overcoming the technical and operational challenges of implementing prepaid roaming

Overcoming The Technical and Operational Challenges Of

Implementing Prepaid Roaming

Budapest, September 2004

Content

• Market and prepaid product overview

• Challenges in implementation

• Future development plans

• Conclusions

Market and prepaid product overview

• Romanian Market

• Prepaid Market

Romanian Market overview

p o p u l a t i o n : 2 1 . 6 9 8 . 1 8 1

p e n e t r a t i o n : 38.6%

93.4% 92.0%87.1%

80.8%

73.9% 72.5% 72.2%

60.1% 59.7%

54.1%49.6% 47.7%

35.7%

30.1%

15.6%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

European Cellular Penetration Rates

Romanian Cellular Market Share

CONNEX48.9%

4,089,948

ORANGE47.11%

3,957,000

Cosmorom1.02%85,169

ZAPP2.97%

248,000

Connex – market leader in Romania

• Connex is the registered trademark of MobiFon, the company that launched the first GSM network in Romania (April, 1997)

• Connex leads the Romanian telecommunications market, with over 4,089,000 GSM customers on June 2004 (65% prepaid/ 35% post paid)

• Connex is the country's most important ISP, with over 200,000 dial-up users

• The main shareholders: TIW (63%) and Vodafone (20.1%)

Market and prepaid product overview

• Romanian Market

• Prepaid Market

Connex prepaid products

Connex Go!

SIM based solution

Kamarad

IN based solution

Connex Card

IN based solution

Connex Prepaid overview

• Sep '00 - Product launch as Kamarad featuring a 2 months outbound period and 10 months of only inbound.

• April ’02 - The launch of the Electronic voucher recharging system

• May ‘02 - Roaming service launch based on Camel 2 platform

• May ’04 - Re-launch prepaid product as a new brand “Cartela Connex”

Connex Prepaid Roaming overview

• May ‘02 - Roaming service launch based on Camel 2 implementation in the network

• Nov ‘03 – Offer credit inquiry and recharge option through USSD service instead of IVR

• Jan ’04 – Roaming service enhancement (SMS-MO, Self Care, New voice tariffs)

Content


• Challenges in CAMEL implementation

• Future roaming development plans

• Conclusions

Challenges in implementation

• Camel Phase 2 deployment in the network

• Roaming service launch– Service configuration– Limitations and issues to solve– Enhancements

Camel Phase 2 deployment in the network

Why was CAMEL 2 necessary?

• CAMEL 1 could not solve network management issues

• In addition, CAMEL 2 offers powerful new features:– Full roaming pre-paid real-time charging.– Rerouting calls through HPLMN not necessary anymore– Camel 2 - Open Standard for new services


January 2001

S-INAP protocol

Service logic

Announcements

Voice Channel

Network

Customers

Siemens

SCP

TX 02Transit MSC

EricssonMSC MSC


• How to solve the problem

– Camel standard had begun to be assessed.

– New project started on January 2001

– 11 months of work (design, implementation and testing)

Result in November 2001?Result in November 2001?


First operator which implemented Camel 2 protocol in an environment with Siemens IN and Ericsson MSCs

http://intranet1/


November 2001Service logic

Network

Customers

SS7 Signaling

CAP2 protocol

Siemens

SCPSiemens

TX 02Transit MSC

Siemens

EricssonMSC MSC

Challenges in implementation

• Camel Phase 2 deployment in the network

• Roaming service launch– Service configuration– Limitations and issues to solve– Enhancements

Roaming service launch

• 1st Phase (May 2002)

– Same prepaid voice capabilities as in home network

– Service activation: Call Customer Service for a 45 days service charged with 0.5 USD

– Services available: all national except SMS-MO and Call Diverts

– Free of charge credit inquiry and recharge options via IVR (same as in home network)

– Zone tariff model


• Issues after 1st Phase Launch

– High volume of free of charge calls to IVR for credit inquiry.

– High roaming mark-ups to cover the cost

– Service limitations - no SMS-MO service available

Higher tariffs


• What to do?

– Launch USSD service for recharge and credit / validity checking

– After 4 months of working in parallel with USSD service, the IVR announcements were suppressed.

– Warning voice announcements related to end of validity period were moved to SMS channel for all national, international and roaming calls

November 2003


• USSD adoption

IVR traffic after USSD launch

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Jun-03 Jul-03 Aug-03 Sep-03 Oct-03 Nov-03

Bil

lab

le m

inu

tes

USSD launch

IVR stopped


• Enhancements

– Decreased roaming tariffs

– Launch SMS-MO service

– Free of charge service activation

– Increased service validity period from 45 to 120 days

– USSD self care service launched (*100#)

– myBanking – mobile recharging service available in roaming

January 2004


• What were the results in 2004? +30% revenue

+47% out-roamers

Roaming service evolution

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

90000

Nov-03 Dec-03 Jan-04 Feb-04 Mar-04 Apr-04 May-04 Jun-04 Jul-04

US

D

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

No

. of

su

bs

cri

be

rs

Revenue Out-roamers

Content




• Conclusions

Future development plans

• Extend roaming partnerships– Currently we have 34 operators in 13

countries

• SMS Roaming in countries in which prepaid roaming is not available but postpaid roaming is

• Roaming TopUp – Possibility for Connex customers to buy recharge values when abroad

Content




• Conclusions

Conclusions

As long as you want to launch a service for which you cannot control all the

costs involved, you will not have a successful service...

Horatiu DimulescuProject Manager, Prepaid ProductsMobiFon S.A Mobile: +40 722-367 [email protected]

Thank you

overcoming the technical and operational challenges of implementing prepaid roaming

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