How Service Activation Center Works
Service Activation Center provides you with the most economical means of supporting multi-service activation across all networks now and in the future.
Service Activation Center acts as a core mediation layer within your network to support ongoing innovation through low-cost, easy-to-execute software modifications that readily tie new service models into the product's modular architecture. Service Activation Center supports continuous introduction of new back-office and network components through easy-to-build service adapters that use the platform's Northbound Interface to bring new systems onto the Service Activation Center Message Bus.
Initial Implementation
Service Activation Center is installed on Solaris- or Linux-based servers and requires use of an Oracle database for cataloging and storing information about services, subscriber addresses and accounts, network equipment, billing and other operations support systems, etc. Out of the box, SAC inherently supports transactional integrity, session management, and synchronous/asynchronous message processing. It can also interface to multiple third-party vendor technologies commonly used in headend, routing, softswitch, back-office, billing and other operations support systems.
Service Activation Center supports the following:
- Provisioning of high-speed data, digital voice, digital TV, video on demand, wireless and other services
- Implementation of new services and variations on existing services
- Activation over new types of networks, such as FTTx
- Multiple post- and pre-paid billing models suited to each type of service
- Access to information that allows CSRs to confirm that services are activated as ordered
- Rapid implementation and termination of special marketing offers, including automatic upsell notifications when trials end and activation of subscriptions to new services and tiers when subscribers choose to purchase an option
- Service activation on consumer-purchased pre-provisioned devices from retail outlets
- Consumer access to self-service service activation and management options through the online SAC interface
- Generate reports to analyze event data
A Typical Activation Process
The following sequence represents a typical activation process for new subscribers
- The subscriber is first accepted by the CSR. The CSR then assigns and enters a package into the service operator's system.
- Service Activation Center collects the subscriber's information and stores it in an SQL backend database.
- An update is sent to the device provisioning solution, which updates the device assigned to the subscriber.
- For voice services, SAC updates the softswitch for VoIP line activation.
- For video services, SAC updates the digital video head-end controller.
- For customers requiring email or web space, SAC adds a new email account to the email server or creates a web space on the web server.
- Choosing Billing Options
From a billing systems perspective, Service Activation Center is used in two ways. Most often, service providers run Service Activation Center in conjunction with their existing billing systems, using pre-integrated service adapters suited to their particular billing operation. Alternatively, if a pre-integrated service adapter is not available, Incognito is hired to create one that will connect the billing system to the Service Activation Center message bus. In this case, the billing interface used by CSRs will remain the same.
When a subscriber wants to add another service or upgrade to a higher tier, the CSR enters the order into the billing system and Service Activation Center communicates with all systems necessary to execute the order. If an operator adds a new vendor component, such as a new conditional access system, SAC will interact with the new component whenever necessary in order to complete activations. All information obtained by Service Activation Center from the billing system is saved to the SAC database, allowing for ongoing automated adjustments to subscriber records with no intervention by CSRs.
Instead of using a third-party billing system, service providers can use prepaid business models, which they can administer within SAC through the Prepaid Service Module. This is an important option for smaller service providers, for whom the cost of integrating with a legacy billing system is too high. It also serves as a low-cost alternative for new service launches, as it allows service providers to test the service prior to launch, rather than integrating it into the existing billing system. In all cases, however, Service Activation Center eliminates manual activation processes.
Expanded Service and Technology Options
As operators create new services and marketing offers, they can easily configure service definitions and create service modules, with or without assistance from Incognito. SAC users frequently discover that they can use the tools supplied out-of-the-box to develop modules that allow them to continually invent new ways to build ARPU.
The modular architecture of Service Activation Center reduces time and difficulty in developing new service adapters when new hardware or software systems are added to the service activation system. It usually takes just a few weeks to create a new adapter, greatly reducing the costs of adding components in comparison to any other vendor support options.
For example, if a softswitch manufacturer comes out with a more advanced, higher capacity system offering new service features, Incognito can build an adapter to support integration into the activation system within weeks, eliminating the months of delay and attendant costs that would otherwise be incurred.
