Billing Experts Examine How Telecoms Can Transform Billing from a Cost Center to a Profit Center

Greater London, England -- (SBWire) -- 10/01/2010 -- Innovative telco billing expert MetraTech (http://www.metratech.com) and independent research organisation TNO have linked up to launch a new whitepaper centred around telco billing. Authored by George Huitema, senior strategist at TNO, and Doug Zone, chief technology officer at MetraTech, ‘Income-Based Billing: Transforming Billing from Cost Center to Profit Center’ is available immediately for download from http://www.metratech.com.

The paper explains that billing can be a powerful means for controlling resource usage and customer satisfaction in telecoms. In examining increasingly prevalent cases of network congestion and the resulting ‘crowd-out’ effect, the authors conclude that all-you-can-eat subscriptions no longer make sense, as high-value users inevitably get pushed out by the insatiable consumption habits of low-value customers. The result is that every time supply runs out, contention emerges and users perceive that less is being delivered because they have had to spend more time to get the same service.

“Because strategies centred on supply management and extensions to networks are not sustainable long term, managing demand is the better choice,” said George Huitema. “Handled with the correct strategy, operators can optimize utilization of existing network capacity and increase revenues while simultaneously meeting current customer demand.”

Speaking on behalf of billing solution provider MetraTech, Doug Zone added, “Only with ‘demand management’ through effective monetary pricing can operators influence consumers to optimise what they get from the network, without allowing any one group of users, or any one type of application, or any one behaviour at peak periods, to ‘crowd out’ other users.

By segmenting customers according to their relative time and price sensitivities, it is much more likely operators can effectively manage consumption through differential policies that ultimately have a significant impact on behaviours and profits.”

The whitepaper draws on the expertise of MetraTech in business modeling, charging, telecom billing, settlement and customer care alongside TNO’s knowledge of network issues, customer demands, usage patterns and price elasticity. Together, the two organisations help operators analyse and process network and customer utilization data in the most cost-effective manner possible.

Doug Zone concluded, “The convergence of knowledge around price and time cost elasticities with massively scalable charging and billing will help operators reduce crowding out by time-insensitive users and balance utilization in such a way that it opens capacity for time-sensitive and profitable users.”

For more on telecom billing, visit http://metratech.com/Billing-Solutions/Wireline-Billing.aspx

About MetraTech
MetraTech Corp. offers a new approach to charging, billing, settlement and customer care enabling organizations to embrace change without compromise. MetraNet, the company’s flagship product, is unique in its ability to automate business processes and business models that address rapidly changing, complex or radical business strategies across any industry for an unlimited number of services. MetraNet is deployed globally, enabling diverse customers to build innovative and successful business models, securely collect revenue, and manage their entire customer lifecycle in some 12 languages, 26 currencies and 90 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.metratech.com.