Convergent Billing Solution Technical Specifications

Transcription

2 Table Of Cntent 1Intrductin Cntext Purpse Acrnyms and Abbreviatins Advanced VIP Billing Slutin Overview Cncept Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System Cnvergent Billing Slutin Features Overview Features AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 1

3 1 Intrductin 1.1 Cntext Cnverged billing slutin is the cnvergence f data and vice t the same platfrm. The same billing slutin prvides custmer management and billing fr bth services at the same time. It means creating a unified view f the custmer and all services prvided t that custmer. Cnvergent charging requires flexible payment methds, integrated billing fr multiple service types, and single billing fr cntinuus services using multiple devices. 1.2 Purpse This dcument prvides a cmprehensive architectural verview f the slutin t depict different aspects f the system. It is intended t capture and cnvey the significant architectural decisins which have been made n the slutin. 1.3 Acrnyms and Abbreviatins The fllwing acrnyms and abbreviatins may be fund thrughut the dcument: Acrnym CSP ISP VIP Descriptin Cmmunicatin Service Prvider Internet Service Prvider Vice ver IP AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 2

4 2 Advanced VIP Billing Slutin Overview 2.1 Cncept Next-generatin IP services are cmplex, dynamic, and varied, and billing systems must be simple, dynamic, and flexible in rder t meet the needs f service prviders. Keeping in pace with the ever increasing and cmpetitive cmmunicatins industry, it is imperative fr peratrs t elicit as much value and service ut f their netwrks as pssible. Billing systems must incrprate custmer management, system mnitring and management, bill generatin, and usage infrmatin just t get in the IP game, and the mst effective systems are simplifying the cllectin f data and the creatin f simple, intuitive custmer cntact pints. Cnvergent billing is a phenmenn by means f which all service charges are cmbined nt a single custmer invice. It means creating a unified view f the custmer and all services prvided t that custmer. Cnvergent charging requires flexible payment methds, integrated billing fr multiple service types, and single billing fr cntinuus services using multiple devices. 2.2 Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System With t many cmpanies cmpeting fr a bigger chunk f the market, it is very imprtant t have the flexibility required t tap special market segments. Flat billing may nt be enugh fr everyne. Yu may have t make special billing schemes fr many different vertical markets, hrizntal markets, resellers and ther sales channels. Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System is a suite f applicatins prviding cmplete slutins f billing t VIP Prviders and Internet Service Prviders. Mst f the CSPs including Internet Telephny Service Prviders / Vice ver IP/LDI and Lcal lp peratrs cnsider their jb dne nce their netwrk is setup and custmers start using the system. Hwever, it is nly then that the real differentiatin begins. It is here, that billing slutins prvided by AdvancedVIP.cm becme an imprtant link in a netwrk fr new and existing service prviders. It is als specifically develped t handle huge and fast grwing vlume f traffic. In a Carrier grade netwrk, it des accurate billing fr call riginatins, call terminatins and call transits. It supprts hardware f almst all majr vendrs including Cisc, Nrtel, Mera, Quintum, Ericssn, Siemens, Alcatel and Huawei. Furthermre, it prvides slutins fr a large base f custmers frm small peratrs t large natinal telecm carriers, including: Prepaid calling card peratrs ITSPs ISPs (including dialup, wireless, cable, bradband) AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 2

5 Cnverged vice and data peratrs. Advanced VIP Cnverged Billing System AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 3

6 3 Cnvergent Billing Slutin Features 3.1 Overview Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System supprts numerus features, which are ht in market and an essential part f a billing t give ptimal level satisfactin t management and client. Fllwing are the prminent mdules / features: Custmer & Subscriptin Management Flexible Rate/Plan Management & Tariff management Subscriptin Charges & Billing Cycles Management Nn Usage & Service Activatin Charges Wallet Management Subscriber accunt & services Prvisining Vucher Management mdule Quta Management: including Free minutes & vlume buckets fr vice & internet services Fair Usage plicy enfrcement capability fr data services (WiMAX, DSL & Fiber etc) Invicing mdule fr vice and data custmers RADIUS AAA Server fr real time / prepaid services Custmer Self-care: Web based & IVR based Self-care prtal fr the custmers Truble Ticketing Reprting mdule 3.2 Features The details f imprtant features f Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System features are as fllws: Custmer Management Regular/Pstpaid custmer management has been intrduced making it mre efficient t keep custmer prfile details, adjust accunt balance and perfrm further custmer related functins. Prepaid/Pstpaid Custmer Prfile: Advanced VIP Cnverged Billing System supprt Prepaid and Pstpaid custmers at the same time. Selectin f custmer AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 4

7 type depends upn the chse billing plan. Hwever, custmer can be shifted frm Prepaid t Pstpaid and vice versa. Custmer Search: Billing administratr can search any custmer based User Name, MAC, Phne Number, ABMF ID, Subscriber ID etc. Custmer Credit Limit: Every custmer can have a credit limit. All the Prepaid accunt must have credit limit 0. Pstpaid custmer can have credit limit greater than 0. This credit limit can be changed at any time and change in credit limit will be lgged in the billing system. Custmer Data Management: AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing ffers cmprehensive custmer data management as might be required by any ther prduct s functinal r peratinal needs Custmer Plan Management Paying Party Management Type Management (B2B, B2C, Enterprise) Billing Cycle Management Cntact Management Create multiple cntacts n-file Payment methd management Keep multiple payment methds n file Payment preferences Cntact preferences Invice preferences Subscriptin Management Enables a Service Prvider t activate prducts frm the prduct catalg fr individual custmers. Assign prducts t Subscribers Plan Subscriptins Bundle Subscriptins Add-On Subscriptins Value Added Services Subscriptins Feature Subscriptins Cunter Offering subscriptins Change Subscriptins Prratins Subscriber & Identity Management Add / Delete Subscriber Accunt Username / Passwrds Mac Addresses AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 5

8 IP Addresses Public IDs Private IDs ANI / Calling numbers PIN Numbers Web Lgin Others (extendible) Tariff Management AVCCBS supprts flexible tariff management enabling creatin, maintenance and applicatin f varius types f rating plans fr different rates. Main features related t Tariff Management in Advanced VIP Custmer Care and Billing System are: Duratin/Time based Rates: Custmer can be charged n the basis f hw much time the custmer spent n CSP netwrk.. It can be mainly applied n Vice Calls r data services such as wi-fi. Vlume based Rates: Rating n the basis f bandwidth cnsumed, separate charges can be defined fr uplad r dwnlad. It depends n the kind f service used by custmer i.e. Bradband/DSL, VOD etc. Time f Day/Day f Week based Rates: Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System supprts 24 * 7 different rates in a week. It means there can be different rates fr every hur in a week. There can be different rates fr hlidays, midnight, etc. Runding: Rating can be dne based n runding intervals e.g. 60/30 based rating fr vice where 60 secnds is the first runding interval and 30 secnds is the secnd runding interval. Prgressive Rates: Differentiated Rating fr multiple intervals in a single sessin/call. Rating fr Up t 10 intervals is supprted. Rate sheet Management: Destinatin rates can be imprted int billing system frm txt/excel files and similarly can be exprted frm billing system int txt/excel files. This is a cmprehensive mdule that allws creatin, bulk uplading and histry management f rate sheets which are used by the rating engine Add Rate Sheet Bulk Imprt Rate Sheet Update Rate Sheet AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 6

9 3.2.3 Billing Cycles Management Advanced VIP Cnverged Billing supprts multiple types f billing cycles, catering fr variety f business mdels by the CSPs. This includes Weekly, Mnthly, Quarterly, Yearly and Perpetual Billing cycle supprt. Billing Admin can define a Billing cycle and chse its perid and multiple Billing Cycles can be added int the system Subscriptin Charges Management Advanced VIP Cnverged Billing System supprts prcessing f Charges fr all subscriptins and autmatic billing cycle prcessing. Different type f recurring and nn-recurring charges can be applied such as Base service subscriptins charges Subscribed Add-Ons Service Add-Ons Value Added Services Resurce Add-Ons Cunter Add-Ons Line Rents Activatin charges Nn-default charges fr individual subscribers Late Payment Charges Cancellatin Charges Vucher Management AdvOSS Vucher Management System enables a Service Prvider t use pins as payment vuchers. It prvides a highly secure mechanism f pin generatin and then full life cycle f the pin including activatin, selling, redemptin and purging, Supprts scratch cards and dispensable pins. AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 7

10 Card Batch / Series: Vuchers are gruped in batches and series. Cnfigurable Card Length & Characters: The system ffers different length and frmat f cards t be generated. Default PIN length is 16 digits. Every card series has a serial number prefix used fr series identificatin. Fr characters, it allws any characters frm A-Z, a-z, 0-9 t be used in serial number. Cards are generated randmly and unique. Batch Allcatin t a specific sales pint: Batch f cards may be allcated t specific sales-pint at the time f card selling. Cards Tracking and Reprting: A Prepaid card may be tracked fr being in any state frm generatin till it is used up. It is als tracked that which cards are activated by the end custmer n daily basis. Card Blcking/Deactivatin: There are many reasns when blcking f a card r series f cards are required. There may be issues with card printing r sme fraud detectin, etc. System allws deactivatin f such cards identified as a series. Recharge Card: System allws tp-up/recharge a card value t subscribers accunt. Value Reprts: A plenty f useful reprts fr mnitring f cards frm generatin, sale and usage perspective. Other reprts fr cards activatin and daily usage may als be seen fr daily statistical analysis. AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 8

11 3.2.6 Quta Management Flexibility in Pre-paid service fferings is critical fr mdern service prviders. T extend smart Pre-paid/real time services tday, CSPs need Quta Management plicies which prvide them the ability t cntrl and manage the subscriber's usage against Pre-paid threshlds. CSPs may ffer range f plans/packages and services bundles t their custmers where they wuld like t have the ability t set different qutas threshlds fr single r multiple services in their prtfli. They need ability cnfigure different types f quta threshlds fr different services, whse cntrl & metering is either time based/vlume based/ event based r cmbinatin f these. Time based Quta: Prepaid time based cunters fr vice and data services fr example 100 Free minutes fr all lcal vice calling 2 hurs Free usage fr data service (wi-fi) 1 day unlimited data usage(free dwnlad/uplad) Vlume based Quta: Prvide supprt fr management and cntrl f vlume based packages fr real time Data Services. This may include 10 GB dwnlad/uplad upn limit upn service activatin 25 GB quta limit fr dwnlad/uplad Advanced VIP Cnvergent Billing System supprts enhanced Quta Management functinality mentined abve Fair-Usage Plicies Fair-Usage Plicies allw a Service Prvider t define limits f usage that a Custmer can make after which the Fair-Usage plicies start applying. Typical ptins fr Fair-Usage plicies are t thrttle bandwidth, deny service r start charging Invice Management & Financials Invicing & Financial mdule in Advanced VIP Cnverged Billing Engine cmes with the fllwing features. that generates invices and settles payments against invices Autmatic Invice generatin Sending f invice as per custmer preference AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 9

12 Printing Flexible skin based interface fr invice frmatting Flexible rules t club CDRs int sub-invices t shw as a single line item in main invice Detailed reprting fr aging and dunning etc Truble Ticketing Truble Ticketing mdule manages queries r prblems psted by the custmers. Each query is assigned a unique identificatin number i.e. ticket number. It ffers a cnnectin frm all the prtals t Custmer Service Representative prtal t allw all types f users t pen truble tickets and manage them CSR Prtal CSR Prtal: Cnverged Billing supprts special rle fr custmer service peratins may be created. The Custmer Service Representative mdule ffers subscriber management features. Mrever, pwerful rle based security framewrk is implemented thrugh which different CSR rles can be defined, each with different privileges. This mdule can be further custmized as per CSP requirements. Sme f the features available in this mdule are listed belw: Register Custmer Search Custmer Adding service ffering t a subscriber Edit Custmer Details Adding/Deleting service ffering t a subscriber Adding cunters t a subscriber Adding line rents t a subscriber Change Billing Plan Change Custmer Currency Clse/Delete Custmer Accunts Remving line rents frm a subscriber Changing the state f a subscriber ( blcking, unblcking,etc ) Changing the state f a service ffering ( blcking, unblcking, etc) Updating the balance f a subscriber Plenty f reprts supprting these peratins are als part f the slutin. AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 10

13 Custmer Self care Prtal Custmer Self Care mdule allws CSPs an increased level f subscriber self service while reducing the perating csts. It enables them t ffer varius self-service ptins t their custmers including fllwing and mre: Subscriber Balance: Current Balance f the subscriber Subscribed Offerings: Details f plans and service fferings subscribed by the subscriber Vucher Recharge: Ability t recharge accunt thrugh vuchers and see cmplete Vucher Recharge histry f the subscriber Bill Histry: Ability t view bills f the last few billing cycles. Online Bill Payment: Ability t pay bills nline thrugh credit card, and ther payment ptins by integrating with nline payment gateways. Service Usage Histry: Detailed usage histry fr the current billing cycle fr the subscriber User Lcking/Unlcking User accunts can be lcked whenever balance drps belw credit limit (nline terminatin) and accunts can be autmatically unlcked n accunt recharges System Administratin Cmplete system administratin is prvided t administratrs f billing sftware. Prvides a web based graphical user interface fr administratin f all supprted use cases Prepaid/Pstpaid billing Bth prepaid and pstpaid billing schemes are supprted. Pstpaid users and prepaid users get discnnected and lcked whenever their current balance becmes less than the credit limit. Usually prepaid users have zer credit limit Cmprehensive Management Reprts Mass number f reprts are prvided including cash management and daily transactins reprt. Reprts can be srted accrding t their fields. Fr cmplete wrking f reprts please see ur AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 11

14 nline dem. If a cmpany wants t have any reprt which is nt prvided then it will be prvided free f cst in the next upgrade Cmpany Infrmatin Cmpany infrmatin can be updated. This infrmatin can be used in billing (like printing cmpany infrmatin at payment receipt) RADIUS AAA Advanced VIP AAA is a Carrier Grade high perfrmance & scalable Server that prvides Authenticatin, Authrizatin and Accunting ver Radius Prtcl. It can be used by any telecm r ther service prvider t get a real-time interface t backend billing and OSS system. Fllwing standards, Advanced VIP RADIUS is quite easily custmizable, highly cnfigurable and quite flexible radius server. RADIUS AAA supprts all basic authenticatin such as fllws PIN based CLI/ANI based Username/Passwrd based MD5 Digest Authenticatin IP based In additin t this RADIUS AAA Server can supprt many advanced authenticatin, authrizatin and accunting features as required by Bradband, WiMAX and Next Generatin Service Prviders. AdvancedVIP Cnvergent Billing Slutin 12