Business Support System
BSS (Business support system) is a collective term for systems that support business operations of telecommunications service providers (carriers). It manages customer information and billing information, and supports such business practices as handling of applications for services, opening of lines, billing of charges and responding to inquiries. The systems are often built separately for each type of telecommunications service including voice, data, fixed communications and mobile communications.
With competition in the telecommunications service industry becoming intense over recent years, the service providers are required to add or expand their services in a short period of time. Accordingly, they demand that BSS can build systems more efficiently and flexibly respond to system expansions. In addition, as diversification of services have created the problem that their systems have become too complicated and bloated, there is a growing need for integrated and optimized BSS, which is currently offered separately for each type of telecommunications service. Attempts are also being made to analyze the huge customer information managed by BSS and utilize the results in developing new services.
