Billing, compliance & service delivery—can legacy OSS/BSS keep up with global telecom expansion? The future depends on modernization.
Global markets are being pursued by telecom titans, but complexity comes with growth. Regulations, billing schemes, and customer expectations all increase with the number of regions. The true concern is whether telecom operations can keep up with the rapid growth of networks.
The foundation of telecom infrastructure has long been made up of business support systems (BSS) and operational support systems (OSS), which manage everything from customer service to billing. However, are these processes promoting or impeding growth as the sector expands outside of home markets?
Table of Contents:
1. Scaling Isn’t Just About Coverage
2. The OSS/BSS Bottleneck Is Real
3. Next-Gen OSS/BSS Is the Only Way Forward
4. Will OSS/BSS Enable Growth or Kill It?
1. Scaling Isn’t Just About Coverage
Expanding internationally involves more than just acquiring additional spectrum or erecting more towers. Operations are where the true difficulty lies. How can you oversee millions of users in several nations without experiencing service interruptions, money leakage, or compliance issues?
Older OSS/BSS systems were designed at a time when telecoms were governed by a single set of rules. Businesses today require infrastructure that can manage multi-currency transactions, cross-border billing, and constantly shifting local compliance regulations. Without it, growth devolves into anarchy.
2. The OSS/BSS Bottleneck Is Real
Outdated OSS/BSS systems cause bottlenecks when carriers expand internationally. This is where things start to fall apart:
- Billing misalignment: A 2024 TM Forum analysis indicated that 58% of telecom income leakage arises from billing inaccuracies, often caused by stiff legacy systems.
- Regulatory nightmares: If OSS/BSS isn’t flexible, growing into areas with distinct data protection regulations (such as the PDPA in Singapore and the GDPR in Europe) might lead to compliance issues.
- Service delivery delays: A poor customer experience results from OSS/BSS’s inability to connect effectively across markets, which raises churn rates.
The contradiction? Revenue should increase with more markets, but without operational agility, risk just increases.
3. Next-Gen OSS/BSS Is the Only Way Forward
The need for OSS/BSS to change from reactive to predictive is becoming apparent to telecom executives. The growth of telecom in the future depends on:
- AI-driven automation: Real-time billing structure optimization, maintenance demand prediction, and revenue leak detection are all possible with AI-powered OSS/BSS.
- Cloud-native agility: For real-time data synchronization across international markets, telcos are moving to cloud-based OSS/BSS in place of inflexible, on-premise technology.
- Frictionless localization: Multi-language, multi-currency, and multi-regulatory compliance ought to be integrated into the system rather than being an afterthought.
OSS/BSS can become a competitive advantage and cease to be a burden with the correct modernization plan.
4. Will OSS/BSS Enable Growth or Kill It?
The most astute telecom companies are reconsidering their OSS/BSS entirely, not simply making minor adjustments. To enable smooth multi-market expansion, businesses like Vodafone and AT&T are already investing in cloud-based, AI-driven OSS/BSS.
What does it cost to remain motionless? significant losses in revenue, inefficiencies in operations, and missed market possibilities. The demands of a worldwide telecom company are too great for legacy systems to handle.
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