Rishabh Mishra's report on Blockchain as a Measure to Curb Challenges in Telecommunication
It is without any doubt clear by now how the introduction of blockchain has caused a disrupt to almost every sector of the world's economy, from entertainment to groceries shopping, from ensuing a new method of payment to put on check the gross irregularities plaguing a few payment systems. Blockchain has moved beyond its initial usage, which included a system of P2P payment initiated by bitcoin. However, more recently, research has also proven how the use of blockchain can be used to solve (if not all) most of the challenges facing the Communication Service Provider's (CSP) industry. According to research by Monitor Deloitte, at least 53% of the leading CSP firms have started discussing (if not implemented) the usage of blockchain to solve the problems faced by the industry. The study also highlighted how these firms expect value from this new strategy. The telecom service providers sector expects blockchain to help them through the simplification of operations, cost reductions, creation of new revenue streams, enhanced teamwork, and real-time transparency. In addition to these issues, blockchain is predicted to assist in resolving issues with complex agreements, roaming fraud, worries about digital identity, GDPR rules, and data protection. Even though the telecommunications industry has undergone significant transformation over the past 20 years, roaming, exorbitant costs, the possibility of fraud, privacy concerns, and a host of other problems continue to be problems for both providers and consumers. Fortunately, a lot of the marketing hype and false information around blockchain is starting to fade away as more practical blockchain use cases and applications appear.
Leveraging Blockchain in Telecom for Fraud Prevention
Another Deloitte analysis claims that CSPs experience losses of up to $48 billion annually as a result of fraud. Unauthorized voice and data traffic that is intended to steal money from CSPs or their clients constitute fraud in the telecom industry. It can take months to find and is frequently the result of hacking into a clumsy subscriber verification process. Fraud in the telecommunications industry is a serious issue and can be broadly classified into two categories: Roaming fraud and Identity fraud.
Roaming Fraud
Roaming or roaming services refers to the concept of a mobile phone being used outside the range of its native network and connecting to another available cellular network. The telecom sector has been using a traditional method for billing and settlement for roaming services for many years, which entails the exchange of Transferred Account Procedures (or TAP files) between the roaming partners. Traditional roaming settlement will likely become more difficult as new technologies like 5G enter the market because of a rise in users, partners, and traffic.
Billing and Charging Evolution (BCE) enables the new generation use cases brought on by cutting-edge technologies like 5G, in addition to streamlining complex multi-party settlement processes. This is made possible by distinguishing characteristics, including obviating the requirement for special editors to read various TAP file formats like ASN1 and the necessity of exchanging raw files inside certain timelines. The XML-formatted reports created by BCE can be easily exchanged to facilitate settlement and reconciliation operations.
International mobile roaming has long-faced difficulties with the negotiation, management, and reconciliation of inter-operator agreements, particularly when it comes to assuring correct clearing and settlement of international transactions among a vast network of roaming partners. As 5G networks spread, roaming will no longer be restricted to network operators, creating new connections between carriers and business networks. As a result, mobile carriers will need to improve the accuracy, precision, and security of all of their international roaming transactions as well as the underlying systems that underlie them, from rating and pricing through clearing and settlement. Every day, hundreds of connected networks handle billions of mobile interactions that are controlled by dozens of buyers and sellers. Currently, telecom businesses manage settlements manually while negotiating this complex web of procedures and technologies, and in many cases, they outsource the reconciliation process.
