TELECOM BILLING

NEPPS Strengths

Developed by a telecom for telecoms
As a tier 1 telecommunications company that has effectively dealt with deregulation and competition in the US market, Verizon has firsthand knowledge of the detailed business requirements that must be supported by enterprise software systems applications, including NEPPS, that they have developed to support their telephone operating companies.  This knowledge and experience, combined with the challenges and inputs from around the world who have purchased their commercial NEPPS system, has enabled the NEPPS product to evolve into the world class system that it is today.

Manages all EDR detail
Collects, holds, rates, analyzes, prices and sends voice, data, and IP network events to the billing system for billing.  NEPPS architecture on NSK architecture allows this to happen.  Benefit:  Significantly reduces demands on billing system. 

Pre-billing infrastructure
Includes account association, fixed period billing, data management, un-located processing, archiving, usage inquiry, etc.  Benefit:  With seamless interfaces versus "blackbox" interfaces between  processes, inherent controls are extended, leakage and time delays eliminated, time and money is saved, and risk mitigated.  Competitive systems need "blackboxes" to do what NEPPS does.  Competitive products are reformatters ... NEPPS is not.

Handles convergence
NEPPS is capable of interacting with one image, “multiple” Customer Care, Billing and Service Order systems.  NEPPS can be used to bring together data from different sources into a single repository.  By defining services in Account Profiles, data from diverse industries (i.e., ISP, wireline, wireless, CATV, etc.), can be associated together for billing. 

Growth and scalability
NEPPS on the HP NSK platform allows for unlimited growth.  Carriers can grow systems as their volumes increase without replacing hardware or re-implementing the software.  With NEPPS’s unique process of “code generation,” carriers can add new features and new sources of revenue to NEPPS and remove outdated methods without depending on the vendor.

Handling volumes
Pre-Billing capabilities of NEPPS can be used to manage the heavy volume of network event detail on existing billing systems.  NEPPS becomes the keeper of the network event for billing and after billing.  Current NEPPS customers are processing 10 million – 700 million network events per day; one customer has 60 business rules associated with settlement determination.

Cost of Ownership
With NEPPS architecture and tools, carriers can implement a customized system (or a “one off” look alike) without the cost of enhancements and/or support

 Data repository
Most “on network” products that NEPPS is compared to are designed to perform one task.  They do not have the capacity to store and manage CDR “detail.”  NEPPS manages this “detail” after the fact.  For example, Pre-paid data is still recorded and captured on the switch.  The systems doing “pre-paid” credit management store the data.  That data can then be captured in NEPPS for additional data analysis.

Catalogues and reuses modules
… which means they can be used by other parts of NEPPS.  Benefit:  Reuse of modules saves significant time and money via reuse versus recreation of modules.  This allows for better organization, eliminates errors, requires fewer resources to support, etc. 

All-encompassing system 
Benefit:  NEPPS includes features like correlation, switch file recovery, single and mass error correction, generation of settlement records, ability to feed auxiliary systems in their formats vs imposing NEPPS formats, flexible rating and pricing vs imposing pre-set tariffs, etc.

Controls are built-in
… via the NESS.  The customer defines what is to be captured and summarized...   
Business rules are defined in the ESS and enabled by the NEPPS and Non-Stop infrastructures

Customer’s problem
The fast growing diversity and volumes of network events that must be effectively and efficiently managed, analyzed and billed for, are continuing to place increased burdens on carrier billing systems.

 Solution to manage massive Network Event growth and diversity

• Short-term option:  Upgrade or replace billing systems
• Long-term option:  NEPPS