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P:
This seems like a step further away from flat-rate billing--Do customers really want more complexity in billing?
SR:
Customers never want more complexity in billing. Unlimited offers are still relevant in the U.S. led by Sprint. As more and more on-demand services are available and adopted there could be more complexity in the billing rendered to the customer simply by providing detail around the on-demand purchases. Even for customers on an unlimited based core plan, additional content buy-ups may be offered and that will make the rendered billing information more complex.
The ability to provide simple information the way the customer wants to see it across multiple touchpoints (device, web, etc…) will have to evolve to try to simplify the experience. Customers will evolve as they start to adopt and purchase on-demand services and you could
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"Customers will evolve as they start to adopt and purchase on-demand services." |
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even see an environment closer to a pre-paid “pay-as-you-go” approach in the future for all wireless.
Is it Time for Real-Time?
As we’ve heard from both sides of the discussion, agile, real-time billing and charging is important and must be a part of the billing, charging, and policy management approach for modern carriers. It is no doubt an innovative way to monetize, bill, and manage attractive new services. The real questions are how urgent the need for a converged platform is, and how quickly the transition to a fully real-time environment will occur. Like many of the topics covered in this issue, time will reveal the answers to these questions, but real-time billing, charging, and policy control is an innovation that is here to stay. |
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