White Paper

Call Driver & Advanced Call Completion White Paper

Realising the future of messaging by assuring a sustainable business Introduction
Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Revenue Impact Points 3 Capturing lost revenue

From a revenue perspective, voice not data reigns as the leader. With 82% of global wireless revenue coming from voice services, operators should be fully aware that the two most important things they can do to improve revenue are to increase the number of calls made and increase the percentage of calls completed. This applies to both the prepaid and post-paid subscribers and regardless of the operators geography.

$700,752,000,000 *
Voice

81.79%
* Ovum, Wireless voice and data forecast, April 2008

Figure 1- Voice Services Represent 84% of Operator Revenue

As operators seek new revenue opportunities, significant attention is given to the rising percentage of revenue coming from data services. While applications such as mobile web browsing and mobile advertising are growing in popularity, operators should not lose sight of the fact that voice revenue will continue to provide the majority of income for many years to come. With the majority of mobile operator revenue coming from voice services, it is expected that first priority will be to protect the current revenue stream and maximize any available potential. The voice service revenue stream is under threat though. Studies show that ARPU from voice services is trending downwards ($212 in 2008 to $166 in 2012*).
$250

$212

$161
$50r 2007 * Ovum, Wireless voice and data forcast, April 2008

2012

Figure 2- Declining Voice ARPU, Ovum 2008 1

Call Driver & Advanced Call Completion White Paper

With such significant exposure, operators are looking for each and every way to stop the revenue erosion and convert what is an unbillable network activity into revenue generating minutes. Evaluating call percentages from an overall network perspective reveals several areas in which the operator is losing what could be billable revenue. The areas of opportunity are: Unsuccessful call attempts Calls not completed Calls to non-active Voicemail subscribers

Unsuccessful Call Attempts

4%

Calls Not Completed

30%

Non Subscriber

70%

Completed Calls

66%

Active Subscriber

30%

Call Attempts

Voicemail

Figure 3- Revenue Capture Point Opportunities

2. Revenue Impact Points

In Figure 3 above, each of the areas highlighted are responsible for bleeding off a portion of what would otherwise be billable activity. This is not only a revenue problem but also wastes valuable network resources. The simplest solution to the revenue problem would be to assure that each and every call attempt results in a billable conclusion in some form or another. Unfortunately, most networks are not equipped to efficiently handle this wide range of impact points.

2.1 Unsuccessful Call Attempts The first revenue impact point is percentage of call attempts that are not successfully completed by the network. This number varies widely from operator to operator depending upon the sophistication and quality of the network. In highly developed countries such as the U.K, this percentage may be as low as 4% while in emerging countries the percentage may be as high as 40%. The 4% figure used here represents the global average for all subscribers. The reasons for these failed call attempts are provided below. Again, these will vary depending upon operator and network but regardless of the actual percentage, this is a contribution factor to the overall revenue impact.

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15%
Droped calls or handoff problems

29%

RF Coverage Problems

29% 9%

Interference or channel quality problems Subscriber or Handset problems

Operator capacity resource limitations

22%

Figure 4- Representation of Calls Not Completed in Network

2.2 Calls not completed The largest revenue impact point is the significant percentages of calls that do not reach the intended party. Even in a highly developed network, this number is still significant for a variety of reasons. One of which is phone is off. For example, the Yankee Group estimates that 65% of all wireless subscribers do not leave their phone on more than 8 hours per day. The calls not completed reason list includes: 1. The called party is busy with another call 2. The called partys phone is off or out of coverage 3. The called party does not answer the call 4. The calling party hangs up before the called party answers

2.3 Unsuccessful calls to non-active Voicemail subscribers The next significant revenue impact point is unsuccessful calls that have no back up completion option because the subscriber does not have voicemail activated. Voicemail adoption rates vary depending upon a number of different factors. These factors may be either financial or cultural. In some networks, the subscriber is charged to access the voicemail platform either by using up minutes or a per call cost to listen to their messages. In this situation, many subscribers simply avoid the additional cost and ignore their voicemail. On the cultural side, some areas of the world consider it either impolite not to talk directly to the person or unacceptable to interact with a computer. Callers in these areas prefer to re-try the subscriber repeatedly until they have a successful connection. This frustrates the caller and needlessly utilizes network capacity.

3 Capturing lost revenue

Operators should seek to have a flexible solution in place that can assure that every call attempt has multiple options to complete the connection, every missed call results in any number of notifications, callers may have the option of requesting an availability notification or connection

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and end users are provided with the ability to manage and personalize the service as they see fit. With calling scenarios extending into the thousands, operators should be assured that the call completion service they employ serves both prepaid and post-paid subscribers and voicemail and non-voicemail users. Calling events such as subscriber busy, subscriber out of coverage, subscriber does not answer the call, or the calling party hangs up before the call is completed should also be included in the service. A subtle benefit of utilizing a call completion service is providing an increased level of customer satisfaction. Callers are assured that no matter what situation prevents them from contacting their friends or loved ones, the subscriber will be notified in one way or another that they called. This is reassuring and builds confidence in the operators brand. As mentioned previously, with 82% of wireless revenue coming from voice services, the most important things operators can do to increase revenue are to increase the number of calls made on the network and increase the percentage of calls completed on the network. Referring back to Figure 3 Revenue Capture Point Opportunities operators have a clear approach plan that can be followed to capture lost revenue. Provide a backup for unsuccessful call attempts in the network Provide a call completion solution all subscribers in conjunction with Voicemail 1. When called party is busy with another call 2. When called partys phone is off or out of coverage 3. When called party does not answer the call 4. When calling party hangs up before the called party answers

Provide a backup call completion solution for slamdown Voicemail Calls

3.1 Choosing a robust call completion solution Understanding the revenue opportunities In the call completion event sequence, there are three primary events that can be monetized. Operators may choose to select one or more of these events depending upon their strategy.
Figure 5- Call Completion Revenue Opportunities

X 1

The first billable event is to complete a surrogate contact in place of the intended call as dialled. This may seem obvious at first but interjecting an event to the caller in place of the intended call takes skill and careful design to avoid having the caller terminate the call immediately. The monetization comes from the fees associated with terminating the call.

The second billable event is the notification that is sent to the subscriber informing them of the missed call. This can be monetized in three different ways: as a monthly subscription service, as a cost per transaction or supported through sponsored advertising inclusions. The last billable event in the missed call completion cycle is the return call leg. Every missed call has a degree of likelihood that the subscriber will return that call. That return call ratio should be factored into the revenue equation.
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3.2 Understanding Call Completion Scenarios There are several fundamental call completions scenarios that operators typically experience. The following sections outline these scenarios. Missed Call- Single Notification

Call to non Voicemail Subscriber Call to VM Platform for existing subscriber but not leaving a message.

You missed a call from (804) 555-1212 at 07:05 on 07/13/07.

Figure 6- Missed Call- Single Notification

Party A calls Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Party B can either be a voicemail subscriber or not a voicemail subscriber. Optionally, the service can be invoked for voicemail subscriber for calls in which the caller chooses to not leave a voicemail message. Notification of the missed call is sent to Party B and includes relevant call information and administrative functionality. Missed Call- Aggregate Notification

You missed calls from (804) 555-1212 at 07:05 on 07/13/07. (804) 555-1313 at 08:05on 07/13/07. (804) 555-1414 at 09:05 on 07/13/07.

Figure 7- Missed Call- Aggregate Notification

Multiple Party As call Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Party B can either be a voicemail subscriber or not a voicemail subscriber. Optionally, the service can be

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invoked for voicemail subscriber for calls in which the caller chooses to not leave a voicemail message. Notification of the missed calls is aggregated and sent to Party B and includes relevant call information and administrative functionality. Aggregation can be organized by caller, by period of time elapsed, or prioritized by number of call attempts made. Notify Me- A Party SMS notification

This Person is not available. To get an SMS notification when they are available press 1234

(804) 555-9876 is now available.

Figure 8- Notify Me- A Party SMS notification

Party A calls Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Caller hears a prompt notifying them that Party B is unavailable offers option to request SMS notification when available. When Party B is available, Party A will received an SMS with notification that XXX number is now available. Notify Me- A Party SMS notification with mechanism to connect

This Person is not available. To get an SMS notification when they are available press 1234

(804) 555-9876 is now available. To connect now, reply x to this SMS

Figure 9 Notify Me- A Party SMS notification with mechanism to connect

Party A calls Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Caller hears a prompt notifying them that Party B is unavailable offers option to request SMS notification when

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available. When Party B is available, Party A will receive an SMS with notification that XXX number is now available along with a command mechanism to have system establish a connection to Party B. When this service is invoked, system calls Party B and plays a notification such as This caller tried reaching you when you were unavailable then making the connection. Connect Me- A Party requests automatic connection

This Person is not available. To automatically connect when they are available press 1234

Figure 10- Connect Me

Party A calls Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Caller hears a prompt notifying them that Party B is unavailable and offers option to automatically connect when available. When Party B is available, Party A will receive an outdial call with an announcement such as The party you were trying to reach is now available and a call attempt is underway. Party B will receive an outdial call with an announcement such as This caller tried reaching you when you were unavailable then making the connection. 3.2.1 Notify Me or Connect Me option- A Party has menu option to select from

This Person is not available. To get an SMS notification when they are available press 1,To automatically connect when they are available press 2

(804) 555-9876 is now available.

Figure 11- Notify me or Connect Me option

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Call Driver & Advanced Call Completion White Paper

Party A calls Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Caller hears a prompt notifying them that Party B is unavailable and offers option to either request SMS notification when available or request an automatic connection. With the first option, when Party B is available, Party A will receive an SMS with notification that XXX number is now available. With the second option, system calls Party B and plays a notification such as This caller tried reaching you when you were unavailable then making the connection. 3.2.2 Connect Me End User controlled- B Party has menu option to select from

You missed a call from (804) 555-1212 at 07:05 on 07/13/07. To connect now, reply x to this SMS

Figure 12- Connect Me End User controlled

Party A calls Party B who is unreachable, busy, or (optionally) roaming. Party B can either be a voicemail subscriber or not a voicemail subscriber. Optionally, the service can be invoked for voicemail subscriber for calls in which the caller chooses to not leave a voicemail message. Notification of the missed call is sent to Party B and includes relevant call information, administrative functionality plus reply mechanism to have system make the connection to the caller. When invoked, system calls Party A and plays a notification such as The caller you tried to reach is now online then making the connection.

Summary
Wireless operators know that that voice services still provide the majority of their revenue. Efforts to optimize or increase this revenue stream should be given highest priority. Increasing voice revenue can be accomplished by: Provide a backup for unsuccessful call attempts in the network Provide a call completion solution all subscribers in conjunction with Voicemail 1. When called party is busy with another call 2. When called partys phone is off or out of coverage 3. When called party does not answer the call 4. When calling party hangs up before the called party answers

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There are a wide variety of techniques available to help increase both the number and percentage of calls completed, from both the calling party and called party direction. In this ultra competitive market climate and decreasing ARPU, operators must seek a comprehensive call completion strategy that provides maximize opportunity for revenue enhancement.

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Missed Call, Single Notification- Call Driver Phase 1 Missed Call, Aggregate Notification- Call Driver Phase 1 Notify Me, A Party SMS Notification- Future Call Driver development consideration Notify Me- A Party SMS notification with mechanism to connect- Future Call Driver development consideration Connect Me- Future Call Driver development consideration Notify me or Connect Me option- Future Call Driver development consideration Connect Me End User controlled- Future Call Driver development consideration

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