Communications service providers (CSPs) can use next-generation mediation platforms to effectively manage the growth in data traffic and monetize advanced network and subscriber services, according to a new whitepaper from Comptel and Heavy Reading.
As traditional voice revenues gradually dwindle, operators are concentrating more on value-added services to increase revenue and reduce customer churn.
This focus is forcing CSPs to re-evaluate their mediation platforms’ capabilities. Batch-oriented solutions are becoming outdated and can no longer deal sufficiently with today’s data and network complexity, and the new approaches to billing and payment. There is instead a need for real-time, scalable and flexible processing platforms to improve time-to-market and time-to-revenue, ease and centralize operations, and act as an enabler of customer experience management.
Findings indicate that data network traffic coming from smartphones alone will increase from 18.5% to 56% between 2009 and 2015. The whitepaper looks at the primary factors driving this growth in data usage and bandwidth consumption, its magnitude and how the data explosion has challenged the legacy boundaries of mediation platforms.
The whitepaper also illustrates operators’ key business requirements today for next-generation mediation platforms, including acting as a catalyst for transformation, plugging revenue leakage and monetizing cloud services, and the “must-have” features that are essential for supporting them.
“The explosive growth in data usage that we are seeing today is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Heavy Reading senior analyst Ari Banerjee. “The number of connected devices and the amount of bandwidth consumption will only continue to increase exponentially—and unfortunately, come at a cost for operators.”
Banerjee said that what will be critical to CSPs’ success are next-generation mediation platforms that can enable them to handle the dramatic increase in transactional volumes more efficiently and cost-effectively, and that will provide a solid foundation for achieving true convergence.
Competel SVP Antti Koskela said mediation is the sleeping giant when it comes to monetization of services. “All CSPs have these systems in place, many of which are legacy-built, but we are seeing consolidation and replacement projects globally that indicate the importance being placed on having the right system in place for today’s next-generation and converged service offerings.”