Along the way to becoming one of the world’s largest 5G providers, India’s Jio also has shown telecom companies around the globe how to build a thriving, customer-focused 4G business in record time.
This summer, Jio noted that its all-IP 4G LTE network has grown to some 400 million customers since roll-out in 2015, which it claims is a world record for network 4G growth. Some of that momentum has come from Jio Business, an integrated digital communications platform launched in 2021 specifically to provide enterprise-grade voice and data services and digital solutions to small and midsized businesses, and do so at a fraction of the cost of what they are accustomed to paying for connectivity, productivity and automation tools.
How did Jio do it? Well, for one thing, the price for its services was right. But let’s not overlook the important role that sophisticated, scalable and customer-friendly billing capabilities also has played. As straightforward as Jio Business appears to enterprise customers — it’s touted as a one-stop-shop for connectivity and digital services, with simplified pricing, a self-serve portal, performance dashboards, etc. — it has lots of moving parts for the provider to manage, with multiple tariffs for various options, from unlimited IP-based voice to Microsoft 365 productivity tools to video conferencing to devices as a service. The billing system behind Jio Business and the company’s other 4G services is capable of processing 60 billion transactions per day, with zero contention and a flexible framework for introducing new offers.
In a business as commoditized as telecom, where customers are apt to leave their provider after even one negative experience, high-volume, customer-centric billing and settlement capabilities can be a huge competitive differentiator for the positive impact they can make on the customer experience, and for their ability to support new telecom business and revenue models. In particular, more sophisticated billing and settlement can benefit providers by:
- Providing the framework for onboarding and supporting a large number of partners. Communications companies are deploying APIs to allow app developers to enhance popular digital services they offer with embedded network functions. The myriad inputs and outputs involved in offering these bundled, API-based services can really complicate pricing, usage-tracking, billing, settlement, reconciliation, receivables processing and other key financial and accounting functions involving partners, vendors and customers. Here’s where telecom service providers can take a cue from other digital service providers like Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and VMWare by simplifying and automating their landscapes and processes. With strong, configurable and integrated billing and settlement capabilities operating from the same system, billing and settlement are seamless for the provider, partner and customer alike.
- Enabling new business models around providers’ own end services. Instead of bringing an outside partner in to provide a videoconferencing service as part of Jio Business, Jio developed its own app, JioMeet. Verizon, meanwhile, has built Verizon Connect to provide logistics and other Internet of Things-based fleet management services to organizations. Ventures like these hold massive appeal for providers for their ability to generate substantial additional incremental revenue from their own end services. Not only do they enable companies to diversify beyond traditional connectivity with more of the usage-based, “as a service” offerings that customers want for convenience and cost certainty, providers find them highly desirable for the consistent, predictable revenue streams they can produce.
- Monetizing 5G investments. In a single U.S. auction of licenses for wireless spectrum, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile reportedly spent a combined a combined $81 billion on frequencies in the so-called C-Band. And that’s a small fraction of the mounting industry-wide total outlay to build a global 5G network. The aforementioned partnerships and end services are among the business models providers are exploring to monetize those investments. As a result, providers must have billing capabilities to support emerging multi-cloud and outcome-based, as-a-service bundles that will be critical to recouping their 5G investments by serving enterprise customers in new and innovative ways.
- Turning billing into a non-issue, freeing your customer service teams and call centers to focus on higher value work. The time your customer service and call center teams spend resolving billing issues could be better spent on pursuits that generate greater value for the business — cross-selling, high-touch service to your most important customers, etc. Significant improvements to billing accuracy can strengthen customer satisfaction while cutting support costs by 30-50%. More accurate settlement also improves partner satisfaction and enables partners to focus on innovations that drive significant revenue growth for the operator.
In a 2021 report, Accenture said, “Customers expect the high-quality, digitally driven experiences they encounter in other industries to be matched by their telecommunications providers,” adding that the mission for telecom companies is clear: “Deliver a differentiated CX to meet evolving expectations and stand out in the crowd.”
While it may not be the splashiest way for a communications provider to get noticed, having powerful, versatile billing and settlement capabilities in the back office could well be a determining factor in a company’s ability to gain a competitive edge as they evolve from traditional communication providers into digital service providers.
