Protecting and Improving Revenues
HOTLINING FOR
WIRELESS DATA SERVICES:
WHITE PAPER
HOTLINING FOR WIRELESS DATA SERVICES 2
INTRODUCTION
Wireless Data Services are a legitimate
source of revenue for Service Providers,
and research indicates that the market
will continue to grow. However, Service
Providers are experiencing the same
challenges they had with wireless voice
services: delinquent accounts, revenue
leakage, abusive users, and fraud. At
present, most Service Providers do
not have the ability to control the data
side of wireless services to the same
extent as voice.
In this document, we’ll discuss “hotlining”
Wireless Data Services, defining how it
can be used to help maximize revenues
and control abusive use. We’ll discuss
several scenarios in which hotlining can
provide significant impact for Service
Providers. We’ll also discuss how hotlining
is deployed and how Bridgewater Systems
can help.
WIRELESS DATA
SERVICES: REVENUE
OPPORTUNITIES ARE
INCREASING
For most Service Providers, Wireless
Data Services are now a legitimate source
of revenue, and will continue to provide
increasing revenue opportunities. In fact,
In-Stat/MDR expects the number of U.S.
business wireless data users to grow to
more than 39 million in 2006.1 There are
a variety of Wireless Data Services
applications driving this growth, that
include:
> Messaging, such as Multimedia
Messaging Services (MMS) and Short
Messaging Service (SMS)
> Internet browsing
> Email
> Customization, such as ring tones and
screen savers
> File downloads, such as pictures using
camera phones
Multimedia Messaging Services are one of
the key drivers of Wireless Data Services.
In-Stat/MDR expects that the worldwide
market for MMS will experience a compound
annual growth rate of 141% between 2002
and 2006, growing from about 30 million
subscribers in 2003 to over 265 million
in 2006.2
WIRELESS DATA
SERVICES BRING
TRADITIONAL
CHALLENGES
The increased adoption of Wireless Data
Services brings the same challenges
that Service Providers have experienced
in wireless voice services: delinquent
payments, revenue leakage in prepaid
accounts, fraudulent use, and
troubleshooting handheld devices.
When Wireless Data Services were very
new, data was generally packaged with
voice, because its revenue was so
insignificant that Service Providers were
not bothered about its minimal revenue
leakage. Now, that’s changed, and
Wireless Data Services revenue is critical.
The challenge for Service Providers is to
control revenue loss; while disconnecting
voice services is an effective method of
counteracting fraud and delinquent
payments, very few Service Providers
have the ability to turn off the data services
when they disconnect voice services.
This means that even without voice
service, subscribers can continue to send
MMS messages, send pictures on their
camera phones, and even use “push-to-talk”
services, which are transmitted on data,
not voice, signals. This leads to what can
be very significant revenue loss.
With Wireless Data Services, traditional voice
account management tools will not suffice to
help control service access. This is where
wireless data hotlining comes into play.
HOTLINING: AN
INDISPENSABLE TOOL
FOR WIRELESS DATA
SERVICES
Hotlining is the process of diverting
subscribers from their desired destination
to a destination controlled by the Service
Provider. Typically, this means redirecting
subscribers from their desired web page
to another that’s specific to the reason
the subscribers are being redirected, such
as to top up a prepaid account. Hotlining
is based on a specific circumstance or
parameter associated with the subscriber;
once this situation or parameter has been
rectified, the hotlining is then released and
the subscriber can be redirected back to
the original desired destination.
Hotlining can be used for a variety of
reasons, from denying service because
of delinquent accounts, to providing
advertising pages during an online
transaction. For Wireless Data Services,
it’s a critical tool to help maximize revenues
and manage subscriber accounts. Once
hotlining is applied to a subscriber’s
account, it can be maintained for as long
as the Service Provider wishes — and
once the situation is changed, hotlining
can be released, returning full privileges
to the subscriber.
“Wireless Data Adoption in the Enterprise,” In-Stat/MDR, February 2002.
“Worldwide Messaging Subscriber Forecasts,” In-Stat/MDR, October 2002.
HOTLINING FOR WIRELESS DATA SERVICES 3
Re-charging prepaid accounts. For
prepaid accounts, subscribers can be
hotlined to a warning page when they
reach the Service Provider’s depletion
threshold or permanently hotlined when
they’ve totally run out of value. The hotlined
destination can provide information on retail
card outlets or can forward subscribers to
a page where they can use their credit
card to purchase an online voucher. Once
payment is made and value is added to
their account, the hotlining is removed.
Delinquent postpaid accounts. Hotlining
can also be used effectively to manage
delinquent postpaid accounts. Hotlining can
be set up based on the Service Provider’s
bad debt policy, forwarding subscribers
to a web message or payment portal once
they’ve reached the threshold. They will
continue to be hotlined until their bill is paid,
at which point the hotlining is released, and
they again have full privileges.
Recalling defective devices. If a
significant number of devices have failed
to configure correctly, or have a common
defect, the Service Provider can hotline this
specific group of subscribers to a portal
that provides information, such as a recall
message asking them to return to the nearest
service center for assistance. Once the
devices are fixed, the condition that invoked
the hotlining is no longer applicable, which
means the hotlining is released.
Advertising and other messages.
Hotlining can also be used as a marketing
tool: while subscribers wait for a new
service transaction to be processed, they
can be hotlined to advertisements of other
services that may be of interest. As soon as
the background transaction is complete, the
hotlining is released, and the subscriber is
sent onwards to the destination of choice.
Controlling content purchase and usage.
Many Service Providers offer specific content
services — such as music downloads,
ring-tone downloads, or gaming — which
may be elective for subscribers. If subscribers
attempt to access the content, they’ll be
hotlined to a payment portal or signup
sheet if the content is not part of their
service package. At this point subscribers
can either pay the fee or agree to have the
fee added to their monthly bill, and then be
allowed access. If the service is based on a
specific time period such as 24 hours, the
subscriber will again be hotlined once the
time is depleted.
Controlling abusive and fraudulent users.
Hotlining can also be useful in controlling
abusive and fraudulent usage. In the case
of abuse, the Service Provider can mine
subscriber data over a period of time,
looking for signs of abuse. Once a usage
threshold has been reached, the subscriber
can be hotlined to a warning page or be
required to take specific action, depending
on the Service Provider’s policies.
In the case of suspected fraud, subscribers
can be hotlined to a specific page notifying
them of potential fraudulent usage and asking
them to take some kind of action to verify
that they’re the legitimate user of the service.
Providing out-of-country service and
preventing roaming fraud. Many Service
Providers have experienced high instances
of fraudulent usage coming in from other
countries and subsequently require subscribers
to formally request out-of-country
roaming, usually in advance of the trip.
This is costly for the Service Provider and
an inconvenience for the subscriber.
Hotlining can help. If a subscriber is
attempting to access the network from
out-of-country, he can be hotlined to a
validation portal. Once he’s verified that
he’s the legitimate user of the service, the
hotlining is released, and he has full access
to services.
Complex parameter hotlining. In the
above scenarios, the hotlining was generally
based on a simple set of parameters — the
situation was “true” or it was not. However,
hotlining can also be based on a complex
set of parameters. For example, suppose
a subscriber purchases access to a music
site for 24 hours — with a maximum
download of three songs. When the
subscriber attempts to download the fourth
song, she is immediately hotlined to a
payment portal. However, if she ends this
session and logs back on, she can browse
as much as she likes within the 24-hour
access but will continue to be hotlined
every time she tries to download a new
song. In this case, there is both a time
and quantity parameter controlling access.
TWO TYPES OF
HOTLINING
Hotlining can be used in two situations:
new session and active session. In the
case of a new session, a condition is
discovered during session startup and
the subscriber is immediately hotlined to
a specific portal page, depending on the
condition that invoked the hotlining. This
is commonly used for delinquent accounts
or out-of-country access.
The real value of hotlining lies in its ability
to be used in mid-session. Most Service
Providers can hotline subscribers only at the
start of a session. Fraudulent and abusive
subscribers know this, so they’ll run their
device 24 hours a day, downloading files or
using file-sharing programs, never giving
the Service Provider a chance to turn their
service off. This uses up a significant
amount of network resources and can
add up to significant revenue loss for the
Service Provider. With the right solution in
place, though, Service Providers can hotline
a subscriber at any time during a session,
such as when funds are depleted from a
prepaid account or fraud is suspected. This
provides significant assistance in reducing
revenue leakage and controlling fraudulent
and abusive users.
DEPLOYING HOTLINING
Effective Wireless Data Services hotlining
requires three primary elements.
Portal Pages
For every situation that invokes hotlining,
there must be a destination to which
subscribers can be directed. Destinations
will include information pages notifying
subscribers of changes that need to be
made to their device or subscription,
warning pages, bill payment pages,
subscription renewals, and so on. These
pages must interact with the necessary
control systems to ensure that once
subscribers have completed the required
action, they are released from the hotlining
and allowed to carry on with their session.
HOTLINING FOR WIRELESS DATA SERVICES 4
Network Element
There must be a network element that
can redirect subscribers to a specific
destination and prevent them from
continuing their session. This network
element could be a GGSN (GPRS Support
Node), PDSN (Packet Data Serving Node),
or HA (Home Agent). The network element
must also support a suitable control
interface, such as RFC3576 – RADIUS
Change of Authorization, for accepting
hotlining requests from the control system.
Sophisticated Control System
This is the key element, as it must be able to
develop a set of sophisticated policies and
subscriber profiles that can cause hotlining
to be applied at session startup or in
mid-session. It must also have the ability
to cause hotlining to be released upon
successful completion of a specific action
by the subscriber. The control system should
also have the ability to specify who can
control hotlining; for instance; in the case of
suspected fraud, only specific administrative
or customer service personnel should be
allowed to modify a subscriber profile to
specify hotlining and subsequently release
that hotlining. In other cases, the hotlining
may be automated, as is the case when
receiving quota information from the billing
system.
BRIDGEWATER SYSTEMS
HAS THE SOLUTION
Bridgewater Systems provides a
sophisticated hotlining solution that can
help Service Providers ensure that they’re
maximizing revenue from their Wireless
Data Services.
The Bridgewater Systems solution provides
a complete control system and is based
on the AAA Service Controller for hotlining
at session set up, in conjunction with the
Session Terminator to hotline in mid-session.
A full user profiling solution is also provided
and can be used to ensure that the
subscriber is always hotlined where
appropriate. Changes to the profile are
secured appropriately to ensure that
subscribers are not hotlined for invalid
reasons. Bridgewater Systems can also
provide the portal system to which the
subscriber is redirected upon being
hotlined, plus the necessary integration
with the control system. This solution has
been successfully tested with network
elements from a number of manufacturers.
CONCLUSION
Service Providers wishing to profit from
Wireless Data Services must find ways to
ensure that they can maximize revenues
and reduce losses from leakage, abusive
subscribers, and fraud. Hotlining is a
cost-effective method of ensuring
subscribers can access only services to
which they are entitled, as well as extending
new opportunities for Service Providers
such as marketing portals and automated
out-of-country access. While hotlining
requires sophistication in the underlying
system control structure, a solution is
readily available from Bridgewater Systems.
ABOUT BRIDGEWATER
SYSTEMS
Bridgewater Systems develops the industry’s
most advanced subscriber-centric policy
management software for IP-based services.
Its solutions help global Service Providers
maximize profits and launch new services
faster. Bridgewater does this by providing
Service Providers with a unified view of their
subscribers across all access technologies.
With Bridgewater’s software, Service
Providers have an intelligent policy-decision
point for the management of subscribers,
applications, and network resources. The
Bridgewater Systems product suite delivers
high-performance policy management via its
market-leading authentication, authorization,
and accounting (AAA) and Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) systems.
It also offers a range of modular products
for application support, mediation, and
dynamic broadband management.
Bridgewater Systems’ proven carrier-class
products deliver on-demand data services,
extensive revenue-capture capabilities, and
out-of-the-box value that can be deployed
in weeks — instead of months.
More than 40 leading Service Providers
from around the globe (including Verizon
Wireless, Sprint PCS, Bell Mobility, and
Virgin Mobile USA) trust Bridgewater’s
technology and business insight to help
them deliver world-class services. Founded
in 1997, Bridgewater Systems is a privately
held company.
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