Professional Education Proposal

Education for Telecommunications
Billing and Revenue Assurance Professionals
a GBA Initiative for 2006

Background:

The subject of education for “billing and revenue assurance professionals” has been discussed many times at GBA meetings and a survey of GBA members in 2005 confirmed the generally held view that there is a need for good quality education to be available to people engaged in activities that impact Billing and Revenue Assurance.

A number of training providers have approached the GBA, offering their services but there is no GBA framework currently in place for assessing the quality of the offerings, and no basis for formally “accrediting” the courses or services offered.

The GBA’s Executive Council Meetings held on 7th November 2005 in Frankfurt, and on 31st January in London, both endorsed the establishment of a GBA Education Initiative in 2006 and this paper presents the GBA proposal and invites your comments.

GBA’s Education Initiative Objective:

The GBA will act as a catalyst for defining a programme of “Telecommunications Billing and Revenue Assurance Professional Education Modules” delivered by academic institutions and experts from industry where appropriate. A key objective will be to provide affordable and easy access to relevant modules, possibly facilitated by correspondence / electronic / self-study methods. The GBA will in effect establish a “virtual” Academy facilitating preferential access to the modules and accrediting and/or awarding certificates to participants who successfully complete selected modules.

Proposed Development of the GBA’s Education Initiative:

1. The GBA will form a small “Professional Education Initiative Working Group” drawn from its existing membership, and invited participants if appropriate.
   
2. The working group will create and maintain the education syllabus.
   
3. The working group will identify universities (or institutions of similar standing) that already provide courses that would support the syllabus.
   
4. The working group identifies industry experts and other sources that could provide material to support the syllabus.
   
5. The working group select preferred academic institutions and industry experts that are particularly well equipped to provide specific “Telecommunications Billing and Revenue Assurance Professional Education Modules”.
   
6. The working group, co-operate with the academic institutions and industry experts to refine the syllabus, identify appropriate course tutors, and review module material.
   
7. The GBA, in conjunction with the academic institutions, accredit and/or award certificates to participants that successfully complete selected modules.
   
8. Students, or their sponsoring organisations, provide a revenue stream to the bodies delivering modules and to the GBA.

GBA’s Education Initiative Draft Syllabus:

Modules described in the syllabus below would be:

• Provided by a combination of university lecturers and “experts” from the industry;
• Offered at three levels:
  Overview level to give a general appreciation of the subject matter,
  Intermediate level to give a good working knowledge of the subject matter,
  Expert level to give a detailed knowledge and competence in the subject matter
• Interspersed and supplemented by relevant practical experience provided by operators (where possible depending on the availability of supporting operators).
• Interspersed and supplemented by practical experience at experienced operators (subject to individual Operators agreeing to facilitate);

1. Fundamentals of Network Technologies
   Fixed networks
   Cable networks
   Mobile networks, CDMA, 2G, 3G, WiFi
   IP networks
   IMS
   Interconnect and Interoperability
   FMC
   Service provisioning
   Billing
   
2. Current and Future Services Delivery
   Voice
   SMS
   Data
   VoIP
   Triple Play
   Location Based Services
   e-wallet
   Content services, content providers and supply chain management
   DRM – access to content, authorisation, distribution rights
   
3. Regulation
   National Regulatory Authorities
   Licensing service providers and services
   Universal Service obligations
   Consumer Contract law in relation to Communications Service Providers
   Quality of Service obligations and reporting
   Data protection and data retention legislation
   Billing accuracy legislation

Sarbanes Oxley Requirements and compliance

1. Billing for Services
   Billing principles
   Data entities and flows required for billing
   Capturing and processing billable event details
   End-to-end process integrity requirements
   Post-paid / pre-paid billing models, balance top-up methods, balance transfers
   Interconnect settlement principles
   TAP protocols
   CODIFI
   CAMEL
   Receivables processing
   Credit and debt management
   Collections management
   Setting appropriate Key Performance Indicators
   Billing performance measurement techniques
   Benchmarking billing performance
   
2. Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management
   Revenue Assurance and Fraud definitions
   Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management principles and scope
   Opportunities for revenue leakage and fraud
   Setting appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
   Identifying Key Risk Areas (KRA’s)
   Revenue Assurance measurement techniques
   Reporting on Revenue Assurance and Fraud to achieve performance improvements
   Benchmarking Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management performance
   Establishing Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management as a business function
   
3. Organisational Factors
   Typical organisational structures
   Intra business communications media
   Interpersonal skills for effective communication
   Understanding business drivers in order to create effective business cases
   Making Business Cases
   The role and contribution of external agencies, e.g. GBA, TMF, GSMA, TUFF, FIINA, CFCA, etc

Higher education participants could be required to provide a thesis for assessment by a designated board.

Combining Modules to achieve GBA Accredited Professional Education Status

It is recognised that individuals in some business functions may not wish or need to participate in all the modules to become proficient in their role. Therefore it is desirable to permit a selection of modules, and at differing levels of detail, to be taken and be recognised as being sufficient to qualify for GBA Accredited Status.

A possible framework for defining the modules necessary to be proficient in any particular business function is to invite ALL business functions in the GBA operators’ community to specify the modules, and the level of detail, they consider necessary to achieve competence in each particular function, thereby ensuring the interests and views of all function are represented. This approach will allow a majority consensus to be arrived at that accommodates possible regional, business and cultural differences.

GBA’s Education Initiative Action Plan & Timetable

1. Invite participants to form the Education Initiative Working Group

1. Agree Action Plan & Timetable

1. Review and agree draft syllabus

1. Develop GBA business model for funding & revenue generation

1. Identify potential sponsors and/or sources of funding

1. Identify potential academic institutions

1. Identify potential expert contributors from industry

1. Formally approach potential institutions & industry contributors

1. Confirm/contract with academic institutions & expert contributors

1. Training providers develop coursework, advised by GBA Working Group

1. Develop material to promote & advertise Education Modules

1. Run pilot modules

1. Launch & promote full programme for 2007

1. Award GBA accreditation of Modules

1. Plan for ongoing administration & further development

David Smith

ABIS & Associates Ltd

Director, GBA

3rd March 2006

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