LTE has been growing much faster than predicted, driving increases in volume, complexity and use cases. According to the GSA, there are 100 million LTE subscribers in 2012 and 381 operators currently investing in LTE -- including 234 commercial launches -- in 114 countries.
For both 3G and LTE operators to maximize revenue, it's paramount to put in place the right revenue-generating infrastructure in order to make the most of LTE speeds.
Legacy intelligent network (IN) charging and billing infrastructures are quite limited in their ability to cope or even provide the flexibility, real-time capability and support for innovation that operators need in an increasingly data-centric fast world.
These limitations directly affect operators' ability to quickly and cost-effectively create revenue streams. Convergent real-time charging systems have therefore been introduced to enable operators to better monetize data and their overall services.
Operators need to review their current IN charging and billing infrastructures in light of their strategic goals, taking into account upcoming voice over LTE (VoLTE) services. This is to avoid further investments in already costly IN platforms that are inadequate for data – operators’ most lucrative and soon only source of revenue.
Many operators have already taken steps to evolve their legacy charging infrastructures to better monetize LTE. For example, Bell Mobility in North America had put in place the right infrastructure prior to evolving to LTE, with a scalable, real-time charging infrastructure to roll out a broader array of personalized pre-paid and post-paid services.