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  • What are the 5 reasons that telcos should leverage real-time signaling traffic to combat fraud

    What are the 5 reasons that telcos should leverage real-time signaling traffic to combat fraud

    Telcos are losing millions of dollars every year to fraud. Of late, we have seen that fraudsters have become smarter, and their tactics aided by smarter technologies have become more sophisticated. Further, with digital services entering the new mix of offerings, traditional tactics no longer meet the need to thwart these new types of threats. The growing complexity in the digital services ecosystem demands a future-proof approach to secure the networks and prevent revenue losses.

    Underpinning the telco network is the signaling infrastructure. By monitoring the traffic on this infrastructure, telcos can leverage the first principle methodology to address new digital fraud.

    Proactive Detection and Prevention

    Traditional fraud management (FM) systems, are post facto, detecting fraud after they have occurred.  To detect and lower fraud, these FM systems rely on transaction records such as CDRs, payment vouchers, provisioning details, etc., which are generated post the transaction, and therefore they can never get ahead of the fraud. FMS will continue to have utility in addressing frauds like subscription, handset, Simbox, and so on, that are not necessarily technical by nature but are more dependent on subscriber or subscription behavioral analysis. By monitoring signaling traffic, signaling based fraud management systems can detect attacks in near real-time and stop them as they occur.

    Increased coverage to prevent fraud

    A lot of the new services that are being rolled out by the telcos do not necessarily follow the transaction record principle, services such as IPTV, IoT and those that are being rolled out on 5G, involve a plethora of technologies and multiple third-party players. While each of these services may be inherently secure, they typically tend to have vulnerabilities at the seams or integration points. The new types of fraud attacks on these services exploit such vulnerabilities. By monitoring the signaling layer, fraud teams essentially create a safety net that can monitor across traditional offerings, new services, and anything in the future, thus greatly expanding the fraud team’s coverage from voice, messaging, and data.

    Combat Zero-Day threats

    Signaling traffic provides a rich and deterministic feature set that can be leveraged to detect zero-days or unknown unknowns. As telcos roll out new and innovative services, attackers will likely find new ways to exploit them despite all the diligence and security procedures followed. Every day new vulnerabilities are being discovered on commonly used software packages and libraries. Such vulnerabilities are coveted and sold clandestinely before they are made public with their rootkits (software packages that automatically exploit them). When the rootkits exploit such vulnerabilities, they invariably do something anonymous that can be picked up at signaling layers by the right machine learning algorithms.

    Latch on Security

    Security and fraud are an afterthought while telcos launch new digital products as the focus is initially on product functionality. This makes new digital services highly susceptible to attacks and breaches. Very often, the priority is to push the service quickly to the market, and in such situations, thorough security assessments are not possible and very possibly leaving them with open vulnerabilities that are often exploited very quickly by fraudsters. It is crucial that new digital services are put through vulnerability assessments and scenario planning so that obvious holes are plugged, and then continuous monitoring is put in place to detect any new threats to ensure profitability and prevent revenue leakages from fraud.

    Preventing Complex Fraud

    As fraudsters evolve their attacks and tools, it becomes the prerogative of the fraud detection team to stay abreast and quickly evolve their detection and mitigation techniques; this is becoming extremely difficult using the traditional data sets that an FMS uses. The first principle methodology of reaching into the most basic of network traffic, namely signaling, gives the team the ability to build complex detection methodologies to identify and mitigate complex fraud. For example, one of our customers, a telco based in Europe was able to identify a marker in refiling fraud scenarios, this marker was available only at the signaling level and was not carried over in transaction records (CDRs). By using that marker, they have had substantial success in preventing refiling fraud, a big source of revenue leakage for them.

    To understand, how a tier-1 operator was able to analyze real-time network traffic to combat fraud

    Watch webinar recording now!

  • The Latest in the Network Capacity Management Space

    The Latest in the Network Capacity Management Space

    Thoughts from Subex

    2020 has been touted as the beginning of the road to 5G. While we continue to ride along that road, the current global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has caused CSPs to take a step back and plan their investments and their roadmaps even more judiciously. Hence while 5G is still the ‘talk of the town,’ it has certainly faced its first major global hurdle. This effect can be demonstrated through 3GPP’s decision to delay its Release 16 (initially planned for June), covering some key specifications related to URLLC. This step will further delay planned 5G rollouts.

    COVID-19 has also shifted the usage focus from mobile internet to fixed-line broadband, adding significant revenue strain for mobile-only CSPs in some of the regions. 5G FWA was seen as a solution, especially for rural markets; however, it has had to take a back seat. CSPs, now more than ever, need to optimize their capacity if they are to seize their share of the pie.

    On the other, and slightly more humorous side, there are rumors, or rather baseless conspiracy theories, of how 5G is slowly killing us, sparked by the onset of COVID-19. We at Subex obviously do not pay heed to such rumors, but it did make waves in the news, and hence we have added it in this newsletter.

    On that note, here the first and latest version of our Capacity Management Newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.

    Top News from the Sector

    What is 5G?, Your questions answered

    Companies are racing to have the fastest or largest 5G networks. And countries are competing to be the first to deploy fully functional, nationwide 5G. That’s because the benefits of the new technology are expected to fuel transformative new technologies, not just for consumers but also for businesses, infrastructure, and defense applications.

    https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2020/03/business/what-is-5g/index.html

    Is 5G Going to Kill Us All?

    A new generation of superfast wireless internet is coming soon. But no one can say for sure if it’s safe.

    https://newrepublic.com/article/157603/5g-going-kill-us-all

    5G FWA, Game Changer for Fixed Broadband

    FWA offers an ideal solution to providing high-speed access for households lacking fixed network coverage or with increased bandwidth demand. As well as this, it’s easy to set up, eliminating the need for home visits.

    https://www.lightreading.com/partner-perspectives-(sponsored-content)/5g-fwa-game-changer-for-fixed-broadband/a/d-id/759705

    Core Internet players will ‘easily absorb’ COVID-19-induced traffic surge, Internet Society says

    Amid lockdowns, school closures, and an influx of at-home workers as part of efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, questions are swirling about whether the world’s Internet infrastructure will buckle under the stress of the anticipated surge in data usage.

    https://www.lightreading.com/optical-ip/fttx/core-internet-players-will-easily-absorb-covid-19-induced-traffic-surge-internet-society-says/d/d-id/758202

    Open RAN Policy Coalition launches to ‘spur competition’ in 5G

    A new group of operators and telecom network hardware and software vendors announced today the formation of the Open RAN Policy Coalition. As 5G deployments continue around the world, open RAN has gained momentum based on selling points, including breaking vendor lock-in, letting operators mix-and-match components, reducing TCO and increasing performance.

    https://www.rcrwireless.com/20200505/policy/open-ran-policy-coalition-launches

    Insights from your peers

    As per 2019 annual report, Vodafone Group will expedite 5G deployments in the coming months to bring down the unitary cost.

    “The cost per gigabyte on a 5G network is up to 10 times more efficient than on 4G, therefore driving unitary cost down.” – – http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/77/77862/annual-reports/annual_report19/downloads/Vodafone-full-annual-report-2019.pdf

    As per 2019 annual report, AT&T will launch 5G services nationwide with priority. They are expecting rapid growth in wireless video usage and will put heavy emphasis and focus on enabling towards next-generation converged services that combine technologies and services.

    https://investors.att.com/~/media/Files/A/ATT-IR/financial-reports/annual-reports/2019/complete-2019-annual-report.pdf

    As per 2019 annual report, America Movil has talked about spending significant CAPEX to expand network capacities on a market-by-market basis. Surprisingly enough, they are talking about this investment in 3G and 4G LTE segment (Page 14), rather than in 5G. – https://s22.q4cdn.com/604986553/files/doc_financials/2019/ar/2019-20-F-EN.pdf

    As per 2019 annual report, Orange has explained how they are leveraging big data and AI to arrive at smart investment decisions, which helps the underlying business and yielding EUR 20 million savings per year (Page 88). https://rai2019.orange.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2020/05/rai_orange_2019_en_accessible.pdf

  • The Latest in the Network Asset Management Space

    The Latest in the Network Asset Management Space

    Thoughts from Subex

    The first half of the year has been an exciting one in the network asset domain. Conversations around network sharing, which we have captured a glimpse of, continue to be prevalent, which further resonates with the thoughts echoed by Brian Barnell, Managing Director, FierceWireless, last year. It will be interesting how this trend grows in the coming months, as network infrastructure itself continues to evolve.

    Another interesting trend we are seeing, and this stems further from our conversations with customers is the rising number of contracts CSPs have to deal with. Had this newsletter covered the new vendor deals CSPs are signing, the newsletter would only cover deal announcements. But that just shows us just how vital Contract Management is becoming, considering the news only covers the big announcements. In reality, these contracts easily go above and beyond the 1k figure, and CSPs are looking at ways to improvise and alleviate this challenge. BT has captured some of the risks associated with contract management, and it shows that this problem is quite real.

    On that note, here the first and latest version of our Network Asset Management Newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.

    Top News from the Sector

    Unlocking and Building Value in Telecom

    What does it mean that three of the highest-return telecom companies over the past five years are not real telecom companies? Could there be any clearer signal that the industry is under the sway of fundamental transformation than the fact that three tower companies—companies that own passive telecom infrastructure—generated higher shareholder returns from 2015 to 2019 than almost all operators? The apparent moral here is that it’s more profitable to own passive telecom assets than to operate wireless services.

    https://www.bcg.com/en-in/publications/2020/tmt-value-creators-unlocking-building-value-telecom.aspx

    Airtel and Sercomm launch virtualized TDD small cell

    Hailed as the world’s first and jointly developed by the two companies, the small cell offers a plug-and-play approach for the cloud radio network connection and will deliver enhanced efficiencies. “At Airtel, we are obsessed with our customers and adding value to their lives with our offerings,” said Randeep Sekhon (pictured), CTO of Bharti Airtel.

    https://www.capacitymedia.com/articles/3825433/airtel-and-sercomm-launch-virtualised-tdd-small-cell

    SDN eases pandemic’s telecom burden

    Software-defined networking played an important role in supporting the massive work-from-home response to the pandemic in the last few months, according to some carrier members of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council (NSTAC).

    https://gcn.com/articles/2020/05/15/sdn-pandemic-network-traffic.aspx

    Deep dive: what’s the deal with network sharing?

    5G is on the horizon, and it has the telcos scrambling. Upgrading telecoms infrastructure is going to be a very expensive job, ranging from fibering up a nation to purchasing active infrastructure for sites and even paying for civil engineering jobs; building passive infrastructure is not cheap! Telcos need a way to make the financials of the telecoms future work.

    https://telecoms.com/501903/deep-dive-whats-the-deal-with-network-sharing/

    Insights from your peers

    As per the 2019 annual report, Vodafone Group has put a clear strategic priority on improving asset utilization to improve return on capital.

    http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/77/77862/annual-reports/annual_report19/downloads/Vodafone-full-annual-report-2019.pdf

    As per the 2019 annual report, AT&T is targeting to monetize $5-$10 billion of non-core assets by 2020. On the other hand, AT&T expects to invest gross capital of $20 billion. Which means half of the investment money they are expecting to receive from monetizing the non-core assets. https://investors.att.com/~/media/Files/A/ATT-IR/financial-reports/annual-reports/2019/complete-2019-annual-report.pdf

    As per the 2019 annual report, Telefonica has set a goal to reduce energy consumption per unit of data traffic by 85% in 2025. Towards this initiative, they will initiate ‘Network Transformation’ programs specifically to shutdown legacy networks https://www.telefonica.com/documents/162467/141705152/Consolidated-Annual-Accounts-2019.pdf/2532d380-3cfd-5d90-d0d8-a475f7a4251f

    As per the 2019 annual report, BT has highlighted the risks associated with high-value contracts and potential impact on business. https://www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/2019summary/assets/documents/BT_annual_report_2019.pdf

    As per the 2019 annual report, Bell has sighted the risk of hindering operational efficiency followed by dissatisfied customers due to the presence of a large number of interconnected B/OSS platforms in their ecosystem. Then they talked about implementing an operating framework to introduce the required governance in the near future.

    https://www.bce.ca/investors/AR-2019/2019-bce-annual-report.pdf

  • Digital Trust – 2020 Trends

    Digital Trust – 2020 Trends

    With the rapid acceleration of digitization driven by an unprecedented catalyst named COVID-19, the topic of Digital Trust seems to have become even the more relevant to digital businesses today. Interactions behind digital curtains require a high level of trust to be established between the parties involved, and this is easier said than done. At Subex, our priority lies in helping businesses establish trust within their digital ecosystem, and over the last few months, we have closely analyzed the market, spoken to multiple leaders, analysts, policy makers, media and influencers to understand the trends that are shaping the evolution of Digital Trust, and this blog is an attempt to outline the same.

    1. Digital Trust is becoming a board room priority

    Increasingly, a lot of leaders are talking about Digital Trust, as businesses start to realize the strategic importance of the term. A few years ago, perhaps only the visionaries and the trendsetters picked up and acted on Digital Trust, as many leaders were yet to see a direct correlation between a concept like trust and their bottom line. Things however have significantly changed with the onslaught of digital services, and at this very moment, Digital Trust is one of the top priorities for all CxOs globally.

    2. Digital Trust extends beyond security and privacy

    The concept of Digital Trust began with a small scope. In its original form, it probably covered only the areas of security and privacy with its relevance being limited to only data breaches and misuse of consent. However, the current form of Digital Trust is a wider topic spanning across different areas like identity, risk mitigation, predictability, and data integrity, along with privacy and security.

    3. Consumer awareness about Digital Trust increases

    Until a few years ago, Digital Trust was probably a topic that the average consumer didn’t grasp quite well. There was ambiguity around the topic, and this was compounded by the fact that organizations and leaders were yet to address this as a key priority. This however has changed in the recent times. Today, consumers are a lot more informed about the concept of trust in digital businesses, and make conscious decisions based on an organization’s ability to demonstrate a trustworthy ecosystem.

    4. Enterprise angle to Digital Trust becomes prominent

    Another significant trend that is beginning to surface is the increased relevance of Digital Trust in the enterprise scenario. Typically, because of the ‘privacy and security’ play of Digital Trust, the topic was perceived to be largely relevant to the consumer segment, pushing only B2C businesses to heavily focus on it. However, with the expansion of the scope of Digital Trust to cover important areas like identity, risk mitigation, predictability, and data integrity, the topic has become extremely relevant to B2B and B2G (government) side of the business too.

    5. Lack of trust begins to show quantifiable impact

    We discussed in an earlier point, that consumers are now making conscious decisions based on an organization’s ability to demonstrate a trustworthy ecosystem, and this is beginning to show measurable impact on the subscribers and revenues of digital businesses. In addition to this, a continued demonstration of trust has been known to subconsciously influence the decisions of consumers, as discussed in this blog.

    “Digital Trust is an essential promise we make and deliver to all our stakeholders.” This is a statement that was made by the CEO of an APAC operator when we were interviewing him recently, and it perhaps best sums up the view of digital businesses today towards trust.

    To know more about the definition and significance of trust in a digital ecosystem, read our PoV on the topic

    Click here

  • ¡Larga vida al Revenue Assurance!

    ¡Larga vida al Revenue Assurance!

    Hace unos meses, estaba con un colega en Lima Perú visitando a uno de nuestros clientes. Después de cenar en un restaurante en el bonito barrio de Miraflores, decidimos volver caminando al hotel mientras discutiamos sobre el futuro de las prácticas de mitigación de riesgos que vienen en los próximos años. Una pregunta interesante que surgió esa noche fue “¿Está muerta la práctica de Revenue Assurance?”. Veamos un poco este tema para construir una potencial buena respuesta…

    Durante los últimos 20 años, la industria de las telecomunicaciones ha invertido un esfuerzo sustancial en la creación e incluso la refinación de herramientas, tecnología y mejores prácticas de Revenue Assurance para monitorear, rastrear y recuperar ingresos dentro de sus respectivos negocios. Sin embargo, las mejoras de la industria que han llevado a la digitalización, la toma de decisiones empresariales en tiempo real, la seguridad de los datos y la privacidad, han cambiado el enfoque que teníamos sobre los ingresos. Hoy en día, un operador debe considerar la implementación de un amplio conjunto de controles en la mayoría de sus procesos de negocio para garantizar la integridad de su negocio, en un conjunto mucho más amplio de actividades comerciales. Afortunadamente, las inversiones realizadas en los últimos años Revenue Assurance han preparado a muchos operadores para que se trasladen fácilmente a lo que ahora se conoce como Business Assurance.

    ¿Qué es Business Assurance?

    Una posible respuesta formal a esta pregunta podría ser: Business Assurance es una práctica de gobernanza que supervisa, administra y mitiga los riesgos interconectados entre dominios empresariales críticos dentro de la empresa. Veamos que significa un poco más en detalle esta definición.

    Nosotros vemos que la modernización del negocio de las telecomunicaciones crea muchas oportunidades nuevas, pero en consecuencia aporta una mayor complejidad. Algunas soluciones muy en boga hoy en día, tal como la automatización de procesos y el análisis de datos avanzados usando técnicas de IA/ML aportan una gran potencialidad, pero también decantan en complejidad, en la generación del problema, en el análisis del problema y en su tratamiento.

    En resumen, esto significa que hay muchos puntos que pueden salir mal y debemos controlarlos, en otras palabras, hay mucho dinero por ahí que podemos recuperar.

    La mejor manera de navegar con seguridad en este mar de complejidad es a través de la mecanización y la automatización de un nuevo conjunto de controles para mitigar riesgos y tener una visión más holística del negocio en vez de atacar el problema por partes, separados en silos como solíamos hacer en el pasado (HLR vs CRM, Billing vs Mediation, etc.). Podemos agrupar este nuevo conjunto de controles bajo un “Programa de Business Assurance”.

    ¿Qué se necesita para tener un buen programa de Business Assurance? ¿Tecnología? ¿Gente? ¿Experiencia en el dominio? ¿know-how?  Bueno, todos ellos. La práctica de RA era típicamente impulsada por la tecnología, pero necesitamos una combinación de disciplinas que apoyan la tecnología adecuada para construir un programa sólido de Business Assurance. Es obligatorio tener una sólida experiencia en el dominio, lo que implica tener el conocimiento, pero también la comprensión de los aspectos más críticos del negocio, para identificar las variables y acciones con mayor impacto. Si desea garantizar el ROI y reducir el riesgo del proyecto es necesario tener un equipo con know-how en diferentes áreas, como análisis de datos avanzados y técnicas de consultoría, añadidas a un gran sentido de practicidad con el fin de llevar a cabo un plan implementable y evitar caer en la trampa en el limbo de la teoría.

    ¿Hay operadores que ya tienen programas de Business Assurance?

    ¡Claro! Un caso interesante de un operador en Asia ocurrió cuando lanzaron un plan asumiendo una pérdida inicial, pero en última instancia después de un período de incentivos la curva se invertiría y ganaría alrededor de + $ 2.8 M. Lo que pasó fue que perdieron alrededor de $200.000 sin saber completamente ¿por qué? Esta pérdida no incluye los subsidios de los teléfonos inteligentes que ese plan tenía. En resumen, los resultados de este nuevo plan trajeron un gran problema desde el punto de vista financiero. Básicamente, no tenían visibilidad de lo que estaba sucediendo; lo que sabían inicialmente es que cuando terminaba el período de incentivos los clientes regresaban a sus otros planes, pero no tenían una manera de monitorear este nuevo plan de una manera sustancial.  Esto sucedió en Oriente Medio, donde los clientes tienen teléfonos inteligentes con varias SIM, y ellos cambian de planes todo el tiempo. La otra cosa que sucedió fue que cuando otro operador introducía un nuevo plan competitivo, muchos clientes migraron a esos planes porque era más conveniente para ellos. Este tipo de información no está dentro del espectro de un análisis de datos común. Este operador implemento un programa de Business Assurance para detectar en forma temprana este tipo de comportamientos y actuar de inmediato en caso de ser necesario para frenar cualquier potencial fuga de ingresos.

    ¿Está muerta la práctica de Revenue Assurance?

    ¡Para nada! llámelo como quiera, Business Assurance, Revenue Assurance Reloaded, Risk Management o simplemente Revenue Assurance, ¡ quitar lo que puedo asegurarle es que la práctica continúa evolucionando y todos los operadores en el mundo tarde o temprano deberán definir una estrategia en esta área para acompañar los cambios que la digitalización está causando…por eso ¡ Larga vida al Revenue Assurance!

    Gestionando Riesgos Empresariales : El Crecimiento de Business Assurance

    Mira la grabación del seminario web ahora

  • Combatting Wangiri Fraud using Blockchain technology

    Combatting Wangiri Fraud using Blockchain technology

    Wangiri fraud, or what we call as one ring scam, continues to haunt telecom operators even today. As per the CFCA 2019 fraud loss survey, Wangiri is one of the top 5 fraud methods with an estimated fraud loss of close to USD 1.82 billion globally. In addition to the revenue loss, Wangiri fraud adversely affects customer experience resulting in customer churn due to bill shocks. Telcos frequently update their fraud management systems with the latest hotlist/blacklists from the industry forums and other database vendors to overcome this fraud. Since these databases are not updated in real-time, telcos always end-up being on the receiving end until certain number ranges are tagged as fraud and blacklisted.

    The need of the hour is that telco fraud management systems have access to real-time information on hotlists to address this fraud and avoid revenue losses. Subex recently partnered with the Risk & Assurance Group (RAG) to provide a blockchain-based fraud management solution to our customers. We are now a part of the RAG Wangiri Blockchain Consortium, which seeks to use Blockchain technology to gather real-time industry threat intelligence about fraudsters. The consortium includes some of the world’s leading Communications Service Providers (CSP) from North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

    By partnering with the RAG Wangiri Blockchain Consortium, we aim to provide our customers with a decentralized and cryptographically secure blockchain ledger of fraud-related information. The first use case the consortium focusses on is Wangiri fraud, which is a global and increasing problem for telcos and their customers.

    To know more, listen to this podcast where Eric Priezkalns, Chief Executive of the Risk and Assurance Group and Nithin Gangadharan, Product Director, Fraud Management talk about the partnership, and how will this partnership benefit our ROC FMS Customers.

    Listen now

  • Aproveche la logística inversa

    Aproveche la logística inversa

    La logística inversa ha sido durante mucho tiempo el problema hijo de la gestión de la cadena de suministro. Cada vez más, ese niño ha necesitado alguna ayuda seria. Esto se debe a dos factores. La forma en que Internet ha transformado la forma en que compramos y además el corto ciclo de vida de los bienes de consumo. Aunque a la mayoría de los consumidores todavía les gusta comprar en las tiendas de la calle para encontrar los productos que les gustan, al menos el 8% de las ventas son ahora de consumidores que simplemente hacen clic en una imagen para comprar un producto, sabiendo que pueden devolverla si es necesario. En la mayoría de los países, los consumidores tienen el derecho legal de devolver los bienes comprados en Internet. Muchos minoristas ahora incluso ofrecen devoluciones gratuitas de ‘prueba antes de comprar’, pero los procesos para administrar esas devoluciones, conocidos como logística inversa, son mucho más frágiles, costosos y susceptibles a problemas que los procesos logísticos avanzados generalmente bien controlados. Aunque las tasas de retorno varían ampliamente en diferentes verticales, la tasa de retorno promedio se ha calculado en alrededor del 17 al 18%.

    Brightpearl

    Source: Brightpearl

    La logística inversa enfrenta problemas complejos debido a la forma “ad-hoc” en que los consumidores devuelven artículos y vulnerabilidades en los procesos de devolución. Debido a que la logística inversa no se considera un proceso generador de ingresos, a veces no recibe la atención que necesita, pero recientemente se le ha reconocido cada vez más por tener un papel clave en la rentabilidad de la empresa. Tener procesos eficientes para recolectar, revender o reciclar artículos usados ​​puede generar ingresos adicionales y mejorar los resultados de una empresa. Hay otras razones importantes para prestar más atención a la logística inversa. Los consumidores ahora juzgan a las compañías por sus credenciales ecológicas, y los consumidores son conscientes de que muchos dispositivos electrónicos contienen algunos químicos altamente tóxicos. Proporcionar un canal a través del cual los dispositivos antiguos se puedan intercambiar y reciclar de manera confiable es un punto de venta positivo. La eficiencia del proceso de devolución también tiene un impacto significativo en la impresión de los clientes de un negocio.

    Aunque la “revolución de los retornos” afecta a todas las líneas comerciales minoristas, los productos electrónicos de consumo de alto valor son especialmente propensos a problemas en el proceso de devoluciones. Enormes volúmenes de teléfonos, decodificadores, enrutadores, incluso televisores y computadoras portátiles, ahora se devuelven a través de una multitud de canales por una variedad de razones. Los almacenes pueden recibir miles de dichos productos por semana. La mayoría de esos dispositivos aún pueden estar funcionando y pueden revenderse, pero rastrear dichos dispositivos desde los clientes, evaluar su viabilidad para revenderlos, restaurarlos, reempacarlos y luego redistribuirlos, es un desafío sustancial.

    Los problemas comienzan tan pronto como un cliente dice que quiere devolver un dispositivo. Ya sea porque el dispositivo es defectuoso, no apto, incorrecto, no deseado o porque están rescindiendo su contrato, deben notificar que se está devolviendo el dispositivo. Los agentes deben capturar correctamente los detalles de por qué se devuelve el dispositivo y emitir una RMA (Autorización de devolución de mercancía). Esto desencadenará una secuencia compleja de procesos para finalizar los servicios en la red, calcular los ajustes de facturas, preparar los sistemas posteriores para la recepción de los dispositivos devueltos, actualizar los inventarios al recibirlos, administrar la inspección, la renovación y la reventa de esos dispositivos, y potencialmente emitir reemplazos para dispositivos defectuosos, dependiendo de factores como el contrato, la garantía, el estado del dispositivo, el tipo de terminación o la calificación del cliente, los clientes pueden ser responsables de cargos adicionales o elegibles para una compensación.

    Reverse Logistics

    Los canales de devolución típicos serían enviar un dispositivo por mensajería, devolverlo a una tienda o un técnico puede devolver la mercancía. Cualquiera que sea el canal, los dispositivos a menudo llegarán sin una indicación clara de a qué cuenta de cliente se refieren. Las devoluciones a las tiendas son particularmente problemáticas con los agentes que no escanean los códigos de barras o registran las devoluciones correctamente. Es posible que los sistemas en la tienda no puedan registrar IMEI, IMSI y / o números de serie, y no hay motivación para que el personal etiquete los dispositivos devueltos con precisión.

    Con tantas piezas móviles, no sorprende que muchos dispositivos se pierdan o se pierdan en el camino, y que los clientes se carguen incorrectamente. Se sabe que los operadores cancelan más de $ 5 + millones en dispositivos perdidos por mes.

    Una solución es implementar controles automatizados que brinden monitoreo en todos los sistemas, tanto en logística directa como inversa, asegurando así que los dispositivos se puedan monitorear desde el pedido inicial en CRM, dentro y fuera de los almacenes, con mensajeros, envíos, socios de renovación, compañías financieras y estado de activación en el aprovisionamiento de servicios de red. Con sistemas de monitoreo que pueden detectar incluso la ubicación física donde se instalan los dispositivos, es posible validar el inventario, facturar a los clientes y socios con precisión, evitar fraudes, recuperar el valor máximo de los dispositivos devueltos y comprender por qué se devuelven los dispositivos.

    Subex proporciona soluciones de ROC Device Assurance a operadores de todo el mundo, ayudando a localizar dispositivos faltantes, conciliar y corregir sistemas de facturación, CRM, aprovisionamiento, distribución e inventario con capacidades de descubrimiento y reconciliación líderes a nivel mundial.

    Grabación de seminario web – Evolución en la mitigación de riesgo de dispositivos

    Mira el seminario web ahora.

  • Thoughts from the trenches

    Thoughts from the trenches

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is just another usual day for the telcos. The industry has weathering so many metaphorical storms for so long, that resilience has become its permanent virtue.

    Over the last 45-60 days, we have all seen numerous research reports and thought papers talking about how the COVID-19 crisis has changed the world, and what it means for telecom operators. This is perhaps one of those rare instances when every industry is trying to draw inferences, make forecasts, finetune strategies and prepare for weathering the storm. Like all other businesses, we too made diligent notes, brainstormed with our brightest minds, and came out with sophisticated presentations on what this situation means for our customers, and how we can add value. However, we did one additional thing. Instead of going by just the reports and studies that were published online, we decided to take firsthand inputs from our customers, and truly understand what the impact means to them. So, we interviewed a dozen or more of our customers, and here are our top 10 takeaways.

    And oh! Just to make sure this doesn’t end up being yet another strategy-heavy blog on “What COVID-19 means for telcos”, we have tried to keep it light. Because, these are observations based on real conversations beyond PowerPoint slides and Excel sheets.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]1. Capacity is a problem, but addition is not easy

    It is true. People are now dependent on connectivity more than ever. This means, more load on the network, demanding capacity expansion to service existing customers. The only problem is, given the circumstances, adding new capacity by way of additional infrastructure isn’t an easy option. Operators may have purchased infrastructure prior to the lockdown, but with the lack of resources to deploy these on field, capacity addition is not easy. Reallocation of capacity is one option, but some operators are hesitant to do it, thinking it may have to be soon reversed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23829″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class=”planning_5g_wrapper”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23832″ img_size=”350×332″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]2. Enterprise focus shifting from latency to bandwidth

    Enterprise business for telcos has always been a different ball game. The customer needs are different, the pricing strategy is different, and even the landscape of offerings is different. The recent report from GSMA highlighted that Enterprise business might finally be able to overtake consumer business for telcos in the next 1-2 years (a big part of this attributed to 5G), and that was good news. The low latency of 5G was meant to redefine the term ‘real-time’, opening up a host of new possibilities for businesses. Enter COVID-19, and all of this is set to change. Well, not all, but at least the low latency part. The crisis has made businesses rethink what ‘essential’ means, and it appears like latency is not as essential as bandwidth and availability for enterprises.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]3. Consumption is increasing, but revenues aren’t

    This one almost seems borderline unfair but sadly is the reality. With most people working remotely, the dependence on data and connectivity has risen multi-fold for the average consumer. Their usage patterns have also show severe spikes, with some of our customers reporting up to 40% increase in 2 weeks. The usage of fixed broadband has also significantly increased due to the large number of video conferences, virtual events and webinars happening. Even for leisure, the only sources of entertainment seem to be the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc., all of which are bandwidth heavy. Furthermore, as a social responsibility, many operators are partnering with governments to roll out online learning programs, which further increase data consumption. While this kind of increase in usage would have been generally seen as good news, in the current circumstances it is not the case. The general economy is not conducive for price-hikes of packages, and operators will struggle to justify it. While operators will try to roll out innovative bundles, the impact of these efforts are yet to be seen.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23834″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]4. Cost pressures to continue till the end of the year

    Barring a handful of industries, this statement is probably applicable to all other businesses for the next few months. While the telecom industry is fairly resilient to the COVID-19 crisis, it is not spared of uncertainty. And, what do we do in such times? We hold on to what we have, and make sure every Dollar spent is extremely thought through. Over the next few months, some reductions in Opex will be inevitable for telcos. Further, Opex optimization might become a more stringent practice, leading to increased dependence on automation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23835″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class=”planning_5g_wrapper”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23840″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]5. Capex remains same, but priorities change

    An interesting observation that came out from multiple operators is that their Capex spends may largely remain the same, with minor reductions if any. At first, this might seem surprising, but given the fact that lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease out, telcos are looking at ways to meet the increasing demand from customers. The priorities of Capex however seem to be changing from value-add (like 5G) to essentials (capacity enhancement, higher availability, etc.). An important point that became evident is that Capex allocations are now being reassessed and restructured to align with corporate goals in light of the COVID-19 crisis.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]6. Accelerated Digital Transformation due to COVID

    Over the years, there have been several continued efforts on pushing for digital transformation across telcos, but it appears like COVID-19 has single-handedly acted as the tipping point. Customer expectations have changed permanently, and consumers will now seek a richer omni-channel digital experience and demand higher level of self-service. Be it the use of intelligent algorithms to aid call center agents or the creation of digital stores, telcos are forced to think digital in every aspect. An interesting outcome of this transformation will be the significant increase in the emphasis on trust, because of multiple unknown entities operating behind ‘digital curtains’.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23841″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class=”planning_5g_wrapper”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23843″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]7. 5G rollouts will slow down

    Last year’s MWC was a 5G jungle. Anyone who had been there would come back believing that within a couple of years, we would have doctors performing remote surgeries, autonomous cars becoming common, industrial automation going in full throttle and many more things. However, if you haven’t realized it yet, here is some bad news for those. 5G rollouts will slow down. The reasons are multi-fold, starting with the realignment of Capex priorities, to inability to support additional buildout, the pause in the production of 5G handsets, and the lack of complete clarity on some of the standards. While 5G and related services will eventually benefit from the increased adoption of digital services, in the short term 5G deployments are expected to slow down.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]8. Functions are keen to utilize allotted budgets

    While newer budgets are not being allocated, or are being scrutinized before approval, functional heads of various departments seem to have the ability to make use of already allotted budgets. These are budgets allotted for strong use cases that remain important and are expected to contribute to the corporate objectives. With the looming threat of budget cuts and cost optimization, there is a sense of urgency to take decisions and move forward on putting some of the already allotted budgets to use. After all, no one wants the already allotted budgets to be rolled back, because they were unutilized, right?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23844″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class=”planning_5g_wrapper”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23845″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]9. Telcos looking at vendors that can think ‘beyond normal’

    They say necessity is the mother of invention. A corollary of this could be to say that crisis is the mother of innovation. It is in situations like the current one that businesses are required to bring innovation to the forefront, in order to survive and thrive. While telcos are certainly on the right track to innovate and improvise, their strength lies in carrying out their business in the best way possible. This is where they expect vendors and partners to bring in interesting perspectives and value propositions to help them do things that are outside the spectrum of normal. So, a clear advise from most telcos to partners like ourselves is “Do not engage with us if you are only talking about what we are doing today. Come to us if you have propositions that differentiate us.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]10. New business models are being explored and adopted

    Well, this point may not be a direct impact of COVID-19, but it is certainly happening. The reasons could be multiple, ranging from digital disruption, to OTT services, to non-traditional competition, but the current situation seems to have brought in an urgency to reimagine business models for telcos. At a time when connectivity is of utmost importance, if telcos remain simply as network providers, they’re losing out on tremendous opportunities that will be picked up by hyperscalers like Amazon and Google. The need of the hour – think like disruptors, get into spaces that were earlier ignored, and hack your way into a growth path. Case in point: JioMart[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”23853″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]So, there you have it, folks. Those were the 10 key observations from our recent conversations with customers. If you are in the telecom space, let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, and add any points that I might have missed in this blog.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • ¿Cuál es el papel de la redacción de contenido en las historias de telecomunicaciones?

    ¿Cuál es el papel de la redacción de contenido en las historias de telecomunicaciones?

    La digitalización ha cambiado la forma en que las personas viven, trabajan y disfrutan, y esto ha obligado a las organizaciones empresariales a modificar sus modelos de negocio para satisfacer los requisitos de sus consumidores en evolución. La industria de las telecomunicaciones es la más afectada por esta transformación. Las empresas de telecomunicaciones están experimentando con nuevas tecnologías y ofertas de servicios para atraer al cliente exigente. Las últimas tecnologías, aunque de naturaleza compleja, tienen mayor accesibilidad, adaptabilidad y compromiso entre los usuarios. Y una cosa que ha hecho esto posible es la penetración más amplia y profunda de la industria de las telecomunicaciones. Hoy, casi el 67% de la población mundial usa teléfonos móviles. Un total de 3.8 mil millones usan Internet, y el 52% de eso está en la red 4G. Esto ha dado a las personas acceso para consumir diferentes tipos de contenido a través de Internet.

    Cambiando el rumbo

    Las Telcos comenz a ofrecer servicios de valor agregado para contrarrestar la caída de los ingresos de voz y SMS. Pero la penetración de internet ha cambiado el panorama para los operadores. A medida que la industria de las telecomunicaciones pasa de ser solo un proveedor de servicios de comunicación a una organización más compleja que ofrece un conjunto de servicios digitales, el contenido está redactando una historia diferente. Las empresas de telecomunicaciones están ofreciendo contenido a través de su plataforma en colaboración con disruptores como los jugadores OTT. El tiempo que la gente pasa en línea también ha aumentado significativamente, con un usuario promedio que gasta 6.43 horas cada día. En 2019 se descargaron más de 200 mil millones de aplicaciones, con un gasto de $ 120 mil millones en apps y compras relacionadas con las mismas.

    COVID-19 también ha impactado el consumo de contenido, ya que los consumidores están haciendo cambios significativos en la forma en que interactúan con el contenido a través de las plataformas. Esto ha aumentado drásticamente el tiempo que se pasa en línea viendo contenido, especialmente noticias y entretenimiento. De hecho, el informe de Nielsen dice que quedarse en nuestros hogares puede conducir a un aumento de casi el 60% en la cantidad de contenido que vemos en algunos casos y potencialmente más dependiendo de los motivos. La situación actual seguramente tendrá un impacto conductual a largo plazo, y también podemos ver patrones de consumo similares en el futuro. Esta transformación ha llevado a los operadores a considerar el contenido como una oportunidad comercial de alto potencial para ahora y para el futuro.

    El camino de la experimentación

    La nueva historia de éxito se basa en la fortaleza directa del consumidor de la industria de las telecomunicaciones. Las empresas de telecomunicaciones se están aventurando en industrias adyacentes o se están asociando con los proveedores de contenido para explorar nuevas oportunidades y mantener a los clientes enganchados al servicio. T-Mobile adquirió el innovador producto de televisión Layer-3 para tomar la televisión por cable y satelital y revolucionar la forma en que las personas consumen televisión. AT&T adquirió Times Warner Inc. para ofrecer a los clientes una experiencia de entretenimiento móvil, diferenciada y de alta calidad. También lanzaron AT&T TV que se entregará a través de Internet como una alternativa a DirectTV para capturar el punto óptimo entre los usuarios de aplicaciones de transmisión y los usuarios tradicionales de servicios de televisión de pago, como la televisión por cable o por satélite. Solo para darle un vistazo, viene con una caja con Android TV que le permite cambiar entre TV en vivo y más de 5,000 aplicaciones de Google Play Store sin tener que cambiar las entradas en su televisor y acceder a aplicaciones de transmisión como Netflix, YouTube, Pandora o Spotify directamente desde su televisor.

    BT y Amazon firmaron un acuerdo para que la aplicación de video Prime esté disponible a través del decodificador de TV de BT. Telefónica también ha integrado la aplicación de transmisión de video Netflix en sus plataformas de video y televisión en América Latina y Europa.

    Airtel también lanzó Airtel Xstream a partir de USD11 (aprox.) por mes en India para captar el interés del segmento de consumidores más grande. Netflix ha creado un plan solo para dispositivos móviles para India que muestra cómo los parámetros demográficos serán de primordial importancia en su estrategia de expansión. Solo imagine la escala y el alcance del servicio que se ofrece a los consumidores y cuán complejo es administrarlos de manera transparente.

    Con 5G convirtiéndose en la corriente principal, habrá un mayor impulso en la oferta de servicios en términos de velocidad, variedad y experiencia. Los medios y el entretenimiento como el principal benefactor y que permiten formatos y aplicaciones de medios inmersivos como VR / AR y videos de 360 ​​grados, 5G promete un gran potencial para la oferta de contenido de las Telcos.

    Buscando la clave del éxito

    La oportunidad tiene sus propios desafíos para los operadores de telecomunicaciones. Las empresas de telecomunicaciones deben planificar una experiencia perfecta tanto para sus socios como para sus clientes finales. Esto incluye accesibilidad, entrega ininterrumpida de servicios, pagos sin errores y más para obtener el verdadero beneficio de convertirse en un proveedor de servicios digitales. A medida que el ecosistema se vuelve más complejo, tener un proceso de facturación y liquidación de contenido transparente y preciso puede garantizar la rentabilidad. Las empresas de telecomunicaciones deben tener la flexibilidad y la escalabilidad para construir y probar diferentes modelos de calificación y descuento, como penetración mínima, volumen de uso, compromiso de ingresos mínimos, una capacidad de pronóstico que permitirá a los operadores definir los modelos económicos para los servicios en el futuro. Aunque este no es el único desafío que deben superar. La identificación y la incorporación de socios adecuados, la capacidad de diseñar modelos económicos dinámicos y el monitoreo del desempeño de los socios y el mantenimiento de una asociación transparente solo pueden garantizar el éxito del complejo ecosistema.

    La gestión de contenido no es fácil dada la dinámica del servicio. La necesidad de la hora es una solución de facturación de contenido que pueda abordar esta naturaleza dinámica y única al mismo tiempo que permita la confianza y la transparencia en el ecosistema. Esto puede ayudar a los operadores a ofrecer una experiencia de contenido digital verdaderamente lista para usar a sus consumidores.

    Obtenga más información sobre la solución de facturación y liquidación de contenido de Subex.

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  • Is ‘Content’ writing the new success story for Telcos?

    Is ‘Content’ writing the new success story for Telcos?

    Digitalization has changed the way people use to live, work, and enjoy, and this has forced business organizations to alter their business models to suit the requirements of their evolving consumers. The telecom industry is the one most impacted by this transformation. Telcos are experimenting with newer technologies, and service offerings to entice the demanding customer. The latest technologies though complex in nature, have higher accessibility, adaptability, and engagement among users. And one thing that has made this possible is the wider and deeper penetration of the telecom industry. Today almost 67% of the world population use mobile phones. A total of 3.8 billion use the internet, and 52% of that is on the 4G network. This has given people access to consume different types of content through the internet.

    Changing the course

    Telcos started offering value-added services to counter the falling revenue of voice and SMS. But the internet penetration has changed the landscape for the operators. As the telecom industry moves from being just a communication service provider towards a more complex organization that offers a bouquet of digital services, content is drafting a different story at all. Telcos are offering content through their platform in collaboration with disruptors like OTT players. The time people spent online has also significantly increased, with an average user spending 6.43 hours each day. More than 200 billion apps were downloaded in 2019, with a spending of $120 billion on apps and app-related purchases.

    COVID-19 has also impacted the content consumption as consumers are making significant changes to the way they interact with content across platforms.  This has drastically increased the time spent online watching content, especially news & entertainment. In fact, Nielsen’s report says that staying put in our homes can lead to almost a 60% increase in the amount of content we watch in some cases and potentially more depending on the reasons. The current situation will surely have a long term behavioral impact, and we may see similar consumption patterns going forward as well. This transformation has led operators to look content as a high potential business opportunity for now and for the future.

    The Road of Experimentation

    The new success story is built on the telecom industry’s direct to consumer strength. Telcos are venturing into adjacent industries or partnering with the content providers to explore new opportunities and keep the customers hooked to the service. T-Mobile acquired the television innovator Layer-3 to take on cable and satellite TV and revolutionize the way people consume TV. AT&T acquired Times Warner Inc. to offer customers a differentiated, high-quality, mobile-first entertainment experience. They have also launched AT&T TV that will be delivered over the internet as an alternative to the DirectTV to capture the sweet spot between streaming app users and traditional payTV service users such as cable or satellite TV. Just to give you a glimpse, it comes with an Android TV-powered box that lets you switch between live TV and over 5,000 apps from the Google Play Store without having to change inputs on your TV and access streaming apps such as Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, or Spotify right from their TV.

    BT and Amazon signed an agreement to make the Prime video application available through BT’s TV set-top box. Telefónica has also integrated the video streaming app Netflix in its video and TV platforms in Latin America and Europe.


    Airtel has also launched Airtel Xstream starting at USD11 (approx.) per month in India capture the interest of the larger consumer segment. Netflix has come up with a mobile-only plan for India that shows how demographic parameters will be of prime importance in your expansion strategy. Just imagine the scale and scope of service that are being offered to consumers and how complex it is to manage them in a seamless manner.

    With 5G becoming mainstream, there will be further boosted in the service offering in terms of speed, variety, and experience. Media and entertainment as the prominent benefactor and allowing immersive media formats and applications like VR/AR and 360-degree videos, 5G promises a huge potential for Telcos content offering.

    Looking for the Mojo

    The opportunity has its own challenges for the telecom operators. Telcos need to plan a seamless experience for both their partners and end customers. This includes accessibility, uninterrupted service delivery, error-free payments and more to realize the true benefit of becoming a digital service provider. As the ecosystem becomes more complex, having a transparent and accurate content billing and settlement process  can ensure profitability. Telcos should have the flexibility and scalability to build and test different rating and discounting models like minimum penetration, usage volume, minimum revenue commitment, A forecasting capability that will allow operators define the economic models for the services in future will go a long way.  Although this is not the only challenge that they need to overcome. Identifying and onboarding right partners, capability to design dynamic economic models and monitoring partner performance and maintaining a transparent partnership can only ensure the success of the complex ecosystem.

    Content settlement is not easy given the dynamicity of the service.  A content billing solution that can address this dynamic and unique nature simultaneously enable trust and transparency in the ecosystem is the need of the hour. This can help operators to offer a truly out of the box digital content experience to its consumers.

    Discover more on Content Billing and Settlement Solution of Subex.

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