Ask any leading supplier of network switching equipment whether fraud represents a serious threat and they'll all tell you the same thing. A decade ago, wireless telecommunications was heralded as a panacea. The reality today is that margins are being squeezed, profits are lagging and the market is becoming increasingly competitive with everyone chasing the same customers.
Customer churn is a real issue and 'revenue assurance' has become the new industry buzzword.
Between a rock and a hard place To keep customers, and so assure their revenue, operators must increase customer dependence on their services. One way they are doing this is through the introduction of more sophisticated products which have real customer appeal. Unfortunately, these new services have opened up yet more routes for fraudsters to gain illegal access to a network. It would seem to be a no win situation for operators. Keep your product and service offerings limited to reduce your vulnerability to fraud but risk losing customers, or attempt to stabilise customer churn by offering customers a wider and better choice of product and service but, in so doing, increase your exposure.