5G is touted to be a revolutionary technology with potential to change the face of the Internet. The blinding data speeds that it offers can lead to the creation of new and improved solutions for various industries. Limited rollouts of 5G have already started happening as I write and you read this article, but there is still some time for its complete launch. Right now, telcos are feeling the heat due to depreciated revenues via staple services i.e. voice and SMS. The systems are stressed and they are struggling to match up with the increasing requirements. But once 5G is fully launched, the situation is only going to become more challenging. Therefore, it has become essential to overhaul existing platforms and brace up to the 5G challenge with better B/OSS and telecom billing software.
The Changing Face of BSS and OSS Software Telecom
It will be almost impossible to deliver 5G efficiently with the current B/OSS model. There is an exigent need for virtualization to make the service delivery more optimized. The BSS and OSS software telecom is already getting facelifts to tackle IoT and other emerging technologies. But true virtualization hasn’t yet happened.
Below are some reasons why virtualization and evolution in B/OSS is important:
- Increase in the number of dynamic customer demands will stress the existing model.
- Fulfilling demands with existing systems will require higher processing power, and in turn, it will increase the expenditure on expensive computing systems. Telcos would have to move away from dedicated servers to virtualized computing platforms to fulfil these needs.
- More intricacy and interdependency in B/OSS processes will require a more evolved architecture.
- The future B/OSS model needs to be more proactive than reactive, which can be made possible with virtualization.
Important Steps to Enforce Virtualization
Virtualization cannot happen overnight. It is important to introduce virtualized elements slowly into the mix and strive for a hybrid OSS software telecom model. To enforce this mixed approach, it is essential to:
- Manage the capacity of both physical and virtualized resources in the transition phase
- Fully automated provisioning via Machine Learning and other AI technologies for taking the load off heavily-worked systems
- Increase scalability with both hardware and software revamp
- Hiring experts in the field of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN)
The Advantages of Virtualized B/OSS Implementation
In the current times, telcos are losing their revenues to Over the top (OTT) vendors. But with virtualization, they will gain the necessary resources and flexibility to compete with the best OTT vendors across the globe. Especially smaller players like Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) will find it easier to attract their customers as they would be able to deliver complex services without breaking the bank. It would also become easier to monitor the resource utilization, prevent server failure due to excessive load and diagnosing faults within the system. Preventive maintenance is also an important aspect of evolved virtualized environments.
The Need for Real-Time Telecom Billing Software
We have looked at service delivery via virtualized functions. But telcos should also realize that their every step towards advancement will go to waste if they don’t have a real-time telecom billing software.
A real-time telecom billing platform like Telgoo5 provides complete flexibility to both MNOs and MVNOs. It employs a foolproof Online Charging System (OCS) to charge all the services in real-time. The OCS enforces credit limit with due diligence and ensures that customers are billed accurately and they never exceed their credit limits.
An advanced telecom billing software like Telgoo5 comes with complete reporting functionalities and has a number of APIs to help MVNOs fulfil their emerging requirements. Telgoo5 serves as the most efficient platform to meet the requirements posed by new technologies like 5G and IoT.