Seminar #1

9:00-4:30

Optimizing the Revenue Assurance Value Chain

Led by: Ed Shanahan, Partner, Excelerate Partners, Inc.

Traditional Revenue Assurance approaches focus on reducing revenue leakage by ensuring that all revenue producing events (orders, network events, content transactions, etc.) are accurately captured, recorded, invoiced and collected in a timely manner. Revenue Assurance plans are generally developed independent of other corporate initiatives, including cost reduction and customer retention and ARPU improvement plans. Each initiative fights for funding, resources and internal mind-share with initiatives designed to address other pressing corporate needs.

Value Chain Optimization (VCO) takes a different approach. VCO draws from multiple operational disciplines and yields a series of prioritized, interlocking programs designed to increase revenue retention, stabilize the back-office, reduce operating costs and improve service to your customers while reducing net costs of doing business. VCO draws from disciplines employed outside of the telecommunications industry (including Lean, Agile, Six Sigma and TCO disciplines) and leverages components that can be readily be introduced into a carrier’s environment. Attendees will be introduced to tools and methods used to:

Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of revenue impacting processes
Evaluate the maturity of these processes vs. a standardized template
Use the assessment and evaluation to identify areas for performance, systems and management optimization in revenue impacting processes
Define and prioritize programs to close the maturity gaps

Attendees will utilize select VCO tools and techniques in breakout sessions to work through problems faced by carriers across all service and technologies as they attempt to align information flow, policies and processes, people/organizations and manual and automated systems around the common themes of maximizing an enterprise’s effectiveness while minimizing operational costs.

Whether you are a first-timer or back for a refresher course, you will get the benefit of the instructors' years of experience. This seminar includes multiple breakout sessions and round tables augmented by interactive instructor lectures. Other areas that will be covered in this session include:

What are the core trends in approach, definition and scope?
What is customer value chain optimization and how does revenue assurance fit into this new paradigm?
What does this mean for you and your organization?
What are the common issues facing carriers regardless of:

- Underlying technology (wireless/wireline, IP, IMS, TDM, etc.)?

- Services (voice, including VoIP, data, video, etc.)

- Features and bundling

What basic tools do you need and how can you use them to achieve rapid results? This section will include simple process decomposition tools, metrics and measurements, and organizational efficiency tools as well as discussions regarding leveraging reporting and dashboards as well as vendor tools to optimize operations.
Breakout sessions covering areas of interest to the class

Seminar #2

9:00-4:30

Understanding Next Generation Telecommunications Networks for

Non-Engineers

Led by: Dr. Jerry Lucas, President, TeleStrategies

This one-day seminar covers the new developments in the telecommunications industry you need to understand if you are a revenue assurance, fraud, risk management or financial professional.

I. VoIP OVER BROADBAND

Overview: VoIP service providers and their business; trading partners and/or wholesalers; and regulatory issues.

Technology Basics: Understanding softswitches, SIP, IMS, broadband access, ISP infrastructure, ENUM directories, billing systems, call detail records, and end-to-end VoIP call processing and carrier peering options.

Convergence and IMS Based Bundling Trends: Developing VoIP convergence and IMS-based bundling trends; what service bundles will rely on circuit switching; voice vs. information services; VoIP residential vs. enterprise bundles; and likely IMS-based service bundles.

II. MOBILE WIRELESS

Overview: Market strategies of Tier 1 players, the emergence of content owners as mobile virtual network operators; content aggregators; mobile video players; and new revenue sharing financial and settlement models among content owners, aggregators and mobile operators.

Technology Basics: Understanding the new IP convergence and Internet access mobile wireless technologies; mobile TV developments; new unlicensed wireless options; and migration paths to everything over mobile IP.

Convergence and Bundling Trends: Developing mobile wireless convergence and bundling trends; all services over the converged IP/wireless channel vs. dual mode operations; service bundles of voice, Internet access and entertainment content/pricing; dual mode Wi-Fi/cellular and wireline/mobile bundles; streaming vs. download video and enterprise/personal bundles; pre-paid content/voice bundles and MVNO vs. MNO service convergences and bundling trends.

III. CABLE TV

Overview: Approaches to cable telephony, third party VoIP wholesale partners; and regulatory issues.

Technology Basics: Understanding cable TV technology; approaches to support cable telephony; and multimedia technology supporting converged IP services.

Convergence and Bundling Trends: Developing cable convergence and bundling trends, which services will likely be transported as all IP and which ones will remain on conventional channels, developments in integrated unlicensed wireless voice over DOCSIS modems, delivering IPTV to the PC, impact of peer-to-peer cable networking for VoIP and cable operator as MVNOs and likely service bundles.

IV.TELCO TV AND CONVERGENCE

Overview: Service provider business models for Telco TV, operations to date, partnership options for programming, and regulatory issues.

Technology Basics: Understanding the Telco infrastructure options for video delivery, premises networking, central office upgrading, and how VoIP and Internet access is integrated with TV service.

Convergence and Bundling Trends: Developing Telco TV convergence and bundling trends, likely triple play offering for FTTP operators vs. FTTN operators, how will VoIP and IPTV be offered, and other non-telecom service bundles under consideration.