【电信管理论坛TMF】2024通信服务提供商CSPs如何满足灵活网络计费的扩展预期研究报告

November2024|

tmforum

knowledge

Meeting

expanded

expectations

fornetwork

charging

sponsoredby:

-amd。cs

Author:EdFinegold,ContributingAnalyst

Editors:IanKemp,ManagingEditorDawnBushaus,ContributingEditor

contents

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thebigpicture

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6section1:rethinkingtheroleofchargingintelecoms

09

section2:whattelcoscanlearnfromcloudmetering

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5section3:what’sinamoderntelcochargingplatform?

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section4:monetizingAIthroughcloud-likecharging

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3section5:makeithappen–strategiesformodernizingcharging

2

6additionalfeature:Amdocscharging–confidenceandingenuity

Wehopeyouenjoy

thereportand,most

importantly,findwaysto

usetheideas,conceptsandrecommendationsdetailedwithin.Youcansendyour

feedbacktotheeditorialteamatTMForumvia

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additionalresources

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picture

thebig

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NetworkchargingandconvergentchargingmaynotbebuzzwordsintheAIand5Gera,

buttheyarecriticalintelcooperations.Indeed,leadinghyperscalecloudproviderscredit

theirrevenuegrowthinAItotheircloud-meteringcapabilities–thecloudworld’sversionofconvergentcharging.

Ascommunicationsserviceproviders(CSPs)striveto

findnewsourcesofgrowthinmarketslikeIoT,B2B2X

solutions,AI-basedservicesandnetworkAPIs,it’stimetorethinktherolechargingplaysandhowit’sdelivered.Thisencompassesnotonlymonetization,butalsothe

customerexperience(CX)anoperatordelivers,whichrequiresarelationshipthatgoeswellbeyondamonthlybill.

3GPPhaspublished

5Gstandalone(SA)specifications

toevolvecharginginwirelessnetworks,butthiswillnotbeenoughtosupporttransformationfortworeasons:

Chargingisnotlimitedtothe3GPPdomain.Hyperscalershaveprovenitisanend-to-endcapabilitythatshouldbeinherenttotheentirenetworkandserviceplatform.

Hyperscalershavenormalizedreal-timeCX

Theydeliverobservabilityintoconfigurations,events,usageandcosts,plustheability

tosimulatethemallbeforedeploying

configurations.The5GSAspecificationdoesnotaddressCXdirectly.

ThesepointsrevealakeyweaknessformanyCSPs

currently:theinabilitytoprovideasingleviewofallusageandcostdata–alongwithself-servecontrols–toany

user,foranyservice,andwithdifferentiatedlevelsofaccessandcontrolpermissions.

Beyondsimplemobilecharging

Telcoswithmobilenetworkshavetendedtoview

chargingasastandardnetworkcomponentthatis

upgradedgenerationallywiththeirnetworkstacks.

Butinthefuture,theyneedtoviewchargingmore

strategicallyasaflexiblecapabilitytomonetizethe

useofmobilenetworkresourcesandfunctionalities.

Thisnecessarilyshouldincludetheabilitytomonetizedifferentnetworkparametersandseamlesslyintegratetheseintotheuserexperience.Butitalsoneeds

tocaterforsolutionsthattraversebothoperators'andpublic-cloudnetworkssuchasIoTservices,andnetworkswheremorethanonesupplierisinvolved.

CSPsneedto

viewchargingmorestrategicallyasa

flexiblecapability

tomonetizetheuseofmobilenetworkresourcesand

functionalities.

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Ratherthansimplyprovisioningandauthorizingaccountsforprepaidaccess,forexample,CSPswillneedtochargeforanysortofconnectivitythatmightbeintegratedwithavarietyofdevicesandapplications.Thesedevicesandapplicationsproducedataabouttheirusageeventsandcostswhichcustomerswanttomonitorandwhichtelcosmustmonetize.

Chargingasavalueenabler

Intelcos’increasinglysoftware-basedandcloud-native

networks,whichspanmultipledomains–forexample,5Gradioaccessandcore,IP,andopticaltransportnetworks

–scalablereal-timechargingsolutionscanenableCSPstogeneratenewvalueintheformofcustomerexperiencesandrevenue,inmoredifferentiatedandgranularways,

justasmeteringdoesforhyperscalers.Anewapproachtochargingcouldbethekeytoderivinggrowthfrom

ecosystem-basedIoTandB2B2Xservices,forexample.

Large-scaleconnectedsolutionsthatintegrate

componentsfrom5Gnetworks,hyperscalecloudsandarangeofAPIsneeddistributedchargingcapabilitiestoscaleandmonetizetheirmanydifferentcharacteristics,configurationsandon-demandevents.CSPsneedto

understandthisinordertomonetizetheself-healingautonomousnetworkstheyaredeploying.

Readthisreporttolearn:

WhyCSPsneedtorethinknetworkchargingbeyond5G

WhatchargingneedstodeliverforbothmonetizationandCX

Howtelcoscanlearnfromhyperscalers’approachestocloudmetering

HownewAIopportunitiesmayforceachargingrethink.

Scalablereal-time

chargingsolutions

canenableCSPstogeneratenewvaluejustasmeteringdoesforhyperscalers.

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rethinking

theroleof

chargingin

telecoms

section1

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Charging’srootslieinmobilenetworks,withfunctionalityoftencomprisingusagecollection,metering,rating,billingandpaymentprocessing–plusreportingabouteachofthese

activities.ButCSPs’growthopportunitiesinnewandmorecomplexmarketslikeIoTandB2B2Xecosystemsiscausingthemtorethinkmobile-centriccharging.

Todiscusswhyandhowchargingneedstobe

modernized,ithelpstounderstandthehistoryofitin

mobilenetworks.Inadditiontoperformingtaskslike

metering,ratingandbilling,chargingsystemsarealso

importantforauthorizingordenyingusersaccesstothemobilenetwork.Thisneed,andtheresultingfunctionalsplitinchargingtechnologybetweenonlineandofflinearchitectures,originatedwiththeadventofprepaid

mobileservices.

Eventhroughthe4Gera,mobilechargingstandards

specifiedanapproachtomanagingthehighvolumeofuserauthenticationsontomobilenetworksthatsplits

prepaidandpostpaid.Onlyprepaidwasconcerned

withcheckinginrealtime,ornearrealtime,whetherthecustomerhadsufficientcredittopermitaccesstothe

networkandservices(mainlyvoice,textanddata).

Inthe5Gera,acompromisehasbeenmade.CSPsare

rollingout5Gnon-standalone(NSA)technologywithoutrequiringupgradesoftheirchargingarchitecturesto

support5Gstandalone(5GSA).Indeed,5GSAchargingwasalwaysintendedtocomelastintheevolutiontothenewwirelesstechnology.

Asaresult,itisextremelyearlyyetintheadoptioncycleforthe5GSAchargingspecification,withmostoperatorsstillrelyingontheir4G-compliantchargingstacks.

Butaproblemwithrelyingon5GSAisthatincreasingly

telcosareofferingtheirservicesandsolutionsin

conjunctionwithpartners’networksandclouds.This

meansthatchargingcapabilitiesareneededtomonetizeservicesthatwilluseboth5GSAandnon-5Gnetwork

resources.

GeoffHollingworth,CMOatRakutenSymphony,

pointsoutthateventhetermchargingisamisnomer.“Countinghowmuchsomebodyusesofsomethingismeteringandobservability,notcharging,”heexplains.

Headdsthat“linkingchargingevolutiontostandards

evolutionastheprimeanchoringtimermissesthepoint

ofthedifferencebetweencommercialandtechnical”

aspectsofanoperator’sbusiness.Theneedformore

sophisticatedmonetizationcapabilitiesexistnowbutmayremainunmetbecauseofthe5GSAlaunchschedule.

Capabilitiesare

neededtomonetizeservicesthatwilluseboth5Gstandaloneandnon-5Gnetworkresources.

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Focusonflexibility

Anothermajorchallengeinstandardizinganapproachtochargingistryingtodefinewhatyouthinktheworldisgoingtodeliverasasellableobjectyearsinadvance.Thisconceptdoesnotmakesenseinthemodern-

daymarketbecauseofferingsandpriceschange

continuously.Intech-andsoftware-drivenbusinesses,automatedpipelinesreleaseupdatesregularly.What

canbemeteredandchargedforwillundergoconstantchangeaswell.

Theanswerformanyoperatorsusuallytiesbackto

theirlegacysystems,includingcharging.“Traditional

telcos,especiallyinregionslikeAfricawhereprepaid

modelsdominate,havereliedheavilyonrobustchargingsystems,”saysLuqmanShantal,CEOofMakman

Consulting.“So,chargingsystemsarefundamentaltobusinessoperations.ButastheindustryshiftstowardsIoTandB2B2Xdigitalecosystems,evolvingthese

chargingsystemsiscrucial.”

AdoptingTMForum’s

OpenDigitalArchitecture(ODA)

iskeytothisevolutionbecauseofitsever-expanding

OpenAPIsetand“robustdigitalecosystemmodeling”,saysShantal.HeaddsthatbecauseODAintroducesandexpandsautomatedandintelligentnetworkcapabilitieslikeanomalydetectionandpredictiveperformance

analytics,itnotonlyimprovesoperationalefficiency

butcanalsosupportnewandadvanced(monetizable)usagescenariosandgenerateanddeliverthetypeofgranulardataneededtoenablereal-timeCX.

Next,welookathownetworkAPIs,aswellasthe

meteringinnovationsofhyperscalers,couldintroducetelcostoanewworldofcloudandconnectivity

meteringandmonetization.

5GSAchargingbenefits

3GPP’s5GSAchargingspecificationintroducesseveralusefulconcepts:

Eliminatingthesplitbetweenonlineandoffline.Thissplitoriginatedwith

theneedtosupportprepaidmobileyetoffloadpostpaidmetering,ratingandbillingfromthereal-timeprepaidarchitecture.Thismakessensebecauseif

youcanchargeandbillinrealtime,youcanalsobillatanyotherinterval.Butitisacomplexstepforwardforchargingarchitecturesthat’snewtotheentiretelecomsindustry.

Componentizingsub-functions.Ratherthanspecifyingthatchargingberun

throughoneormoremonolithicsystem(s)thatdeliverallchargingneedsin

onebox,the5GSAspecificationcomponentizesfunctionsandallowsthemtobedeployedinavarietyofmodels.

Permittingadaptableandscalablearchitectures.The5GSAspecalsoallows

foravarietyofapproachestohowcomponentsaredeployedtoformacompletechargingarchitecture.Thisincludesmirroringthecentralized4Gmodelmost

mobileoperatorsknowandunderstandbest,despiteitslimitationsinsupportingcapabilitiesbeyondvoice,dataandmessagingchargingandusagecontrol.

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telcos

canlearn

fromcloud

metering

section2

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AsCSPsaimtomonetizenewserviceslikeIoT,B2B2XandnetworkAPIs,theyshouldconsiderthewayhyperscalerschargeandbillfortheirservices.“GiventhatCSPsareputtingtheir

networksintothecloudandhavethisNaaS[network-as-a-service]visionofsellingconnectivityinthesamewaythathyperscalerssellcompute,itseemscompletelylogicalthattheyshouldbeexploringconceptssuchascloudmetering,”saysTMForumChiefAnalystMarkNewman.

“Thepubliccloudoffersavaluableblueprintforthe

evolutionofchargingintoacapabilitywhichenables

CSPstotakeamorediverse,agileapproachto

monetization,”saysRonPorter,Headof5G,Network

&OSSProductMarketing,atAmdocs.“Whatbegan

assimplestorageservices,chargedbasedonnumberofmegabytes,hastransformedintoalandscape

wherecloudprovidersleverageavarietyofinnovativemonetizationmodelstomaximizerevenueandcatertodiversecustomerneeds.”

Theseapproachesinclude:

usage-basedpricingsubscriptionmodels“freemium”tiers

hybridpricingstrategiesB2B2Xmodels

incentive-basedpricing

customizedenterpriseagreementsreservedcapacitypricing

andspotpricingforflexibleworkloads.

Eachmodelisdesignedtoaddressdifferentcustomerpreferencesandoperationaldemands,offeringbothflexibilityandtransparency.

IfCSPsaretomovebeyondthesaleofconnectivity,theymustadoptsimilarlyadvancedpricingschemestoremaincompetitiveandrelevant,accordingtoPorter.Thismeansofferingflexibleandvalue-drivenpricingthatcanquicklyadapttomarketconditionsandcustomerexpectations.

“Anew,flexibleanddynamicapproachtocharging

willalsoenableoperatorstoexperiment,failfastand

iteratenotonlyontheofferingthemselvesbutalsothemonetizationstrategies,”hesays.

NetworkAPIsareagoodexampleofaservicethatcouldbenefitfromanapproachsimilartocloudmetering.A

newjointventure

of12oftheworld’sleadingoperators

planstosellnetworkAPIsglobally,aimingtotapamarketthatIDCsayswillreach

$6.7billionby2028.

Theventureaimstogivecustomersanddevelopersself-service,

developer-levelaccesstoconnectivityprovisioning,

qualityofservice(QoS)controls,securitymechanisms,anduserauthenticationwithinapplications.

NetworkAPIsare

agoodexampleofaservicethatcouldbenefitfroman

approachsimilartocloudmetering.

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Thisshouldenabledeveloperstogeneratemore

pragmaticanddeployable5Gusecasesforbusinesses

andconsumers.Thehopeamongthepartnersisthatthisinnovationwillleadtoreturnontelcos’5Ginvestments,whichsofarhasprovenelusive.

Butthejointventureissubjecttoregulatoryapprovals.Anotherpotentialissueforthegroupisthatitis

5Gcentric,whichrisksmissingthebiggermarket

opportunity.Butitcouldavoidthispitfallwithachargingarchitecturesimilartocloudmeteringwhichwouldmetersolutionsendtoendandwouldnotbelimitedtothe5Gor5GSAnetworkdomainalone.

Whatiscloudmetering?

Hyperscalersviewcloudmeteringasadriverofrevenuegrowth.Notonlydoesitenablethemtomonetize

newservicesanddifferentiatedworkloadsefficiently

andimmediately,likethosemadepossiblebynewAI

capabilities(seesection4),butitalsopowerstheCX

capabilitiesthathaveraisedcustomers’expectationsforobservabilityacrossservices,usage,eventsandcosts.

Inthesimplestterms,cloudmeteringishowacloud

serviceprovidermeasures,monetizesandreportslive

usage,eventandcostdatatousers.Inthestrictsense,

meteringismeasuringresourceusageandevents.

Resourceswereoncelimitedtoelementslikeminutes,

textsandkilobytesbutnowcanspanstorage,compute,latency,QoSmanagementandmanyothercharacteristicsthatmightdefineaneventoradifferentiatedsortof

workloadorusage.

“Cloudmeteringischarging,”saysRickLievano,CTO,

WorldwideTelecommunicationsIndustry,atMicrosoft.

“Whataretheresources?Whatdoyouconsume?And

howfastareyouconsumingit?EveryAzureproducthasaspecificmeterwithitthatdetermineswhatyouare

measuringandwhatyouchargeforthat.”

Inthehyperscaleworld,metersaredefinedtocollect

usagedataforspecifictypesofservices.Thisdatacan

thenberatedandbilledappropriately,butit’sdoneinrealtime(orclosetoit)andsharedthroughalivedashboardwiththecustomer,ratherthanbeingprovidedmonthlyasapost-factoinvoice.

Typesofmeters

Allthreemajorhyperscalecloudserviceproviders

–AmazonWebServices(AWS),GoogleCloudand

MicrosoftAzure–usearangeofcompute,storage,and

connectionmeterstomeasureandreportinrealtimeornearrealtime.Asweillustrateinourgraphicsonthenextpage,thesemeterscoverfactorsincludingutilization,

usagevolume,performanceandevents,anyofwhichcouldbemonetizedfromagranularusagebasisto

anall-you-can-eatsubscriptionmodel.

Fivesimpleexamplesofcomputemeters,inthiscaseusedin

AWS,

areshownonthenextpage.

Hyperscalersview

cloudmeteringas

adriverofrevenue

growth,enablingthemtomonetize

newservices.

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Computehoursmeasuresthetotalhoursof

computeresourcesthatarerunning,suchasforAWSEC2instances.

CPUutilizationmonitorsthepercentageofCPUresourcescomputeinstancesconsume.

I/Ooperationsmetersthenumberofinput/outputoperationsperformedbystorage

volumes.

DataTransfermeasurestheamountofdatatransferredinandoutofcomputeinstances.

Memoryusagetrackshowmuchmemoryisconsumedperduration.

Threecommonattributesamongthesedifferenttypes

ofcomputemetersarethattheymeasureresource

consumptionoravailability,cansupportmonetizationofthatresourceconsumption,andareaboutasgranularasispracticaltomeasure.Asaresult,however,theyleavenothingonthebone–everyresourceoreventinthe

cloudenvironmentcouldbemonetized.

Fivesimpleexamplesofstoragemeters,inthiscaseusedin

GoogleCloud,

include:

Storagebytesmeasuresthetotalbytesofdatastored.

Objectcountrecordsthenumberoffilesorobjectsthatarestored.

Bandwidthmetershowmuchdataistransferredinandoutofstorage.

Downloadrequestsrecordsthetotalnumberofdownloadrequestsforstoredobjects.

Storageutilizationmonitorstheamountofstoragecapacityused,bypercentage.

Storagemetersdemonstratehowvalueisascribed

toresourceconsumptionatanylevelandmakesthat

consumptionavailableformonetization,evenifit’sonalessgranularbasis,likeper-GBpricing.

Computemeters

cansupport

monetizationof

resourceconsumption.Everyresourceinthecloudenvironmentcanbemonetized.

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Examplesofconnectivitymeters,usedintheMicrosoftAzurecloud,areillustratedbelow.

Connectionmonitormeasuresend-to-endconnectionsforAzureandhybridcloud

deployments.

Networkperformancemonitormetersnetworkperformancefactorslikelatency,jitterand

packetlossacrossbothAzureandon-premisesnetworks.

ExpressRoutecircuitmetermeasuresdata

transferandusageforprivateconnectionsthatlinkAzuredatacenterswithcustomers’on-

premisesinfrastructure.

VPNgatewaymetermeasuresdatatransferandconnectionsmetricsforvirtualprivate

network(VPN)gatewaysthatprovidesecureconnectivityacrosspremises.

Azurefirewallmetermeasurestrafficand

securitymetricsforAzurefirewallusageandevents.

Loadbalancermetermeasuresload-balancingmetricslikedataprocessesandperformance

probestatus.

Trafficmanagermetermeasuresendpointhealthandperformanceoftrafficrouting.

Applicationgatewaymetermeasures

applicationgatewayeventsandcharacteristicslikerequests,responsetimeandthroughput.

Azurefrontdoormetermeasuresrequestcounts,datatransfersandlatency.

Virtualnetworkgatewaymetermeasures

datatransfersandconnectionstatusofvirtualnetworkgateways.

MeteringispartoftheCX

Thougheverymetricametercollectsormonitorsmay

notbechargeable,theabilitytomonitorandreport

usageliveatagranularlevelispartandparcelofthe

hyperscaler’sCX.Alivedashboardshowscustomerswhattheyareconsuminginrealtime–orcloseenough–withtheabilitytodrilldowntogranulardetail.

Becauseofthisgranularity,hyperscalersarepreparedtocatertocustomersatlevelsthatexceedpractical

application–atleasttoday.Asaresult,theyareabletotapnewmonetizationopportunities.

Modelingcostsforcustomers

OneCXfeaturethattelcostypicallylackistheabilityto

model,simulateandcost-optimizelargescale

solutions

before-andcertainlyafter-thecustomerhasdeployedthem.

ACXfeaturetelcostypicallylackistheabilitytomodel,

simulateandcost-optimizesolutionsbeforeandafterthecustomerhasdeployedthem.

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Forexample,beforerollingoutasecure,multi-site

connectivityconfigurationthatlinksacompany’smain

officewithitsfactoriesandtransportationcenter,the

companyshouldbeabletosimulateexactlyhowmuch

compute,storageandconnectivityresourceswillbe

consumedunderdifferentloadconditions-suchas

duringbusinesshoursversusweekends,andbusyholidaytimesversustheoff-season.Asaresult,thecompany

hasaclearviewofhowmuchthemulti-sitesolutionwillcostbeforelaunchingit,whilealsosimulatingdifferentconfigurationstofindthebestbalanceofcostand

performance.

Thistypeofsimulationcapabilityisalsoimportantfor

solutionslikeIoT,B2B2X,Industry4.0andnetworkAPIs.“Industry4.0goesbeyondtelcoinfrastructure,”Lievanoexplains.Itextendstopartnersandotherpartiesthat

contributesolutioncomponents.

Thismeanscomplexityatscale,buteveryusagetypeandeventshouldbeaccountedforandpotentiallymonetized.Lievanosuggeststhatforanycompanythatwantstosellmore“high-value”solutionstoenterprises,“it’sgoingto

beveryhardtodowithoutthatcostmodelingcapability.”

Inthenextsection,welookatwhatamodern

chargingsolutionneedstodeliverandhowthetelecomschargingandcloudmeteringworldsintegratethrough

TMForum’sODA.

Industry4.0goesbeyondtelco

infrastructureandextendstopartnersandsolutions

providers.

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section3

what’sina

charging

platform?

moderntelco

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Atbaseline,modernchargingneedstoprovideliveobservabilityandmeteringcoupledwithratingandaccesscontrolInaddition,anyarchitecturemustbeabletospantheenvironmentsthatcomplexsolutionscantraverse,orfromwhichtheycanconsumeavarietyofresources,typicallyviaAPIs

Butrememberthatchargingisabroadtermthatspeakstoavarietyofchargingcomponents,eventsandinteractionsamongdifferentpartiesinatransactionorinvolvedinthedeliveryofacompletesolution.

FromaTMForum

OpenDigitalArchitecture

(ODA)

perspective,avarietyof

OpenAPIs

arerelevantto

charging’srolesinmonetization,meteringandaccess

control,andyetnotallarechargingfunctionsthemselves.

ThebreakoutofAPIcapabilitiesshownonthe

rightdemonstratesboththecomplexityinvolvedin

establishingchargingprocesses,rulesandprocedures

andtheabilityforOpenAPIstoorganizethemlogically

intomanageablecomponents.Thisisalsowherechargingarchitecturesoftelecomsoperatorsandhyperscalers’

meteringcapabilitiescancometogetherseamlessly.

“FromanODAperspective,allIneedtointegratewhatthehyperscalersdowithcloudmetering,evenata

verygranularlevel,issomeinformationpassedtothe

appropriatecharging-relatedAPIsaboutwhatparameters

arebeingmeteredandhowtheyarerated,”explainsTMForumCTOGeorgeGlass.

OpenAPIsfacilitatechargingandmetering

TMF635

UsageManagement:

Providesstandardized

mechanismforusagemanagement

suchascreation,update,retrieval,

importandexportofcollection

ofusages.Managesratedand

nonratedusage.

TMF670

PaymentMethodManagement:

Supportsthefrequentlyused

paymentmethodsforthe

customertochooseandpay

theusage,includingvouchercard,

couponandmoneytransfer.

TMF685

ResourcePoolManagement:

Providesresourcereservation

featureinthepreorderphase

toreservephysical,logical

andvirtualproductswithin

resourcepool.

TMF727

ServiceUsageManagement:Providesstandardmechanismforserviceusagemanagement

suchasthecreation,update,retrieval,importandexportofcollectionofserviceusages.

TMF651

Agreement:

APIprovidesstandardized

mechanismformanaging

agreements,especiallyinthe

contextofpartnerships

betweenpartners.

TMF676

PaymentManagement:

Providesstandardclient

interfacetopaymentsystems

fornotifyingaboutperformed

paymentsorrefunds.

TMF688

EventManagement:

Providesstandardinterfaceto

theenterpriseeventmanagement

systemtocreate,manageand

receiveservicerelatedevents

anddriveautomation.

TMF735

CDRTransactionManagement:

APIgoalistomanageCDR

transactionsthatdefinehow

revenueshareiscalculated,billed

andpaidbetweenanenterprise

withoneormoreotherparties.

TMF654

PrepayBalanceManagement:

Includesmodeldefinitionand

allavailableoperationsforprepay

balancemanagementincluding

multiplerechargechannelsand

balancetransferacrossaccounts.

TMF677

UsageConsumption

Management:

Providesrealtimevalueof

customerconsumptionwithin

subscribedcommunication

productbuckets.

TMF723

PolicyManagement:

Usestheeventconditionaction

(ECA)definitionwhereevent

triggerstheinvocationoftherule

andconditionislogicaltestto

triggeractionsincludingupdates

orinvocationsonthelocaldata.

TMF738-RevenueSharing

ModelManagement:

APIgoalistomanage

revenuesharingmodelsthat

definehowrevenueisshared

byanenterprisewithoneor

moreotherparties.

TMF771ResourceUsageManagement:

Providesstandardmechanism

forresourceusagemanagement

suchasthecreation,update,

retrieval,importandexport

ofcollectionofusages.

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SomeOpenAPIsallowfortheneededdegreeof

granularitytomeasure,rate,controlandmonetize

complexcombinationsofon-netandoff-netresources,servicesandproducts.Othersfacilitaterelated

interactions,likemanagingandreportingtherevenueshareamongpartnersinamulti-componentsolution.

“ODAwasdesignedtoanticipateandadapttochange,”explainsGlass.Headdsthatalthoughtoday’sfast-

growingAImarketwasnotpredictedspecifically,ODAwasdesignedwiththeexpectationthatnewtypes

ofservices,relationshipsandmonetizationmodels

wouldemerge;thatthesewouldbeverydifferentfromtelcos’historicmodels;andthatmakingthemeasytocomponentize,integrateandmonetizewasnecessary.ThisforesightcouldprovecriticalinCSPs’abilityto

capitalizeonAIgrowthashyperscalershave.

Whatshouldchargingdo?

AsCSPsmodernizesupportsystems,charging

architectureswillcontinuetohavecoreresponsibilities

thatcarryforwardfrompreviousgenerationsandremainrelevanttomanyCSPs’businesses.Someoftheseare

outlinedopposite.

Whilemostofthefunctionslistedarecommonto

chargingplatforms,theadvancedcapabilitiesare

differentbecausetheyspantheintentofthe5GSAchargingspecificationandhyperscalers’meteringcapabilities.

•Servicemonetization&accesscontrol

•Servicebundling

•Prepaidandpostpaidconvergence

•Real-timebalanceupdates

•Event-basedcharging

•Usage-basedbilling

•Subscriptionmanagement

•Roamingcharges

Corecharging

•Customernotifications

•Customerself-service

•Real-timepromotions

•Spendingcontrols

•Frauddetection

Customer-facing

•Creditcontrol

•Real-timeanalytics

•Networkslicing

•QualityofService(QoS)differentiation

•IoTusageandcontrol

•APImonetization

•Dynamicpricing

Advancedcapabilities

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Dynamicpricingcomesintoplayintwowaysfor

telecomsserviceproviders.Firstly,inthesameway

thatcompanieslikeAmazonandUberusedemand-

basedpricingalgorithmstorai