Mobile Operators Slow To Protect Consumers From Bill-Shock, Says MACH

Luxembourg, 8-2-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — According to a survey conducted by MACH, the leading provider of cloud-based managed communication services, the majority of mobile operators (62%) have not yet implemented any form of bill-shock prevention to protect their customers against unexpectedly high data roaming bills. Furthermore, only 24% of mobile operators worldwide have a solution that can monitor subscriber data usage habits in real-time, thus complying with the GSMA Data Roaming Transparency Initiative launched last year. Such solutions, that consider the subscribers’ data roaming experience first and foremost, boost uptake of data roaming services, leading to more revenue for operators and increased customer satisfaction.

On average, 70% of roamers turn off data roaming while travelling due to the fear of bill-shock. Furthermore, bill disputes resulting from bill-shock cost operators up to 30% of their data roaming revenue, and they have had to pay the wholesale fees to carry that data. Eliminating the fear of bill-shock and unleashing potential data roamers is the most attractive growth opportunity for mobile operators worldwide. The GSMA’s Data Roaming Transparency Initiative is designed to do just that by ensuring that customers are notified in real-time about their data usage while roaming. MACH’s cloud-based, real-time Bill Shock Prevention solution ensures compliance with the GSMA guidelines and can be implemented in just 10 weeks, making it possible for operators to meet the GSMA’s tight implementation timescales. It is currently the preferred bill-shock prevention solution by mobile operators worldwide.

Tue From Hermansen, Director, Mobile Data and Advanced Networks, MACH, commented: “Compliance with theGSMA initiative will only be achieved by those who can take proactive steps to ensure customers are notified about their data usage in real-time. As the preferred Bill Shock Prevention provider, MACH gives operators the kind of granular, real-time insight into data usage that they need, playing a vital role in helping them to grow roaming revenues through increased usage and improved customer retention. Operators that fail to implement an effective solution to prevent bill-shock will face unhappy subscribers, increased churn and disputed bills that remain unpaid, directly impacting revenues. Operators who fail to follow the GSMA’s initiative on bill-shock may soon find themselves out manoeuvred by competitors that prioritise the subscriber experience”.

MACH’s Bill Shock Prevention solution is a cloud-based service that delivers a comprehensive subscriber experience with real-time service alerts and suspension upon reaching thresholds. It also offers carrier branded portals/sms and cloud-based integration with any existing carrier infrastructure. Leading mobile operators in Asia, NA, Middle East and Africa are currently deploying MACH’s solution, while a further 60 mobile operators worldwide are in discussions with the company. The solution is part of MACH’s M Serve cloud-based portfolio of fast-to-market mobile data monetization services, which the company estimates now benefit almost a quarter of a billion mobile subscribers globally.

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About MACH Bill Shock Prevention

MACH Bill Shock Prevention monitors subscriber data roaming usage in real-time and provides immediate alerts. Operators can pre-define usage thresholds that then trigger alerts to the operator and send SMS notifications to subscribers. These thresholds can be differentiated across geographical regions and also across ARPU segments, if an operator chooses to use the solution’s subscriber segmentation capability. End-users are able to query data usage when roaming through SMS to gain real-time insight into their current usage levels. In certain cases, operators can block data traffic when consumption reaches particularly high-levels, thereby avoiding the risk of bad debt, and they also have the ability to opt-in to continue data spending, achieving a win-win solution for themselves and their subscribers.

About MACH

MACH is the leading provider of cloud-based, managed communications services for monetizing mobile data, simplifying interoperability between networks, optimizing wholesale processes and protecting revenues. It is fast becoming the provider of choice for real-time, value added services that are essential for communications service providers around the globe to enhance customer experience, optimize wholesale processes and monetize their businesses in 3G and 4G mobile ecosystems. With its long heritage in data and financial clearing, settlement and hub based connectivity models, it provides its 650 operator customers with state-of-the-art tools needed to align business processes. Headquartered in Luxembourg, MACH has offices in 12 countries. Its customers include Orange, Telefonica, T-Mobile, Telus, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft, as well as enterprise messaging customers like KLM. For more information, visit www.mach.com, follow MACHconnects on Twitter or read The MACH Blog.

Enquiries

MACH

Eileen Preston, Global PR Manager
M: +44 7860 456193
E: Eipr@mach.com