Being a telecom operator today is much different from what it was twenty or thirty years ago. With time the level of complexity has increased and now there’s no option left but to depend upon OSS and BSS systems in order to keep the business competitive and users satisfied. This has made telecom operators invest huge amounts of money into network transformation projects that can help in bringing new network capabilities.

The primary aim to transform the network is to address the increasing demands of the customers while getting support for the new services. And this is where OSS and BSS transformations come into the picture.

But sometimes operators neglect it when conducting the network transformation. When OSS and BSS are ignored it can lead to more complexities and unsatisfactory monetization of new network capabilities. This discrepancy is due to the fact that in telecom organizations network department is paid more attention than the OSS/BSS department. This source of the problem should be considered when carrying out network transformations. As a telecom operator, you need to understand that even though you have invested billions in the network technology, it can only provide better results when OSS and BSS systems are in place.

So, now comes the question of when should a telecom operator needs to invest in a new OSS/BSS system. But before answering this, let’s find out why these are crucial for the telecom industry.

For any business, the most crucial ingredient is the customers and for that one needs to consider the geographical area in which the potential customers reside. The other important factor is the fixed and mobile network covering the region.

But what is actually needed by the operators to be successful…

Though the answer to this question is complex, there are a few common elements that are needed by a telecom business.

• Ability to activate services accurately and quickly.
• Ability to introduce new packs and services quickly.
• Ability to resolve sudden technical problems immediately.
• Ability to charge for the services as per the consumption of the customers.
• Ability to offer complete customer satisfaction.

The telecommunications industry is changing constantly and hence, it’s necessary for the operators to keep pace with the new technologies. Thus, they need to focus more on the OSS/BSS transformation so that they can adapt to the changes.

OSS in Telecom

Let’s take an example…

Another name of OSS is network planning, as it is the starting point before building or transforming the current network. What network deployment needs is careful planning and cost-effectiveness in order to deliver the best results. It might need to serve different geographical areas like cities, villages, mountains, valleys, islands, and more for reaching each and every customer. If we talk about the traditional method, then earlier you could expect a team of expert engineers sitting in a room full of maps to plan execution. But now with the availability of OSS can be easily done through automation.

Once the planning of the network is done, then it is needed to be built. After network building, there’s the activation of services that are sold to the end customers. These services include calling, messaging, watching TV, surfing, and more on various types of devices (fixed and mobile).

How does BSS aid in commercial and customer-facing activities in telecom?

What telecom operators need is to make money and manage their revenue. The number of customers is huge out of which some have a postpaid subscription and some use prepaid cards. Some might be having a certain number of free minutes and others have a facility to use free data. No matter what type of options the customers have, there is a requirement for a mechanism to generate bills and charge them accordingly. Such systems can assure that the user is paying as per the rate of services used by them at different locations and at different periods of time.

Also, the customer might need to talk to the operator regarding an issue with a service such as changing billing address. So, there must be an application that can handle such procedures. This application is basically Customer Relationship Management which is also part of the Business Support System.

OSS and BSS working together

OSS and BSS systems are the life-blood of any telecom business, as they allow technology and customer experience to come together. Modern telecommunication networks are massive and they generate enormous volumes of data that is to be processed and examined in real-time with an aim to produce a stable revenue stream for a better customer experience.

Currently, there are more than 25 billion connected devices around the world and this number will reach 50 billion by the end of 2030. No doubt, running a telecom business today is completely different from what people were doing three decades ago. Simultaneously, the level of complexity of telecom services, platforms, networks has reached beyond the limits of human conception. Telecom operators have no option left, but to depend on contemporary OSS and BSS systems that can deploy advanced analytics while utilizing artificial intelligence capabilities. What they need is to deliver results with optimal decision-making and keep their business competitive.

All this can be easily done by running a network with OSS and BSS.

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Source: OSS and BSS – keeping the telecom business in business