Category: Technology

A connected world has emerged from the stories of science-fiction to become reality today.

Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), we are opening the garage, adjusting the light and temperature at home even before reaching, measuring vital health parameters and alerting the doctors in case of an issue, and automatically alerting the grocery store for a refill of eggs before our stock runs out.

But the power of IoT stands to be further boosted with the coming of 5G.

Several studies have proved that the introduction of 5G will enable emerging technologies such as IoT to become a part of everyone’s life. It will not just lead to faster downloads, but will also play a crucial role in managing critical situations remotely, such as controlling heavy machinery to save a worker’s life or performing remote surgeries.

The two combined together could become a game-changer across several industries ranging from manufacturing, automotive, home appliances to healthcare. According to Gartner, 59% of companies are planning to use 5G to support IoT across their business.

It opens the door to several opportunities. But as with every technology, there are pros and cons to consider.

Let’s understand in detail the opportunities and the threats associated with IoT in the age of 5G.

Opportunities And Threats Of Using IoT With 5G

Opportunities

Faster data speed: The success of IoT is dependent on ready connectivity. Its performance is reliant upon how fast IoT devices, smartphones, etc. can communicate and transfer data with business applications and platforms. 5G could be 10 times faster than the current network speed. This means that IoT devices will be able to transfer data faster than before. There will be a significant improvement in how devices send and receive data. In industries such as healthcare and critical applications such as autonomous vehicles, faster data speed is crucial to save lives and get work done efficiently.

Low latency: An important characteristic of 5G is the low latency. Imagine a surgeon giving instructions to a team of doctors from a remote location while performing a surgery. Latency introduces lags, lags could cause a communication breakdown, and that could be a potential threat to the patient’s life. In an array of applications, data latency can prove to be disastrous. In others, like Augmented Reality apps or Gaming, latency could be a fundamental detriment to the app experience and usability. 5G is based on the foundation of ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). It can process a large volume of data in real-time, which enables IoT devices to respond faster and avoid transmission delay. Industries and people can function efficiently without any disruption. For example, hospitals can now replace wired connections with low latency wireless 5G connections during surgery.

Better network stability: Imagine if a smart city that runs on connected devices faces connectivity issues. There will be complete mayhem in the city with control lost over critical functions such as traffic management. Network stability is not just a good-to-have feature; it is a must-have in many IoT use-cases. 5G offers a stable network and better coverage than other networks. Its stability is the primary reason behind the low latency. This is perfect for IoT devices that rely on a stable network to transfer real-time data to get tasks completed. It can improve the performance of IoT devices, and consumers will also benefit from it.

Threats

Security challenges: Although 5G has built-in security systems and encryptions that make it stronger, cyber experts believe that it could still be vulnerable to cyberattacks. One challenge is that security standards and protocols are still in the early stages of being widely understood and accepted. An AT&T cybersecurity study revealed that 39% of respondents are worried about the security of the connected devices in the network. They worry that connected devices could expose them to larger security threats. According to a 2019 Brookings report, this is because the network has moved from centralized; hardware-based switching to software-based, distributed routing. Hackers could gain control over the software managing the network and attack it. This eventually would make IoT devices vulnerable to attacks.

Privacy challenges: In our last blog, we discussed the challenges that are holding up the 5G wave. One of them we discussed was about privacy challenges. Consumer privacy could be compromised due to semantic information attacks, timing attacks, and boundary attacks that hit the subscriber’s location privacy. There is also a potential threat to the consumer’s data and identity. Considering how consumers take their data privacy seriously and as connected devices rely the most on data, such threats to privacy could discourage people from using IoT devices with a 5G network.

Other potential risks to mission-critical devices: As IoT’s market grows; the scope for security threat also increases. Innovative threats could emerge that don’t exist today. Recently, the FDA recalled half a million pacemakers because they were vulnerable to attacks. With more IoT devices getting connected to 5G networks, there is an increasing scope for hackers to attack the devices. They could manipulate the devices and create irreversible damage if not monitored and controlled periodically.

Conclusion

According to Statista, the number of IoT devices will rise to74 billionby 2025. While there are worries of security threats in using IoT devices with 5G, one cannot ignore the impact it will have on people and industries. IoT seems to be made for 5G. Both can come together to deliver innovative solutions across industries and for society.

What’s required is a combined effort by Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and companies that build IoT devices and solutions. Such a considered partnership can develop a shared security model where the company can take responsibility for the IoT devices, and the MNO looks after managing the network infrastructure and ensuring that it meets the 3GPP framework. This way, people and industries can use IoT devices freely without the fear of cyberattacks to unlock the potential.

The telecom industry has witnessed rapid development in recent years. It has ushered in a global era of connectivity. Whether it is the IoT, 5G, or Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging, the telecom industry has been responsible for simplifying communication and making it faster. The transition to wireless connectivity, implementation of 5G, and increased usage of IoT devices are just a few of the several advancements made by the industry in recent years. It’s fair to call the telecom sector the backbone of life and business worldwide.

No wonder the global telecom services market size was $1657 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% between 2021 and 2028.

However, the rapid transformation and innovation have also led to rising security concerns such as cyber risks, revenue leakage, and even espionage or security compromises in the industry.

What Are The Security Concerns That Worry The Telecom Industry?

Revenue losses

Telecom fraud is one of the leading reasons for revenue losses in the industry. According to a joint report published by Europol’s European Cybercrime Center and Trend Micro, telecom frauds lead to a revenue loss of $32.7 billion. This has negatively impacted operator revenue margins across the board. As telecom networks expand and more data gets exchanged through connected devices and users, telecom operators will have to find ways to counter these issues. Although new offerings such as 5G and IoT are laying the ground for ever more sophisticated ways to secure the network, hackers always find a way to breach the system and impact operations. Telecom operators must continuously audit their security framework and processes and establish ways to eliminate frauds and prevent revenue losses.

Data breaches

Recently, the telecom giant T-Mobile reported a security incident that compromised the data of 200,000 customers. A similar incident occurred early last year when Japan’s telecom company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) reported that the data of 621 customers from one of their subsidiaries were stolen. The hackers had hacked the multiple security layers of their IT infrastructure to steal the data. Data breaches have become one of the common concerns for telecom operators. A 2020 Global Threat Intelligence Report stated that hackers have been using IoT devices as a common entry point for cyber-attacks. As more businesses and individuals continue to work from home, edge points grow and so does the vulnerability. Telecom operators will have to build robust security architecture to reduce data breaches. They must incorporate data encryption, tokenization, authorized access, and firewalls to safeguard their network infrastructure and prevent data breaches.

System outages

Unplanned network downtime can cost telecom operators $15 billion per year. Of course, it’s bad for the users too. Businesses and individuals are dependent on good internet and telephone connectivity for day-to-day operations. Hence, unplanned downtime impacts their work and affects the operator’s bottom line revenue. If severe outages occur frequently, the telecom operator will risk losing their reputation and customers. While there are many reasons behind unplanned system outages, one of the major causes is a system upgrade. The operators are unable to reconnect the network after an upgrade or change in infrastructure. Other reasons include – routing problems, network congestions, and operational error. Taking proactive measures, communicating any upcoming outages, and anticipating and solving the issue within the decided SLA are ways to counter these issues.

Malicious attacks

Recently, India recorded an 845% increase in cyber-attacks between October 2020 and March 2021. According to Check Point Software, 93% of such attacks occur because the users are lured into installing malicious apps, which compromises the enterprises’ network security. Weak network infrastructure has led to an increase in ransomware incidents. Social engineering, DDoS attacks are some other kinds of attacks that operators are witnessing right now. Auditing the network infrastructure regularly and fixing vulnerabilities will enable operators to safeguard the infrastructure from malicious attacks. Resilient infrastructure is the only way forward for telecom operators. It’s also time that operators build a security-focused culture within their organization and take proactive measures to prevent malicious attacks.

Privacy issues

Ever since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come into existence, enterprises have become conscious of data privacy threats. The onus now lies with telecom operators to protect the subscribers’ privacy. In its whitepaper, Ericsson recommended that the first step towards safeguarding the privacy of subscribers is to include privacy at every stage of the product or service development and in operations. This will enable the operators to proactively protect the subscribers’ privacy rather than taking remedial actions. They need to embed privacy controls within the processes to give subscribers the confidence that their data is fully protected and aligned with the regulations.

Conclusion

As the industry advances, the incidents of security threats will keep increasing. Hence, there is no better time than now for telecom operators to find ways to combat the rising security concerns. Operators can use SMS and voice firewall solutions to safeguard the network from threats and vulnerabilities. They can also invest in fraud detection and security solutions such as access and identity management, content filtering, and perimeter protection to protect the networks from threats.

At Globe Teleservices, we offer end-to-end network security solutions to telecom operators. We offer:

• Gateway solutions with fraud management that detect and block frauds entering the network
• SMS firewalls to block illegal SMS traffic
• Direct routing that prevents A2P SMS grey routing
• Protection from SMS spamming, flooding, spoofing, phishing, and viruses

To know more about our security solutions, contact us.

Blockchain promises the potential to disrupt or transform business models in almost every industry. In the telecom sector, in particular, blockchain can provide unprecedented support for the required infrastructure and connectivity for voice, data, media, and other related services. Data exchange between networks calls for an extremely high level of data security, integrity, and inspection. That being the case, blockchain can help in ensuring the right levels of security and protection.

The ongoing buzz around blockchain

As a shared ledger that gets replicated across stakeholders in a network, blockchain enables companies to maintain the complete history of all transactions that happen between two or more parties. Since these transaction records are immutable, they can never be tampered with. Such immutability paves the way for increased security, transparency, and control for every transaction across the ecosystem while reducing the number of unnecessary intermediaries.

Offering distributed digital ledgers that are updated in near real-time, blockchain delivers chronologically placed, time-stamped, irreversible, and auditable processes while bringing down the number of third parties involved in any transaction. Through decentralized storage, a high level of robustness, and unmatched trust and confidentiality, blockchain is helping organizations across various industries:

• Enable greater transparency into transactions
• Improve the quality and speed of payments
• Enhance traceability of operations
• Improve accountability and integrity
• Enable high levels of encryption and security

How telecom companies can benefit

For the telecom sector, blockchain could be a real game-changer. Analysts expect the blockchain telecom market to reach $677.66 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 28.3% during the forecast period. This growth will primarily be driven by the increasing adoption of 5G, which could become a catalyst for widespread blockchain implementation.

• Fraud detection and prevention: Although developments in 5G are changing the face of the telecom sector, enabling faster and high-quality communications between users, it is also paving the way for increased instances of telecom fraud, which can cost the world $32.7 billion Blockchain sets the foundation for effective and timely fraud detection (and prevention) for telecom service providers – especially with a focus on roaming users. By bringing down fraud detection and resolution time, blockchain verifies the authenticity of every transaction in the network, helps in calculating the exact billing amount based on the services rendered, and enables instantaneous verification via smart contract terms.
• Simplified processes: Telecom operators often struggle with streamlining roaming processes, with issue resolution timelines sometimes shooting up to several weeks. Blockchain allows telecom companies to simplify these processes via real-time monitoring. Using blockchain, they can set thresholds to easily identify issues or breaches, plan for their resolution, and also bring down the time and costs of disputes.
• Enhanced authentication: Blockchain also allows telecom operators to set up high levels of identity and authentication mechanisms to prevent subscriber identity fraud and associated data breaches. By encrypting identities via secure sign-ups and logins, the technology can instantly detect false stolen or missed identities as well as attempts at data manipulation – thus allowing telecom operators to safeguard the authenticity of digital transactions.
• Increased transparency: Another appealing aspect of blockchain technology is the degree of transparency it brings. The traceability of information means no transaction or service can be unduly modified. The level of transparency that blockchain brings adds a degree of accountability, allowing telecom companies to safeguard privacy and control over data, whilst increasing transparency and efficiencies in transactions.
• Improved collaboration: Given the number of business transactions that now happen in the telecom ecosystem, blockchain enables interested parties to come together as part of a larger consortium. Through frequent communication between these stakeholders, blockchain ensures high-quality connectivity, service, and customer experience is provided along with required trust, security, and transparency.

Points to note

As a growing telecom company, if you are looking to boost operational efficiencies, embracing blockchain can help your strategies a great deal. Through streamlined collaboration and simplified processes, it can allow you to enable effective and timely fraud detection and prevention, ensuring all communication and transactions that happen in the telecom ecosystem are transparent, efficient, secure, and protected.

However, when opting for blockchain,

• Carry out a detailed cost-benefit analysis to determine how blockchain will boost your business outcomes and what roadblocks you can expect on the way there.
• Be aware of the different blockchain technologies, their maturity levels, as well as their significance in the context of your particular use case.
• Identify the areas of your business that will benefit the most from blockchain adoption: identity management, smart contracts, secure transactions, data usage tracking, or others
• Make sure the blockchain technology you choose supports the type and kind of data (and customers) you deal with
• Review required legal frameworks and compliance requirements before embracing the technology
• Ensure that the technology you opt for allows you to improve the security and authenticity of transactions

With the right approach, the right tools, and the right implementation, you can leverage blockchain to improve the immutability of telecom transactions, improve transparency and visibility of operations, paving the way for secure and smart contracts, and enjoy long-term business value.

Business messaging is core to any organization’s communication suite as it allows them to interact with customers instantly. Although SMS has long been a popular option that allows businesses to instantly reach out to customers, for sustained business growth, engaging customers via voice and A2P messaging has become extremely important. With a read rate of 97% within 15 minutes of being delivered, A2P messaging has become one of the most preferred mediums for business communication.

It not only allows businesses to deliver order information, marketing campaigns, or other customer services quickly and effectively; it also allows for automation of text messaging for appointment reminders, two-factor authentication, bank alerts, one-time passwords, and more. And it does all that while supporting multi-channel conversations and personalization of marketing outreach campaigns.

A peek into the voice and A2P messaging business

The constant evolution of the business to customer messaging ecosystem and the need for automation has spurred significant innovation in the voice and A2P messaging sectors. The global A2P messaging market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% from $62.1 billion in 2020 to $72.8 billion by 2025, exhibiting profitable growth in the next five years.

If we talk about Africa, the pandemic led to millions of citizens relying on mobile services for day-to-day living: right from audio and video conferencing to meal delivery, mobile payments, e-commerce transactions, and more. As more and more money and efforts are put towards modernizing telecom networks, establishing broadband connections, and improving cloud penetration, several world-class telecom providers are now engaging with voice and A2P messaging to optimize their communication with customers while assuring speed and accuracy of message delivery with direct routing.

The unmatched benefits of A2P messaging for businesses

As traditional SMS remains the default mobile-specific service that companies use to communicate with customers, A2P messaging has been gaining immense popularity. As customers have more choice than ever to engage with the business of their choice, A2P messaging allows businesses to:

• Keep up with the increasingly digital outlook of modern customers
• Automate the customer communication process and achieve faster turnaround
• Reach out to customers for a variety of purposes including authorization, authentication, product updates as well as order notifications, reminders, coupons, vouchers, and loyalty programs
• Provide unmatched marketing information as well as 24×7 customer service
• Meet consumer expectations around enterprise responsiveness
• Ensure fast delivery of critical messages via low latency and high throughput rates
• Achieve high levels of customer engagement in a time- and cost-effective manner
• Personalize communication and deliver tailored customer experiences

Factors that will define the A2P market in the coming years

With so many benefits, companies in Africa are increasing their adoption of A2P messaging to reach out to their target audience and engage with them in a reliable, fast, and secure way. Here’s looking at how the A2P messaging market will move in the African subcontinent and the changes that are expected in the coming years:

1. The segment will continue to balloon: The coming 5 years will see an increase in A2P messaging traffic, driven by the need to offer critical and timely information to customers including banking and transaction-related details, product and service-related information, alerts, and reminders, and more. Although a lot of businesses are already relying on A2P messaging, the ability of organizations to promote and market their products and services to attract and engage with new customers will see these adoption numbers increase.
2. SPAM checks will be common: The constant inflow of business messages also brings it with the challenge of SPAM. To keep this under control, organizations would need to have a common set of procedures that will allow them to manage unwanted, unexpected junk messages. Since scammers are increasingly sending fake messages to trick customers into sending personal information, businesses would need to invest in the right tools to curb the growing instances of phishing, malware, hacking, and fraud.
3. Identifying unauthorized gray routes will become critical: Businesses will also have to be adept at identifying unauthorized gray routes that are increasingly being used to deliver international A2P traffic into mobile networks. Although the routes themselves might be legal, the parties using them or the traffic on these routes might not be authorized. To control loss of revenue through these unauthorized gray routes, organizations will have to rely on technologies like SS7 and IP filtering to analyze the authenticity of messages in real-time and take appropriate action, if required.
4. Cloud and on-premise deployments will witness equal traction: Although cloud-based models will gain immense popularity in the coming years, on-premise deployments will continue to record high growth too. This will be done by organizations who want to install the platform on their own – without depending on the service provided by a cloud provider – and enjoy additional control and flexibility with their deployments.
5. New technology initiatives will continue to penetrate the industry: New technology initiatives like 5G will radically change how businesses communicate and engage with customers. From improved voice quality to faster communication speed, reduced drop rates to better SPAM management – 5G will allow organizations users to rely on faster and more secure connections. At the same time, technologies like AI and ML will allow for enhanced personalization of communications, enabling businesses to rely on smart bots and assistants to help with scheduling messages and sending reminders and pave the way for intelligent routing options.

As the need to connect with customers increases, voice and A2P adoption is growing across the world. If you are looking to set up A2P messaging for your business, we can help! Using our SMS Gateway & SMSC that has been deployed in the US, we can provide the required APIs for A2P transactional or bulk SMS campaigns. We have a very strong focus on Africa, with prestigious exclusive contracts with some of the fastest-growing nations in the region. What’s more, our direct interconnection with more than 100+ carriers and leading operators enables us to rely on high-quality routes based on various requirements of the market, so you can deliver seamless experiences to your customers anytime, anywhere.

Recently, the caller identifying app Truecaller released detailed statistics about spam on the telecom networks. It revealed that Indians received a whopping 8.5 billion spam messages in 2019 alone. To thwart the attempts of spamming the users, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a strict regulation that bars companies from sending unsolicited commercial bulk SMS to users. They have asked companies to register their sender IDs and SMS templates in centralized DLT portals to improve end-user experience and eliminate spam and fraudulent messages.

The decision is a stark reminder that companies must be careful about the Application to Person (A2P) SMS they send. They can no longer send bulk messages or overtly promotional content to their customers. While this might spell bad news for companies that unreasonably rely on A2P messages, the good news is that it is not the end of A2P SMS. A2P SMS has come a long way. The new features such as Rich Communication Services (RCS) and personalization can enable companies to balance between complying with regulatory guidelines and continuing the communication with their customers. In fact, the smarter and evolved SMS can be a powerful tool for companies if used in the right way.

Let’s look at how A2P SMS has evolved and is benefitting companies.

How Has SMS Become Smarter And More Effective?

Better communication

Whether it’s an upcoming appointment with the doctor, an OTP for a transaction, delivery status of the product ordered product, or a reminder to pay the bills, companies rely on their ability to send SMS’ to communicate with their customers. This holds across all types of transactions. For instance, studies reveal that 90% of leads prefer to be messaged rather than called. SMS formats have also evolved and become more engaging. Unlike the earlier formats of SMS, the current ones give companies the option to send rich text. Companies have been using RCS to send images, videos, website links, QR codes, etc. RCS will help in improving engagement. The other advantage is that SMS’ are generally kept shorter. So, customers can assimilate the message faster and more effectively.  Keeping the message short, simple, and clear will help companies gain more engagement and eventually lead to better conversions.

Better and quicker reach

Although smartphones are popular, everyone does not own them yet. Also, internet connectivity is still weak in remote areas. So, push notifications, and OTT messaging apps might not deliver messages to those customers on time. SMS is also more likely to be opened than an email. For instance, research shows that an SMS has an open rate of 99% compared to an email that has just 36%. In fact, 97% of the receivers read the message within 15 minutes of receiving it. This proves that SMS is more effective, and has better reach than other messaging modes. Companies must consider using SMS to ensure that their customers receive their messages immediately. It is also convenient for customers. For example, a customer can immediately access the generated OTP sent via SMS and use it to complete a transaction. They don’t have to worry about low internet connectivity, or delays in delivery, and “timed-out” transactions as they wait to receive the message.

Personalized communication

One thing that customers detest is the lack of personalization in messages. They hate being the target of spammy, generic, bulk messages and they especially hate being sent messages repeatedly. They want the messages to be short, relevant, and personalized. The new form of A2P messaging allows companies to add personalization to their SMS. For example, an airline company can send personalized SMS to the customer reminding them of an upcoming trip. They can also send links to hotels close to the destination they are visiting, or send special promotional codes that they can use to avail discounts or special benefits. By creating segmented marketing campaigns and personalizing the messages according to intelligent segmentation, companies can improve their engagement and reach with the customer. It will also save them from being tagged as spammers by the TRAI.

Cost-effectiveness

SMS is more cost-effective than emails or any other forms of communication. The cost per SMS send is low, and given the high response and engagement rates, we can safely say that A2P SMS can improve the ROI in marketing. It is one of the best channels for doing direct sales marketing. Companies can also avoid other logistical issues such as email delivery failure or missing postal, etc., due to A2P messaging.

Conclusion

One cannot deny that SMS is still a strong communication tool for companies despite the growth of instant messaging platforms and push notifications. The A2P SMS market is expected to reach a value of $101 billion by 2030. Clearly, A2P SMS is still crucial to the future of messaging for customer engagement. However, companies need to ensure that their messaging strategy complies with TRAI’s regulatory guidelines and follows privacy and customer norms. On the operational front, they must also avail of solutions that allow them to send messages at a cost-effective rate to avoid burning through mountains of cash.

At Globe Teleservices, we help companies send personalized and rich messages to multiple customers in a single instant. Companies can avail benefits such as:

• API connect to send transactional or promotional messages
• Leverage our direct interconnection with more than 100+ carriers and leading operators for direct SMS termination in more than 35+ countries
• Leverage high-quality routes along with direct routes to meet the various market requirements
• Send push notifications to social media platforms
• Send engaging messages such as geo-targeted text, photo and video notifications to customers

To know more about sending A2P SMS securely and cost-effectively, contact us.

For a long time, “interconnects” have been a dominant consideration for those in the telecom business. Interconnects allow telecom and mobile network operators worldwide to bring together and share networks so their customers could continue their communication without worrying about the network boundaries. Interconnects are relevant for fixed, mobile, and internet services.

While sharing networks in this manner, telecom operators follow different ways of billing. Some of the common ones included:

• Revenue sharing
• Price sharing
• Fixed and variable charges

Many more approaches exist, driven by specific needs and prevalent conditions!

A typical interconnect billing process involves raising an interconnect invoice where the incoming interconnect call detail records (CDRs) are sent to the interconnect partner. The billing is settled between the network operators involved in carrying calls and is finally reconciled by exchanging the CDRs with each other. This is big business too as telecom operators were able to generate 50% of revenue from such arrangement.

This arrangement has largely been working well for a while now. However, the landscape has now started changing with new players entering the space due to low barriers and low-profit margins. Additionally, the industry is undergoing a major transformation with many carriers moving to next-generation IP networks for reduced technology costs and the ability to introduce new products frequently.

The technology transformation and increasing competition have brought in several complexities that interconnect billing solutions must solve.

Challenges That Interconnect Billing Solutions Must Solve

Let’s look at some of the common challenges that telecom operators and partners face and what they can do to fix them.

1. Competitive pricing

Typically, operators sign an interconnection agreement that discusses the settlement fees, schemes, and schedules of payment based on call source, destination, duration, etc. The operators would abide by the agreement and be able to earn fairly predictable revenues. However, new entrants have threatened this system by offering cheaper routes and re-negotiating offers and rates frequently.

Solution: The operators and their partners can use a good interconnect billing solution to re-rate their revenues accurately and achieve settlement on time.

2. Billing inaccuracy

Revenue leakage is one of the primary concerns of telecom operators. Inaccurate rating calculations and errors in classifying traffic are major reasons due to which operators face a tough time during the settlement process. It leads to unnecessary disputes, issues and delays in revenue realization, and cash flow problems.

Solution: By using a good interconnect billing solution, the operators and their partners can prevent revenue leakage and ensure that billing is accurate. The solution should be able to ensure there are no disputes in settling. This encourages the partners to pay on time.

3. Mismanaged costs

Another problem that operators face is to do with overcharged invoices. Very frequently the partner bills carry overcharged pricing. Sometimes their invoices have low-level errors that go unnoticed. However, when there are many invoices and when these invoices carry hundreds of lines, it’s almost impossible to check each of them for accuracy. This leads to the operators unduly paying large sums to the partner.

Solution: Operators and their partners must use an end-to-end fully automated interconnect billing solution to spot errors in invoices immediately and fix them to manage costs efficiently. They can also create customizable invoices for every provider based on the agreement.

4. Operational inefficiency

Interconnects are multi-functional as they cover aspects of product management, commercial negotiations, streamlining processes, and billing and finance. The operations can be inefficient if all these functions operate in silos.

Solution: The only way to solve this problem is by automating the entire interconnect billing system. This will encourage the different functions to collaborate and provide them the platform to do so. This will help update rates, reconcile efficiently, and improve operational efficiency. It will also enable the operators to create customized reports to analyze revenue and monitor traffic.

Additionally, while considering the “must-have” features an interconnect billing solution must offer, operators should look at:

• Flexibility to include new products and offerings into the system for future billing
• Access to rich information that can be leveraged to make data-driven decisions about all aspects of interconnects and improve profitability
• Ability to monitor agreements in real-time and alert the operator immediately in case of violation. This will ensure that the relationship between the operator and the partner is not threatened in any way
• Ability to quickly verify invoices and reconcile them. It should also have a system to fix any discrepancies in the invoice to prevent any future discrepancies
• Ability to track margins and provide accurate information about the true value of an agreement by calculating the revenue or cost of traffic with and without considering the agreement rates

Conclusion

The complex nature of billing, shrinking margins, and cutthroat competition have made it necessary for operators to spend more time updating their billing systems and less time on innovation. To reduce unnecessary complexity, streamline their processes, and free up their bandwidth operators may want to consider outsourcing the interconnect billing process to a credible managing services provider.

So, while the managed services provider manages the billing process, the operators can focus on addressing challenges such as building stronger relationships with their interconnect partners and earning better revenue and margins by fixing the best rates and best routes.

At Globe Teleservices, we offer managed services to help telecom companies operate all aspects of their telecom business smoothly. From billing to accounting to fraud control, we manage all of it with an SLA commitment of 99.999%. Our deep experience in the telecom industry helps us understand our clients’ needs and implement different solutions across geographies and cultures. That’s essential to understand the interconnect solution.

What a way to begin a new year by grabbing one of the most coveted recognitions in the industry!

Globe Teleservices Pte. Ltd was chosen as the Best Telecom Service Provider 2020- Eurasia by APAC Insider. We believe that this is a huge achievement for us. We have been growing fast but industry awards like this help instill confidence in our partners and customers in our vision and our ability to action our growth ambitions as well as serve them as they look to scale their businesses.

No doubt, 2020 was a year of challenges for businesses worldwide. For the telecommunication sector, the year was indeed action-packed as the world utilized the internet and telecommunication like never before to transition into a new normal of working, shopping, entertainment, and enhanced communication. The sector became the backbone of the digital economy. The pandemic really tested the strength of the industry in more ways than one and the sector stood tall. Our customers were able to successfully navigate the rough waters of 2020 and ignited the digital ambitions of millions of consumers and businesses by offering them round-the-clock availability of enhanced telecommunication services.

In a world gone uber-digital, it was apparent that the telecom service providers and enterprises that make up our customers had more need than ever for our solutions. Globe Teleservices had the solutions, and the good fortune, to occupy the center of our customer’s strategic digital roadmap. Our innovative solutions offered them seamless support to help them reduce revenue leakage and improve customer loyalty and ultimately drive more profits from their investments.

The Asia Pacific market for telecom is among the most challenging in the world when it comes to consumer dynamics. Home to the most populous and second most populous nations in the world and having a very large digital-savvy population of millennials and generation Z individuals, the Asia Pacific market creates quite a competitive scenario for telecom players. Revenue from mobile services in the Asia Pacific region is estimated to reach a staggering USD 390.9 Billion by 2025. This region has usually been the early adopter for technology disruptions like 3G, 4G, mobile internet, and so on.

Such a rapid pace of growth puts a demand on the key players in the industry to focus on managing their digital infrastructure meticulously and keeping an eye out for removing inefficiencies and bottlenecks in their operations. At the same time, they need to be cautious about managing Capex and Opex costs and strike a balance between investments in innovation and investments in their core operational infrastructure. Data security, customer protection, preventing fraud, and revenue leakages are all key concerns in the present day.

Successful companies in this space leverage the services of specialist technology partners to identify and implement digital roadmaps that are most suitable for their projected business growth strategies. From re-inventing customer experience to launching new plans and products in the fastest “time to market”, technology has changed how telecom players can differentiate their brand image in this highly competitive market.

This is where we believe Global Teleservices made the most impact by building tailor-made solutions that solve the unique business challenges of our customers. This helped them drive more business volume without the risk of network disruptions and security threats thereby ensuring a seamless customer experience for their end-users.

We view the recognition from APAC Insider as a testament to the commitment and excellence of our team of over 350 dedicated professionals working across 6 regions globally. Their experience and technical prowess combined with our many strong partnerships have helped Globe Teleservices spread its influence to some of the world’s leading telecom players in APAC, Europe, Africa, and the rest of the world too.

Some of our products and offerings ranging from AntiFraud Firewalls to CPaaS and and our highly advanced real-time billing and reconciliation systems help over 100 top mobile operators create a direct impact on improving their revenue streams and minimizing fraudulent activities in their networks.

Our CEO, Ashutosh had recently said, “The key focus of Mobile Network operators today is on reducing revenue leakages and acquiring the trust of consumers. With our cutting-edge technology solutions, we are confident in enabling MNO to achieve both the outcomes.”

This recognition will prove to be a milestone in the growth story of Globe Teleservices. As the world is slowly moving out of the pandemic, it emerges as a more digital ecosystem. Telecommunication providers need to focus on delivering the right services to such consumers to ensure that they are able to live, work, learn, and grow. We at Globe Teleservices once again commit that we will be at the forefront of the movement to equip telecom players with the right technology to deliver a superior customer experience every time.

Despite challenges, the growth curve of the telecom industry has always trended upwards; it is expected that the sector will grow at a CAGR of 5% from 2020 to 2027. The promise of advancements in 5G technology and the opportunities that smart devices, factories, and cities create for Telcos seems set to drive the next big jump.

The need for high speed, reduced latency, and enormous bandwidths has telecom operators working around the clock to prepare their infrastructure and innovate to revolutionize how communication happens in the digital world. But in the race to enable better speed, bandwidth, and customer experience, security could take a backseat, causing potential new threats to emerge or be overlooked.

The need to proactively deal with security threats

Security challenges are not new to the telecommunication sector. The network infrastructure that provides the necessary backbone for the exchange of information across voice, video, data, and the Internet has always been the target of various forms of attacks.

In a post-COVID era, where economic headwinds are putting revenues under pressure and customer expectations are constantly rising, the impact of these attacks can be extremely far-reaching: from denial of service to poor integrity, loss of customer trust, and more.

rotecting these networks from attacks is an important aspect that cannot be ignored – especially at a time when even the smallest mistake can cause operator revenues to plummet. This is not an overstatement when you consider just how much rides on the stability of telecom networks today.

• As telecom becomes an ever more integral aspect of the day-to-day life of all consumers, a single attack has the capability to disrupt critical service for thousands of customers, cripple businesses, and shut down government operations.>
• IP theft, data loss, or misuse would require operators to spend critical time and resources trying to recover the data while experiencing inevitable reputational damage, system disruptions, and disgruntled customers.
• Data breaches, phishing attacks, and fraud schemes can lead to rising insurance premiums, hefty fines, and lawsuits – along with loss of market share and plummeting customer trust.
• System or service disruption due to power outage, malicious action, or human error can lead to financial damage as well as the loss of loyal customers. Government regulators are also closely monitoring service levels and any deviations from laid out standards can prove extremely expensive and tedious to justify.
• For highly regulated sectors that depend on telecom networks for daily operations, security incidents can lead to extensive non-compliance repercussions and, even, blacklisting from future opportunities.

Role of security solutions

For telecom operators looking to overcome important security challenges to their current telecommunication networks, security solutions have a huge role to play in mitigating infrastructural insecurity as well as the risk from cyberattacks.

SMS firewalls: Mobile Operators that face immense traffic often experience revenue loss and unwelcomed congestion due to spamming, spoofing, phishing, and flooding. Such traffic negatively impacts the quality of service while blocking crucial network bandwidth. SMS firewalls can help telecom and mobile operators protect their networks while blocking illegal SMS traffic. Mobile Operators can upsurge their revenues on SMPP Bulk Messaging while reducing operational costs and enhancing customer experience.

Identity and access management: As telecom penetrates more and more into daily lives, it also gets more vulnerable to illegal access. Identity and access management solutions help to authenticate and authorize individuals and devices accessing Telecom services every day. These solutions pave the way for trustworthy user authentication, authorization, and consent management, avoiding unauthorized control of devices and illegal use of data – thus protecting operator revenues.

Voice firewalls: With telecom users largely depending on voice calls for personal and business reasons, voice infrastructure is prone to massive attacks across a broad spectrum of threats. Voice firewalls aim to monitor voice networks in real-time, control inbound and outbound network activity, and generate alerts when undesired events occur. It carries out constant behavioral analysis to record metrics such as call duration, the time gap between two calls, failed call attempts, and more – helping operators circumvent call frauds and protecting revenue, maintaining customer experience, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Network security: As security threats and attacks on end-to-end networks constantly evolve, network security solutions can safeguard against illegal location tracking, spoofing, man-in-the-middle, and DoS or DDoS attacks. Through features like intrusion detection and prevention, content filtering, and perimeter protection, they can ensure key network assets, services, and data in transit are protected 24×7.

As the scope, variety, and complexity of threats increase exponentially and the volume of data transmissions swell, telecom frauds have become commonplace. As a mobile or telecom operator, if you want to protect your revenues and prevent your reputation from being tarnished, you need to take security threats seriously. This means partneringwith an experienced telecom solution provider and embracing modern security solutions such as SMS and voice firewalls, network security solutions, and identity and access management solutions to easily detect threats and make your communication networks extremely resilient. This will become crucial to protecting revenues as the digital world marches onward on the back of telecom networks.

We have come a long way from using dialup internet and 1G internet speed to WiFi and 5G speed.

We have come a long way from receiving P2P (Person to Person) SMS to receiving A2P (Application to Person) messages, i.e. SMS from applications.

Studies show that over 3.5 trillion A2P messages will be delivered by 2023, some forecasts predict 1.9 billion 5G subscriptions worldwide by 2024.

As more companies realize the importance of digital transformation after last year’s pandemic, high-speed network connectivity will become a priority for everyone in 2021.

It is a perfect time for network operators to ramp up their services and customize their customers’ options. They have the power to change the way companies and individuals work and live.

However, as the famous dialogue from the movie Spiderman goes – with great power comes great responsibility.
According to Europol, operators could lose €29 billion in telecom fraud. Frauds like SMS grey route, network spoofing, SIM jacking, and SMS phishing have increased. So, while innovation is a priority, network security becomes an equally important area of focus.

The onus lies on telecom and networking operators to prepare the network to combat frauds and threats that could occur with these innovations.

Let’s look at what network operators can do to address these issues.

How To Prepare For Network Frauds And Threats?

• SMS firewall solutions

SMS firewall enables operators to protect mobile networks against frauds and vulnerabilities. All the messages are routed through a firewall where they are analyzed to detect potential frauds. Any suspicious and fraudulent messages are automatically blocked. This helps companies reduce the overhead costs incurred due to fraudulent and spam messages. It ensures that there is no revenue leak while sending A2P messages. SMS firewalls also improve A2P traffic. But most importantly, this safeguards the reputation of the company that sends the messages

• Filtering content

Network operators can control message routing by blocking content and protecting companies and individuals from fraud. In some instances, messages with Latin text were replaced with different scripts that the message receiver may not understand and that could mislead them. Network operators could identify such instances and filter out or blacklist such content that could be dangerous or inappropriate to the customer base.

• Proactive route testing, home routing, and Re-routing

While blocking A2P or P2P messages is an easy way to prevent fraud, network operators can also try other methods such as proactive route testing, home routing, and re-routing. In proactive route testing, network operators can analyze the information sent and received from two parties for discrepancies. If there is a discrepancy, there could be evidence of suspect routes that would need immediate attention. In home routing, operators can mask the user’s information to curtail faking and spoofing of SMS. This allows operators to control the traffic generated abroad. In re-routing, the A2P messages are re-routed over-tested routes to senders who don’t allow A2P content termination. This enables them to save revenue losses.

• Building network resilience

As innovative solutions such as IoT and 5G take precedence, network operators have to ensure that their network demonstrates a high resiliency level and is highly secure. They have to ensure there is minimal scope for attacks on the network. Network operators need to view the network infrastructure better to assess and fix the vulnerabilities, so there is less impact on their revenues and reputation. Many leading operators have already come together to form theMutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS) to improve their routing infrastructure’s security and resiliency.

• Building a culture of taking proactive measures

Innovations will continue in the space of telecom. 2021 will drive those innovations forward. However, one cannot ignore the new threats that could possibly impact the industry. As technology advances, the level and method of fraudulent acts also become equally sophisticated. Hence, operators must take a proactive stand in safeguarding the network. They must build a security-focused culture where their team is one step ahead of hackers and fraudsters. They should constantly be testing new methods to combat frauds and threats before staying prepared.

Conclusion

Considering that it is not a one-operator issue, but an issue that concerns the entire industry, a concerted effort of all the players in the industry will be necessary now. All telecom players must collaborate to fight frauds and prevent revenue loss to the industry. i3forum, for example, has already created a platform where telecom giants such as AT&T, Orange, BICS, and Deutsche Telekom among others have come together to find ways to fight frauds and address market challenges.

At Globe Teleservices, we are also helping network operators safeguard their network with our firewall solution, Armour. Armour protects the network from frauds such as SMS spamming, flooding, spoofing, phishing, and viruses, enabling operators to improve their revenue and reputation. This is the need of the hour. Now is the time to prepare the network to combat frauds and threats.