Note 73: Segmenting services logically for separate billing

Some networks, in conjunction with billing, can support logical (rather than physical) divisions of their services' products and related charges. These divisions create charge groupings that can be billed either by different billers, or within the one biller to different customers. These groupings are usually artificial in nature and based on historical, regulatory or technological delineations.

For example, the products and related charges (installation, access) associated with a fixed phone line service may be divided into (at least) four groups: 'local' calls, domestic 'long distance' call, 'international' calls and (if installed) DSL broadband products. Government regulations may allow different 'retail' businesses to 'own' the customer relationship (and bill) each of these groupings using either their own infrastructure (e.g. DSL connections in the exchange) or by reselling the network operator's own products (e.g. local calls).

Another example of artificial service segmentation is where a retail water business splits the billing of water charges between the property owner (landlord) and a tenant. The landlord may be held responsible for recurring network access charges, while the tenant is responsible for their water consumption (and initial 'installation'). The metered water is the same, only the billing arrangements are different from a regular residential bill. When the tenant completes their tenancy, the retail water business can revert the billing of water consumption to the landlord until a new tenant is 'installed'. This arrangement requires a segmentation of the charges that apply to the landlord and tenant, and the establishment of separate billing arrangements with which to bill them (the landlord's being for the longer term).

Service types can either be segmented into niches like those described above, or operate only at the level of a complete service. For example, gas services are measured by the utility's in only one dimension (e.g. cubic meters). Electricity meters can coarsely differentiate consumption by time-of-day supporting peak and off-peak pricing. Electricity meters that measure in half-hour blocks enable further service segmentation, charging higher prices during periods of peak demand.

Blended meaning: customer, account and service

The account and service data structures can blend together in a similar way to the blending that occurs between the customer and account data structures. For example, a pre-paid mobile phone biller may focus their billing on each service individually (phone number / handset) and not allow multiple services to be associated under an account. In this scenario, discussions about the account's balance or the service's balance amount to the same thing, and the service (phone number) may be used interchangeably as the account's reference number.

The customer, account and service can also be blended and merged into one entity when presented to the end customer, even though the underlying data structures stored in the billing system may be held separately. For example, a bill for local taxes or rates on a property may focus on the property identifier (service) without drawing specific attention to the 'customer' or the service's 'account'.

Originally posted by

- 01 March 2013

Links to other Notes

Previous - Note 72: Billing Services: Non-Network Service Details

Share this page

Tweet

 

Learn the Fundamental Functions of Billing

 

Download FREE Book Sample

 

Follow by Email

Enter your email address to follow changes and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Fill out your email address below and press the submit button.

  Subscribe to purebill

Your Email Address

You will be returned back to this page, and a confirmation email will be sent.

 

Stephen Jones

 

Publication

 

Recent Updates Explaining Billing

» Note 73: Billing Services Segmentation: Logical Division of Network Service Details

» Note 72: Billing Services: Non-Network Service Details

» Note 71: Billing Services: Details Held Against Network Services

» Note 70: Billing details held against the Account

» Note 69: Account Complexity by Customer Segment

For a better understanding of billing »

 

Latest Columns

» Billing System Software: Once Installed, Billing Systems Operate Long-term

» Adjusting Customers' Credit Management Approach

» What is a Billing Note?

» What is the Billing Cycle Algorithm?

» What is 'billing on behalf of' (BOBO)?

See the full list of columns »