Today, companies such as Qatar Telecom in
the Middle East and FASTWEB in Italy are leading
the market in this area. These companies have
realised that a Quadruple Play business model
affords the opportunity to better differentiate
offerings, boost revenues, improve margins
and reduce subscriber churn. This approach
looks set to gain wider appeal amongst CSPs
as the general trend towards fixed/mobile convergence
and a ‘one-stop shop' business model gathers
pace.
Adopting Quadruple Play strategies does, however,
rely on CSPs having the appropriate operational
and business support systems (O/BSS) in place.
Many operators face tight financial constraints,
so it is imperative that new services can be
delivered using existing network and back office
infrastructure with little or no additional
investment. This article highlights the potential
benefits of Quadruple Play and the support
infrastructure that is needed to realise these.
Quadruple Play market developments
Even the most casual of observers will recognise
that offering subscribers bundles comprising
voice, video and data services is nothing new: ‘Triple
Play' has been around for some time, particularly
in the cable sector. The wider penetration
of the multi-service ethos across all communications
sectors, however, has been hampered by technical
and organisational limitations. Developments
in core network, access, transmission and operational
and business support systems (O/BSS) are now
helping to resolve these and, moreover, pave
the way for a new dimension in multi-service
offerings - Quadruple Play.
In recent times, the delivery of triple or
quadruple service bundles has become synonymous
with the move to an all-IP core network and
the rollout of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).
In essence, IMS-based networks will converge
the fixed and mobile worlds, using IP technologies
and protocols to provide open service creation
and access agnostic services.
Although the potential in terms of cost savings
and service innovation offered by this route
is considerable, not all operators will view
an upgrade to an all-IP core network as a strategic
necessity in the short term. Support for innovative
service bundles, on the other hand, is required
now; which means that CSPs need to consider
other ways to deliver these services. The fundamental
point is that network infrastructure and technologies
exist today that can enable Quadruple Play
to be offered, serviced and billed by a single
company. Indeed, as noted, operators such as
Qatar Telecom in the Middle East are already
embarking on refined Quadruple Play strategies,
supported by sophisticated O/BSS.
In pursuit of key business objectives
Ultimately, Quadruple Play is a means to an
end, not an end in itself. The capability to
deliver any combination of wireline and wireless
voice, video and data services is highly prized
because it can impact the bottom-line and drive
growth.
Market-responsive service bundles and attractive
multi-product discounting structures will be
key tools for operators to ensure customer
retention as well as acquire new high-value
customers. Yet this presupposes that CSPs understand
their customers and the business environment
they inhabit. This knowledge is critical, for
without it, a CSP cannot select the most appropriate
way to differentiate itself in the market.
Operators need to know if competition in their
sector or region is primarily price-based or
whether it rests on the quality and range of
services offered, innovation, customer satisfaction
or, realistically, a combination of all such
factors. Further, some markets and operators
will be subject to regulatory developments
and limitations which, in future, could impinge
on cross-sector activities and multi-services
strategies.
Whatever the business challenges faced by
individual companies, however, the axioms of
increasing revenues and reducing costs remain – and
Quadruple Play can impact on both.
• Enhancing revenues: Quadruple
Play can help to accelerate take-up of new
services and service bundles by existing subscribers.
There are more opportunities for operators
to define segment-and-customer-specific service
bundles and for discounts to be applied across
a wider range of services, which can enhance
customer loyalty and increase average revenues
per user (ARPU) .
• Realising efficiencies and cost
control: Currently, many CSPs use multiple
systems for customer care, order entry, product
catalogues and billing, all of which typically
only support a small number of services. This
approach is inherently inflexible, increases
time to market and is operationally expensive
due to the duplication of processes and a reliance
on manual tasks. Operators looking to move
to a Quadruple Play model need to adopt standardised
architecture with fully integrated components
which, in turn, will drive operational efficiencies
and lower costs.
O/BSS drivers for a Quadruple Play business
model
Having established that vertical stove-piped
structures need to be superseded by more integrated,
customer-centric operations, what does this
mean for operators' O/BSS infrastructure?
The good news is that it is possible to realise
Quadruple Play today, rather than waiting for
a ubiquitous IP core network or IMS. While
an all IP services proposition greatly eases
the introduction of such services, it is possible
to manage these services across disparate networks
with the appropriate convergent O/BSS. Operators
rightly want to l everage existing investments
to offer a broader range of services. Selecting
a highly extensible and easy to integrate modular
O/BSS solution might thus be the optimum route
for attaining seamless customer service and
managing a complex multi-service business.
More specifically, an O/BSS capable of supporting
Quadruple Play services must provide CSPs with
a range of functionality and benefits, including:
• A single view of a customer's
services, bills and orders: In the front office
customer care and order management space, CSRs
need a s ingle view of customers' accounts.
This is critical to improving ordering efficiency
and helps to consolidate flow-through provisioning
processes, including workflow enabled multi-service
activation and network inventory management.
This is underpinned by an integrated rating
and billing system that enables the single
view of all charges and discounts. The resultant
customer-focused approach can help to radically
enhance the customer experience and cultivate
loyalty.
• Network-independent , convergent
rating and billing: The billing system must
enable a CSP to rate and bill
for any combination of voice, video and data
services across any type of network (PSTN,
IP, GSM, W-LAN or Cable networks). By providing
real-time, cross-product discounting and shared
usage bundles, subscriber loyalty can be enhanced
and churn reduced, particularly among high-value
data users and enterprise subscribers.
• Flexible bill presentation and
convergent statements: Giving customers the
option of a single bill for multiple services
offers many benefits. It goes hand-in-hand
with reducing the costs to rate and bill for
new services and configure new service bundles.
Support for Web-based bill presentation is
also essential. This option is becoming increasingly
prevalent, not least because it is cost-efficient
and convenient for customers.
• Convergent real-time mediation:
Advanced mediation is required to support multiple network
elements across wireline, wireless, cable and
IP, thus enabling the real-time collection
of network data required to support all services.
• Support for complex B2B relationships
and partnerships: In today's sophisticated
online world of e/m commerce, CSPs may opt
to partner with other CSPs, content providers
or a whole range of organisations to manage
specific content and service propositions.
The O/BSS should be able to handle all aspects
of service delivery and revenue settlement
associated with such scenarios.
Conclusion
As the inexorable shift towards a single provider/multi-service
model gathers pace, the pressure on operators
to better differentiate offerings, increase
average revenues per user and reduce costs
is mounting. Quadruple Play, enabled by strategic
investment in modular O/BSS software, is a
vehicle for operators to protect past investments
and still extend their convergent service footprint.
Ultimately, Quadruple Play is about achieving
the twin imperatives of enhanced customer experience
and a healthy bottom-line. No CSPs can ignore
these and prosper in the long-term.
Quadruple Play is
a trade mark of Convergys Corporation
Jeremy Deaner, Vice President, Convergys Corporation,
EMEA
