According to analysis recently published by Dittberner Associates, the telecom billing industry, previously written off as a “mature market”, is now catching its second wave of growth. Dittberner forecasts the billing sector will grow at a 3.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from $4.6 billion in 2005 to $5.5 billion in 2010.

While Dittberner acknowledges that the end of the telecom recession is a key factor in the telecom billing industry’s revival, other significant reasons include the following market trends:
* Real-time Revenue Generation
* Converging Postpaid and Prepaid Billing
* The Rise of Virtual Network Operators
* Wireline Billing Consolidation

More specific information about the telecom industry and their analysis is available to subscribers of Dittberner’s OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase.

More specifically, the specific reasons for this expected growth include the following telecom billing market trends:

* Real-time Revenue Generation — The explosion of data services in mobile markets is prompting telecoms to buy billing systems for their revenue-generating direct marketing skills, and not just for their accounting dexterity. Several billing vendors are leveraging merchandising and contextual advertising techniques to boost the bottom lines of their clients.

* Converging Postpaid and Prepaid Billing — These used to be very different markets, but the growing use of “dual use” phones and the advantages of pricing from a single consolidated database are forcing the prepaid and postpaid billing markets to converge.

* The Rise of Virtual Network Operators — Robust billing and real-time charging is a critical need for emerging MVNOs such as Mobile ESPN, Helio, and Disney Mobile. Dittberner sees MVNOs increasingly attracted to service bureau billing solutions.

* Wireline Billing Consolidation — While wireless markets are where Dittberner feels most of the billing growth will be, large wireline telcos such as AT&T and BT are making great progress in billing system consolidation. Dittberner forecasts that this trend will accelerate.

About the OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase
The billing report is available to subscribers of Dittberner’s OSS/BSS KnowledgeBase, a market research service designed to track the growing number of emerging OSS/BSS vendors and solutions. For carriers, the KnowledgeBase provides lessons learned and vendor selection advice to lower risk. Vendors learn about carrier priorities, competitive threats, and niche market opportunities.

This most recent report, The Telecom Billing Market: Retail Billing, Interconnect Billing & Real-Time Charging Systems, provides analysis that includes product, financial, and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) assessments of 25 billing software suppliers. See the full table of contents at: http://www.technology-research.com/bill.htm.

About Dittberner Associates
Founded in 1966, Dittberner is an international market research and consultancy with over 70 Telecom Service Providers, and in excess of 100 telecom suppliers as clients. The firm specializes in areas of OSS/BSS, NGN Switching, Broadband Access, and Wireless market segments. For further information on this topic or to learn more about the on-going DAI Perspective multi-client subscription programs, see the company’s website at www.Dittberner.com