The Future of Telecoms Risk Management - White Paper

For the last 100 years, the telecommunications industry has operated on the basis of providing both the communications channel (the bearer) and the content (the voice call). Next Generation Net-works (NGN) being rapidly rolled out are creating the separation of services, whatever they are. The telecommunication bearer provides connection from the customer to the Communication Service Provider (CSP). Consequently, there are now a number of different players for the delivery of the services including:

• The CSP providing the connection from the customer to the service provider such as GSM, 3G, Wi-Fi, LTE. There can be multiple parties in the delivery of a service like a Wi-Fi network connected to a broadband network.
• The communications customer that owns the customer and controls their identity.
• The Service Provider (SP) that the customer uses such as VoIP, voice call, IP-Centrex provider.
• The Application Provider (AP) who supplies the download to the communication terminal device. These may or may not interoperate with service platforms provided by the SPs.

This all leads to a far more complicated service delivery path and increases the risks, due to the multiple players and inherent risks in both the service and bearer delivery models.

This has been coupled with a decrease in revenue from traditional streams such as voice and a large increase in competition. To maintain profitability, CSPs and network operators have been rolling out new offerings using data services and improving the end user applications and experience.

In addition to the significant change in the way new services are delivered, there is a rapid change-out of network equipment due to pressures forcing CSPs to improve efficiency and reduce cost, including:

• Reducing the upgrade cost of its infrastructure
• Lowering the cost of staffing for operation and control
• Reducing power consumption and operating costs

While these are all very significant items in their own right, CSPs have taken the view that their core skills are not in network operations, but in providing the acquisition of customers and providing them services. Based on this, many are moving to an outsourced model for the supply and operation of the bearer and in some cases the supporting services network.

This means many of the risks are outsourced from a technical and operational aspect. However, without the control that a CSP can apply they retain the risk without it being transferred to the out-sourced partner.

[+] Read it here