Nokia today announced it has started deploying its Converged Charging (NCC) software for Vodafone in multiple European countries.
NCC operates as a containerised network function in a 5G standalone environment and allows Vodafone to tap new revenue streams from 5G services, including network slicing and flexible product offerings.
Containerised network functions wrap a network function in a consistent, portable package that can be independently distributed and modified with little effort and few dependencies, allowing it to be easily incorporated across Vodafone’s billing operations.
Leveraging a cloud-based agile delivery model that enables rating and charging for 5G services, Nokia said it will enhance product and services delivery to customers for Vodafone.
The deployment will occur over several Vodafone markets in Europe, including the UK and Italy.
Nokia’s 5G Monetisation Survey found that 98% of operators that took part realised they needed to alter their existing business support systems to support new 5G use cases.
For Vodafone, the move to next generation charging standardised across Vodafone networks will provide them with real-time rating and charging capabilities.
Nokia said that NCC allows communication service providers to quickly and efficiently create and launch new services to market, with intuitive, drag and drop functionality.
It is highly configurable and gives Vodafone the capacity to utilise the solution to fit consumer, enterprise, and new business models.
Alberto Ripepi, chief network officer of Vodafone, said “5G enables many new services and with this new system, new ways to charge for them.”
“By leveraging the scale of our pan-European and African networks, we can help customers manage factory equipment, open developer marketplaces using our APIs, and enable enterprises to offer bespoke products to their own customers”.
Hamdy Farid, senior vice president, business applications at Nokia, added that Nokia “are pleased to be furthering our relationship with Vodafone through the roll-out of Nokia’s Converged Charging solution.”
“As advanced 5G services start to become more widespread, our Converged Charging solution is very well-placed to help communication service providers and enterprises drive innovative 5G use cases and business models, and deliver significant operating efficiency improvements,” Farid said.
