VoIP: Reducing the Interval from Order to Installation. Managing the Order Flow for Voice Services

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VoIP: Reducing the Interval

from Order to Installation

Managing the Order Flow for Voice Services

A Knowledge-Driven Consulting®

White Paper

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Overview

Advancements in technology like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are revolutionizing how companies sell and service their communications products. VoIP capitalizes on existing data/IP communications technology to offer a more efficient and economic way to process phone calls. VoIP turns an analog voice call into digital packets that can be sent in nano seconds across a number of paths. IP convergence allows all types of information – video, voice and data – to be processed using the same network. VoIP will soon be the standard technology for processing all phone calls and providers are investing heavily in advanced IP technology and broadband connections to the consumer.

Cable companies, in particular, will benefit from VoIP. They will be able to expand both their customer base and bundle more services to each customer, leading to greater profitability and customer satisfaction and reduced customer churn. Since there are approximately 110 million households in America with some type of phone service, non-traditional phone companies have a great opportunity to increase their market share from their existing four million phone customers. With more customers and more services provided over their network, cable companies can finally capture a return on the large investment they’ve made in their broadband infrastructure upgrade and build out over the last five years.

How the Communications Industry Has Changed

Deregulation, new technology and a fast-paced American culture have

heightened customer expectations and expanded their options for phone service. To compete, traditional and non-traditional phone service companies are

bundling products and services, reducing rates and providing better service to lure customers away from each other. Cable companies are adding voice to their existing video and data services to combat the satellite TV providers and to take customers away from the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC). At the same time, phone companies are rapidly deploying fiber to the curb and/or home to offer video to their existing voice and data services.

A key component to success is being able to quickly turn-up customers. With decades of experience, legacy providers have set the benchmark for complete phone service installation to average between two and four days depending on whether it is a new or ported number. Wireless providers have shortened this service delivery time – customers can enter a service center and leave with a working cell phone number. New broadband phone providers such as Vonage are also providing customers with a device and a phone number when they visit a retail outlet (e.g., Best Buy, Radio Shack, Circuit City) that the customer can self install at home. The process is similar to how MSO and ILEC customers self-provision high speed internet service. To compete with legacy and wireless phone service providers, cable companies offering VoIP must also provide a competitive delivery time and an efficient installation process with a better price/value proposition.

The Challenges to VoIP Providers

Shortening installation schedules to meet competitor benchmarks is paramount for cable companies to add new voice customers. They must also overcome misconceptions about functionality of their VoIP service, Enhanced 911 (E9-1-1) capabilities, power outages, and call quality. Local number portability also impacts a company’s ability to attract new customers, decrease costs and maintain customer satisfaction. New Broadband phone service providers must complete installations while working with ILECs to help execute the transfer of their existing customer, an interaction often hampered by “competitive incompetence.” To address these issues, cable companies should focus on three primary goals:

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Reduce the time interval from order entry to customer turn-up Overcome ILEC competitive incompetence, and

Comply with E9-1-1 responsibilities

Companies must successfully track and measure the effectiveness of the entire installation process, either internally or with outsourcing assistance, to manage costs and maintain customer satisfaction. Reducing fallout from any of these areas will accelerate revenue generation. Work Flow Management is an

overarching strategy designed to navigate the provisioning and installation steps. Hitachi Consulting has the experience and professional capabilities to help companies succeed in each of these areas:

Goal 1: Collect Accurate and Specific Information

The order process for voice phone service is different and more involved than traditional cable orders. This elongated process impacts cable companies in three critical ways:

Company must collect specific address information to support E9-1-1 utilizing the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG)

Specific customer information is required to support inter-carrier number portability working with the Customer Service Record (CSR) and the Local Service Request (LSR) process with the existing local phone service provider

Integrated internal data information is required for account management The optimal time – from order entry to installation – is 24 hours or less, although this may not be realistic system wide for a number of reasons. A 48-hour schedule, however, is obtainable for new numbers and ports in the largest ILEC territories, starting from the time of the initial customer call to when service is actually turned on, if accurate systems are in place to efficiently capture and process information. New entrants can differentiate themselves by providing intervals that are shorter than the incumbents. Consumers want speed of delivery and providers want to shorten the time the consumer has to rethink their decision to switch as well as to start the revenue flowing as soon as possible.

Detailed address collection to support E9-1-1

The company must capture specific detailed customer service address information to meet new emergency response requirements. In the past, cable companies only needed a physical service address to roll a truck for residential hook-up and a billing address to send the statement. Today, a key responsibility of the voice service provider is compliance with the E9-1-1 communication system through the utilization of the Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) to populate the Automatic Location Identifier (ALI) database, the underlying mechanism that makes the E9-1-1 system work.

Specific customer information to support inter-carrier number portability

If the customer wants to keep their existing phone number, the cable company must ensure the name and address information provided is the exact data on file with the existing phone service provider. The ILEC will reject a transfer order if the information provided by the cable company is incomplete or inconsistent with their files. The data collection then has to be reworked through an exception process, which may result in delaying the customer’s installation date. Companies don’t want to deal with multiple iterations of the Local Service Request (LSR) to obtain the requested phone number to port from the existing local phone provider because each additional touch of the order adds cost and potential customer dissatisfaction. Obtaining accurate information on the first call and validating this data on a timely schedule can minimize the potential of competitors slowing down the transfer.

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Integrated internal data information for billing and account management

Integration of internal reporting systems is vital to managing and servicing accounts. Cable companies still need to collect and validate data on addresses that are in their service footprint, but the information needs to be collected in a manner that meets the accounting requirements for all products in the bundle (e.g., video/cable, data/internet and voice/phone). If the information is not integrated properly, billing systems can play havoc with other internal programs dependent on financial transactions and data. Designing and implementing compatible internal communication systems is key to efficiency.

Goal 2: Overcome Local Number Portability issues

Consumer protection legislation has been enacted for Local Number Portability and to govern the interactions between an ILEC and CLEC (Competing Local Exchange Carrier). Cable companies are required to adhere to these new regulations when porting local phone numbers for customers. To keep on schedule and uphold the law, companies have to successfully coordinate timely interaction with two external partners:

Third Party Verification (TPV) to comply with anti-slamming legislation Local exchange carriers (LEC/CLEC) to port numbers

This coordination is critical to managing the installation process, satisfying the regulatory requirements for voice communications, and tracking the time required to hook up service.

Third Party Validation

Compliance has added an external validation step to the ordering process. When a customer wants to keep their existing phone number but change to a new voice provider, an independent contractor is hired to authorize the request. The communication between the host company and independent contractor is critical to delivering an efficient and quality exchange of information. Tracking the time it takes for validation is essential when promising and scheduling installation dates. Ensuring the third party interacts with the new customer in a professional and timely manner is also important to the integrity of the installation process. Cable companies can manage this step through a quality contract procedure outlining specific roles and responsibilities, service levels and ensuring the appropriate system and process integrations are established upfront. Tracking of orders through all stages, from order entry to installation and billing, is a critical element for success.

Interaction with Local Exchange Carriers (LEC)

Competitive incompetence occurs when the customer’s current provider impedes porting of the telephone number to the new service company. If the new service provider does not comply 100 percent with the specific requirements of the porting process it allows the customer’s current phone provider to elongate the process by rejecting the request and thus inconveniencing customers through delays. Remember, you are taking away their customer; they will use every opportunity to delay the process in an attempt to have the customer rethink their decision to switch providers. If the ILEC is slow to release the telephone number, then the new provider has the unpleasant task of calling the customer and rescheduling turn-up of service. Although there may be competitive incompetence on the current provider’s part, the delay is perceived as the new company’s inability to deliver. Coordinating these efforts impacts the ability of the company to manage the installation process. Making full use of CSR’s at time of order entry can ensure a successful porting process in the least amount of time.

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Goal 3: Comply with E9-1-1 Requirements

The local phone provider is key to making E9-1-1- service work. To meet this new responsibility, companies must select the appropriate MSAG to identify the Emergency Service Number (ESN), which then identifies the specific Police, Fire and Ambulance for that address. All of this information must then be registered in the appropriate ALI database so the Public Safety Administration Point (PSAP) has access to it anytime a call to 9-1-1 is made. The system is designed to deliver the call plus the address and phone number of the caller to the proper E9-1-1 dispatcher at the same moment. This way if the caller is unable to communicate the appropriate information, help will be dispatched without delay. New phone service providers must be able to complete the following in a timely manner:

Obtain and understand the appropriate MSAGs for their service territory to identify the appropriate ALI for a specific address Identify and connect with the appropriate PSAPs for their

service territory

Transmit the appropriate ALI data to the ALI Database Administrator Confer with the ALI Database Administrator that the ALI entry

was processed

Interface with ILECs to ensure ALI records on ports are unlocked and completed in a timely manner

Periodically audit the ALI information to confirm data residing in the ALI Database is correct

Continually manage and maintain customer address databases to ensure timely and accurate information at all times

Provide 24/7/365 emergency escalation support in case of an ANI or ALI failure or PSAP misroute

These steps require companies to obtain and apply additional tool sets (e.g., PostalSoft, MapInfo, Melisa data, Taxing Authority boundaries, county

boundaries, postal zip and zip+4 codes and boundaries, PSAP boundaries) and institute a process—either in house or outsourced—to obtain the MSAG in their territories and MSAG validate all service addresses for customer phone service orders. This complex process can add significant time to the order-to-fulfillment interval if not established and executed correctly.

Summary

Providers of phone service have set the benchmark for fast, easy installation of service. Cable companies can benefit by adding voice to their product mix but they must deal with misconceptions about the service and decrease their installation times because:

Revenue does not start until service is installed

Customer may reconsider switching providers the longer it takes to install service, and

The lengthier the process, the greater the cost

This new level of complexity for obtaining information from customers, interfacing with direct competitors, and internal accounting integration requires a robust process of accurate, comprehensive data collection and management. When the business case depends on operational efficiency, setting up the right processes, systems and providing adequate personnel to administer the process is vital to minimize installation delays due to rework and backtracking with the customer.

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About Hitachi Consulting

Hitachi Consulting works with providers to design an integrated system to manage workflow and overcome the installation issues specific to their circumstances. Our experience in working with industry leading software and hardware vendors, as well as navigating the regulatory compliance and competitor incompetence, sets a course for clients to increase revenues, decrease costs and improve customer satisfaction. We recognize how customers expect and demand a smooth process, and why companies need effective systems to thrive in this competitive environment. If your goal is to increase revenues through an expanded customer base and product mix, Hitachi Consulting is ready to help.

As Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE: HIT) global consulting company, Hitachi Consulting is a recognized leader in delivering proven business and IT solutions to Global 2000 companies. We leverage decades of business process, vertical industry, and leading-edge technology experience to understand each company's unique needs. From business strategy development through application deployment, we are committed to helping clients quickly realize measurable business value and achieve sustainable ROI.

With offices in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, Hitachi Consulting's client base includes nearly 35 percent of the Fortune 100, 25 percent of the Global 100, as well as many leading mid-market companies. We offer a client-focused, collaborative approach, which integrates strategy, people, process and

technology, and we transfer knowledge throughout each engagement. For more information, call 1.877.664.0010 or visit www.hitachiconsulting.com.

Hitachi Consulting -- Inspiring your next success!®

About Hitachi

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2003 (ended March 31, 2004) consolidated sales totaled 8,632.4 billion yen ($81.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, customer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hitachi.com.

© 2006 Hitachi Consulting Corporation. All rights reserved. "Inspiring your next success", "Knowledge-Driven Consulting" and "Information Velocity" are registered service marks of Hitachi Consulting Corporation. Printed in the U.S.A.

VoIP: Reducing the Interval from Order to Installation. Managing the Order Flow for Voice Services