In the digital age, conducting worldwide business requires overcoming a variety of obstacles. In addition to the reality that diverse clients work in different time zones around the globe, there are issues with several languages and currencies, as well as variable exchange rates that affect the costs that consumers pay. Global service providers get into arrangements with global partners to offer their services worldwide. Regardless of where access or service is provided, it is vital and easy for the consumer to have a single agreement with their provider that generates a single invoice. In terms of online rating and pricing for all services, setting appropriate limitations and regulating them online, and providing instant information about current expenses and potential upsell chances, the convergent billing system meets the expectations of digital customers. When a convergent charging system is implemented, users may alter limit thresholds, increase data allotments, and activate extra SMS, minutes, or data packages online.

Explains Convergent Charging system

In billing terms, a convergent charging system is a revenue management tool that telecom providers employ to combine all service costs into a single client invoice. It enables service providers to bill and charge customers jointly for many devices, users, or services.

Multi-currency, multi-taxation, and multi-party agreements are handled in terms of settlements, along with any variations in document generation for clients and partners. For every kind of service that may be created for clients, it can serve as an invoice hub and a single, common, convergent invoicing management system for telecommunications. It integrates natively with digital channels and product catalogues to enable online information presentation for consumers related to consumption or financial data display. This permits real-time reporting and provides data for analytical tools. The operations team receives a smart tool with AI/ML algorithms installed, which facilitates daily tasks like bill run processing and invoice matching.

It's time to reconsider convergent charging and billing

It is an opportunity for communications service providers (CSPs) to take the lead in fostering innovative ideas about the production and delivery of goods and services. thrilling yet difficult as well. Why? In essence, CSPs have acted as utilities for most of their history, primarily selling connections and figuring out other methods to make money off of them. But in the 5G and digital era, the monetization approach has to shift to one that prioritises experiences and quality of service (QoS), and partnerships will play a key role in this approach.

New Convergent Billing engines will be required for CSPs. A QoS strategy must take the place of the "flat rate subscriptions" concept that defined the 3G and 4G eras. Through the use of 5G convergent charging solutions, the actual worth of standalone 5G may be realised. Furthermore, its value is substantial.

After making this choice, these forward-thinking CSPs must now decide what the parameters of their new platforms will be. We think the following six requirements should be satisfied by their systems:

1. Make every possible 5G characteristic profitable.

Telcos should be able to implement slice-specific billing depending on device type or session quality (based on QoS information or service level agreement) in a scenario where 5G networks are sliced. Additionally, access-based fees—one-time costs associated with registering for a particular network slice—should be covered by this. The CCS should also be able to communicate with other 5G network functions, such as AMF, NEF, and NWDAF, as well as develop functionalities that are not yet outlined by 3GPP, to facilitate novel 5G use cases.

2. Need little to no personalization

As previously said, 5G has great promise for revolutionising certain verticals and fostering the emergence of new ones. Telcos must be adaptable if they are to take advantage of these prospects. They are unable to depend on the careful design and extensive customisation of conventional online charging systems. Rather, they ought to construct CCSs that are genuinely adaptive. That necessitates a system with a no-code, straightforward GUI setup.

3. Fee for additional value units that go over megabytes

Telcos need to think carefully about their prices if providing high-quality services is what matters most in the future. Perhaps the megabyte was a good choice for the 3G and 4G periods. 5G calls for a more creative strategy. Take cloud gaming or streaming HD videos as examples. In this case, charging for the duration of the session rather than the amount of data used could be more suitable. Furthermore, CSPs need to be able to charge their B2B partners with the same functionality.

4. Assist use cases for low latency edges

One of freestanding 5G's "superpowers" is low latency at the edge. It will be the element that enables the most cutting-edge new sectors, like autonomous driving and healthcare, where latency is intolerable. This is why the Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) standard was created by the mobile industry. CSPs need to spread their URLLC system capabilities to the edge when it comes to charging. They will be able to see disparities in this manner and act to maintain promised service levels. Furthermore, in the case of edge-based services, billing must encompass not just telecom network consumption but also neighbouring services. Consider a service that combines mobile edge computing utilisation with aspects of network usage. The network use and the compute resource consumption must be precisely and reflected in any subsequent charges for that service.

5. Make self-charging a revenue stream

A convergent charging and billing system may turn into an asset in and of itself if it can open up new income streams. Astute CSPs are already considering ways to make their platforms into revenue streams. They may create charging-as-a-service and attract additional partners to help them make more money.

6. React instantly to variations in demand

One of the main advantages of 5G convergent billing options is flexibility. While a legacy system might offer some insight, analytical intelligence is already integrated into cloud-native online charging. This has a significant impact. It enables the CSP to keep an eye on supply and demand, predict shifts in consumer behaviour, and dynamically optimise hardware costs and resources.

The days of static "flat rate subscriptions" and a singular emphasis on the megabyte as the unit of value are drawing to an end after forty years. A new age of dynamic, adaptable systems is about to dawn. CSPs will receive a large return on their investment if they invest in 5G convergent charging solutions today. And they may even be at the centre of an economic revolution in the twenty-first century.