Blockchain is a system that can increase security in many new generation communication systems. 5G technology is one of the great examples of how blockchain will change telecommunication.
For example, in 5G technology, smart contracts can streamline provisioning between networks and the end user with a blockchain-based solution. By applying dynamic rules and contracts between these networks, blockchain can also provide discounted rates or better connections. Stores customer sensitive information and files into blockchain bases system without single point of failure. Storing the customer info in third party system always have chances of data breaches. This enables providers to increase security as well as reduce both legal costs and brand damage associated with data breaches.
Telecom providers are using blockchain to lower data roaming fees and create smart contracts that can be executed without human intervention. Smart contracts can run payments automatically in real time and allow settlement systems to verify and approve usage data exchanged by mobile operators to provide roaming services to their customers. Then, if it doesn’t find any errors during the verification process, it calculates the fees in real time. Customers benefit from a transparent, automated experience and companies can reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Many telecom organizations invest in automation to avoid manual processes in Service Level Agreements and use smart contracts on the blockchain to clarify the terms of SLAs and make monitoring more transparent. Smart contracts also allow payments to be automated upon completion of agreed terms. For example, if a customer is out of service for a period of time, they will automatically receive a discount without having to make a claim.
Key Points on Blockchain in 5G Technology
- Technology like 5G needs blockchain to store customer information safely and maintain the security.
- Blockchain technology can reduce the roaming cost by running the smart contract that calculates and stores the payment on real time based on the data uses.
- The parameters used to calculate the cost of the call can also be stored in blockchain and its useful in settlement of the errors, frauds which will ultimately help in auditing as well.
- Today, intermediaries control roaming partner settlements and timelines for resolving any related issues can be as long as two months. This structure lends itself to human errors, frauds, lack of transparency and most importantly, a poor customer experience.
- Smart Contracts on blockchain can reduce/eliminate the role of intermediaries by automating the SLA agreements, which will provide a real-time view to all the stakeholders as well as make threshold breaches visible to all the involved parties immediately.
- This helps in SLA monitoring as the data is accessed by the concerned stakeholders through their own server or node.
Telecom Parameters to Monitor under SLA
- Booking in time
- Repair Turn Around Time (TAT)
- Fault rectification information
- Stock levels
- Stock accuracy
- Beyond Economic Repair (BER) / Beyond Repair (BR) rates
- Repeat return rates
- Warranty rates
- Out-bound processing times
- Trend analysis
- Common failures
- Common repair trends
- Top 10 parts repaired, etc.
Leveraging Hyperledger Fabric technology, this new technology utilizes core functionalities of blockchain that promoted transparency, decentralization, and enforcement, and thereby increased trust among partners. With this Distributed Ledger Technology, Verizon’s innovation team transformed an inconsistent, inefficient and labor intensive billing dispute process involving wholesale partners into a self-sustaining rules based dispute settlement solution. The result is an increase in cash flow, operational costs savings and quicker realization of revenue – a win-win for the business and partners alike.
Problems: it is becoming increasingly complex for telecom companies to track and settle interchange fees.
There are several areas in telecom where blockchain can be integrated and telecom is one of them. The benefit of using blockchain in telecom space is to minimize the disputes between vendors, reduce the cost of processing and maintain the transparency of transaction.
Use Cases
Contract Processing in Telecom
Problems
- Complex contract processing which involves drafting, signing and manually implementing inter-operator roaming discount agreements.
- There could be several contract issues like Pricing, Conditions, Compliance, Supplier Service Obligation between Telecom operators or vendors.
- A participant may tamper the contract and create disputes.
- Stores all steps of the contract processing in blockchain node of each participant.
- Each participant get their own node(server) so tampering the contract is not possible.
- Finally signed and agreed contract paper gets stored in all participants node.
- It can be a strong source proof in judiciary activities.
Solutions
- Operators cross charge each other for interconnect service (invoicing).
- Interconnect operators share Call Details Records (CDR) to verify cross charge and settling balance.
- Verification process: Cumbersome, inefficient, lengthy, costly, error prone.
- Missing CDRs and discrepancies are common problems.
Current Settlement
Problems
- Billing Cycle
- Bill Reconciliation
- Dispute Identification and Confirmation
- CDR reconciliation process
- Dispute analysis & resolution by partner – months to years.
Solutions
- Better visibility between partners belonging to the same channel.
- Ensure financial and legal compliance in transactions.
- Increase direct control by reducing intermediary dependency.
- Eliminate insecurity in transaction manipulation.
- Immutable settlement within seconds.
Settlement Using Blockchain – Solution
- Identity management basically talks about storing the documents like license, citizenships and other official documents in secured place.
- We can store such documents in blockchain based system to maintain the data/files transparency, integrity and security.
- We would be partially implementing identity Management in Contract management solution.