Telesoft Russia: Products: TELEBIS - Billing system for the telecomunication operators

TELEBIS
Billing system for the
TELECOMMUNICATION OPERATORS

"TeleBIS" is the billing system for the telecommunication operators (further in the text - the System) - designed and developed by the company “Telesoft Russia”.

OBJECTIVES

The system is intended for automation of primary activity of the telecommunication operators in part of the service providing, accounting and charging for the subscribers (Clients) and control of payments, informational support of clearing with other telecommunication operators (Partners), management of bills delivery, reception and processing of the Clients orders, claims and sentences, and also, registration, assignment and planning of resources. On quantity of implemented functions the System comes nearer to the class of services management systems.

USAGE

The system can be applied by the telecommunication operators for telephone fixed networks, cellular telephony networks, trunk networks, paging networks, data transmission networks, by Internet providers, for mixed and other networks.

For operators of fixed telephone networks the functions of the extended registration, assignment and planning of network resources, such as subscriber's numbers and cable equipment of a subscriber line for a fixed telephone network, are implemented.

Besides the set of additional functions, as for example, management of bills delivery, information messages dispatch, operation with various reference information, sale of material values, information service of Clients through Internet is implemented.

SERVICES AND RESOURCES

Services in the System are understood as any action of telecom operator, for which it has the right to levy payment. It can be the basic telecom services, foreseen by the license of telecom operator, and padding services. The granting of services can be direct or is indirectly relied to a resources use of telecom operator. As operator's resources the System allows to support (to describe and to file) any hardware, software, software-hardware complexes, belonging to telecom operator, which he can submit to the Clients in temporal use, partially or completely, and in the property as well.

TARIFF SYSTEM

The flexible scheme of tariffication is implemented in the System. According to it, for example, the Client of the operator of a fixed or mobile telephone network can have any quantity of telephones, the calls from each can be tariffied under a specific tariff plan. The tariff plan includes a set of parameters of a tariffication (tariffs, discounts, coefficients, thresholds etc.). The tariffs can depend on time of day, day of year and other parameters. The quantity of the tariff plans in the system is unlimited. During a billing period the change of any tariff, which is included in the tariff plan, is possible, and it will be automatically taken into account for billing. Thus, having created a set of basic and individual tariff plans, the operator can customize the tariffication system and completely satisfy both own needs, and needs of the Client.

THE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

The system has the three-layer architecture «client - application server - DB server», that makes the system scalable and flexible and allows easily to achieve indispensable performance and configuration on the majority of known software-hardware platforms. The flexibility of the architecture allows easily to change the system following the development of the network.

Portability. The System can work under operating systems Unix and Windows NT. Automated workplaces can work under operating system Windows 95/98/NT.

Scalability. The system allows to work on computers of any class, starting with the personal computer of an average performance; allows easily upgrading hardware at reaching limits of its possibilities on processing your data, practically neither changing the software nor retraining operators.

Security and reliability. The system allows achieving a demanded degree of reliability and provides protection against unauthorized access. The used DBMS Oracle (certified in Russian Federation) provides reliable and safe data storage, including protection against unauthorized access.

Certification. The system has been certified in the Russian Federation.

Advantages of the System: the user-friendly interface, flexible architecture, portability, scalability.

FUNCTIONS OF THE SYSTEM

The system automates primary activity of the telecommunication operators, namely herein provided functions.

registration of Clients and interaction with Clients, including:
reception and processing of the orders:
operation with services, including:
operation with the tariffs and tariff plans:
operation with resources, including:
data collection about resources use (data on measurements of usage time or traffic) and subsequent preliminary tariffication;
bills issue for services:
operation with payments and control of a state of the Clients accounts:
supplying by reference information the System users:
statistics for users of the System:
administration of the System, including:

CLIENTS AND SUBSCRIBERS

Client in the System is understood as any physical person or juridical person entered in the System and being a customer of services, offered by telecomm operator.

Subscriber in the System is understood as the Client being a customer of temporary services, offered among other services by the Customer (Telecomm Operator). The subscriber's right to consume services (i.e. on being served and/or to use resources) is confirmed by the document (agreement, subscription).

In the System the procedure of registration of Clients is fulfilled irrespective of the procedure of the ordering, i.e. it is possible to register the Client (as potential Client) without ordering. It allows to improve quality of operation with potential Clients, and also to solve the problem with possible cancellation of orders. The registered Clients are not deleted from the database even after termination of services.

Among juridical persons, Partners could be especially selected - i.e. telecom operator for which clearing informational support is implemented.

Apart from it, in the System any physical persons or juridical persons who are not Clients, for example, representatives of telecom operator and its staff can be registered.

Each Client is given his personal current account and the information on his address, contact, legal and payment attributes is recorded.

The possibility of grouping the Clients is stipulated. Each Client can enter several groups at the same time.

The ordering and allocation of services

In the System the processes of interaction with Clients, in particular, procedure of the ordering, i.e. the Client request for allocation to him services, are automated.

The resources usage by the Client is carried out through the allocation of services by the Customer (telecomm operator) who is the user of the System. The system performs the automated support of allocation of services and control the allocation, usage and state of resources. In the System, the resource allocation for usage is considered as main service of the telecomm operator. The specific division of services on main and additional is carried out at the stage of System set-up.

An resource usage by the Client can be temporary or permanent. Besides a number of resources allow shared use by several Clients. Such resources can be used partially or completely. According to it, services submitted to the Client differ. The list of resources examples usage by the Client and appropriate main services follows:

Complete usage of an resource, for example, rent of an resource (line, port);

Partial or shared use of an resource in a time sharing mode, for example, usage of an resource during the restricted schedule of time;

Partial or shared use of an resource without a time sharing, for example, waveband splitting or disk space on the server;

Partial or shared use of an resource - combination of two previous examples.

Partial usage of an resource or shared use of an resource by Clients can be described in the System by introduction of virtual resources being components of a basic resource and corresponding to such usage. However, such representation is needed only in case of necessity to automize the control of a resources usage. For the purpose of billing it can be sufficient to introduce separate services and resources.

In the System the situation is possible, when with the help of the same resource, submitted to the Client, there can be granted several sorts of services. For example, valid telephone set and its appropriate phone line can be used for services of allocation for local, long distance and international connection.

SERVICE CHARGE

For services, rendered to the client, payment is charged as a rule. The size of this payment can depend on a type of service, Client, date, time of day and many other conditions.

In the System the possibility of definition of a set of rules and data, which permit to establish the payment for rendered services, is provided.

To unify the procedure of fee definition and provide for telecom operator the possibility to support the flexible price policy in the System is applied the flexible tariff system based on concepts of the tariff and the tariff plan.

Tariff in the System is understood as the concrete function permitting to put in correspondence to each service a size of fee for it. Tariff plan in the System is understood as a named set of the connected tariffs and discounts.

In the System we can define the unlimited quantity of the tariffs and tariff plans. Each service can have several different tariffs. To each Client the personal tariff plan can be assigned. Besides the separate tariff plan can be assigned on each separate copy of service, ordered by the client, related with the particular resource, used by Client.

Such approach allows to satisfy demands of operators, which have many resources of miscellaneous types (operators of telephone fixed networks, cellular telephony networks, trunking networks, paging networks, data transmission networks, Internet providers, for mixed and other networks).

With the same resource there can be rendered few types of services, and every of them can be tariffied variously. For example, telephone set and appropriate phone line can be used for rendering of local, long distance and international connection. So, can differ tariffs for submitted services. The payment of all these services is done under the common bill, that allows to increase an overall performance of the System.

In the System user can create practically unlimited set of the tariffs and discounts from most simple up to very complex.

For example, for local connection the following variants of the tariffs are possible:

simple tariff (constant);

the tariff depending on a duration of talk (1-st min - T1, 2-nd min - T2, ...)

the tariff depending on a type of day (working day, day off, holiday);

the tariff depending of time of day;

the tariff depending on any combination of three previous conditions;

the tariff specifying arbitrary value for any selected intervals of time within year (of days, weeks, months, anyone others).

For long distance and international connection it is possible to add the dependence on tariff zones (accordingly long distance and international).

The more complex tariffication of services is possible. For example, for service of access to Internet it is possible to evaluate simultaneously both connection time and value of the transmitted information.

The calculations with clients and subscribers are made with the aid of exhibiting of the bills for the rendered services and control of service charge with the aid of payments registration. In the System the exhibiting of the bills of different types is possible: for physical and legal persons, for cash and non-cash payment, detail and non-detail, bills for full computational period and express bills. Besides the System executes informational support of clearing with other telecom operators (Partners) with the aid of tariffication of services rendered by them or them using separate tariff plans. The system provides the possibility of exhibiting of the bills and registration of payments in different currencies.

THE SYSTEM USERS

User in the System is understood as any subject authorised on operation with the System. Client or his representative can be defined as user if it is necessary.

In the System there are four main classes of the users.

The system administrator is a user of the System (user group), which one responds for administration of the System. The system administrator has access rights to all functions of the System and has the rights of input, modification and deleting of almost any information (including the information on the System users) from the System Database with usage of all menus and screen forms of the System.

The System Database Administrator has all rights of the System Administrator, and additional rights enabling support of the database at Oracle level (archiving or restoring of the database, export or import of data, access through SQL). If necessary, the role of the System Database Administrator can be fulfilled by the Administrator of a DBMS Oracle or System Administrator.

The System Operator has access rights to the System through the System Operator Interface, and has the rights on input/modification/deleting of data in the System sufficient for implementation of the received data processing technology. If necessary, the System Operators can be divided into groups with definition of roles and appropriate access rights for group.

The System Client has the rights on review of some reference information, and also of his own account data. The System Client has no direct access to the System DB and screen forms. He has only access through special Web-forms via any Internet browser, if telecom operator has the Web server.

DELIVERY SET

The delivery set of the System includes a main set of units and optional units, selected by the Customer.

Besides the following units are delivered with a main set:

data set with default system parameters, basic data set for directories and test data;

the software of application server part providing a tariffication and charging;

the software of input and processing of data of measurements on usage of resources by Clients of the Customer for one resource type, selected by the customer (resources of a fixed telephone network, resources of mobile networks, Internet resources etc.);

The software of a database management system (DBMS) - Oracle Server and Oracle Developer/2000 1.3 Runtime for 5 (five) users;

Electronic protection keys - 5 pieces.

An optional unit set includes:

Document DB and Contract Printing;

Client Claim Processing (registration and processing of client claims and suggestions);

Bill Delivery Management;

Client Information Service through Internet;

Cable Equipment Inventory (the extended support of allocation, planning and registration of equipment of a subscriber line for a fixed telephone network).

The basic version of the system support 5 users with one server and up to 4 workstations.

The basic version of the System is delivered with division of the users on two groups on access rights: the system administrators and operators of the System. All functions are accessible to group of operators of the system, except for functions of system administrating.

The basic version of the System can be modified under specific Customer requirements in deadlines. It means adjustment of design of the reports and bills under Customer requirements of the, set-up with specific Customer resources and usage conditions. Besides any set of functions, forms and reports can be designed and developed on the specification of the Customer.

Any deviations from a delivery set of the basic version of the system should be reserved in a requirement specification of the system personalising.

The standard variants of changes, which one can be offered to the Customer, are herein provided:

increase of quantity of workstations;

organisation of the remote workstations;

increase of quantity of servers (for example, separate database server and application server);

increase of quantity of user groups with miscellaneous access rights to functions of the System;

delivering of "minimal" variant of the System - variant providing the operation on one computer.

Variants of the system physical architecture

The three-layer architecture «client - application server - DB server» makes the system scalable and flexible. Such architecture allows creating the necessary physical architecture of the System with any quantity and layout of components without change of the program code. The simplified architecture of the system is shown on the Fig. 1.

On the application server the functions of the tariffication and charging are allocated: charging for billing period, express - charging (from a beginning of billing period till current date), control requests. Besides the application server fulfils input of data of resources use measurements and perform their preliminary tariffication.

As minimal variant it's possible to use for System operation one personal computer of middle performance.

For systems intended for operation with major number of the subscribers, the variant with separate computers for database server and application server, connected via network with the TCP/IP protocol is recommended. For interaction with the system it is possible to use any number of separate workstations on the basis of personal computers.

It is possible also to create the architecture with several Client Service centres and one or several accounting centres (See example on Fig. 2)..