Online Training & Certification Program Guide Introduction to Roaming Best Practices 20 Hour Roaming Best Practices Program 05-09 November 2012 The Roaming Operations & Best Practices Program provides the roaming manager, and members of the roaming team with a comprehensive guide to running a profitable, risk-contained, roaming business. This course covers the breadth and depth of operational proficiency, risk containment, and profit maximization in a highly condensed version of the standard GRAPA certification program. Unit 1 - The Roaming Operations Framework: A Domain- and Controls-Based Methodology Unit 2 - Voice Network Basics for Roaming Unit 3 - Billing Operations Postpaid and Prepaid for Roaming Unit 4 - Roaming Operations Lifecycles (Signaling, Postpaid, USSD, CAMEL) Unit 5 - Roaming Managers Field Guide
Table of Contents p.01 p.02 p.03 p.04 p.05 p.06 p.07 p.08 p.09 p.10 p.11 Roaming: Challenges Roaming Hammer-Head: Program Overview The GRAPA Online Training & Certification Program GRAPA Virtual Campus: How it Works GRAPA Virtual Campus: Inside the Classroom Roaming Hammer-Head: Course at a Glance Overview: Units 1-2 Overview: Units 3-4 Overview: Unit 5 & Course Key Concepts The Revenue Assurance Academy About GRAPA
Roaming - Challenges Roaming is one of the newest and most profitable lines of business for many carriers. GSM carriers around the world have quickly learned about what a business bonanza roaming can be, and the new generation of CDMA, WIMAX, Airline Roaming, VOIP, Content, WIFI and other technologies are all forging their own new and innovative business models at a breakneck pace. But as is always the case, new business opportunities that involve a heavy reliance on partnerships, bring with them new risks, new responsibilities and a new generation of challenges. Network and technology professionals can get training and go to classes on how to run the technical side of roaming. Until now, there has been no viable option available to provide roaming operations and revenue protection people with the training that they so badly need. Protecting Roaming Revenues The protection of roaming revenues is a huge job that spans almost every dimension of the telecommunications business model. Partner Management, Customer Service (Market), Margin and Profitability, Network, Signalling, Security, Fraud, Billing, Operational Integrity, Regulatory Compliance are all critical parts of the process. DCH Issues The roaming business requires you to deal with a new kind of partner, the DCH. Originally envisioned as a service to the telco, for most companies the DCH has turned into a major source of confusion, loss and risk. Free Money! Revenue Bonanza. Roaming can represent a revenue bonanza for the telecom for the simple reason that a roaming partnership accomplishes two major objectives. First - it provides you with a new market, in the form of all of your roaming partner customers who visit on your network. Second - it provides you additional revenue opportunities from your own customer base when they travel to another network. Credit Risk Management - This is the name of the game when it comes to roaming. A roaming relationship is a credit relationship, and failure to appreciate exactly what that means, and how to manage it makes the difference between a roaming business that adds to the bottom line, and one that simply exposes the company to a myriad of new risks and costs without a justifiable revenue offset to make it worthwhile. International Roaming Fraud Opening yourself to the opportunity for new revenues from international partners unfortunately means that international fraudsters can take advantage of the situation. Telecoms lose billions a year to organized, professional international roaming fraudsters, and understanding who they are and how they work is critical. New Partners / New Relationships - Managing a roaming business means managing hundreds of partnership relationships (many times more than interconnect) and you have far less control over what happens with those partners than you do in other business models. 1
Roaming Hammer-Head: Program Overview End-to-End Roaming Protection To help telecoms professionals address roaming challenges, GRAPA has developed a 20 hour Roaming Online training program. This program is designed to provide telecoms roaming professionals with an exhaustive, focused and practical exposure to all of the major roaming issues and risks to the company s profits. This program combines structured lecture based training in the understanding, optimization and protection of roaming revenue streams with workshop exercises to enable teams to immediately and effectively apply what they learn directly to their own real world situations. Key focus areas: New Generation of Fraud Risks This new generation of telecoms business has resulted in a new generation of fraud professionals. These experts often understand your partnerships, technology and vulnerabilities better than you do, and they are willing and able to hire the technical staff and international expertise to take advantage of the openings in your coverage. Dealing with the Clearing House Under roaming, you have a new kind of partner, the DCH. DCHs represent their own form of value, and their own set of unique risks to your profit and your operational integrity. Partners with the Wrong Incentives Roaming agreements are credit arrangements, not operational partnerships. It is therefore usually of limited value to a roaming partner to make it easy for you to manage your credit risks efficiently. Creating productive and cooperative partnerships that are also defensive is key to roaming partnership success. IREG, TADIG,TAP, IOT, HUR and NRTDE The roaming business brings with it its own vocabulary, keyword and acronyms, and the vast majority of roaming operations personnel have only one way to learn it, by trial and error. The Introduction to Roaming Best Practices Course: This program is specially designed to meet the business needs of existing roaming operations teams. Despite being the most widespread wireless technology in the world, many carriers still find it difficult to learn the kind of in-depth lessons they really want to take advantage of opportunities and solve ongoing issues. Find out how other carriers have built upon existing core competencies and successes, while making the leap to the next level, based on best practices and lessons learned by some of the most successful roaming carriers from around the world. This program is designed to help telcos manage and profit from their roaming operations. This class will provide students with an end-to-end understanding of the roaming line of business, and teach them to protect against the many inherent partner, fraud, and margin risks. 2
The GRAPA Online Training & Certification Program GRAPA: The Benchmark in World-Class Training & Certification for Telecommunications Risk Management Professionals Since 2007, GRAPA is the industry s best resource for the training and certification for: Revenue Assurance Professionals Fraud Management Professionals Finance Professioanals With over 800 certified students, dozens of organizations world-wide are committed to the ongoing practice of the GRAPA Standards. Our Hammerhead series are problem-solving workshops in the areas of: Roaming Bypass/Simbox Interconnect UMTS LTE Cloud Leased Line Cable and more The GRAPA Online Training Initiative Over the past five years, the GRAPA Team developed an intense, personal and focused online certification training that creates an engaging and effective learning environment for telecoms professionals. GRAPA Online Training Provides: More than Just Training World-Class Instructors Testing & Certification Customized, Workshop-Based Training Face-To-Face Collaboration Practical Tactical Immediate Value Online Convenience Cost Savings The Online Environment: Best Practices, World-Class Curriculum The best organized, best presented and most effective training available in the telecoms risk management arena One-on-One Exchange of Ideas with a World-Class Industry Expert Students will always have the opportunity to hold one-on-one review sessions with a GRAPA faculty member Exposure to the Experiences and Input of other Industry Professionals Interactive class activities allow students to master the material through multiple real-world examples Collegial-Style Training Approach Fostering a sense of community and developing shared vision and values Face-to-Face Exchanges Teacher to students and student-to-student Student-focused Learning Environment Students with specific questions and concerns are addressed quickly and effectively Instant Curriculum Adjustment Online training is adaptable to changing student problem-areas and learning objetctives Assurance Material is Mastered Instructors verify that the student has mastered the material and knows how to apply it to management Certification Standard Integrity We employ the highest standard possible for certification-level training. Non-Disclosure We provide and require signed nondisclosure agreements, verification of student identity and credentials; we enforce non-disclosure policies for all intellectual property and company information 3
GRAPA Virtual Campus: How it Works Proven GRAPA Virtual Campus 3-Track Approach: A convenient and focused training environment for student and manager Choose Your Pace: Slow - Medium - Fast At GRAPA, we understand that different people need to take on materials at a different pace. Some students only need a quick review, a refresher for things they have already mastered. Others need the time to digest and review the information. Our unique Three-Track training approach allows students to set their own pace, spend as much time or as little time as they need, while still making sure that they cover everything that is important. Choose Your Space GRAPA provides maximum flexibility and maximum value with our unique Three-Track training approach. Students can sign-up for a course or three parallel training sessions at the same time. All students agree that this choice makes the GRAPA Virtual Campus such a helpful and efficient learning environment. Take classes in one, two or all three tracks, or jump between the tracks. Jump between tracks depending on how well you understand the material, or how much help you need to master each key area. Live Track Sessions are scheduled live, just like a real classroom. Live sessions are organized into four-hour lecture units and students can schedule the time, and attend the session. This is the best way for people to cover the material quickly, and to interact with the teacher and other students along the way. Recorded Track For students who don t need as much interaction, or cannot attend a live session, the recorded track allows them to watch a recording of sessions they missed. It is the same Instructor and fellow students, but recorded and viewable at their own convenience. (Students must still spend some one-on one time with Instructors.) Mentoring Track For the student that needs special, personal attention or just wants to look at the materials and test out for a specific unit, a one-on-one mentoring time can be scheduled. Engage with Others Interaction is critical, but only when you want it. The GRAPA Three-Track training program allows students to decide how much interaction they want with Instructors and peers. Comfortably Structured Our curriculum is comfortably structured for easy consumption. Students can readily absorb the information, keep pace and progress competently. The GRAPA Virtual Campus training delivers clear objectives, deadlines and deliverables - easy for students to know how they are doing. Instant Tracking The online grading and progress reports keep managers and students up-to-date on progress and any issues that might need to be addressed. Too Busy to Attend a Class? We Help Students Find the Time We realize that Telecom Risk Management Professionals are incredibly busy, and getting managers to allow them to sit and think is a challenge. Best intentions alone don t always get the job done. Many students have complained that one of the reasons that they need to go to a live training event, is that they can never find the time to concentrate on the material that they need to learn, because they are too busy. The GRAPA Virtual Campus creates an environment that holds students, and their managers, accountable for timetables and deadlines. Our set timings for classes and the availability of recordings helps managers and students create and respect the time that they need to really LEARN this intense material.
GRAPA Virtual Campus: Inside the Classroom The Curriculum GRAPA s Online Training Programs were developed over years of experimentation and benchmarking. These exclusive programs have proven to be highly successful at notably increasing student s mastery of the curriculum s key concepts. Our unique style of teaching and the way courses are organized and presented evolved through much trial and error, but mainly through the experiences shared by our 7000+ members. The Classroom Experience The key to GRAPA Online Training Programs is the learning environment. This is not a passive training video. Our classes are as close as possible to a one-on-one experience between the student and the teacher and interactions and observations of other students. Each session is effectively engineered to make the material both engaging and digestible. The Primary Goal GRAPA training courses cover an incredible amount of material with many complex and multidimensional topics. Student will learn the material and complete the program with a clear understanding of the concepts addressed and real-life solutions for resolving related issues on the job. Security & Integrity The GRAPA training programs provide professionals with an in-depth, insider s view of the workings of a telecommunications company. This powerful information is useful not only to telecoms employees, but to vendors and fraudsters as well. For this reason, GRAPA maintains a high standard of security and integrity regarding who may attend their programs. Students will be asked to review and comply with the following policies: Non-Disclosure Agreement Students are required to sign a GRAPA Confidentiality Agreement which binds them and their companies to our nondisclosure policies. As most of our courses require additional security clearance, a background checks and use of both random and scheduled facial recognition of students will be implemented. Student & Computer Usage Student: A student is defined as one person and identified through an image procured via their webcam at the time of registration. A GRAPA student must also prove their employment at a legitimate telecommunication company and sign a GRAPA Confidentiality Agreement. Computer Usage: A student computer is to be used solely by that registered student throughout the training program. Sharing of a student computer (allowing others to watch along with you ), sharing GRAPA passwords or substituting another person in place of the student is not allowed. These policies are verified through random spot checks of facial recognition via the student s webcam. Facial recognition is authenticated against student images acquired during registration. Student Authentication & Verification GRAPA s security measures include and require that the student s image be acquired at registration via their computer webcam. That student image will be matched daily with live webcam checks (scheduled and random) to verify daily attendance. IP reverse trace and webcam facilities checks will be used for location verification. Student computer must have a webcam active and available for viewing of their face and environment at all times during the training event. Class Recordings It is illegal to record, recreate or redistribute any GRAPA class recordings or training material. GRAPA materials are intended for registered student viewing only. Any duplication or distribution is subject to legal prosecution. GRAPA Statements and Policies are designed to obtain the security clearance necessary to provide training for many of our larger telecoms customers while protecting the integrity of our programs for our regulators and audit firms, who both attend and certify our training environment. 4
Course at a Glance Objective: The objective of this program is to ensure that all of the parties involved in the management and protection of roaming revenues understand their role and possess a clear framework and understanding of how they are to work with others to accomplish mutual objectives while assuring there are no gaps or missed vulnerabilities. Coverage Areas: The program examines the protection of roaming revenues from the perspectives of operational integrity, network integrity, billing integrity, partner contracts, terms and DCH assurance, GSMA IREG and TADIG, DCH-IOT Industry Standard Controls, fraud protection (IRSF), Postpaid, Prepaid, CAMEL and USSD Roaming, along with logical and physical security, pricing and market share and margins. Business Lines: The program can be customized to include all forms of Voice Roaming (GSM and CDMA), as well as Data Roaming (GSM-GPRS, WiFi, WiMax, EVDO and ITU-Home Agent Based IP Roaming). Who Should Attend: To be successful it is required that the following professionals who are involved in the running of the roaming business attend and certify as a team: MSC Engineer SS7 Engineer Signaling Partner Manager IREG Engineer TADIG Administrator I/T Mediation Team I/T Billing Team I/T TAP Processing Team DCH Relationship Management Roaming Financial Controller Roaming Operational Administration Roaming Business Manger Fraud Management Team Security Management Team Roaming Marketing Team The Intro to Roaming Best Practices Curriculum Outline Day 1 (4 Hours) Day 2 (4 Hours) Day 3 (4 Hours) Day 4 (4 Hours) Day 5 (4 Hours) Training Unit - 4 hours The Roaming Operations Framework : A Domain & Controls- Based Methodology Voice Network Basics for Roaming Billing Operations Postpaid and Prepaid for Roaming Roaming Operations Lifecycles (Signaling, Postpaid, CAMEL, USSD) The Roaming Manager s Field Guide 5
Overview: Units 1-2 Unit 1: The Roaming Operations Framework: A Domain- and Controls-Based Methodology The GRAPA Roaming Operations Framework is about ensuring that the Roaming Line of Business is a well-defined, consistently profitable, reliable and measureable environment, in line with an exhaustive end-to-end framework for its industry standard operation. This framework breaks down the messy tangle of systems, processes and departments involved into clearly understandable and controllable roaming domains. This introduction to the roaming curriculum includes a detailed inventory of known exploits for the roaming line of business, and the role of the fraud management system or fraud data warehouse in combating these frauds, as well as the limitations of these systems and the need for operational controls beyond the FMS. Practical Applications: Students will learn about the GRAPA Standard Risk Universes (systematic, proven and ratified approach to the containment of roaming risks). Student will learn about the different roles and responsibilities of the people involved in the provisioning and delivery of roaming services to customers and their responsibilities for making roaming profitable. Unit 2: Voice Network Basics for Roaming Overview of the roaming OSS/Network environment specifically designed to meet the needs of business users, finance professionals and IT specialists. Dealing with the technical environment from a business perspective, focusing on Authentication, Authorization and Accounting - specifically the production of transaction records and CDRs, as well as guarding/ securing against exposures in the physical and logical architectures Practical Applications: Students will learn how to make sure they are not losing revenue because of network issues Students will learn how to put controls in place to make sure voice and data roaming transactions are recorded properly Students will learn how to protect their network environment from roaming frauds 6
Overview: Units 3-4 Unit 3: Billing Operations Postpaid and Prepaid for Roaming Operational view of the roaming billing and charging of telecoms customers, focusing on the two main billing and credit models, postpaid and prepaid, detailing the standard operational models for running of both environments. Review of the systems, processes and operational procedures that have become the industry standard method for billing, accounting and charging in telecoms. Practical Applications: Implementing industry standard controls over the network and billing environments Ensuring the end-to-end integrity of the entire TAP file lifecycle from mediation to DCH Understand the similarities and differences in managing prepaid and postpaid roaming billing environment Unit 4: Roaming Operations Lifecycles (Signaling, Postpaid, USSD, CAMEL) Operational standard practice for the various roaming environments, in particular the use of roaming signaling for authentication and authorization, the postpaid business model and various means of credit management (HUR and NRTDE), as well as the two separate models for prepaid billing - CAMEL and USSD. Review of lifecycles associated with each of those operational practice areas. Practical Applications: Understanding the difference and key controls associated with Postpaid, CAMEL and USSD Roaming agreements and configurations Standard Practices and Controls for Roaming Operations Management How to identify and manage the key operational risk areas in roaming 7
Overview: Unit 5 & Course Key Concepts Unit 5: Roaming Managers Field Guide High level concerns specific to the roaming or line of business (LOB) manager, especially regarding margins, profitability, new products and partners, etc. Including interaction with key marketing, network and billing teams regarding roaming issues and how to resolve them in an environment of cross-functional teams where other operational teams have impact on the line of business, but do not have direct report-to responsibilities to the LOB manager. Practical Applications: How to diagnose and perform root cause analysis on roaming activity and billing errors How to perform roaming segmentation analysis How to apply margin and market controls to drive maximum profitability Course Key Concepts Include: GSM, WCDMA, Postpaid, Prepaid, CAMEL and USSD Roaming Operations Key differences and controls Roles, Responsibilities and Controls Roaming Controls Methodology: How to find controls, make controls, map controls, calibrate controls, assess controls, strengthen controls. Controls Politics. Controls Hydraulics Management. Roles and Responsibilities of Network Teams Roaming Radio Infrastructure Roaming Transaction Record Creation (CDR/TAP) Roaming Signaling and Control Protocols (CAP, MAP, ISUP) Roaming Network Security Roaming AAA TAP File Conversion and Generation Mediation of Roaming Records Rating of Roaming Records Roaming Credit Limit Triggers DCH TAP-IN/TAP-OUT Management IREG Signaling Assurance: The GSMA Sanctioned Control Mechanism TADIG - TapFile and Rating Assurance: The GSMA Sanctioned Control Mechanism HUR/NRTDE Roaming Credit Models and Execution Responsibilities USSD Roaming Configuration and Controls Vulnerability CAMEL ETSI Based Prepaid Roaming architecture, vulnerability and controls Market Maximization Understanding roaming segments, the relationship between sales, profits and segment maximization, margin controls over segmentation Promotion, Subsidy and Market Risks Maximizing roaming profits 8
Why We are the Leaders in Training Telco Professionals Around the Globe Join the leading Revenue Assurance focused training events. Featuring exclusive presentations, real-world examples of procedures, solutions, and strategies that have effectively reduced leakage and maximized profits for telcos around the world. After providing training to hundreds of revenue assurance professionals around the globe, we are pleased to announce our improved course offerings. Masters Certification GRAPA s highest and most prestigious certification that is attained after completing a rigorous and exhaustive training program whose extensive curriculum spans the broad and complex landscape of revenue assurance. Depth of knowledge The topics and examples are narrow and deep rather than broad and vague, presenting you with focused, highly targeted information that adds real value. Tailored content Training is adjusted to align the needs of the students to the available material. Students are asked to fill out GRAPA Benchmark Surveys to determine the level and nature of the training required. The survey results help us determine how well you know your own systems, and provide clues about what you need help with. The principles and practices taught are also applied to cable, satellite, wireless voice, SMS, MMS, IPTV, and MMDS with equal conviction, detail, and effectiveness. Relevancy Class material is based on the foundations of GRAPA. GRAPA members from every geography, type of carrier, major type of technology, and carriers of all sizes review and approve these standard approaches. The material serves as the foundation for an industry standard approach that is applicable to everyone, and yet easily focused to the needs of specific sub-audiences. Based on real-world situations The majority of the training is experience-based standard practices in revenue assurance, harvested from the many revenue assurance professionals who participate in practices surveys, strategy sessions, and other informationsharing events. Clear, specific deliverables are provided that apply to real-world situations. The material is never based on speculation, guesses, or unvalidated information. Interactive The workshops are more than lecture sessions. RAA classes are participative and interactive and students are expected to proactively join in discussions, problem solve, and fill out benchmarks. Attendees have opportunity for much interaction with the instructor and other students. Lunch and breaks are devised to facilitate more intimate conversation. Professional development Students master vocabulary needed for creating a sense of professional identity and opportunities with other like-minded people in the industry that share common goals and issues. 9
About GRAPA The Revenue Assurance Academy (RAA) is the exclusive training organization of GRAPA. We have over 5000 registered members and has distributed more than 3500 copies of its 2009 standards book. By offering events that combine benchmark development, sharing of standard practices and approaches, as well as delivery of workshops, the Revenue Assurance Academy provides a unique and powerful venue for deployment of standard practices and rapid integration of those practices into the participating telco environments. We have conducted our training programs for dozens of carriers and services providers around the world. Our workshops are offered in public venues (attended by delegates from many operators and services providers, which promotes the sharing of practices) as well as onsite for a private, more personalized and focused training for a company s staff. Some of what makes our training so unique: 1. Based entirely on the GRAPA standards of professional revenue assurance practices. 2. Taught by Rob Mattison, the world s leading authority on the practice of revenue assurance in telecommunications, winner of many awards for his work in this area, author of The Revenue Assurance Standards--2009, The Revenue Assurance Handbook, and dozens of whitepapers. 3. Focused heavily on practical experience, not theory. Visit www.ra-academy.org/raa_info/testimonials.html to read some great reviews from students who have attended our training. Tentative 2012 Training Schedule: 06-17 Feb 2012 London, UK 27 Feb - 09 Mar 2012 Singapore 12-22 Mar 2012 Lagos, Nigeria 18-29 Mar 2012 Dubai, UAE 07-11 May 2012 Cape Town, South Africa 21-25 May 2012 Chicago, USA 17-21 June 2012 Dubai, UAE 22-26 October 2012 Cape Town, South Africa For the most up-to-date list of upcoming events please visit: www.ra-academy.org/revenue_assurance_training/upcoming_events.html www.grapatel.com Tel: +1-847-930-3610 Fax: +1-707-276-7676 Email: info@grapatel.com 9 10