NGN-OSS/BSS : Driving Revenues

In this era, perhaps the most important role to be played in the industry is

to make sure that both the top line and the bottom line are well in place. OSS/BSS

(Operation and Business Support System) plays a very pivotal role in driving the

revenues for telecom operators.

Considering the great influence OSS/BSS can have on a telco's business, V&D

and Intec Systems invited industry experts in Mumbai and Delhi to explore

various strategies to deploy OSS/BSS applications to drive revenue. Through this

event the telecom industry has tried to find whether OSS/BSS changes can really

drive revenues or will a significant change in the structure of OSS/BSS is

required.

The roundtable sessions in the two-cities saw a house-full participation from

industry players, who brain-stormed on ways to drive focus towards enriching the

industry.

In Mumbai, many ideas on how OSS/BSS would make it a better survival mantra

for all those who were present poured in. The main focus was not around

technology but on 'business,' and how to get better revenues.

Panelists discussing the role of OSS/BSS applications in a telco's business at Delhi

The panelist in Mumbai consisted of Rajeev Singhal, head, OSS, Reliance

Communications; AR Patil, DGM, MTNL; Anirudh Prasad Singh, GM, MTNL; Ashwin

Shah, CIO, Loop Telecom; T Sathisan, AVP, BPL Mobile; Shriram Krishnan, DGM, BPL

Mobile; Manoj Shrivastava, VP, Reliance ADA Group. Panel discussion in Mumbai

and Delhi were moderated by Baburajan K, executive editer of Voice&Data.

Intec System's country manager, financial services, Mohan Das; Norm

Halvorson, VP, Asia Pacific; and Raghuvir Ramanadhan, regional sales director

also attended the two-city event to get a better understanding of the telco's

business needs

Though mobile users are increasing day by day, the ARPU is coming down

substantially. For OSS/BSS to drive revenues, it has to be the business driver

itself, panelists said. Incidentally in the United States, OSS/BSS has become

commodity, so about 70% of the post market has its presence. It is a mandate in

today's business, and for new operators it is more about manageability so it is

important for them to install it.

Raghuvir Ramanadhan, regional sales director, Intec Systems sharing his views	Norm Halvorson, VP, Intec Systems, Asia Pacific

Some of the speakers also threw light on the extra amount of comfort, which

is in the form of NGN OSS, as the present structure of OSS/BSS does not support

IP. Others said that managing the networks on the platform would conveniently

become easier. As all leading operators have so many network services like GSM,

CDMA, broadband, it is important to upgrade for better delivery.

In Delhi, panelists included Sukanta Dey, president, emerging business unit,

Tata Teleservices; Amir Alexander Hasson, founder and director, United Villages;

Brajesh Chandra Jain, president, Spectranet; Satya N Gupta, chief regulatory

advisor and director, govt affairs, BT Global Services; Ravinder Jain, CIO,

Aircel; Rahul Bharadwaj, director, content services, Soma Networks; KCGK Pillai,

DDG (PF), BSNL; K S Tiwari, joint DDG, BSNL; Apu C Saha, director, services

delivery and business development, Bycell and Anuj K Srivastava, GM, MTNL.

The discussion was on how OSS/BSS needs to be changed and adapted to the new

network. (NGN) Next Generation Network brings in the concept of convergence to

all stakeholders including operator, vendor and the customer. It will help in

providing more services on the same platform using the same network and perhaps

to the same customer. It is important to know the customer, more than just

billing them. Consolidated billing would help the bottom line and will be a

saving strategy for the consumer.

Participants brainstorming in Mumbai	House-full with participants in Delhi

Today mobile has become a wallet and is carried everywhere. This is the time

when NGN OSS will play a vital role because it would help in processing huge

amounts of data piling up on the networks, and would help in following the trail

of the customers.

NGN OSS would also allow understanding the lifestyle of the customer, hence

would provide SPs to deliver their products accordingly. According to some

panelists, last mile delivery is a matter of concern for all service providers

as new customers do not come by billing, they come by relevant services, but

billing does play a crucial role in retention of customers.

Participants were full of new ideas on how to create a better business

atmosphere through NGN OSS/BSS, and we hope to see the discussed implementations

soon.

Sunny Sen



sunnys@cybermedia.co.in