Revenue Assurance Applications

In the Telecom sector there are deployed applications which use very sophisticated algorithms to analyze call data records captured at the switch and cell sites for revenue, service, and network assurance and for bandwidth optimization planning for cost abatement.For land line services, the data collected represent activity from the switch out to the customer and from the switch back to the network plant. For wireless providers the process is not quite the same and is currently being further developed.

The customer facing data allows companies using this technology to validate its accuracy down to the smallest acceptable time element. It is also used as input into the preparation of customer billing statements. This approach identifies any possible theft of service initiated by the customer or from improper internal procedures leading to customer use of service without billing. This technology also allows companies that partipate in providing inter-carrier services with reciprocal billing agreements, to have total autonomy in accurately determining what they have to be paid for the services they provided to other carriers and what they owe for services provided for them.

In the case of wireless providers, the data is collected from the cell site and can be similarly analyzed for accuracy of use. The issues around theft of service are ore complex and may not be as easy to detect since there is an absence of the physical line connection that can be traced. There are also pre-paid calling plans involving pre-paid cards that are hard to detect accuracy.