By
Gabriel Matsliach, Comverse
Exposed to constant innovations and new service experiences on the Internet, consumers have raised their expectations when it comes to their telecom services, making a focus on the customer experience a strategic imperative for communication service providers (CSPs). Customers – consumer or enterprise - want personalization, flexibility, quality, and innovation from their CPS. They also want the freedom to choose what services to use, when and how to use them, as well as the ability to set price controls and payment methods. And if they can't get them from their CSP, there are plenty of nimble new players in the market just waiting for the chance to pounce.
CSPs have the necessary assets to optimize the customer experience. These include rich customer information, extremely personalized communications channels, and sophisticated networks. As the rules of the game change, CSPs must find the best way to leverage these assets in order to become more insightful, agile and effective in the way they interact with customers.
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How can CSPs capitalize on the mobile broadband uptake, while also enhancing their customers' experiences? The answer lies in “smart charging.” |
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How can CSPs capitalize on the mobile broadband uptake, while also enhancing their customers' experiences? The answer lies in “smart charging” - charging based not only on changes in network conditions, content, or time of day, but charging that also considers
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Coupled with an increase in customer expectations is an increase in bandwidth usage. In 2010 the worldwide 3G customer base is expected to surpass one billion subscribers. Smart devices, advanced networks and more sophisticated applications are driving mobile broadband use around the globe. As 4G/LTE/IMS networks begin to roll out, subscribers will be accessing multiple services within a single session, performing on-demand content downloads, and expecting service continuity across devices and networks. Along with the excitement of this uptake, has come the realization on the part of many CSPs that flat-rate pricing approaches are not sustainable. Of course, consumers have become comfortable with “all you can eat”, so careful navigation through pricing policy change is needed.
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customer status (e.g. VIP), account balance, overall service plan (e.g. multi-product discounts) and the like.
This multi-dimensional approach also gives CSPs more power to provide customers with relevant choices and incentives, as well as proactively prevent negative customer experiences. For example, let's say a premium subscriber is attempting to stream a video during off-peak hours. From the CSP's point of view, this is desired behavior. Thus, the subscriber's behavior could be encouraged by offering a temporary bandwidth boost at a discounted rate. Or, consider the case where a subscriber is close to reaching her data plan quota. In this case, the service provider could
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