Modifying data records Filtering data records based on rulesets Rating

Suggestions

• Mobile operators should primarily concentrate on systems, which fillter and modify data records in the mobile content revenue chain when directing revenue assurance activities. The secondary systems are rating systems, data record generating platforms and the IN for operators with a high prepaid subscriber base

Recommendations for Further Study

• The mobile network and data record generating platforms were identied as sources of revenue leakage, which require further study in the context of mobile content.

• The prioritization of revenue leakage risk areas is also dependent on the ratio of prepaid and postpaid subscribers of the operator. A study, which includes more operators with variable ratios of prepaid and postpaid subscribers, is needed to get a comprehensive assessment of the revenue assurance approach to mobile content.

• Beyond the initial look at revenue assurance activities for the mobile content revenue chain there are many steps, which can provide further information. As the revenue leakage areas are identied and secured, the mobile operator should start looking into proactive approaches for preventing leakage. These approaches should be the focus of further study.

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