CIOL: Convergent billing practices haven't met success in India so far? Why? What could be the trend in future?

VM: Convergence has been a much-talked about thing but at the same time an overlooked subject when it comes to delivering it to the end customer. Operators are still in customer acquisition mode and convergence, as a requirement, has not found its business case so far. Having stated this, Convergys believes that the new license operators have the advantage of starting off with a true convergent platform and offerings that are IT-based across the subscriber base.

Convergence is the most used term in the telecom market and it means different things to different people. We strongly believe that Indian operators will leap-frog a generation of convergence. Where in other parts of the world we have witnessed operators moving away form siloed services to convergent services and then on to true convergence across pre- and postpaid subscribers, in India, it is very likely that operators might skip the interim step and move straight to true convergence.

It's also important to note that the teledensity in urban areas is now reaching above 80 per cent. This will, in turn, drive operators to offer differentiated services in a convergent setting to reduce churn and attract new customers, especially since mobile number portability is already approved by TRAI.

CIOL: Will 3G will open up newer ways of revenue for telecos during deceasing ARPU?

VM: Absolutely. As we have witnessed in the other regions, data and content services have the ability to provide differentiation in offerings, while traditionally, voice can be differentiated only by pricing. We strongly believe that the new world of services will provide the impetus and momentum to make up and increase the ARPU across the Indian diaspora. Mobile broadband on 3G could be a good, early revenue generator, since data access is becoming a mandatory requirement in the country.

CIOL: However, 3G hasn't seen much success in many countries nor has it increased the ARPU. So what kind of scenario will it bring to India?

VM: The value chain for the development of localized content and cutting-edge IT services has not yet grown to levels that we witness in the USA, Korea and Japan. For example, a country like Singapore has issues similar to India and the IDA (Infocomm Development Authority) has been promoting local entrepreneurial talent to set up media and content businesses to drive the country's national broadband initiative.

Convergys believes that India will eventually follow the US model. In the US, there is rich media content available locally and it's a matter of tapping it and making it available on a handset as a mobile TV platform.

In case of operators, they will need to differentiate their offerings and strategically target 3G services to different customer segments across the subcontinent. The localized needs of each region will have to be addressed by operators in their offerings. This approach presents an opportunity to drive up 3G revenues. There is a likelihood that the providers of OSS and billing infrastructure will see a boost, while the rest of the BSS (CRM, Financials, and Receivables) will not be impacted.

CIOL: What are the various models in the market and which could be best suited for India?

VM: 1. Outright purchase
2. Wholesale pricing
3. Revenue sharing
Depending on the type of service, the partner offering the service and the operator’s subscriber projections, any of the aforesaid models could be applicable.

CIOL: What will be the newer trends to emerge in the 3G billing space?

VM: 1. Real-time charging irrespective of pre/postpaid services
2. Content charging and settlement will become prominent
3. Change of revenue mix and adoption of content services will lead to managing product lifecycles in a centralized manner.

CIOL: What are the challenges as of now and going forward in this space?

VM: 1. Legacy infrastructure: Operators will be at the cross-roads of protecting sunken investment in their legacy platforms versus transformating their OSS/BSS infrastructure to be 3G ready.

2. Handset prices for the subscriber: For 3G to gain mass-market acceptance, it will need support from the handset manufacturers on the handset prices.

3. License fees for 3G