Introduction To Wireless Billing; Usage Recording, Charge Processing, System Setup, And Real Time Billing

This book explains how companies bill for wireless voice, data, and information services. Billing and customer care for wireless systems convert the measured amounts of services (bytes of digital information transmitted or information services provided) within a network into the money that will be received by the service provider. The billing systems used in wireless systems can vary from simple one time charges for hot-spot wireless access points to integrated mobile cellular systems that allow real-time (near instant) activation and prepayment of services. The authors have interviewed and worked with hundreds of wireless service provider companies to discover the ways wireless billing systems operate. You will learn the language and terms used in the setup and operation wireless billing system systems along with the format and important information parts of wireless billing records. The popular wireless billing industry standards are described and explained including CIBER, TAP3, and IPDR. Covered are the basic processes used to assign costs (rate) to the usage of transmission and information services. Discussed are the ways that charges can be settled between wireless service providers who allow visitors to use their systems. Included is a basic introduction to how services can be instantly provided and how billing is performed for wireless hot-spot services. This book provides a basic introduction to the payment options that may be provided to the customer and how these payment options operate. A basic description of the process to setup a simple billing system is also included.