Part Two: Increase Margins with both Prepaid and Post-paid

Historically, high ARPUs have been linked with high-end post-paid subscribers. But as we look more into margins, also low-end prepaid customers can be profitable. In the prepaid market segment rates are typically higher, lifetime costs including marketing and customer care are usually lower, and prepaid billing minimizes bad dept. But to reach a positive AMPU, the service provider/operator must have a cost-effective billing system and agile service operations.

A convergent billing system with real-time rating and charging capabilities brings advantages not only to prepaid service billing; it can also be used in connection with post-paid billing. As rating is done in real-time, invoice generation is faster and requires fewer resources than in traditional post-paid billing.

Second, real-time balance control saves money for the operator and makes subscribers happy, as they get balance limitations that really work. Subscribers can, for example, via Internet get balance statements that reflect the actual situation and notices or bills-on-demand that are activated when reaching a certain threshold.

Third, through convergent billing capabilities the service provider gets access to new kinds of services. For example, high-value transactions that require real-time authorisation and rating in order to minimize risks, or promotions and subscription plans that include both pre- and post-paid service usage, such as hybrid accounts. In addition, a convergent billing system enables advanced services for corporate use, with reporting, controlling and discounts/bonuses.

All these functionalities help the operator or service provider to decrease operational costs and to increase margins.