Section 1 : Chapter 1

SECTION 1 : CHAPTER 1

PREFACE

Revenue Assurance − These two words are being mentioned more

and more by telecommunications company executives around the
world. Although revenue assurance has always played an important
role in telco management, several factors have brought it to the fore-
front:
• The new wave of regulatory interest in how telcos monitor
and report on their revenues (i.e. Sarbanes-Oxley)
• Increasing pressure to show more profit and reduced oper-
ating budgets, making it critical for management to exploit
all areas of potential revenue realization
• The struggle of existing revenue management systems to
keep up with the continuing breakneck pace of technologi-
cal and marketing innovation

Any one of these factors is enough reason for managers to exam-

ine how their companies handle revenue assurance. Together, they
create an undeniable need for managers to revisit how revenue assur-
ance should be improved to meet the demands of the next generation
of telecommunications.

Revenue Assurance –
A Significant Challenge
Revenue assurance (RA) has been an issue for telcos for as long as
telephones have existed. But revenue assurance has had to change
dramatically to keep up with the many other changes in the telco
industry. At first glance, revenue assurance seems like a relative-
ly straightforward topic. It would be easy to assume that tracking
something as fundamental as revenue generation would be simple
for sophisticated, technologically advanced organizations such as
telcos.

eXcellence in Telecommunications 1